Jewish News, April 19, 2024

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Arizona’s big abortion ruling reverberates throughout local Jewish community

One of Dr. Tracy Contant’s worst f ears came to pass on Tuesday, April 9, when Arizona’s Supreme Court upheld an 1864 abortion ban in the state, virtually outlawing all abortions. Upon hearing the news, Contant, an OB-GYN at Valleywise Health Medical Center and Congregation Beth Israel congregant, felt “profound sadness for all the women who are going to be affected,” she told Jewish News.

Two years ago, when the Civil War-era ban took on new life at the behest of former Arizona Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, the usually reserved Contant decided she had to take a stand. She participated in an interfaith clergy prayer circle organized by National Council of Jewish Women Arizona (NCJW AZ) and led by six Greater Phoenix rabbis, including her own, Rabbi Sara Mason-Barkin. She addressed a gathering of more than 100 Jewish women distressed over the state of abortion rights and she gave an in-depth interview to Jewish News about what any abortion ban means for her pregnant patients.

The Arizona Court of Appeals quickly issued a stay on the ban, leaving a 15-week abortion ban passed earlier that year in place; a few months later, it ruled the 1864 and 2022 laws could eventually be “harmonized,” but the 15-week ban superseded the older one. Though Contant opposed that ban, explaining how lethal or significant fetal anomalies can be found after 15 weeks, she was relieved that it seemed, at least, the total ban would not take effect. However, the Supreme Court took

up a review of the appeals court’s decision blocking the pre-statehood abortion ban last year, and on April 9, in a 4-2 decision, declared there was no ambiguity in what Republican lawmakers wanted when they passed the law on party lines.

“This (intent clause) can reasonably bear only one meaning: the legislature did not intend the act to codify an independent statutory right to an elective abortion before fifteen weeks’ gestation or otherwise repeal any other abortion laws more restrictive than S.B. 1164.…” justices for the majority opinion wrote.

Now Contant is devastated by “the level of suffering and anguish women will face,” as well as outraged by the “intellectual hypocrisy of politicians and cowardice of justices who voted to uphold the 1864 law.” Her view is shared with a wide swath of other Arizona Jews and American Jews more broadly. According to a 2023 Jewish Electorate Institute (JEI) survey, 88% of American Jews believe abortion should be legal in most or all cases. The nonpartisan JEI’s survey included interviews with 800 self-identified Jewish voters.

The 1864 ban, written before women could even vote, subjects any person aiding

in abortion to two to five years in prison. The only exception is if it’s necessary to save the mother’s life; there are no exceptions for rape or incest. As the paper went to press, the ban was set to go into effect 60 days from the ruling, barring any other litigation. Rep. Matt Gress (R-04) told Jewish News he intends to make a motion to overturn the ban when the legislature is in session on Wednesday, April 17.

Orthodox rabbinical candidate Karolyn Benger was already depressed by Roe’s reversal. “Hearing the news on Tuesday, I was actually quite numb,” she told Jewish News. She told of having friends whose doctors, so cowed by current abortion restrictions, allowed sepsis to set in before aborting an unviable pregnancy. “This is in spite of the fact that maternal sepsis is the second leading cause of maternal death in America! It’s very clear that women’s lives

SHANNON LEVITT | STAFF WRITER

Sign at the rally for reproductive rights at the Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza on Dec. 12, 2023, when the near-total ban from 1864 was being debated across the street in the Arizona Supreme Court. COURTESY OF GLORIA REBECCA GOMEZ/ARIZONA MIRROR

PHOTO COURTESY OF TOMERTU - STOCK.ADOBE.COM

Congregation Kehillah Rabbi Bonnie Sharfman, the rabbi who led the 2022 prayer circle, has been outspoken on the importance of keeping abortion legal. She even testified in front of the legislature that a ban violates the religious freedom of Jews, who hold a different view than Christians as to when life begins.

“Our personal beliefs are just that, between us and the creator of the universe,” she told Jewish News.

While she acknowledged abortion is “an emotional, charged issue,” she called the 1864 ban “an assault on women,” a term she doesn’t use lightly.

“This law and the one it replaces, is wrong for women; it’s cruel and it’s not reflective of Jewish values,” she said.

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Greater Phoenix Board of Rabbis President and Temple Kol Ami Rabbi Jeremy Schneider seconded Sharfman.

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“It is overwhelmingly agreed upon in non-Orthodox Jewish circles that abortion is considered an essential part of comprehensive health care, especially when the health of the mother is at risk,” he told Jewish News. Citing the Torah and Talmud, he explained that “the rabbis are intentionally ambiguous in their wording,” which allows for a broad interpretation of the word “health,” which “can mean many of the gut-wrenching realities that inform so many stories of abortion.”

Echoing Sharfman, he mourned the impact on Jews’ religious freedom and pledged all those impacted the support of Greater Phoenix’s clergy.

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Orthodox Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, president and dean of Valley Beit Midrash, agreed that this is an issue of religious freedom and that “Jewish law is far more permissive than the Arizona 1864 near-total ban on abortions.”

“Jewish law holds a nuanced way of

said Jon Meyers, director of ADDPC.

giving a woman the needed space to make a decision, not based on fear but based on thinking about the consequences her decision will have for her life and a right to make a decision while feeling supported by her community,” Beth El Phoenix Rabbi Nitzan Stein Kokin told Jewish News.

“Our hope is to create and promote opportunities for people to be embraced, become part of the community and find equitable opportunities wherever they might live,” he said.

Temple Solel Associate Rabbi Debbie Stiel called the ruling “a dark day for our state” and one that “will have a chilling effect on women,” even postulating that it would force some women to leave Arizona.

Meyers first came to know Stern through her mother, Amy Silverman, who read her personal essays about raising a daughter with Down syndrome on KJZZ, National Public Radio’s Phoenix affiliate station.

“In all my life, I never thought we would go back to this sort of draconian control of the state over a woman’s body,” she told Jewish News.

Jewish organizations were also staggered by the ruling.

Meyers was so captivated by the essays that he reached out to Silverman, and the two became friends.

“We at the Minkoff Center for Jewish Genetics believe that women should be able to make decisions about their reproductive health. Period,” Minkoff Executive Director Wendy Carriere told Jewish News.

That’s how Stern first learned of the open council seat, but there’s no doubt she earned her position, Meyers said.

To become a council member, Stern had to apply and demonstrate that she had something valuable to contribute, he said.

“Like so many, we are deeply outraged,” Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Phoenix Executive Director Paul Rockower told Jewish News.

“She’s on the council because she deserves to be on the council,” he said. Stern is creating a life and career as a member of her community, which makes her a great addition.

Civia Tamarkin, NCJW AZ president, told Jewish News her organization is “battling with ferocity” to get the necessary signatures to put an abortion amendment (the Arizona Abortion Access Act) on the November ballot, trying “to make voters aware that lives are at stake.” Tamarkin’s organization is at the forefront of challenging Arizona’s abortion restrictions in the courts and in the legislature, and is a field partner in the abortion ballot initiative. NCJW AZ is also one of the groups that organized the “Stop the Total Abortion Ban in AZ” rally on Sunday, April 14 in Scottsdale.

Stern graduated from McClintock High School in Tempe last year and now attends Glendale Community College, with a focus on dance. She is a regular performer at Detour Company Theatre, a Scottsdale theatre company for adults with intellectual, developmental and physical disabilities.

In fact, when Stern attended her first council meeting in January, she couldn’t wait to tell people of her involvement with Detour and share information about its upcoming shows.

Jewish political organizations and politicians offered their thoughts, though they had differences of opinion.

“There’s no question that she is going to thrive,” Meyers said. “She’s very gregarious and passionate about the things that matter to her.”

Stern looks forward to sharing insights

Debra Stein, Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) board member and Arizona chapter lead, told Jewish News the 1864 ban “is out of step with all Jewish

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voters, regardless of party affiliation” and argued that the only way to protect abortion access is with a Democratic congress and president, who will codify Roe.

about her Judaism with her fellow council members and speaking out for her rights and beliefs.

Phyllis Kaminsky, Jewish Women’s Conservative Forum co-founder, doesn’t accept extreme views on abortion and called the ruling “a very stupid thing to have happened.”

She already has some practice at advocating for herself.

“One time, I was in class and someone called me the R-word and I told him not to. The teacher was in the hallway and another student repeated the word,” she said. Rather than letting the situation go, she told her theater teacher, who was able to intervene.

Using an 1864 law, something the country has outgrown, is wrong and it will be repealed soon, she told Jewish News. Still, she’s in favor of having states in charge of abortion legislation and supports the 15-week ban. The state’s legislators will answer to the voters, she said. As for those living in states who disagree with the abortion restrictions, “if you find yourself in a state that doesn’t work for you, move on,” she said.

“If someone has a disability, saying the R-word is like saying the F-word,” Stern said.

While performing in the musical “Hairspray,” she had another occasion to tangle with the offensive word, which appears in the script.

“The Arizona Supreme Court correctly interpreted current law. The rest is up to the people of Arizona,” Jewish Rep. Alexander Kolodin (R-03) told Jewish News.

“That’s really bad and my friend said it on stage. I was not OK with that, so I went to the director and told her it was a bad word for people with disabilities, but she wouldn’t take it out,” Stern said.

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She let her mother know about the conflict and they were able to convince the director of the need to remove the word from the script.

“My friend Al was next to me when I told the director and he gave me the biggest hug ever and said that he loved me so much,” Stern said. Sadly, Al died in a car crash on Oct. 24, 2021.

Meanwhile, Rep. Seth Blattman (D-23), also Jewish, pointed out that when Democrats tried to repeal the 1864 ban on Wednesday, April 10, their effort was blocked by Republicans who adjourned the proceedings “rather than save lives and do what the overwhelming majority of Americans agree is right.” He intends to “keep fighting until a woman’s right to control her own body is fully restored,” he told Jewish News.

Heart Can’t Even Believe It: A Story of Science, Love and Down Syndrome,” Silverman’s book about her daughter. When Gesher’s speakers’ bureau, Damon Brooks & Associates, was asked to find a speaker about Down syndrome for an event this spring, Hummell first asked Silverman to speak, thinking Stern might be too young.

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They decided instead that Stern should tell her own story; it’s a real bonus that she is not afraid of public speaking.

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“That was hard; it’s very hard to get emotions out and I was very, very upset,” she said.

On the recent anniversary of his death, Stern made a cake and took it to the crash site.

Adam Kwasman, Jewish city council candidate and former Republican state legislator, told Jewish News it was the governor’s responsibility “to call a special session and work with the legislature to update the law for Arizonans in 2024.”

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“It’s not the same when someone tries to tell a person’s story for them,” Hummell said.

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“I don’t know how I did it without crying. I’m so proud of myself,” she said.

Amy Hummell, executive director of Gesher Disability Resources, agreed that Stern is a good fit for ADDPC because of her ability to self-advocate.

Hummell co-hosted a book event with Meyers a few years ago for “My

In a Facebook post immediately after the ruling was handed down, Yanklowitz said that while political and religious debates about restrictions on abortion are important, the 1864 ban “is simply an unfathomable attack on all women beyond comprehension … Our daughters are watching!” JN

Additionally, helping people with disabilities find jobs was one of the reasons for acquiring the bureau. Unemployment in the disability community is upwards of 75% and of that percentage, 75% are ready, willing and able to work — but haven’t been given the opportunity, Hummell said.

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“People have it in them to speak up but don’t know how, and often they’re not cheered on. Sophie has family support

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Antisemitism question asked and answered in search for newest legislator

SHANNON LEVITT | STAFF WRITER

On Thursday, April 4, Democrat Deborah Nardozzi was sworn in as the newest member of the Arizona House of Representatives for the 8th district, a day after she was appointed to the position by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.

Before being chosen, Nardozzi and the other candidates for the vacant legislative seat filled out a series of questionnaires designed by Maricopa County supervisors to understand their views on topics of the supervisors’ choosing.

Maricopa County Supervisor Thomas Galvin wrote questions he believed would get to the heart of the candidate’s policy positions as well as their personalities. One of Galvin’s four questions focused directly on the problem of antisemitism.

His first two questions were about the border and housing policy. The third question began by explaining some background on the rise of antisemitism since Oct. 7, then stated that “many Jews in Arizona are fearful.” According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), antisemitic incidents across the country have tripled since Hamas’ attack on Israel.

“What will you do to combat and condemn antisemitism in our community?” Galvin asked each potential candidate.

Galvin told Jewish News that he considered antisemitism an important enough issue to dedicate an entire question to it after seeing the rise in anti-Jewish bias across the country, and in Arizona, something which “hurts my heart.”

Since Oct. 7, he’s watched “with great disdain and anger” the anti-Israel demonstrations taking place in his district. Though he sympathizes with the civilians in Gaza, he doesn’t want that to come at the expense of supporting Israel, an important U.S. ally.

“Turning our backs on Israel is just not an option any serious policy person should consider,” he told Jewish News in an email. His pro-Israel stance is only part of the reason for the question. He’s been aware of “the scourge of antisemitism” since he was a kid growing up with friends whose family members had “either died in the Holocaust or experienced the horrors of Nazi concentration camps,” Galvin said.

In answering Galvin’s third question, Nardozzi wrote that while she respects differing perspectives, “I wholeheartedly support Israel and have long before the massacre of Israeli civilians during the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack, and I will continue to denounce any antisemitism and support our Jewish and Israeli community.”

She listed as evidence her “long and

ardent support” of the ADL and the fact that she was Rep. Seth Blattman’s campaign manager. She described helping the Jewish Blattman face off against an opponent who posted antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media.

Nardozzi was surprised that Galvin published her responses along with the other candidates, but she wasn’t particularly surprised by the question.

“He thought this was important to his constituents and he wanted to be able to put the best person into the position,” she told Jewish News.

Galvin said the public has a right to know.

Galvin and Nardozzi are both concerned that antisemitism is not given as much credence as other forms of discrimination by the general public.

“I have always been upset and perplexed how antisemitism seems to be permitted, explained away or tolerated in modern society,” Galvin said.

“A lot of times, people are not as vocal when they talk about antisemitism as they are about racism or homophobia. When you have attacks against Jewish people, it doesn’t always get the attention it should, and that’s discouraging to me,” Nardozzi agreed.

In a fourth question, Galvin also asked candidates to assure him and the other board members that they would not engage in unethical behavior, such as praising white supremacists or Holocaust deniers, harassing people or making death threats, all things other elected officials in Arizona have done.

Galvin hoped to find a candidate to uphold free speech without incitement to violence, to bring people together rather than tear them apart. His questions were meant to give the public a glimpse into the candidates’ views on these issues, something he’s glad he did.

In his role as a supervisor, he has “the intangible moral responsibility to use my

bully pulpit, while I have it, to forcefully speak out against the rise of antisemitism,” he said.

For her part, Nardozzi is just starting to get to know her constituents and familiarize herself with her duties. On her first day, she was hustled into the House chamber after her swearing in to begin voting on bills. Since she’s missed out on the committee meetings, where legislation is debated and addressed by the public, she has to rely on the language of the bills and the informational sheets telling her who supports and opposes them to help her decide on how to vote.

“Besides reaching out to me directly, I hope my Jewish constituents use the Request to Speak (RTS) system,” she said. The RTS allows the public to register an opinion on bills listed on agendas and to speak in committee meetings. “Knowing what they think helps me make my decisions.”

She named Civic Engagement Beyond Voting, a nonpartisan organization that helps register Arizonans for RTS and trains them to use the system, as an invaluable resource for people interested in getting more involved in the legislative process.

On her first day, Nardozzi saw one bill supported by the Arizona Jewish Historical Society (AZJHS). She already approved of the bill’s language but seeing it also had the support of AZJHS, “I instantly knew it was something I would like,” she said. Nardozzi replaced Rep. Jevin Hodge, who resigned from the position after a month in office when it came to light that he had violated sexual violence and sexual misconduct policies while he was a student at George Washington University. Nardozzi said she told her family she planned to be in this position for a while. She doesn’t have any scandals in her past and “doesn’t even play the lottery!” JN

For more information on Civic Engagement Beyond Voting, visit cebv.us.

Rep. Deborah Nardozzi, the newest member of the Arizona House of Representatives, left, and Maricopa County Supervisor Thomas Galvin. COURTESY OF ARIZONA HOUSE DEMOCRATS

JCRC assists legislation removing racist covenants in Arizona

SHANNON LEVITT | STAFF WRITER

At the end of March, the Arizona legislature unanimously passed legislation allowing homeowners to remove racist language in housing covenants that discriminate against Black, Latino, Asian, Jewish Arizonans and other minority groups.

Senate Bill 1432 passed the House 58-0 and the Senate 28-0 before heading to the desk of Governor Katie Hobbs.

The Arizona NAACP State Conference, along with a group of stakeholders, including the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Phoenix (JCRC), began work on the legislation last June.

A restrictive covenant binds the whole neighborhood in terms of what’s allowed, such as whether political signs are permitted or certain paint colors on the house. They are meant to unify a neighborhood. However, racially restrictive covenants are a very ugly version of that idea.

Many people are “surprised and angered” to find language restricting homeowners from selling, leasing or allowing occupancy of their land to various minority groups, Dianne Post, attorney for the Arizona NAACP State Conference, told Jewish News in an email.

Post listed the following examples to

illustrate her point: a professor in Tucson whose partner is African American discovered their property excluded “Negroes”; a Jewish woman in north Phoenix read similar “ugly” language in her deed; and when a football player saw the restrictions in his paperwork in Paradise Valley, he refused to buy the house.

The new legislation created an easy process for homeowners or communities to remove the offensive restrictions from title documents at a very low cost. The original record is preserved at land record offices for historical research, Post explained.

Erin Scharff, JCRC board member and Arizona State University law professor, bought her first house a few years ago. As a lawyer, she read through all the paperwork and was appalled to find language therein prohibiting her from renting or selling to “any person who is, or whose spouse is, or who is a descendant of, or whose spouse is a descendant of, a Mexican, Japanese, Chinese, Mexican-Indian, AmericanIndian, Korean, Malay, Filipino, Negro or Hindu, or a person of any race other than the White or Caucasian Race.”

However, it does allow anyone from one of the aforementioned groups to be a

domestic servant and thus able to “remain temporarily and as an incident to their employment upon the premises where they are employed.”

Whether the restriction in her covenant referred to Jews obliquely by spelling out “White or Caucasian” is unclear. In the mid-20th century, when it was written, many Americans would not have considered Jews to be white. An anti-immigrant backlash led to Jews feeling like outsiders — “not-quite whites” or “off-whites,” according to historian Ellen Eisenberg in her 2023 book “Jewish Identities in the American West,” published by Brandeis University Press.

“This is the first time I’ve ever bought a home, and I read this and was upset even though I’m a lawyer and know it can’t be enforced,” Scharff told Jewish News.

Before this legislation passed, one would have to petition one’s neighbors to change the covenant, which is a lengthy and time-consuming process with an uncertain outcome.

“But this law allows me to remove it by myself,” she said. The problematic language has stayed in the back of her mind since she bought the house; thus, she is relieved to have the legislature’s help with this issue.

“I’ll use it as a way to teach my children the history of the United States and Arizona. Many people think that segregation happened only in other parts of our country, and in fact, segregation is part of Phoenix’s history. It’s important to know that, so this isn’t about erasure; it’s a teaching moment,” she said

This is Scharff’s first year on the JCRC board and part of what drew her there was the organization’s work in bringing communities together.

“JCRC has a deep understanding that discrimination can’t be fought or historically understood as just about one group. We are so much stronger when we support each other. I want to make Arizona an inclusive place where I raise my children,” she said. JN

For more information, visit jcrcphoenix.org

The Arizona Senate chamber at the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix. COURTESY OF GAGE SKIDMORE/CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTION-SHARE ALIKE 3.0

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Hebrew High scores passing grade for teaching Hebrew language, Jewish culture and hard conversations

SHANNON LEVITT | STAFF WRITER

Cookies, popcorn and colorful decorations — all typical Purim fare — awaited Hebrew High students as they filed into the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus in Scottsdale on March 19. Teens chatted, ate sweets and decorated masks to celebrate the Jewish holiday commemorating the survival of the Jewish people from a plot to destroy them.

Though costumes and masks are a mainstay of youthful Purim festivities, the reason behind the disguises often gets lost in the shuffle. However, Rabbi Aviva Funke, principal of Hebrew High, a program of the Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Phoenix, was intent on making the most of Purim’s themes of concealment and hidden messages to draw her students into a frank and, at times, difficult conversation about Israel and the war in Gaza.

Over the last few months, Funke has witnessed young Jews in her program struggling in silence, trying to decide what to think about Israel, the war in

Gaza and the ramifications for their own Jewish identity. Occasionally, they murmured something about feeling uncomfortable, stressed about being thought of only as a Jew, with no other identifying characteristics, worried that their Jewish identity might subsume everything else.

Even though the stress was written on their faces, the teens demurred when Funke asked them anything directly.

“Sometimes not talking just means, ‘I don’t feel comfortable talking about how the world perceives me in a negative way — it’s a downer,’” Funke told Jewish News. “Figuring out a way to have conversations that feel supportive to their psychology is a dance.”

Purim, full of hidden messages needing to be decoded, seemed like the perfect entry point. Thus, as the kids approached tables in the “hidden agenda” room, they found “triggering questions” written down alongside mask decorations.

While the kids worked, Funke and her partners for the night, Becca Norton of Jewish National Fund-USA (Funke’s

creative and financial collaborator for the event) and Rabbi Scott Segal, would quietly ask, “What does ‘from the river to the sea’ mean?”, “Is Israel an apartheid state?”, “Is ‘free Palestine’ antisemitic?” or “Can one simultaneously be pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian?” Then, the adults stood back and let the kids start to talk.

Segal praised the way the questions were phrased, suggesting “room for a spectrum of thoughts and opinions, as opposed to those that might indicate or assume a particular point of view.”

The idea was to plant the question and

Hebrew High students make masks and discuss some of their hard and, until now, hidden questions about current events on March 19. COURTESY OF HEBREW HIGH

Legacy Celebration! 2024

There was so much to celebrate on April 10!

We welcome our newest signers to the Endowment Book of Life:

Gail and Michael Baer

Leith and Judy Baletin

Sherry Mara Cohen

Alison and Michael Feinberg

Sheryl and Richard Quen

Judy and Howard Rosen

Robert S. Young Family Foundation

Congratulations to our Life & Legacy® Community Partners for securing 990 legacy commitments with an estimated future value of $70 million!

Arizona Jewish Historical Society

Beth El Phoenix

Beth Joseph Congregation

Bureau of Jewish Education

Center for Jewish Philanthropy

Congregation Or Tzion

East Valley JCC

Gesher Disability Resources

Hillel at ASU

Jewish Family & Children’s Service

Jewish Free Loan

Minko Center for Jewish Genetics

National Council of Jewish Women Arizona

Pardes Jewish Day School

Temple Chai

Temple Emanuel of Tempe

Temple Kol Ami

Valley Beit Midrash

Valley of the Sun JCC

Yeshiva High School of Arizona

HEBREW HIGH

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

see what happens, Funke said. “What ended up happening was incredible!”

Suddenly, the same kids who had displayed reticence only a week earlier started talking about what they saw on TikTok or heard from their peers, bits and pieces of information, some of it incomplete and some just completely wrong.

“Our ‘hidden agenda’ uncovered some of the misinformation that many teens were holding onto and questions they had but didn’t think they had the right to ask. This disguised room was the key to letting them ask their hidden questions,” Funke said.

“This program reinforced for me above all else is that we, as a community, need to create more spaces for our teens (and, honestly, adults too) to engage in conversations about Israel and the Palestinians that reflect the depth and complexity of the conflict,” Segal told Jewish News in an email.

By 9 p.m., the kids are usually ready to leave. But that night, they wanted to keep talking. One teen even said it was the best night of Hebrew High she’d ever had.

Lainey Moskowitz, 14, a freshman at Scottsdale’s Horizon High School and self-described extrovert, agreed that the event was a success in drawing out many of the more introverted students. Though

she has no problems offering her opinions on various topics, she was interested to hear what others thought.

“We spent a while talking about whether a ceasefire could happen and what the results would be. We all want a ceasefire but everyone has a different point of view on how it should happen,” she told Jewish News.

Moskowitz surmised that it was easier for people to talk because they could also focus on their masks.

“The combination of things was calming. It was just having a conversation like in school. It wasn’t exactly like background noise, but it felt like you could open up because you were focusing on two things,” she said.

Funke started as principal in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and was immediately faced with a number of challenges. Yet, one helpful thing was the pausing of the accreditation process, which allowed her a couple of years to settle in before the rigorous eight-month process began in earnest last spring.

To begin with, Funke had to explain and evaluate all the classwork, projects and programs that she’s implemented over the last few years. She surveyed the students, parents and staff on the effectiveness of what’s being taught, how problems are being addressed and whether the resources and training are

in place.

Cognia, the accrediting company, evaluated Hebrew High on 30 standards, such as content material, meeting accessibility, accommodating learning needs, professional development and more. Funke praised Cognia’s organizational structure, which she said made a very difficult and time-consuming process as intuitive and straightforward as possible.

“Student programming at Hebrew High participates in a rigorous re-accreditation process that provides opportunities for stakeholders to reflect, collaborate and analyze data to honestly examine the program and determine what steps the school can take to improve student outcomes,” said Krista Anderson, director of Cognia’s mountain region.

“The process is designed to show that we are a growing, evolving, present-toour-community-needs entity,” Funke said.

“Rabbi Aviva knows and understands her campus. She understands the value of education and how it should work in concert with Hebrew culture and faith,” Cognia’s regional accreditation evaluator Frances (Totsy) McCraley told Jewish News in an email.

Accreditation allows every student attending Hebrew High classes to receive course credit. Hebrew High sends a letter to the schools verifying it is fully accredited, meaning it has been evaluated by Cognia and its courses qualify for a high school transcript. Cognia is the same company that certifies several of the state’s public schools.

Anderson admires “Funke’s commitment to ensuring that the foreign language program offered at Hebrew High of Greater Phoenix meets Cognia’s high standards and engages authentically in the re-accreditation process,” she told Jewish News in an email.

The next accreditation process is in three years, but in the interim Cognia isn’t going away, something Funke views as a plus. Though the work was demanding, even tedious at times, the feedback is invaluable.

“Cognia is not looking for perfection,

a great lesson to those of us in education who sometimes just want to achieve A pluses, as if we can be perfect. Growth is the real lesson, just as it is in Torah learning,” she said.

Identifying one’s weaknesses gives one room to grow. Figuring out what’s not working and why is nothing to be ashamed of, she said. Instead, a program that only resembles “a shiny and perfect social media post,” in the starkest terms, “lacks a soul.” Thus, Funke and her staff are going to keep asking what’s working and what can be improved.

While Hebrew language learning has always been a core part of the program, there are also elective classes, which seek to educate Jewish teens on Jewish culture. Cognia called those classes among Hebrew High’s strongest assets.

“It’s not just about teaching the language of Hebrew, but it’s about the culture; it’s about the people; it’s about the rhythm and the music and the food that makes a culture thrive,” Funke said.

This is Moskowitz’s first year at Hebrew High and she loves it. Initially, she was a bit skeptical thinking, “It might be boring like Hebrew school, but after my first month, I realized it was great,” she said.

She hangs out with her Hebrew High friends outside of school and loves going to her cooking elective every week.

“I would love to see Hebrew High grow and expand, and I want to be a part of it,” she said.

When the accreditation process began, Funke assumed she would be told to focus on Hebrew homework, but what she heard instead was that she should keep having “well-rounded conversations and programs that support the well-being of your students.” As she told the students on March 19, that’s exactly what she plans to do.

“I’m proud of these programs because they help develop a strong Jewish identity and that is the goal of Hebrew High,” she said. JN

Registration for Hebrew High is now open for 2024/25. For more information, go to bjephoenix. formstack.com/forms/hhphx_registration.

Renee ‘Lovey’ Borenstein, matriarch of local restaurant brand, dies at 89

Renee “Lovey’’ Borenstein’s Arizona legacy began when the Borenstein family — Lou, Lovey, Mark, Neal and Wendy — moved to Greater Phoenix from Queens in 1978. A year later, they opened Chompie’s Bagel Factory at 32nd Street and Shea Boulevard in Phoenix to educate Arizonans on the finer points of New York Jewish cuisine.

When the family opened the original restaurant on Feb. 14, 1979, bagels were a novelty in the desert.

“People in Arizona really did not know what a bagel was.” Lovey Borenstein told Jewish News in a 2009 interview. “They would come in and say, ‘Can I get six of those chocolate-covered donuts?’ And they were looking at the pumpernickel bagels.”

Borenstein died on April 4, 2024, shy of her 90th birthday on April 22.

The customers who were familiar with the type of food Chompie’s served were generally delighted to find old favorites so far from home. In a 2004 Jewish News interview, Borenstein recalled one memorable day when a New York native discovered the restaurant.

“It was a tearful, memorable thing,” she said. “There was this poor guy who lived in Arizona for 30 years, and he came in one day and he was looking at the board, and he said, ‘You make egg creams? You make egg creams and you use Fox’s U-Bet chocolate syrup? I’ve been out of New York 30 years, and I haven’t had an egg cream in 30 years!’ He actually sat down on the floor and started to cry. He was bawling. I went in the back and made him a big frothy chocolate egg cream.”

“Mom could cook anything,” said her daughter, Wendy Borenstein-Tucker, during that same interview in 2004. “She was an amazing cook, my grandmothers were awesome cooks, and we have great family recipes from the past, which we adopted at Chompie’s.”

From that first location, the company expanded to multiple locations in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Chandler and Glendale and offers a wide array of bakery, deli and breakfast, lunch and dinner items as well as full-service catering. Chompie’s bagels and breads can be found in many grocery store chains in Arizona, California, New Mexico,

Colorado, Nevada, Utah and even Canada. In 2019, JRI Hospitality became a partner in the Chompie’s brand.

Beyond her role as a restaurateur, Borenstein was a beacon of warmth and hospitality and welcomed everyone with open arms once they crossed the threshold of her establishment.

“For decades, Chompie’s guests could expect a visit from Lovey at their tableside as they dined. She graciously made her way through the restaurant, chatting with customers, offering a friendly face and ensuring their meal met their satisfaction.

“In honor of Lovey and the impression she left on so many, the Borenstein family is committed to carrying on the Chompie’s tradition in Lovey’s name, treating every patron with the same care that Lovey has shown since 1979,” the company said in a statement after her passing.

“Lovey loved everyone. Our one-ofa-kind mother, grandmother and greatgrandmother was the heart and soul of Chompie’s. She was renowned for making each and every customer, employee, vendor and supporter feel like they were a

member of our family. To her, they absolutely were.” said Frank Lara, director of marketing at JRI Hospitality and a 42-year employee of Chompie’s.

“Although Lovey is no longer with us in person,” he added. “Her presence will always be felt through every detail in the restaurants and every bagel and egg cream enjoyed by our loyal community.”

Borenstein leaves behind her loving husband of 71 years, Louis P. Borenstein; her three children, Wendy BorensteinTucker (Michael Venere), Mark Borenstein (Mona) and Neal Borenstein (Shirli); as well as her six grandchildren and five greatgrandchildren.

On Sunday, April 21, the Borenstein family will host a celebration of life reception in Lovey Borenstein’s honor. It will be held at Chompie’s at 3212 E. Cactus Road in Phoenix from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Guests are welcome to share their stories of Lovey and Chompie’s and enjoy appetizers and desserts. JN

For more information, visit chompies.com.

Lovey Borenstein COURTESY OF CHOMPIE’S

Survivors of Oct. 7 share their stories at ASU

On a typical Monday night at Arizona State University (ASU), students might be studying, partying or sleeping, but on Monday, April 8, a group of ASU students gathered at the Olami ASU house in Tempe to hear the stories of four brave Israelis and how they survived and reacted to the events of Oct. 7.

The event was sponsored by Olami, a global community whose #zerotolerance program aims to bring awareness and combat antisemitism by empowering college students across America. It was co-sponsored by Olami Arizona and Chabad at ASU. Three Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reservists and one Oct. 7 survivor stopped at ASU as part of the program’s tour across college campuses to share their stories and speak with students about life in a country currently at war.

Sagy Amar, a 26-year-old lone solider from Potomac, Maryland, was the only speaker not originally from Israel. He spoke of the many people he knew who had been killed during Hamas’ massacre beyond the Israel-Gaza border.

“There’s no person in Israel who doesn’t know someone who was killed

on Oct. 7 and the events after it,” Amar reflected.

He had been in the reserves when the conflict broke out and went on to serve in the Israel-Gaza war for four-and-ahalf months. He spoke of how the war affects not only the soldiers on the front lines but also their families, communities, coworkers and more.

“It affects everyone,” he said.

YOM HASHOAH COMMEMORATION

MONDAY, MAY 6 | 6 P.M.

Opening reception with light refreshments: 5:30 p.m. East Valley JCC, 908 N. Alma School Road, Chandler 85224

VOICES SILENCED: MUSIC FROM THE HOLOCAUST

A lecture-recital featuring piano duets by three composers who were killed in the Holocaust. Presented by Hannah Creviston and Baruch Meir.

FEATURED SPEAKER

Björn Krondorfer, director of the Martin-Springer Institute at Northern Arizona University.

Yoni Kotzer is a student at Hebrew University in Israel. He was also on the front lines in the reserves for more than four months after his unit was called in post-Oct. 7. He detailed the fear that comes with being a soldier and experiencing war for the first time.

“On Oct. 8, I discovered I was afraid of death,” he stated as he described an incident that had happened around Chanukah where a mortar shell fell right where he had just been sitting moments before.

“What really shocked me was the simplicity of it, that me and my friend could be dead.”

Kotzer described how his family is connected to the land, with his grandfather having been killed during the 1967 SixDay War, and how that connection gave him a different perspective on this war. Right before his mission ended, two of his friends were killed. One left behind a daughter the same age as Kotzer’s father had been when his grandfather was killed, which impacted Kotzer deeply.

“Please do not let those fears beat you; do not give up because of those fears. Yes, it’s a horrible time but we will survive it,” he said. “We are ancient people who survived a lot and are still here.”

rocket fire and help in whatever way she could. On her way there, she passed one of the roads with mass casualties after being attacked by Hamas terrorists.

“The burnt smell you can’t forget,” she said.

She worked as an assistant medical officer, describing the difficulty when ordered to treat Hamas members for injuries. Ultimately, Barzel is hopeful that Israel will come out on top.

“I feel that Jewish people have suffered and I think that, unfortunately, we will keep suffering (but) we are strong,” she declared. “We’re here to stay.”

Ayala Hovroni, originally from Haifa, is a student in Israel who was visiting a friend in the Gaza envelope on Oct. 7. She recounted how they hid in a neighbor’s house and watched in horror as they started getting information online about what was happening in cities around them. At one point, she told her friend she would rather die than be taken hostage in Gaza.

Hovroni stressed the miracle she felt happened, explaining how they were originally supposed to attend the Supernova music festival but changed their minds at the last minute. She described how her friend didn’t go to synagogue that week, which may have saved his life.

“I could have been here or there, or not at all,” she said.

Hovroni also decided to keep Shabbat that weekend, although she typically didn’t do so. She attributes that commitment to her survival.

“I truly believe that something we did, we did right.”

Hovroni has kept Shabbat every week since that fateful day, as a means of thanks and representation of the faith that saved her.

“On Oct. 7, I chose my Judaism again,” she stated.

Free, reservations required at evjcc.org/yomhashoah

Alona Barzel, a 25-year-old student, served as a medical officer in the IDF for seven years. She was at her home in Israel on Oct. 7 when she heard the initial sirens. She says there was a realization that something was wrong after an unusual number of rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza.

“We didn’t expect them to get inside Israel,” she recalled.

She remembers calling a soldier in the medical operations room at the Re’im base near the Gaza border to check on the situation and was told there were too many injured soldiers to help. From her hiding spot in a bomb shelter with her family, Barzel chose to go directly into

All four of the speakers stressed how grateful they were that people showed up to hear their stories and urged the students to be proud of their Judaism.

When the event concluded, a student asked the panelists how people in America, especially young people, could help with the war effort from across the world.

“Your posts on Instagram help me.” Amar explained. “For me, this is empowerment. I see everyone here wearing a Magen David and I feel empowered.” JN

For more information, visit olami.org.

Shira Tanzer is a freelance writer living in Scottsdale.

The four speakers posed with the group of students attending the Olami event at ASU. COURTESY OF SHIRA TANZER

Pickleball at Valley of the Sun JCC is more than just exercise; it’s community

MALA BLOMQUIST | MANAGING EDITOR

The Bachus Family Pickleball Center at the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center (VOSJCC) in Scottsdale has only been open since February, but it’s already seen a lot of action. In addition to a professional exhibition match and daily play, “The Spring Swing Pickleball Tournament,” held on Sunday, March 17, brought out 24 players who competed in two divisions, intermediate and advanced.

“The response was great,” said Daniel Barelli, sports director at the VOSJCC. “Members and players loved having a tournament and requested many more for the future.” He said plans are in the works for hosting a variety of tournaments including youth, family and special events.

Part of the VOSJCC’s capital campaign, the new center is located where two original pickleball courts used to be. However, they couldn’t be used because they faced the wrong direction, didn’t have permanent nets and the surface had become cracked and uneven from the elements.

“By putting them in the right direction, we could actually have an additional court,” said Jay Jacobs, VOSJCC CEO.

“There are three courts with five families involved. The Bachus family named the pickleball center; then you have the Markson family, Kort family and Handwerker family, each named one of

the courts, and the Sckolnik family named the pickleball patio.”

Before the center opened, players used the indoor basketball court and will continue to do so, especially when the weather gets too hot to play outside. Jacobs admitted he doesn’t play

Turn to Sharsheret for support … and hope.

To learn more about Sharsheret resources, visit Sharsheret.org/mbc or scan the QR code

The ribbon cutting at the Bachus Family Pickleball Center. From left to right, Sharyl Noeh, Sheila Handwerker, Lori Markson, Barry Markson, Dan Bachus, Riley Bachus, Tiffani Bachus, Emily Bachus, Bryan Kort and Michelle Kort.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

pickleball, but all the families involved participate in the sport. “It’s just amazing how people step up and help us do what we need to do,” he said.

“Tiffani and I are so excited that we could play a part in the beautiful new pickleball courts at the JCC,” said Dan Bachus. “Our family has been playing pickleball for over 15 years, and it is such a great game. It is a good way to get exercise, very social and all ages can play together.”

Sheila Handwerker agreed with the

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social aspect of the game. She has been playing for nine years.

“I’ve made wonderful friends playing at The J and it’s really been a major part of my life,” she said. “Everyone plays with each other, no matter your age, and you really feel part of a community. For those reasons, I wanted to donate the court in honor of the pickleball program.”

The feeling of community attracted Harold Yahr to pickleball when he and his wife moved to Arizona in October 2021 and were looking to meet people. With the addition of the new courts and more players, Yahr and Leslie Pinkelman were asked to be co-chairs for the committee in charge of building the pickleball program.

“We’ve had a number of meetings and we’re trying to add more structure and thought to the program,” said Yahr. “We try to tailor it to beginners, immediate and advanced players so everybody feels like they’re getting a good experience.”

At their first meeting, Pinkelman discovered she had a past connection to Jacobs and Yahr.

“When we met, Jay said, ‘You know, the three of us went to the same high school, right?’” Jacobs, Pinkelman and Yahr all grew up in Pittsburgh and attended Taylor Allderdice High School. “I was like, oh my God! That’s so crazy, here we are across the country,” she said.

Pinkelman had been introduced to

pickleball while living in California, and when she moved to Arizona in 2014, she saw a sign for a pickleball clinic at the VOSJCC and signed up.

“I didn’t know anybody when I came to Scottsdale, and I threw myself a 60th birthday party a year and a half ago and invited 100 people and 80 of them were from pickleball,” she said.

With the increase in players at the new center, she had the idea to post volunteer “pickleball ambassadors” at the courts to welcome new members and answer questions.

“Every day, there’s an ambassador there from 7:30 to 9 a.m. to greet people, answer any questions, help people use the paddle system (the queue for players waiting for an open court) and make it a more enjoyable and positive experience and to make sure everybody’s getting their needs met,” she said.

Personally, Pinkelman said she gets her Jewish cultural, religious and community needs met through her pickleball friends. She attended High Holiday services before the pandemic with fellow players and received invitations to Passover seders and Chanukah parties.

Yahr knew only four people in Scottsdale when he moved here. “When I started playing pickleball, I immediately added 25 new friends,” he said. “I met a fellow who invited me to his golf foursome. So,

I started golfing with some of the guys. It exploded my social life, which is really fun.”

He also enjoys the competition, having competed in racquetball for 40 years, but admitted he was intimidated the first time he stepped on a pickleball court. He is glad the ambassadors are there “to bridge that gap” for someone new to the game.

Pinkelman said that the VOSJCC is considering some one-time skills clinics for serving or improving shots in addition to its classes for beginners and intermediate players that are already offered.

She said her favorite part of pickleball is the multigenerational aspect of the game.

“I play with a 92-year-old woman who’s out there hitting shots, then there are moms who drop their kids off at school and we have a college kid in his 20s who comes with his mom,” she said. “Everybody can do it and that increases the richness of the social aspect because you’re not just with your own particular demographic and that, to me, is a wonderful experience to get to meet people of all ages.”

She works part-time as a behavioral health therapist, spending her mornings at the VOSJCC and seeing clients in the afternoon and evenings. “It’s a nice balance. I feel very fortunate.” JN

For more information, visit vosjcc.org/program/ pickleball.

Celebration of Achievement

Celebrating Cohort 8

Honoring Rabbi Elana Kanter and Laura Drachler

Welcoming Rabbi Emily Langowitz and Cohort 9

Tuesday, May 7, 2024

VOSJCC Outdoor Amphitheater

12701 N. Scottsdale Rd.

6:00pm-8:00pm

Reception, Celebration Ceremony & Program

Lindsay Hampshire

Jena Olgin

Nicole Perilstein

Shelly Rahav

Amber Sampson Mentees

Sophie Rehrig

Molly Reuben

Julie Runnels

Made possible, in part, by a grant from the Center for Jewish Philanthropy

To Register: www.tinyurl.com/WLIcelebrate

THIS PASSOVER , ELIJAH’S WON’T BE THE ONLY EMPTY SEAT AT THE TABLE.

As we celebrate the seder, we remember those who should still be with us. Some of those seats belong to Magen David Adom medics, who gave their lives trying to save others. Your donation provides the equipment MDA needs so that next year only Elijah’s seat may be empty.

Join the effort at afmda.org or call 866.632.2763.

Newest Phoenix City Council member is Jewish

Carlos Galindo-Elvira became the newest member of the Phoenix City Council on Tuesday, April 9. The Council appointed him to the District 7 seat following the departure of Yassamin Ansari, who vacated it to campaign for a congressional race.

Galindo-Elvira is currently the director of community engagement at Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC), an organization that fights discrimination against Mexican Americans. He was previously the AntiDefamation League’s (ADL) regional director in Arizona and is also on the board of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Phoenix.

When he heard about the vacant seat, eligible for any resident of District 7, he was the first to submit a letter of intent and resume.

“If you want to help repair the world, you have to participate in it,” GalindoElvira told Jewish News. “This is an opportunity to benefit the hardworking families of District 7 and do my part, as someone who is Jewish, to help repair the world.”

He hopes to tackle four main policy issues: public safety, heat resiliency, the unhoused population and parks and recreation. With summer just around the corner, heat is where he’s starting.

“Since 65% of my time in office will take place at the hottest time of the year, I want to be on the forefront to ensure residents of District 7 have the right resources and information to combat the heat,” he said.

ADL-sponsored anti-swatting bill becomes law in Arizona

On Tuesday, April 9, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs signed anti-swatting legislation designed to strengthen accountability for anyone targeting education and religious institutions, including the state’s synagogues.

House Bill 2508, sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), passed the state legislature last week.

ADL Community Manager Sarah Kader praised Arizona’s governor and legislature for their “tremendous leadership in ensuring that Arizona’s laws keep up with new extremist threats.”

Republican Representative Matt Gress sponsored the bill in the House because it’s “not just about dangerous behavior. It’s about law enforcement and emer-

AZ Board of Ed names Jewish senior as March’s student of the month

Charlie Kanarish, a senior at Paradise Valley’s The Jones-Gordon School, was named the March Student of the Month by the Arizona State Board of Education. Kanarish currently serves as the student body president.

The Student of the Month distinction acknowledges a student’s character, quality and achievements. The State Board of Education recognized Kanarish at its March meeting.

Kanarish is a member of Scottsdale’s Congregation Beth Israel, where he became a bar mitzvah.

“I’m thankful to everyone who helped me reach where I am now. I would not have the skills I have now without my family and teachers. They have taught me to put myself out there and work efficiently and persistently,” Kanarish told Jewish News in an email.

“Charlie, as a student and president of

He publicly promised not to run for a full four-year term in November’s regular election.

“I felt compelled to raise my hand to serve but I didn’t want to do it for an extended period,” he said. “This was a nice way to jump in, do some good work and then give the next elected person the keys to the office and say, ‘Be bold and do good.’”

Although he won’t hold the seat long, he recognizes he will likely have to make some difficult decisions and he draws strength from the first chapter and ninth verse of the Book of Joshua: “Be Strong and of good courage.”

“I take those words to heart and I want to do that for the residents of District 7.”

Galindo-Elvira also promised to protect

gency response resources and readiness,” he said in a press release.

Swatting is the false reporting of an emergency to have a police unit or emergency response team deployed to a location. It is increasingly being used as a digital harassment tactic and can result in injuries, trauma and even fatalities.

According to ADL data, since July 21,

the student body, epitomizes the foundational values of our school — creativity, curiosity, courage, resilience, mindfulness and kindness,” noted Dana Herzberg, founder and head of school at The JonesGordon School. “This honor serves as a well-deserved accolade for his exceptional dedication and academic prowess.”

Kanarish is expected to receive the AP Capstone Diploma in May and will attend Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona

Congregation Beth Israel volunteers to support families experiencing homelessness

In partnership with Family Promise of Greater Phoenix (Family Promise), Congregation Beth Israel (CBI) recently volunteered to provide shelter and meals for local families experiencing homelessness. With the support of community members in the congregation, CBI set up temporary shelters at its facility to host families overnight and prepared dinner for the families every night of the week. While staying at the congregation, families also participated in activities like games, crafts, movie nights and more.

“I have always understood homelessness to be a serious problem but never figured out how I could really make a difference. Family Promise does more than help families in need. Our CBI volunteers may get more out of the experience than the families. It feels awesome to be a part

of this joint effort to provide meaningful support to people who really need the extra help to get back on their feet,” said Michael Baer, chair of the Tikkun Olam Committee of the CBI Mensch Club.

“Our goal at Family Promise is to keep families together as they navigate difficult times in their lives. Keeping children with their parents and pets reduces the risk that they find themselves without a home in the future,” said Family Promise CEO Ted Taylor. “Volunteer community organizations like Congregation Beth Israel make it possible for us to positively impact many families across the Valley. We couldn’t be more thankful for their continued support and service.”

Family Promise relies on its interfaith network of volunteer religious congregations to shelter and feed the families it

the nonpartisan seat on the Council, assist all residents regardless of party affiliation and to reinvest his salary into local nonprofit agencies, excluding CPLC, in his district.

“Tzedakah is important to me,” he said. JN

2023, over 65 institutions in 14 states have been swatted, including over a dozen in Arizona.

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office assisted ADL with the legislation, which Kader was grateful for.

“This bill is a foundational approach as we continue to make Arizona a safer place for all,” Kader said in a press release. JN

State University in the fall on a presidential scholarship. Kanarish volunteers for Miracle League of Arizona, an adaptive baseball program for children and adults with special needs. JN

serves while the nonprofit organization assists these families on their journey back to self-sufficiency. The communitybased model of sheltering families at these congregations reduces overhead costs so Family Promise can magnify its impact. Through the Family Promise program, parents are provided with resources designed to help families find sustainable jobs and permanent housing while the children attend school.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing, homelessness has been a growing issue in Maricopa County — increasing 23% over the past three years. Experiencing homelessness can have a significant impact on families — particularly for children. The National Alliance to End Homelessness reports that children facing housing insecurity are at a higher

risk of emotional and behavioral problems, serious health complications, lower academic performance and are more likely to experience homelessness in the future. CBI, along with other religious congregations in Maricopa County, is working with Family Promise to help families transition into permanent housing.

At the beginning of the year, Family Promise set a goal to aid 165 families in 2024 by utilizing their program for independent housing and self-sufficiency. The organization has also assisted families in avoiding placement in shelter systems through their preventative programming. JN

For more information, visit FamilyPromiseAZ. org.

Carlos Galindo-Elvira, Phoenix City Council’s newest member, stands with Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego. COURTESY OF CITY OF PHOENIX

Charlie Kanarish COURTESY OF THE JONES-GORDON SCHOOL

Passing the torch: Preserving Passover traditions

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s Passover approaches, Jewish families worldwide gear up for the annual Passover Seder, a gathering steeped in rich tradition, rituals and symbolism. Given the current situation in Israel, and the challenges faced by Jews globally, it’s anticipated that more Jews will celebrate Passover this year than in many decades past.

At the heart of this celebration lies a profound commitment to passing down the stories, rituals and values of the holiday from one generation to the next. In an era marked by rapid change and cultural shifts, the role of education in preserving Passover traditions and our Jewish identities has never been more crucial.

From the youngest child reciting the

OPINION

Commentary

Four Questions to the eldest recounting tales of liberation and redemption, Passover is a time when families come together to transmit the richness of our Jewish heritage. Yet, this transmission of knowledge does not occur in isolation; it requires intentional efforts to educate and engage each generation in the significance of the holiday and Jewish way of life as prescribed in the Torah.

Education plays a central role in ensuring that the traditions of Passover endure for future generations. Through storytelling, song and interactive rituals, our children and students learn about the history of the holiday and its relevance to their lives today. They discover the meaning behind symbols like matzah, maror and the Seder plate, gaining a deeper appreciation for the journey at the heart of Passover.

Beyond the family table, educational institutions also play a vital role in transmitting Jewish traditions to young learners. Schools, shuls and community organizations offer a wealth of resources, from holiday-themed curricula to interactive workshops, designed

to engage students in the richness of Jewish heritage.

In today’s interconnected world, technology provides new avenues for education and engagement around Passover traditions. Virtual Seder experiences, interactive apps and multimedia resources allow families to explore the holiday innovatively, connecting with other Jews worldwide.

Education also empowers individuals to make Passover their own, adapting traditions to reflect their unique experiences and perspectives. As long as it complements and enhances our age-old traditions and is within Jewish law, and not in contradiction to them, each generation ads its fresh voice to the Passover story.

As we prepare to celebrate Passover, let’s rededicate ourselves to the task of education, ensuring that the flame of tradition continues to burn brightly for generations to come. Let’s embrace the opportunity to pass down the torch of our Jewish heritage, instilling in our children a deep sense of pride, belonging and connection to the

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timeless rituals of the holiday and the Torah.

In doing so, we honor the legacy of our ancestors, who entrusted us with the sacred task of preserving Passover for future generations. We forge bonds of continuity and resilience, ensuring that the story of liberation and redemption is never forgotten but rather passed down from one generation to the next, a beacon of hope and inspiration for all.

As we approach this Passover, I urge you to delve deeper into the Torah and Jewish teachings, to seek out new and age-old insights and share them with those around you. Let’s make this Passover not just a celebration but a meaningful journey of discovery and connection.

May G-d protect our brothers and sisters in Israel, may the hostages return home safely. Wishing you a happy, kosher and meaningful Passover. JN

Losing Judaism’s nuances on abortion with extreme ban

Imust honestly say, the question of what a Jewish reaction to the upholding of the 19th-century abortion ban this week and making it into law should be is a hard one, and I am still working through emotions, thoughts and what would be the right thing to say.

As an egalitarian woman and rabbi, I feel that the precious treasures of our democracy, the right to make your own choices and freedom and equal and inclusive access to opportunity are more and more under threat. I also worry that in our deliberations over important topics for our societal health, we are regressing to bullying, polarization and are losing more nuanced and bipartisan problem-solving skills in our society.

I am truly concerned about losing a healthy, functioning democracy.

While I don’t care how old a law is — after all, we use and enact plenty of laws that are even older than this abortion ban — ancient laws in Judaism, from roughly 1,500 years ago, already recognize that a fetus can harm the mother. And therefore, there can be

legitimate scenarios in which an abortion is needed and warranted, even until late into the pregnancy.

What is important to me in today’s discussion is to remind everyone that while abortion is possible and not criminal, Judaism is also life-affirming. The Talmud already speaks about that each couple should procreate and have at least two children. Judaism loves children, has a positive outlook on sexuality that does no harm and the dignity of every human being is a core value.

However, Talmudic law recognizes that the real obligation to procreate falls only on the male and that a woman’s body cannot be obligated to procreate at the same level since pregnancy can involve real risks and dangers to her life and body. So, it puts the burden of procreation on the male, encouraging couples to be intimate in a safe and sacred setting of a committed relationship but, if need be, on a case-by-case basis, abortion has always been possible by Jewish law.

The fact that it is not criminalized (i.e., in religious speech it is not a sin or transgres-

sion but a basic option) makes it possible — even if we do not use it often — to create a private and safe frame that permits the couple, or the women and medical professionals, to come to the best solution for each woman’s specific situation.

Jewish law also takes into consideration psychological, medical and societal factors that not only constitute an immediate threat to the mother’s life, but could be a threat to her well being that develops down the road as the pregnancy progresses or in extreme cases, even if the actual birth ends up seriously threatening the mother further in the future.

In Jewish law, as long as the fetus has not emerged from the mother’s womb and breathes on its own, it still can be considered like a limb, which, if it endangers the mother’s life, can be “amputated.” At the same time, Jewish law does not take abortion lightly! Yet, if needed, it will be possible to perform.

I find that Jewish law holds a nuanced way of giving a woman the needed space

We are a diverse community. The views expressed in these opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the views of the

Philanthropy, Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix, Cleveland Jewish Publication Company or the staff of the Jewish

should be a maximum of 200 words. They may be edited for space and

and boards

to decide not based on fear, but based on thinking about the real-life consequences her decision will have — and a right to decide with the support of her community.

I think it doesn’t help to criminalize medical providers or the mothers. Coming from a Jewish perspective, I firmly believe that it is our obligation to build societal and medical care that encourages the preservation of unborn life and gives the mother real options to that care, opportunities and a network of social services available to help raise that child with opportunities to thrive if she decides to bring a child into the world. At the same time, we also need to be prepared that medical staff and the mother can feel free and safe to choose to terminate a pregnancy in a medically safe way, if this will be the better outcome for the mother.

I think we owe it to our society to give pregnant women, who struggle with the question, our utmost support to come to a decision that is best for their wellbeing. JN

Rabbi Yossi Levertov is the director at Chabad of Scottsdale and dean of the new Yeshiva high school in Scottsdale.

JewishAZ.com,

RABBI YOSSI LEVERTOV

PARSHAH METZORA: LEVITICUS

RABBI NITZAN STEIN-KOKIN

Rabbi Nitzan Stein-Kokin is the spiritual leader of Beth El Congregation in Phoenix.

Rabbi Yossi Levertov COURTESY OF RABBI YOSSI LEVERTOV

Inside 10 new haggadahs for 2024: America and Israel take their places at the seder table

PHILISSA CRAMER, PENNY SCHWARTZ | JTA

The creators of new Passover Haggadahs focused on Zionism and American patriotism were working on their projects long before Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked Israel and triggered a war in Gaza and a broad reckoning over both Israel and the place of Jews in the United States. Now, the Haggadahs arrive at a time when the current crisis is certain to be a looming presence at seder tables across the Jewish world when Passover begins the evening of April 22.

A range of Haggadah supplements focused squarely on Oct. 7 have also become available in recent weeks, as Jewish leaders aim to help families talk about the attack and its aftermath during their Seders.

But the Haggadah marketplace goes far beyond the current moment, and not all of the new entrants to the Seder scene this year are so serious: There are also parody Haggadahs inspired by Star Wars and the Jewish filmmaker and comedian Mel Brooks, as well as two new books designed for families with young children and new

efforts from longtime suppliers of Jewish ritual texts.

Here are 10 Haggadahs to freshen up your Seder this year or in the future.

For American patriots

Exactly when the traditional Haggadah text was finalized isn’t known, but it was at least 1,400 years before anyone featured in “The Promise of Liberty: A Passover Haggada” was even born. The book — by two history buffs, Yeshiva University official Rabbi Stuart Halpern and healthcare executive Jacob Kupietzky — draws parallels between the Exodus story and the founding of the United States. It also includes examples of Americans over time who have taken inspiration from Moses, including Harriet Tubman, who led enslaved Black people to freedom through the Underground Railroad.

For the Zionist — or the doubter Marvin Chinitz, a physician in suburban New York City, first envisioned a haggadah focused on the modern state of Israel

because he was dissatisfied with the Israel education at his children’s Jewish day school. “The Chinitz Zion Haggadah” arrives at a time when Zionism is perhaps more hotly contested than ever before, with the Israel-Hamas war triggering both vociferous pro-Israel and anti-Israel activity. The book contains both the traditional text and commentaries that aim to “transform the connection of our seder from the story of God and the Israelites to the story of God and modern Israel.” Chinitz says he sought to keep the book apolitical, opting for questions over didacticism, and believes the book could be especially helpful for brokering a peaceful seder for families — like his own, he says — where not everyone identifies as a Zionist.

For those who want to incorporate Oct. 7 into their seder This year’s Passover will be the first since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel reshaped the Jewish world. A range of supplements aim to shape and ease the way the trauma

is reflected at the seder table. One, in Hebrew, was produced by Israeli rabbis, some with a connection to the crisis. Another came from rabbis at the nondenominational Academy for Jewish Religion in the United States, while the Reform movement has released its own. And anyone who has picked up the Kveller Haggadah from our families-focused sister site over the last four years since it was published will want to sign up to get the Oct. 7 supplement with seven ways to address the crisis at their seders.

Rabbinical seminaries in Israel and the U.S. are producing Haggadah supplements to help Jewish communities navigate the trauma of Oct. 7 during the Passover Seder. JTA ILLUSTRATION BY GRACE YAGEL

HAGGADAHS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

For visual storytellers (and Hebrew speakers)

An Israeli artist collective known as Asufa has for the last decade put out a Haggadah featuring colorful and sometimes edgy illustrations by a slew of up-and-coming artists. After a 10th anniversary edition last year that included English, this year’s version is back to all Hebrew. But some of the images, including ones that show a soldier and his wife embracing and Red Cross ambulances bringing freed hostages back to Israel, reflect this year’s collective traumas — and that needs no translation.

For fans of a ‘Darth Seder’

From the author of haggadahs about emojis, Seinfeld, Shakespeare and COVID-19 comes a new one for anyone with a passion for Star Wars, the sci-fi franchise that has populated film, television, gaming and merch for nearly 50 years. Martin Bodek is a historian of the Haggadah, and his new “This Haggadah is The Way: A Star Wars Unofficial Passover Parody” preserves the traditional text but has fun with the English translation, referring to matzah as “polystarch puffbread” and asking, “Why is this galaxy different from all other

galaxies?” Bodek omitted any footnotes to help readers understand the allusions, writing, “Either you’ll catch my blitz of references because of your extreme nerdery, or you’ll look it up because of your excessive dorkery. If you can’t or won’t do either, then this isn’t the book you’re looking for, now is it?”

For Mel Brooks fans

Another spoof Haggadah comes from Dave Cowen, who has pilloried “Seinfeld,” Kanye West and the last two U.S. presidents in his previous outings. This year’s Mel Brooks-inspired version doesn’t aim to stand alone at the seder table, but it does include parts for Brooks — who speaks as Moses, whom he played in “History of the World Part I” — and his frequent comedy collaborators, including Carl Reiner and Gene Wilder. The zany text also grapples with current events, sketching out a debate among comics about the propriety of a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and alluding to declining support for Israel among younger demographics. “Can we at least try to come up with something, a parody song ‘Karpas for…’ based on ‘Springtime for Hitler,’ that would satisfy both sides of this political and generational divide?” the Wilder character asks.

For families seeking contemporary resonance

Two rabbis who penned “An Invitation to Passover” have teamed up again for an inspiring family Haggadah that brings the seder into contemporary times. Sprinkled throughout the traditional narrative, Kerry Olitzky and Deborah Bodin Cohen’s “The Heroes Haggadah: Lead the Way to Freedom” showcases dozens of Jewish heroes from all walks of life — Ruth Bader Ginsburg; Anat Hoffman, the Israeli gender-equality activist; Volodymyr Zelensky; Jewish NFL star Julian Edelman; Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, the first Asian American rabbi, and Gershom Sizomu, the chief rabbi of Uganda’s Jewish community. Global Jewish recipes include several from Michael Twitty, author of “Kosher Soul,” and Groucho Marx’s matzo balls.

For a fresh spin on a classic for kids

More than two decades after its first publication, Rahel Musleah’s richly illustrated “Why On This Night: A Passover Haggadah for Family Celebration” has been reissued. It now boasts a colorful new cover by Louise August and updated sections to keep it fresh and full of customs from across the globe. The lyrically written abbreviated Haggadah includes Hebrew and English

translation and transliteration. There’s fun to be had with a short play, songs and recipes, including a new one for Turkish tishpishti, a Sephardic nutcake.

For human rights enthusiasts

Interested in discussing workers rights, prison labor or reparations during the seder? Consider “The Human Rights Haggadah,” by Shlomo Levin, who holds both Orthodox rabbinic ordination and a master’s degree in international law from the United Nations’ University for Peace in Costa Rica. The text includes classic Jewish sources on human rights issues, information about international law and explorations of how human rights and Jewish values intersect.

For a new classic

The bentcher, or songbook, released by Yedid Nefesh more than a decade ago has become a classic at weddings and Shabbat tables. Now, the imprint, under the direction of Rabbi Joshua Cahan, has released its first Haggadah. At $18, the Yedid Nefesh Haggadah is designed for mass use and comfort at the seder table. Including both brief commentaries and transliterations for most of the seder text, the Haggadah aims to be equally accessible for experienced seder-goers and those who are fresher to the ritual. JN

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Pickles taste great, help digestion and demonstrate Jewish wisdom, says BJE speaker

s people sorted themselves into groups of five or six at Pardes Jewish Day School on Sunday, March 17, they sat at tables set with brand-new mason jars, cucumbers, green beans, kosher salt, peppercorns, mustard seeds and more. However, vinegar was noticeably absent.

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“How many of you are surprised that there’s no vinegar?” asked Jeffrey Yoskowitz, self-described “guide for your pickling journey” and the final speaker for the Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Phoenix’s Passages series. Most people nodded or raised a hand in an affirmative gesture.

Yoskowitz knew most people thought of vinegar as an indispensable pickling ingredient and he was eager to set them straight. (He did the same for pickling spice: “a scam!”)

There are two camps in the pickling world, according to Yoskowitz. On the one hand, there are the mainstream bread and butter pickles that one finds in the middle aisles of the grocery stores floating in their “neon yellow” jars. Some refer to these as “goyishe pickles,” he said, though he calls them “bomb shelter pickles,” a product with no nutritional value but one that will last forever.

In the other camp are “old-fashioned shtetl pickles.” Water, kosher salt, garlic and a few other spices are all it takes to make a delicious and traditional pickle. That is Yoskowitz’s thesis and as an offer of proof, he invited everyone who came to “The Jewish History of Pickling: Make Your Own Pickle” to try it for themselves.

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Yoskowitz charmed the crowd from the moment he took the stage and let everyone know there was no reason to be anxious about pickling. “I know it’s a Jewish crowd, so there’s gotta be some anxiety,” he said. After that first crowdpleasing joke, he had people wrapped around his finger.

“The pickler was very knowledgeable, providing an interesting history and funny stories, and he brought out a lot of laughter,” said Myra Shindler, BJE’s executive director.

Yoskowitz studied history at Brown University with the intention of becoming a historian, but after graduation he wanted to “kill a few months” and went to Adamah Farm, a Jewish organic farm in Northwest Connecticut. It turned out to be his “pickle origin story,” he said.

Growing up in New Jersey, he had never given pickles too much thought, except when he picked them up at the deli for his dad or ate them at Passover.

Then he heard Adamah’s pickling legend. Apparently, one summer there was a

bumper crop of cucumbers, so big people described it as “drowning in cucumbers.” They couldn’t use them up fast enough.

Finally, someone said, “I have my grandmother’s pickle recipe from Poland. Let’s make ‘em,” They took water, kosher salt, garlic, mustard seeds and peppercorns and made pickles so good they changed the farm’s slogan to “young Jewish farmers changing the world, one pickle at a time.”

Before that, Yoskowitz had imagined Poland as a cold terrain, always in winter, but the farm was a good reality check that just as in Connecticut, garlic and cucumbers in Poland come out of the ground together in July, making the combination of flavors a no-brainer.

“I never thought about seasons or why the flavors go together. It was a bit of wisdom that was pretty special,” he said.

Yoskowitz and his fellow picklers put salt, water and cucumbers in a barrel and waited a week. “We opened it and it was bubbling like seltzer — another Jewish food! I felt transported to Warsaw, standing in my grandfather’s shoes. These weren’t deli pickles; they were alive and the best pickles I’ve ever eaten,” he said. He went back the next year as an apprentice because he was eager to find out what else he didn’t understand about his heritage. He wondered, “What else was lost to the old country? What other relics of Ashkenazi culture morphed, evolved, Americanized and changed? Pickles were my gateway to finding out.”

In the course of becoming a pickler he learned that these so-called shtetl pickles are lacto-fermented and create helpful bacteria and thus good for digestion. Suddenly, eating pickles with a pastrami

SHANNON LEVITT | STAFF WRITER

Jeffrey Yoskowitz cuts cabbage to make sauerkraut on Sunday, March 17 for BJE’s Passages final event.

COURTESY OF JEWISH NEWS

Sheryl Quen, right, pours water into a jar to prepare for pickling and Judy Libow, left, reaches for a clove of garlic.

COURTESY OF JEWISH NEWS

sandwich took on a new motive. It’s not just about taste. Fatty pastrami — “and the only kind of pastrami you should eat is fatty” — coats your tongue but the pickle cleanses it.

“To get all the flavor out of the sandwich, you take a bite of pickle after every bite. That’s some of the wisdom of our food tradition,” he said.

Pickling itself is a wise way of protecting vegetables during those cold months when nothing grows. A century ago, Passover preparations started in July with the pickling process.

After a few years in the New York food industry, Yoskowitz started Gefilteria, wrote about pickling and traveled the world to learn more and make pickling presentations. He even brought copies of his book, “The Gefilte Manifesto,” for purchase, and every copy was sold by the event’s end.

He speaks to a variety of audiences, but he likes the back and forth he can have with Jewish audiences because they understand all his references, especially about digestion problems.

Last summer, he and his business partner were part of the Smithsonian’s Folklife Festival, representing Yiddish and Jewish culture. They made pickles and other Jewish foods.

“Most people who came to our events were not Jewish and had never heard the word Ashkenazi. We taught them to make pickles but we also had to give them the context,” he told Jewish News. The Jews he was talking to on Sunday, already had a lot of that context.

Yoskowitz was careful to give all the pickling history and instructions before letting people start because “once you all start touching things you’ll go crazy and it will be pandemonium!”

Once he turned the crowd loose, people grabbed cucumbers and green

beans (“a pickled or dilly bean is a good starter pickle, guaranteed to have a good crunch, so it’s a little cheat”), garlic and stuffing them into mason jars as fast as they could, talking over one another and laughing loudly.

“One of the things I loved about the event was how it attracted a multigenerational audience, grandparents with grandchildren, parents and kids, everyone talking and enjoying themselves,” Shindler told Jewish News.

Jacqueline Roalofs came because her husband “loves pickles and eats all the pickles in the house, so I thought it’s time we start to learn how to pickle ourselves,” she told Jewish News.

Sheryl Quen, who grew up in New York, came because she loves pickles. “We used to always see the pickle man at the flea market with the big barrels. We always had pickles at holidays,” she told Jewish News. This was her first attempt to make pickles herself and she looks forward to trying the recipe on tomatoes, a pickled food she grew up eating.

Like Quen, Judy Libow remembers walking through the market in New York and eating pickles out of a barrel. “I want to know how to make them for myself,” she told Jewish News.

Dee Bierschenk and her husband, Max, found Yoskowitz’s book at the library months ago. When they learned he’d be in town, they snapped up tickets. Now they feel more than ready to make their own pickles and are excited about next year’s Passages lineup.

Yoskowitz emphasized how the traditional process he used has now become trendy. He reminded people not to throw out the brine once the pickles were done — it would take four or five days at room temperature. The brine left by these pickles is the same stuff that goes for $10 a jar at Whole Foods. Marinate your chicken

with it or mix it with salad dressing or in a dirty martini, just don’t toss it. Most of all, he told people to have fun and not stress over pickles that don’t turn out exactly right. “This is the beginning of your pickling journey and sometimes things don’t turn out the way you’d hoped. Just try again,” he said with a big

smile on his face.

People seemed to take his words to heart. As they filed out of the room with their jar of future pickles, they were laughing and chatting about what to pickle next. JN

For more information and recipes, visit gefilteria.com.

Rabbi Jeremy Schneider President Rabbi Sara Mason-Barkin Vice President Rabbi Nitzan Stein Kokin Secretary Rabbi Mark Bisman and Rabbi John Linder Co-Treasurers Rabbi Andy Green At Large Rabbi Bonnie Sharfman Immediate Past President

From left are Marina Awerbuch, Jeffrey Yoskowitz and Myra Shindler. Awerbuch and Shindler are with the Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Phoenix. COURTESY OF JEWISH NEWS

People start making pickles at Pardes Jewish Day School on Sunday, March 17. COURTESY OF JEWISH NEWS

Passover recipes from CBI’s table

MALA BLOMQUIST | MANAGING EDITOR

Scottsdale’s Congregation Beth Israel (CBI) member Janie Kuznitsky once taught Hollywood celebrities how to cook as a culinary instructor in California and worked alongside chef icons James Beard and Julia Child.

Kuznitsky worked for the upscale kitchenware store Williams-Sonoma when she first met Child at a cooking demonstration show in California. They started chatting and whenever Child needed a specialty item for the kitchen, Kuznitsky would get it for her.

“She was just a wonderful person. I spent many, many happy times with Julia,” said Kuznitsky. “She used to call me whenever she needed someone to come and help at a book signing. I just had all sorts of great adventures with her.”

“Our CBI Table,” a CBI cookbook, was used as a fundraiser for the restoration of the synagogue’s social hall. Kuznitsky served as committee co-chair and co-editor, along with Gale Gradus. The

book was also in keeping with a CBI tradition of publishing a cookbook every 25 years. The synagogue’s centennial celebration in 2020 happened during the pandemic, so the fourth iteration was delayed until 2023.

“When we put out the word that we wanted to do a cookbook and recipes were welcome, it was a resounding success. We had over 150 participants; we had 12-year-olds and we had 90-yearolds contribute,” she said. The 200page cookbook took four months to complete and in addition to the new submissions, Kuznitsky went back to the last cookbook and included some recipes in memory of members who had passed.

“The book is not only a cookbook; it is also filled with cooking hints such as everything you need to have in your pantry, food quantities for large servings, cooking terms, measurements, substitutions and equivalency charts,” said Kuznitsky.

CBI member Christine Leva created

the art on the cover of the cookbook. Before moving to Scottsdale, Leva took a beginning watercolor class in 2005 at Spokane Arts Studio in Washington State and has continued to study the medium.

The cover “needed to showcase Shabbat with candles, wine and challah in a natural, peaceful setting to recite the Hebrew blessings,” as stated inside the book, she said.

Leva shared that she has had the chance to try many of the recipes in the cookbook.

“They are all totally delicious because they’ve been made over and over again,” she said. “There’s a lot of history and tradition behind these recipes.”

Leva said that although many of the recipes in the cookbook can be modified for Passover, the recipes shared in this piece are specifically geared toward the holiday.

To order “Our CBI Table,” visit cbiaz. org.

GRANDMOTHER PAULA’S PASSOVER MANDEL BREAD

By Sam Klein

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

• 1 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1-2 tablespoons cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon reserved

• 1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans, walnuts or slivered almonds (optional)

Directions:

Depending on the consistency, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill until firm. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. On the prepared sheet, form the dough into 2 or 3 logs (2 inches by 13 inches by 1 inch). Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Bake for 23-35 minutes or until lightly golden, rotating the pans midway through. Remove from the oven and slice logs while still warm.

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (optional)

• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

• 4-5 large eggs

• 2 cups matzah cake meal

• 3/4 cup potato starch

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, cream together the melted butter, 1 cup sugar, vanilla and almond extract. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until combined, then mix in the chocolate chips and nuts (if using).

Note: To make a crunchy cookie more like a traditional biscotti, return the cookies for a second bake after slicing. The timing depends on how hard you want the cookies to be. They will get crunchier the longer they stand.

PASSOVER VEGETABLE CUPS

By Roberta Scharf

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped

• 2 tablespoons margarine

• 20 ounces frozen chopped spinach

• 4 carrots, peeled and grated

• 1/2 cup matzah meal

• 4 eggs

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

• 2 tablespoons Passover instant chicken soup mix

The cover of Congregation Beth Israel’s cookbook. COURTESY OF CHRISTINE LEVA

A Passover message from the FBI

On behalf of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Phoenix Field Office, I am writing to wish the Jewish community of Greater Phoenix a happy Passover. We know this has been a deeply challenging time for the Jewish community not only here in the Valley, but also across Arizona, throughout the country, in Israel and all over the world. For this reason, I am writing today to let you know that the Phoenix field office will do all it can to ensure a peaceful Passover here in Arizona.

As we enter the Passover holiday, a commemoration of safety and freedom for the Jewish people, your friends and partners at the FBI have been working closely with Jewish community leadership to reinforce our support against rising antisemitism and extremism. We know these last few years have been difficult for the Jewish community, ranging from increased antisemitism to swatting incidents at synagogues to the instability post-Oct. 7.

That is why I am reaching out to the Jewish community of Greater Phoenix

• Margarine to grease mu n tins or use paper liners

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sauté onions in 2 tablespoons margarine. Cook spinach until defrosted. Drain and squeeze out all water. Add grated carrots to the spinach. Add all other ingredients and mix well. Pour mixture into prepared muffin tins. Bake for 40-50 minutes.

GEFILTE FISH LOAF

By Laurie Schwartz

Ingredients:

• 1 (6.4 ounce) can or jar white pike sh

• 2 large onions

• 2 large carrots

• 2 large stalks celery

• 1/2 cup parsley

• 4 eggs, slightly beaten

• 1/2 cup matzah meal

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

• 1 teaspoon pepper

• 2 teaspoons sugar

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray

• Paprika

Directions:

In a food processor, mix all vegetables

and across the state of Arizona to wish you a safe and happy Passover, and to let you know that we are tirelessly working to ensure this.

Passover is all about safety. Here at the FBI, we are dedicated to keeping the Jewish community — and all others — here in Greater Phoenix, and across Arizona, safe. We work together and leverage already robust partnerships with local law enforcement, with other federal agencies and with Jewish community partners, to make sure that you can live, worship, gather and celebrate in peace.

Everyone knows that organizations of all kinds operate under customized and specific mission statements. You may not know that the FBI has a mission statement, too. And while simple and short, it carries great weight and meaning to all of us at the FBI. The mission of the FBI is to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution of the United States. We do our best to live up to this mission everyday and will continue to do so for our friends in the Jewish community as well as all others.

until fine. Mash the fish in a large bowl. Add 1/2 cup reserved jelly from fish, then add the vegetable mixture. Add the eggs. Add the matzah meal, mayonnaise, pepper and sugar to the mixture. Spread in a 9x13-inch baking pan sprayed with nonstick vegetable oil. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake for 1 hour. Cool and refrigerate. Best made 24 hours in advance to allow the flavors to mellow.

PASSOVER BAGELS

By Jacki Cohen

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup oil

• 1 cup water

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 3 tablespoons sugar

• 2 cups matzah meal

• 4 eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring oil, water, salt and sugar to a boil. Add matzah meal and mix well. Beat in one egg at a time. Allow to stand for 15 minutes. With wet hands, make small balls and put on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 50 minutes.

Note: Do not double this recipe. JN

All too often, the FBI is called upon to investigate hate crimes which are not only an attack on the victim but are meant to threaten and intimidate an entire community. Because of their wide-ranging affect, investigating hate crimes is a high priority of the FBI.

If something appears to be an urgent threat or danger, call 911 right away. Beyond that, if you have concerns, please reach out to us, to local law enforcement, or to groups like the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Phoenix or the Anti-Defamation League-Arizona. All of us at the FBI here in Arizona wish you and yours a joyous, safe and peaceful Passover, as we work with the Jewish community to make it so. Be safe — today and every day. JN

To contact the FBI, call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800225-5324), visit tips.FBI.gov or call the local field office at 623-466-1999.

Akil Davis is Special Agent in Charge (SAC) with FBI Phoenix.

AFFAIRS

Philanthropy and estate planning

MARK BREGMAN | SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Charitable giving is a cornerstone of Jewish life — many belong to multiple affinity or action groups and others give to a variety of charitable organizations regularly. Incorporating philanthropy into an estate plan can be simple, if you know who you want to benefit and how, but often your ideas may not be as well defined and some guidance might be helpful.

You may know what causes are dear to you but not the best way to benefit those causes. Or you may be looking for ideas that appeal to you.

We are fortunate that in Greater Phoenix we have a strong philanthropic community and several resources to help refine your philanthropic intentions.

There are ways to avoid or minimize income taxes during your life and estate taxes upon your death. Let me describe a few.

Many people have individual retirement accounts (IRAs). You will have a required minimum distribution (RMD) if you have reached your mandatory withdrawal age (required beginning date or RBD) in the calendar year which you have your 73rd birthday. If you also have miscellaneous deductions subject to the 2% adjusted gross income floor, you may benefit by giving directly from your IRA. Internal

Revue Service Publication 529 contains a more complete explanation of miscellaneous deductions.

Charitable gift annuities can provide lifetime income for you, or you and your spouse, while providing an immediate benefit to your favored charity. For example, if you are 75 years old, a charity gift annuity may yield up to 7% return annually and provide an immediate charitable income tax deduction of the present value of the remainder. This is an especially attractive investment strategy for you if you are philanthropically minded with today’s interest rate environment. Contact your favorite charity, community foundation or an experienced lawyer if you want to learn more about this strategy.

Contributing highly appreciated property to a charitable remainder trust may provide you with a stream of income for a specific period of years, or for your lifetime, while avoiding immediate capital gains taxation. A charitable remainder trust also provides you with an immediate charitable deduction that can be used to write-off against current income. However, your charity does not receive the benefit of the gift until the term of the trust expires. It is a terrific tax-deferral tactic for you if you are chari-

tably inclined.

Contributing to a donor-advised fund allows you to make a large contribution in a single year when you want to get a charitable deduction to offset significant income. The benefit of a donor-advised fund is that you get the charitable deduction in the year of the donation but your money is held in the fund until you tell the fund manager, using a community foundation such as the Center for Jewish Philanthropy of Greater Phoenix or the Arizona Community Foundation, to whom you want the donation, or a series of donations, made.

Community foundations are terrific resources in helping you find a charity for your specific interests or to create a legacy plan that will last for many years. One of the best benefits of creating a fund is that your children and grandchildren can participate in the grant-making decisions, and it is a good way to supplement and continue the philanthropic values your descendants have learned from you. Modest direct gifts in your will or trust may be the most common way to leave a legacy but if you have no heirs you want to provide for, or you are concerned that your charity will not continue the good work you desire, creating a fund is a good way to relieve the anxiety inherent in such

decisions.

The bottom line is that the foregoing strategies are only some of the many ways you can fulfill your philanthropic interests with efficient income and estate tax strategies. For more information focused on your unique intentions, contact a knowledgeable estate planning attorney with experience in philanthropic planning. Look for an attorney or financial advisor with a CAP (Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy) designation and who believes in working collaboratively with your other advisors and charities. JN

Mark Bregman is a senior member of Dyer Bregman Ferris Wong & Carter, PLLC, a fullservice trust and estate firm for more than 50 years representing individuals and fiduciaries for all trust and estate matters. He can be reached at 602-254-6008 or mabregman@DBFWCLegal. com.

Local experts weigh in on identity theft

MALA BLOMQUIST | MANAGING EDITOR

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 2021, about 23.9 million people had been victims of identity theft during the prior 12 months. Identity theft occurs when someone pretends to be another person to obtain credit cards, apply for loans, establish accounts, get a job or steal money.

Jewish News reached out to local legal professionals David A. Black of the Law Offices of David A. Black in Phoenix; David P. Lish of Grand Canyon Law Group with offices in Mesa and Phoenix; Steven Lippman of Burch & Cracchiolo in Phoenix; and J. Blake Mayes of MayesTelles PLLC in Phoenix with questions on identity theft.

All the lawyers suggest that the first step to take if you become aware you are a victim of identity theft is to contact one of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion). “Each credit bureau is legally required to share the fraud alert with the other two,” said Mayes.

“You should also call the police to make a report, as many businesses require a report before they will take action to clear up ID theft claims,” said Black.

You can also place a one-year fraud alert on your credit report. “The fraud alert tells creditors that they must take reasonable steps to verify who is applying for credit in your name,” suggested

Lippman. Once you place this alert with one of the national credit bureaus, they must notify the others. Lippman also said

to go to IdentityTheft.gov, “the federal government’s one-stop resource for

Mark Bregman COURTESY OF MARK BREGMAN

identity theft victims.” The site provides streamlined checklists and sample letters to guide you through the recovery process.

Mayes also said another option is to put a “freeze” on your credit. This needs to be done separately with each credit bureau and can be completed through free online accounts. The credit freeze prevents your credit from being pulled by a creditor in response to a fraudulent request to open a new account. You can easily “unfreeze” these if you need to open a new account. You can also “thaw” them so that the freeze will automatically go back into effect after a certain period of time.

Another step is to monitor all financial statements for discrepancies and immediately contact creditors, including banks, credit card issuers, mobile carriers and any other relevant entities when you notice fraudulent activity.

Fortunately, there are laws in place that protect an individual who has become a victim of identity theft.

It is a felony in Arizona to commit identity theft, subject to imprisonment of up to almost four years and a fine of $150,000 for a first offense. “Aggravated identity theft is even more serious, with a

maximum penalty in excess of eight years in prison,” said Black.

“Under federal law, the amount you have to pay for unauthorized use of your credit card is limited to $50,” added Lippman. “If you report the loss to the credit card company before your credit card is used by a thief, you aren’t responsible for any unauthorized charges.”

Lish also said that the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) provides specific rights to identity theft victims, including creating an identity theft report, placing a 90-day initial fraud alert on credit reports, disputing fraudulent or inaccurate information on credit reports, blocking fraudulent information from credit reports, obtaining copies of documents related to the theft of their identity, stopping debt collectors from contacting them and more.

All the lawyers agreed that hiring an attorney depends on the extent of the identity theft and the amount of damages incurred.

The most important thing is to track down the businesses and bureaus that believe you owe money and request, in writing (including the police report information), that they remove the debt or derogatory mark, said Black.

“From there, if there is a sizable financial loss and you are unable to

recover money, you will want to consult with a civil lawyer who can assist you in recouping your loss,” he added.

You should also consider consulting a lawyer if your bank or credit card company refuses to reimburse you for money fraudulently stolen from you, added Mayes.

Lish advised consulting an attorney, “If the theft involves complex legal issues, such as fraudulent accounts, tax fraud or significant financial losses, an attorney can guide you through the legal process and help you understand your rights and options.”

Protecting yourself from identity theft is crucial in today’s digital age and Lish offered tips on safeguarding your personal information. He recommended using strong passwords and two-factor authentication, monitoring your credit reports, shredding sensitive documents before disposing of them, signing up for

credit card and bank account notifications to receive alerts about account activity, never sharing personal information like your bank account number or Social Security number and limiting the personal information you share online.

Black said he subscribes to several credit monitoring services that come as free add-ons to credit cards. “I get monthly updates on my credit scores, I change my passwords fairly regularly and the minute I get an indication something might be off, I call the related agency,” he said.

“If you take the steps listed above and keep your credit frozen, you minimize the likelihood of becoming a victim (or becoming a victim again),” said Mayes. JN

For more information, contact David A. Black at dbphoenixcriminallawyer.com; David P. Lish at grandcanyon.law; Steven Lippman at bcattorneys.com; and J. Blake Mayes at mayestelles.com.

Helping the community together

Brunch weather

Special Seder

Members of Congregation Beth Israel took a trip to Italy together in April. They are pictured here in front of the Trevi Fountain in Rome.

In mid-March, Arizona Jews for Justice partnered with Moishe House and NowGen for a Purim event; volunteers made hundreds of care bags to be distributed to the local unhoused community.

Parents lined the route as the children of the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center Early Childhood Center marched in the annual Purim parade last month.

The first week of April, Paradise Valley’s Temple Solel hosted 100 guests for its Women’s Seder.

Smile on Seniors Jewish Active Mature Adults met for brunch early last month. Pictured from left are Dave Shooten, David Termine, Pinki and Issy Lifshitz, Joan David, Nathan and Judy Laufer and Elaine Jacobs. COURTESY OF SMILE ON SENIORS

Featured Event

SUNDAY, MAY 5

Community-wide Yom HaShoah Commemoration: 3 p.m. Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Join the Phoenix Holocaust Association for its annual community-wide observance in partnership with the Center for Jewish Philanthropy of Greater Phoenix. On May 6 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. there will be “Unto Every Person There is a Name: A Reading of Names,” a reading of the names of the victims of the Shoah outside the front entrance to the ILJCC. Cost: Free. For more information, visit phxha.com/remember.

Events

For an updated listing of events and resources, visit JewishPhoenix.com.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY, APRIL 19-21

The Diary of Anne Frank: 7 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Paradise Valley Community College Center for the Performing Arts, 18401 N. 32nd St., Phoenix. Join PVCC Fine Arts for a production based upon “Anne Frank: the Diary of a Young Girl,” newly adapted by Wendy Kesselman. Cost: $8-$15. For more information, visit paradisevalley.edu/center-performing-arts.

SUNDAY, APRIL 21

Sound Bath Meditation: 3-4:30 p.m. Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Join VOSJCC for a session with bowls, chimes and gongs and the vibrations they emit which allow for the release of energy blocks. Great for depression, anxiety, stress, fear, panic disorder and more. Cost: $18 member, $25 non-member. For more information, visit vosjcc.org/program/ empathy-compassion-in-our-lives-series-copy.

MONDAY, APRIL 22

Community Passover Seder: 7 p.m. Chabad Edelman Jewish Center, 16830 E. Avenue of the Fountains, Fountain Hills. Join Rabbi Lipskier and Chabad of Fountain Hills for a community Seder with food, singing and discussion. Reservations required. For more information, visit JewishFountainHills.com/pesach.

Community Passover Seder: 7:30 p.m. Location provided upon RSVP. Join Chabad of Ahwatukee for an interactive Seder with gourmet cuisine. Cost: $36 adults, $18 children. For more information, visit ChabadAhwatukee/seder.

MONDAY-TUESDAY, APRIL 22 & 23

Passover Seder: 7:15 p.m. Monday; 7:45 p.m. Tuesday. Chabad of Phoenix, 2110 E. Lincoln Drive, Phoenix. Join Chabad of Phoenix for a Seder with gourmet cuisine, song and friendship. Before April 15: $54 adults, $36 children, $175 family. For more information, visit ChabadAZ.com/Seder.

THURSDAY, APRIL 25

How were women the heroines of the Passover story and what rituals have we taken on to honor them?: 10 a.m. Online. Join Valley Beit Midrash for a virtual presentation by Rabbanit Sharona Halickman, She founded Torat Reva Yerushalayim, a nonprofit organization based in Jerusalem which provides Torah study groups for students of all ages and backgrounds. For more information, visit valleybeitmidrash.org.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1

The J’s Fore the Kids Golf Tournament: 7 a.m.-2 p.m. TPC Scottsdale Champions Course, 8243 E. Bell Road, Scottsdale. Join the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center for its annual charity golf tournament. A portion of the

proceeds support the SMILE Campaign, which provides financial scholarships for preschool, summer camp and membership at The J. For more information, visit vosjcc.secure.nonprofitsoapbox.com/2024-jcc-golf-tournament.

MONDAY, MAY 6

Yom HaShoah Commemoration: 5:30-8 p.m.

East Valley Jewish Community Center, 908 N. Alma School Road, Chandler. Join the EVJCC for a candle lighting ceremony with special prayers in memory of those killed in the Holocaust. Featured speaker is Björn Krondorfer, director of the Martin-Springer Institute at Northern Arizona University. Lecture-recital by Hannah Creviston and Baruch Meir performing piano duets written by composers who were killed in the Holocaust. Cost: Free. For more information, visit evjcc.org/event/ yom-hashoah-commemoration-2.

TUESDAY, MAY 7

Mother’s Day Chocolate Centerpieces: 5:307:30 p.m. Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Join the VOSJCC and learn chocolate tempering, molding and decorative techniques to create a chocolate centerpiece. Cost: $45 members; $55 non-members. For more information, visit vosjcc.org.

WLI Celebration of Achievement: 6-8 p.m. Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Join Women’s Leadership Institute in celebrating the achievements of WLI Cohort 8, honoring Rabbi Elana Kanter and Laura Drachler, and welcoming Rabbi Emily Langowitz and WLI Cohort 9. Cost: Free. For more information, visit womenlearning.org.

“Four Winters”: 7-9 p.m. Arizona Jewish Historical Society, 122 E. Culver St., Phoenix. Join the AZJHS and the Phoenix Holocaust Association for this documentary that tells the stories of the Jewish partisans who took up arms against Hitler’s war machine. Cost: Free. For more information, visit azjhs.org/four-winters.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 8

Being Right While Doing Right: Judaism’s Influence on the American Legal System: 7-9 a.m. Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Join the Arizona Jewish Lawyers Association for breakfast and a presentation by Assistant United States Attorney Ben Goldberg. Cost: Free; registration closes on May 7 at 12 p.m. For more information, visit phoenixcjp.regfox.com/ being-right-while-doing-right.

SUNDAY, MAY 12

Israel Memorial Day; Yom HaZikaron: 6:30-9 p.m. Address provided upon registration. Join Shevet Shemesh (Israeli Scouts of Arizona)

and Temple Chai for a community observance to honor the lives of Israel’s fallen soldiers and victims of terror. Cost: Free; registration closes at 12 p.m. For more information, visit eventbrite. com/e/israel-memorial-day-2024--tickets873548315527?aff=od.

SUNDAYS

B.A.G.E.L.S: 9-11 a.m.; last Sunday of the month. Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Grab a bagel and a cup of coffee at Bagels And Gabbing Every Last Sunday and enjoy some time with your friends and make new ones. You must register to attend. Bagels and coffee will be provided. Cost: Free for members, $5 for guests. For more information and to register, visit vosjcc.org.

THURSDAYS

Storytime at Modern Milk: 9:30 a.m. Modern Milk, 13802 N. Scottsdale Road, #163, Scottsdale. Storytime for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Integrates children’s books and songs while giving parents new ideas for play. Cost: $5. For more information and to register, visit modernmilk.com/after-baby.

Meetings, Lectures & Classes

SUNDAYS

Chassidus Class: 9 a.m. Online. Learn about the Chasidic movement with Rabbi Yossi Friedman. Cost: Free. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

Jewish War Veterans Post 210: 10 a.m. Online. Any active duty service member or veteran is welcome to join monthly meetings, every third Sunday. Cost: Free. For more information, email Michael Chambers at c365michael@yahoo.com.

Sundays are for the Family Weekly Feed: 3-5 p.m. Tempe Beach Park, 80 W. Rio Salado Pkwy., Tempe. Join Arizona Jews for Justice and AZ HUGS for the Houseless every Sunday to serve food to those in need. For more information and to RSVP, email Arizonajews4justice@ gmail.com.

MONDAYS Interfaith Antisemitism Course: 10-11 a.m. Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley, 12202 N. 101st Ave., Sun City. TBSWV will present a four-part interfaith series (April 1, 8, 15 and 22) looking at contemporary antisemitism and attempting to analyze its sources and likely results. Cost: $20 members; $35 nonmembers; registration deadline March 27. For more information, visit tbsaz.org.

Mahjong: 1:30-3:30 p.m. East Valley Jewish Community Center, 908 N. Alma School Road,

Chandler. Come play mahjong each week. For all levels. Cost: Free; registration required at evjcc.org/mahjong/.

Ethics of Our Fathers: 7 p.m. Online. Learn with Rabbi Zalman Levertov. Use this link: bit. ly/2Y0wdgv. Cost: Free. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

Quotable Quotes by our Sages: 7 p.m. Online. Learn with Rabbi Shlomy Levertov. Use this link: JewishParadiseValley.com/class. Cost: Free. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

Learning to Trust in God: 7:30 p.m. Online. Learn with Rabbi Yossi Friedman. Use this link: ChabadAZ.com/LiveClass. Cost: Free. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

Torah & Tea: 7:30 p.m. Online. Learn with Rabbi Yossie Shemtov. Cost: Free. For more information, visit Facebook.com/ChabadTucson.

Single Parent Zoom: 8 p.m. First and third Monday of every month. Join The Bureau of Jewish Education’s Family University single parents’ group for those looking to form friendships and build their support system with like-minded people. For more information or to register, visit bjephoenix.org/family-university.

TUESDAYS

Let’s Knit: 1:30 p.m. Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Share the pleasure of knitting, crocheting, etc. outside the social hall in the campus. Can’t knit? They will teach you! Every level welcome. Cost: Free. For more information, visit vosjcc.org.

Maintaining an Upbeat Attitude: 7 p.m. Online. A class exclusively for people in their 20s and 30s, learn how Jewish Mysticism can help with your attitude with Rabbi Shlomy Levertov. Cost: Free. Use this link: JewishParadiseValley.com/YJPclass. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

WEDNESDAYS

History of the Jews: 11 a.m. Online. Learn the Jewish journey from Genesis to Moshiach with Rabbi Ephraim Zimmerman. Cost: Free. Use this link: zoom.us/j/736434666. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

Torah Study with Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley: 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Online. Weekly study group explores that week’s portion and studies different perspectives and debates the merits of various arguments. Intended for adults, Torah study is open to students of all levels. For more information, contact the TBS office at 623-977-3240.

Happiness Hour: 11:30 a.m. Online. Class taught by Rabbi Pinchas Allouche that delves into texts

CALENDAR

and references culled from our traditions to address a relevant topic. For more information or to join, visit cbtvirtualworld.com.

Lunch & Learn: 12:15 p.m. Online. Grab some food and learn with Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin. Cost: Free. Get Zoom link by emailing info@chabadtucson.com. For more information, visit chabadtucson.com.

The Thirteen Petalled Rose: 1 p.m. Online. Kabbalah class that studies “The Thirteen Petalled Rose” by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz, focusing on the many concepts of Kaballah and Jewish Mysticism and applying them to everyday life. For more information or to join, visit cbtvirtualworld.com.

JACS: 7:30-8:30 p.m. Online. Zoom support group for Jewish alcoholics, addicts and their friends and family on the first and third Wednesdays of the month. Cost: Free. For more information, email jacsarizona@gmail.com or call 602-692-1004.

THURSDAYS

Interfaith Course: 10-11 a.m. Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley, 12202 N. 101st Ave., Sun City. TBSWV will present a four-part interfaith series (April 4, 11, 18 and 25) focusing on two perspectives of the Gospels: Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism. Cost: $20 members; $35 nonmembers; registration deadline April 2. For more information, visit tbsaz.org.

Ladies Torah & Tea: 10:30 a.m. Online. Learn about the women of the Torah with Mrs. Leah Levertov. Cost: Free. Use this link: ourjewishcenter.com/virtual. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

Talmud - Maakos: 11 a.m. Online. Learn with Rabbi Shlomy Levertov. Cost: Free. Use this link: JewishParadiseValley.com/YJPclass. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

Mindfulness Gatherings: 12 p.m. Online. Hosted by Hospice of the Valley via Zoom. Cost: Free. To join by phone, dial 1-253-215-8782, meeting ID 486 920 2119#, to get the Zoom link or for further questions contact Gill Hamilton at ghamilton@hov.org or 602-748-3692.

Weekly Mahjong: 1-3 p.m. Temple Solel, 6805 E. McDonald Drive, Paradise Valley. Join Temple Solel each Thursday afternoon for mahjong. Lessons available for beginners. Cost: Free. RSVP via email to dottiebefore@gmail.com so they know how many tables to set up.

The Science of Everything: 4 p.m. Online. Explore the most fundamental work of Chassidut: the Tanya, with Rabbi Boruch. Cost: Free. Use this link: zoom.us/j/736434666. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

Teen Discussions: 7-8:30 p.m. Online. Learn with Rabbi Tzvi Rimler. Cost: Free. Use this link: cteen.clickmeeting.com/east-valley. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

SATURDAYS

Saturday Mindfulness Gatherings: 9:30 a.m.

Online. Hosted by Hospice of the Valley. To join by phone, dial 1-253-215-8782, meeting ID 486 920 2119#. To get the Zoom link or for more information, contact Gill Hamilton at ghamilton@hov.org or 602-748-3692.

Book Discussion: 1:30-2:30 p.m. Online. Join Or Adam Congregation for Humanistic Judaism on the third Saturday of every month for a book discussion. For more information and to register, contact oradaminfo@gmail.com.

Shabbat

FRIDAYS

Shabbat in the Park: 10-11 a.m. Cactus Park, 7202 E. Cactus Road, Scottsdale. Join the Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Phoenix monthly for music, parachute play, crafts and a family Shabbat experience. For more information, visit bjephoenix.org.

Welcome Shabbat: 11-11:30 a.m. Online. Celebrate Shabbat with the JFCS Virtual Center for Senior Enrichment. Each week a different guest host will lead the program with song and celebration. Cost: Free. For more information, visit jfcsaz.org/cse.

Shabbat at Beth El: 11-11:45 a.m. Beth El Phoenix, 1118 W. Glendale. Ave., Phoenix. Celebrate Shabbat with songs, blessings and teachings with Rabbi Stein Kokin the first Friday of every month. Special guests will be welcoming Shabbat during the remainder of the month. For more information or to join, visit bethelphoenix.com.

Erev Shabbat Service: 5:30 p.m. Online. Rabbi Alicia Magal will lead a service livestreamed for members of the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley. Cost: Free. For more information and to obtain the Zoom link, visit jcsvv. org/contact.

Shabbat Services: 5:30 p.m. nosh, 6:15 p.m. service; morning service has varying dates and times. Temple Chai, 4645 E. Marilyn Road, Phoenix. For more information, contact Joan Neer at jneer@templechai.com.

Pre-Shabbat Kiddush Club: 6 p.m. Online. Say Kiddush with Rabbi Mendy Levertov. Cost: Free. Use this link: ourjewishcenter.com/virtual. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

Shabbat Services: 6 p.m; 9:30 a.m. Congregation Or Tzion, 16415 N. 90th St., Scottsdale. Services are also live streamed at otaz.org/ livestream. For more information about services, events and membership, visit congregationortzion.org or call 480-342-8858.

Shabbat Services: 6:15 p.m; 10 a.m. Congregation Beth Israel, 10460 N. 56th St., Scottsdale. Services held in the Goldsmith Sanctuary. Participants must pre-register by Thursday at 5 p.m. Priority will be given to members first and then guests. If there are more requests than available seats a lottery system will be used. For more information or to make a reservation, visit cbiaz.org/shabbat-services.

Kabbalat Shabbat and/or Shabbat morning service: 6:30 p.m.; 10 a.m.; dates vary. Congregation Kehillah, 5858 E. Dynamite Blvd., Cave Creek. Join Rabbi Bonnie Sharfman and cantorial soloists Erica Erman and Scott Leader either in person or via Zoom. For safety reasons, please register ahead of time. For dates, visit congregationkehillah.org/event/. Register by emailing info@congregationkehillah.org.

Third Friday Shabbat: 7-9 p.m. Group meets at a North Scottsdale location. The Desert Foothills Jewish Community Association hosts a Shabbat service followed by a program. Contact 602-487-5718 for more information.

Shabbat Services with Sun Lakes: 7 p.m. Sun Lakes Chapel, 9240 E. Sun Lakes Blvd. North, Sun Lakes. Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation conducts services on the second Friday of the month. For more information, contact 480-612-4413.

Shabbat Services with Beth Ami Temple: 7 p.m. Gloria Christi Federated Church, 3535 E. Lincoln Dr., Paradise Valley. Rabbi Alison Lawton and Cantorial Soloist Michael Robbins lead Shabbat services twice a month. For more information, visit bethamitemple.org. JN

MILESTONES

BAR MITZVAH

ARI PAZ AMBROSON

Ari Paz Ambroson will become a bar mitzvah on May 18, 2024, at Temple Solel. He is the son of Josh Ambroson and Teresa Wilson of Phoenix.

Ari’s grandparents are Donald and Tamara Ambroson of Irvine, California, and the late Tony Tapia.

For his mitzvah project, Ari is collecting school supplies and donations for Phoenix Children’s Project, which is dedicated to improving the lives of children living in poverty in Greater Phoenix.

A student at Phoenix Country Day School, Ari enjoys scuba diving, computers and tennis. JN

Side By Side Cemetery Plots

Most prestigious section in Jacob Section

Peter DeGroot

602-397-0499

Linda Farber

Linda Farber, a cherished pillar of the Phoenix Jewish community, beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family. Born on August 19, 1939, in Toronto, Ontario, to Shirley (née Shoot) and Joseph Grossberg, Linda’s journey was one of love, dedication and passion for her family, the arts and her community.

Linda’s early years in Toronto laid the foundation for a lifetime of teaching, learning and creating. She first earned a teaching certificate and taught grade school in Toronto before stopping to raise a family and earn her Bachelor of Fine Arts from York University in Toronto. Linda dedicated her life to the pursuit of knowledge and the arts and the artist community. Her move to Phoenix in 1977, along with her husband Michael Edward Farber and their children, marked the beginning of nearly five decades of significant contribution to the local Jewish community and the world of visual arts.

Her passion for visual arts never waned, as evidenced by her continued studies at Scottsdale Community College well into her later years where she continued to attend until just a few years ago.

Linda and Michael’s home was a center of warmth, hospitality and tradition, especially known for Linda’s famous challah bread. It was a house always filled with friends, family and food. What started as a weekly gesture of love and friendship by making dozens of challahs a week for friends and family, evolved into a flourishing bakery and kosher catering business, serving and celebrating with countless members of the community over the years.

Linda’s adventurous spirit and love for travel took her around the globe, creating lasting memories with Michael, her children and grandchildren. She was predeceased by her loving husband of 49 years, Michael Edward, and her brother, Ned.

Her legacy lives on through her children, Neil Farber, Cheryl Cory (née Farber) and Eric Farber; her grandchildren, Nathan Cory, Ryanne Cory, Kaelah Rachel (née Farber) Butler, Josiana Robyn Farber and Sarena Jordyn Farber; and her four great-grandchildren, each of whom carry a piece of her spirit and love for life.

Linda is remembered for her unwavering commitment to family, education and community. Her life’s work and passion for the arts have left an indelible mark on all who had the pleasure of knowing her. She loved to cook for huge crowds, intensely spicy hot food, scouring clothing bargains, visiting every museum and gallery, walking the streets of Europe and watching cooking shows and movies with her best friend Rex, the late Scottish Deerhound.

Linda’s light, love and legacy will forever be cherished by her family, friends, and the countless lives she touched. May her memory be a blessing to all.

Donations in her memory can be made to Scottsdale Community College Art Program.