Jewish News, March 24, 2023

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX

Atra program helps rabbis innovate, adapt and strive for visionary leadership

Being a judge is ‘a very Jewish job,’ says Arizona’s top Jewish justice

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the late Supreme Court justice, famously framed the words “Justice, justice shall you pursue” and hung them outside her chambers. In the extended passage taken from Parshah Shoftim, God tells the Israelites to appoint honest judges, those who would pursue equal justice without being influenced by the wealthy and powerful.

In the office of David Weinzweig, one of 22 justices on the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division 1 in Phoenix, the same phrase hangs in three locations as a tribute to the well-regarded Jewish justice who died in 2020, and a daily reminder of his role as a public servant.

“All Jews who make a difference are heroes of mine,” Weinzweig told Jewish News. The eight who served on the United States Supreme Court hold a particular place of honor: from Louis D. Brandeis and following through to the only Jew remaining on the Court, Elana Kagan, whom he described as “fantastic — just so smart.”

In an hour-long lecture he occasionally delivers to groups, especially legal organizations, across the country, he begins by talking about Brandeis and Benjamin Cardozo and sprints through to Kagan.

It’s his “TMZ version of famous Jews” or Adam Sandler’s Chanukah song with a legal spin, he quipped.

Marion Weinzweig, his mother and a Holocaust survivor, instilled in him a sense of pride about being Jewish. He even had a book of autographs from famous Jewish athletes — a slender one, he noted, alluding to the scene from the 1980 comedy “Airplane,” in which a leaflet titled “Famous Jewish Sports Legends” is given to a passenger for “light reading.”

REAL ESTATE & HOME DESIGN

The top 10 problems found during a home inspection

Shimon, Tamar, Shevach, Nachman and Dov Boyer:

MAY THEIR MEMORY BE A BLESSING

Only a few weeks ago, in the days leading up to Purim, Shimon Boyer asked his four children, Tamar, Shevach, Nachman and Dov, to select a costume for the holiday. Tamar and Nachman were easy. They chose to dress as Queen Esther and Mordecai, respectively. Dov, as usual, would be a bear, but Shevach had a peculiar request. Recently, he had come to love “Numberblocks,” a British animated TV program about counting and math and that’s what he wanted to be for Purim.

Shimon wanted to satisfy all his children but finding a Numberblocks costume proved a bit of a challenge. Eventually, he found a woman on Etsy making them by hand.

“Shimon contacted her and ordered it and we were waiting for it to come in. When I left, they were still waiting for it,” Steve (Shalom) Boyer, Shimon’s brother, told Jewish News. Steve had been staying with the family for a few weeks, as he often did, and had returned to Florida only a day before tragedy struck.

Late on the night of March 1, a fire broke out in the Boyer family’s townhome in Northwest Phoenix. Shimon, 52, Nachman, 8, and Dov, 7, died in their beds. Tamar, 11, and Shevach, 9, died in the hospital the following Saturday.

SEE BOYER FAMILY, PAGE 2

Community seders

If you don’t want to host your own, you can find one nearby to attend. See page 15.

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SHANNON LEVITT | STAFF WRITER

Nachman, Shevach, Tamar and Dov Boyer COURTESY OF STEVE BOYER Shimon and Dov Boyer

Recalling that scene makes him chuckle, but he takes pride “in the intellectual strength and contribution of our people.” While he allowed there are certain Jews he would not celebrate — possibly even Jewish serial killers — “it takes nothing from being prideful about the many Jewish Nobel Prize winners,” he said.

“Jews have an obligation to be exemplary citizens because any other approach invites just more reason for hatred,” he added.

Weinzweig sits on the Judicial Selection Advisory Board (JSAB) for the City of Phoenix, which is responsible for encouraging candidates for City Court judges, vetting them and recommending appointments. For this and many committees that he sits on because of his position, he considers himself “sort of a figurehead” and usually doesn’t “speak up” or “rock the boat.”

He supports diversity and understands why marginalized groups fight for more representation in these committee meetings. But at a moment when antisemitism is increasing in the country, he is ready to see more Jewish representation, too.

Four in 10 American Jews felt less secure in 2022 than they did in 2021, according to an American Jewish Committee survey released this month, a 10-percentage point rise from when the same question was asked a year earlier. The portion of respondents who replied less secure was 41%; those feeling that their status was about as secure were 55% and those feeling more secure were 4%.

Weinzweig’s not only the lone Jew on the Arizona Court of Appeals, he’s also “the only Jewish judge in the building,” he said, referring to the Arizona State Courts Building where the Administrative Office of the Courts, the Arizona State Supreme Court and Court of Appeals are housed.

“When I’m looking for a judge, I want brain power and judgment, and many Jews, whether they like it or not, bring a unique perspective, and approach each issue and each case from an unparalleled starting point. Maybe it’s because they can look at their parents and say they

survived the Holocaust. I wanted to make sure that the people in the city of Phoenix can benefit from that. Like I said, I’m a fan of Jews,” he said.

Thus, he pushed the candidacy of Alex Benezra, who is Jewish. Last September, Benezra passed through the JSAB nominating committee and was appointed by Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego to the Phoenix Municipal Court.

“As a first-generation son of a refugee from Cuba, as somebody who speaks Spanish, as somebody who’s Jewish, I understand how much it’s important that people — especially people who feel marginalized, people who may feel like they’re outsiders — come to court and they may be unfamiliar with the process, but come in, and are given the information and the respect and the time they need that when they leave, they feel like the court has legitimacy,” Benezra told the Phoenix Council Council on Sept. 14, 2022.

Seeming to reflect the words inscribed in Weinzweig’s office and outside Ginsburg’s door, Benezra said he intended to ensure that every person to come into his court — victims, witnesses and defendants — can be certain of its integrity and promised to “execute my duties as a judge to rule on cases impartially … and do so impartially and do so without outside influence.”

A sense of empathy is critical to being a good judge, Weinzweig agreed, as well as “understanding our limited role, which is not to impose anything on the people.”

Weinzweig, who wants people to know he’s Jewish, shook his head at the increase in antisemitism and the accompanying tropes of Jewish power.

“They say, ‘Jews control the world,’ but that’s news to the judiciary. It’s kind of the opposite,” he said.

Weinzweig was born and raised in Phoenix and attended Beth El Congregation, where he dreamed of one day becoming a rabbi. By the time he enrolled as a freshman at the University of Arizona, that boyhood dream had morphed into an interest in politics, especially international policy and Israel.

It was also on U of A’s campus that he got his first introduction to anti-Zionist sentiment, even Holocaust denial.

“I was taken aback, but I was just naive,” Weinzweig said. He contacted the national Jewish organizations he knew, including the American Jewish Congress (AJC) and American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and asked for materials to push back. He became a campus liaison and attempted to speak with people of all stripes on these issues.

He worked briefly in Washington, D.C. for AIPAC, Ohio Sen. Howard Metzenbaum and Arizona Sen. John McCain before returning to Arizona State University for law school.

But before graduation, tragedy struck. His parents were in a terrible car accident. His father was killed instantly, while his

mother was grievously injured. According to her doctor, it would have been only a slight exaggeration to say that she broke every bone in her body. She spent months in the hospital, and Weinzweig cared for her while she recovered.

When he finally began his law career in earnest, he spent about a decade doing antitrust work for Lewis Roca in Phoenix. However, it was at Arizona’s Attorney General’s office that he found his true calling as a public servant.

At his private firm, five or six other lawyers would work on a case, but at the A.G.’s office he faced some of “the thorniest and most difficult issues and cases” on his own, he said. It was not an easier life but it was more fulfilling because he was finally testing his skills, and himself, in some uncomfortable situations.

Suddenly, he was wrestling with big constitutional questions rather than cases that always came back to money issues. Life at a white-shoe law firm felt like “living a life in six-minute increments,” he said. It wasn’t for someone who wanted to make a difference.

On Dec. 29, 2017, he received the letter informing him of his appointment to the appellate court, which is the ideal platform to make an impact, he said.

Weinzweig cringes at the idea of a politicized judiciary, and in his time on the bench, he has come in for criticism from both the political left and the right. He often has decided cases in a way that doesn’t match his personal policy preference. But that’s par for the course “if you are a good and honest judge,” he said.

That didn’t lessen the stress of having to stand for retention in November’s election. Some of the precedent-setting decisions he wrote made the rounds in the local press. In 2019, for example, the appellate court overturned a lower court’s ruling disallowing someone going through gender reassignment to change their name.

“At bottom, whether framed as a question of ‘good cause’ or ‘best interest,’ the statute does not permit the superior court to deny a person’s name-change request only because the person wants the new name to reflect a gender transition,” Weinzweig wrote.

He’s very sensitive to anything smacking of an abuse of power, he said. “I think it’s the second-generation Holocaust survivor in me.”

Weinzweig was considered for Arizona’s Supreme Court but was not selected. He is not too disappointed, though, because he wants to learn all there is to know about his current job before taking on a new challenge.

One of his favorite parts of the job is teaching and mentoring young lawyers. He enjoys honing their writing skills and his own, and is even working on a book on the art of writing. He cherishes his position for the time it allows him to think about and interpret the law, making it “a very Jewish job,” he said. JN

Judge David Weinzweig in his office at the Arizona State Courts Building in Phoenix. COURTESY OF JEWISH

their little lawyer.”

She helped Steve wash dishes and prepare food. During the first years, Steve lived full time with the family; he cooked, cleaned, cut hair and fixed little things around the house. He worked as a freelance writer and Shimon found work as an online sales representative, which allowed them both to be at home with the children.

Nachman was “a real character,” Steve said. He was very affectionate and would often get up to hug his uncle, who knew he missed his mother terribly. He also loved giving compliments to his uncle and father. After Steve gave Shimon a haircut, it was Nachman who would tell his father how handsome he looked.

Nachman was a Cub Scout and his Scout leader described him as “full of energy, always smiling, always in motion trying to engage, always happy to be there.” His troop provided a color guard at the funeral.

He played games like Candyland with his brothers and sister, but the boys could be “rough and tumble,” especially Dov, the youngest and strongest.

“My brother was a very thin fellow and all the kids were light, but picking up Dov was like, ‘Wow!’ because he was so sturdy,” Steve said.

Dov was the least expressive verbally but understood what was happening around him. They were all surprised to discover that Dov was a strong reader.

“I remember the second-to-last Shabbos, Shimon asking Tamar to read something. She sounded it out slowly and then Dov looked at the words and just rattled them off,” Steve said.

Dov loved looking at books and Steve sometimes heard his “little voice” telling

the story as he looked through the pages.

Shimon was very proud of his youngest’s reading ability and the fact that he was the most scholastically advanced, said B’Etta Euler, a care provider for Arizona’s Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD), who worked with the Boyer family during the last year of their lives.

“Shimon gave up most of his life for his kids and did what he could for them,” she told Jewish News. He faced multiple challenges with them and eventually called DDD to help when Shevach and Dov started regressing socially.

Euler worked with Shimon and all of the children to help develop and meet behavioral goals. Shimon struggled with maintaining boundaries for the children because he was so gentle, she said. For the last couple of years, Steve was living back in Florida most of the time, traveling back and forth to continue helping his brother as the kids got older and more self-sufficient.

But even with both men there, the children’s challenges were difficult to manage, she said. She gave Shimon a lot of credit for contacting DDD, a step many parents in similar situations don’t take.

In the past year, the kids were making strides in learning how to clean up after themselves, take directions, calm down, get their own snacks when hungry and play independently. Tamar was learning and capable of understanding the family’s difficulties.

Still, it wasn’t easy to take all the children out together, something Euler witnessed firsthand when Shimon took them all for pizza to celebrate Shevach’s last birthday. The kids were overly boisterous, other customers looked askance at them and Shimon was overwhelmed. He took them

to PHA social events from time to time but they rarely went out as a group.

Shimon had a few friends, but the children and the Torah were his world. As a young boy, Shimon studied Torah and loved learning, Steve said. He tried to teach his children Jewish history, holidays and some Hebrew letters.

Congregation Beth Joseph Rabbi Yisroel Isaacs told those gathered at the funeral that Shimon “personified a full and unflagging commitment to his family. We can learn from him what it means to commit to our families under the most difficult circumstances.”

Shimon was both father and mother to his four children, Steve said. He memorized their school schedules — each went to a different school — and was always looking for therapies to help them. He rarely got enough sleep, even sometimes falling asleep while doing the laundry or reading a book.

“I really want people to know what a wonderful parent he was,” Steve said. “I could see that each of the kids was on an upward trajectory — Tamar went from this very shy and afraid kind of little turtle in her shell to a blossoming, strong, caring and wonderful person. I could see them improving with all the help they were getting and I wondered how they would be when they grew up. I’ll never know now.”

The Boyer family has gone through several losses in the last decade. Steve and Shimon’s brother passed away in 2013; they lost their father in 2016 and their mother a year later. Now Steve, Michael Dov and Steve’s sister and brother-in-law, Devorah and Ted Rose, and their four children, Atara, Alex, Adira and Adin, are what remains of their family.

Steve knew that if anything happened

to Shimon, he would step in to raise them. He had been a co-parent for so long that he felt as if “they were my babies.”

When he received the news that Shimon, Nachman and Dov had passed and that Tamar and Shevach were in the hospital, he got on the first plane back to Phoenix. When he arrived, he was so overwhelmed by grief and confusion, he simply went back and forth between their hospital rooms holding each of their hands.

Euler learned of the tragedy right away and went to the hospital to meet Steve when he arrived, to help him manage the situation. She set up a GoFundMe page and transferred it to him and gave the link to the press reporting the story. She has seen so many people with disabilities “treated like dolls or imbeciles if not ignored completely,” and she was relieved to see more dignified coverage of the tragedy.

For the funeral, Sinai Mortuary donated five caskets, Beth Israel Cemetery donated the cemetery plots and Rabbi Moshe Levertov donated the service he officiated. In a matter of a few days, the GoFundMe raised over $100,000 from more than 100 donors, many of whom were anonymous.

“The outpouring of love and support from so many wonderful people took a burden off my shoulders,” Steve said. Eventually, he will need to replace his possessions, find a new place to live and is “going to start my life over.”

The enormity of his loss is profound. He spends much of his time now walking alone, asking again and again how it’s possible that he’s facing a future without five people he dearly loved.

“I just don’t understand. It doesn’t make any sense.” JN

Tamar Boyer

COURTESY OF STEVE BOYER Shevach, Dov and Nachman Boyer

COURTESY OF STEVE BOYER

Rabbis looking to innovate find a friend in Atra

SHANNON LEVITT | STAFF WRITER

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced synagogues to take programming online, Temple Kol Ami’s Rabbi Jeremy Schneider was already using online platforms for Hebrew instruction and was keen to investigate more possibilities.

“When I came to Scottsdale 13 years ago, I had strong feelings about my rabbinate, where a synagogue should be going in the 21st century and knew that things couldn’t stay the same,” Schneider told Jewish News.

A few months after synagogues shuttered their doors in March 2020, Schneider read about the Center for Rabbinic Innovation (recently renamed Atra: Center for Rabbinic Innovation) and learned it was creating a cohort of rabbis ready to think outside the box.

“Everyone was catching up, I had some time on my hands and this was the perfect opportunity to grow,” he said.

A little more than six years ago, the Office of Innovation began the program centered on helping rabbis innovate, adapt and strive for visionary leadership. It added the word Atra, from the phrase “mara d’atra,” meaning “master of the locality,” which refers to the community served by a rabbi. The organization wants to highlight that community while acknowledging that in today’s world, rabbis are not tied to one specific place.

“At Atra, we prepare rabbis to serve our people in every place they are, in every way that they need spiritual leaders,” said Rabbi Shira Koch Epstein, Atra’s executive director.

Schneider’s cohort was a group of likeminded, mid-career rabbis looking to contribute to their congregations in ways they didn’t learn in seminary. Each rabbi was charged with identifying a challenge and creating a minimum viable product (MVP) to address. They brought their unique challenges back to the group to discuss and process.

“Having the coaching and other professionals to bounce ideas off really helped,” Schneider said, especially since, at that time, he was the only clergy member at Kol Ami.

His MVP focused on including family in b’nai mitzvah ceremonies when it was still unsafe to travel or have more than a few people together in the sanctuary.

“I put a TV on a cart and rolled it to the side of my reading table. I finagled the wires in such a way that grandparents could join the Zoom room and I could spotlight them so they could offer Torah blessings and be a part of the ceremony. It seems obvious now but it wasn’t then,” he said.

Once travel restrictions began to loosen, he wanted to continue incorporating

virtual technology to include family members who couldn’t be present. A donor provided the funds for two, 75-inch TVs that were installed on the walls of the sanctuary on either side of the Ark. Having a media center in the background and an upgraded streaming camera means that what was once just a little jerry-rigged TV on a stand, is now something that allows distant friends a chance to be part of an important ceremony.

The cohort gave him the space and encouragement he needed, and even a relatively small change like this is an investment in Kol Ami’s future and his own learning. After he signed a lifetime contract in 2020, someone asked him if he intended to sit back and coast.

“I’m working twice as much now because I feel even more invested in the work I want to do for the congregation,” he said. “If I’m only teaching and never learning, I’ll become an empty vessel.”

At the end of last month, Atra announced plans for program expansion, establishing a field of rabbinic training, new research and a stronger national network among rabbis, all with the help of grants from Crown Family Philanthropies, the Jim Joseph Foundation and other donor funds, totaling more than $2 million toward the $6 million strategic plan.

Atra plans to launch one city-wide cohort this year and add a city next year and so on. “We would welcome the opportunity to work with rabbis in

Phoenix if there is interest and a desire to spark innovation in the Phoenix Jewish community,” Epstein told Jewish News.

During the pandemic, the organization also received funding for its Rabbinic (re) Design Lab, which helped clergy design new programming during the High Holy Days.

Rabbi Cookie Lea Olshein, senior rabbi at Temple Emanuel of Tempe, was part of one redesign cohort while she still served Temple Israel in West Palm Beach, Florida.

“I love the idea of innovation and I liked the idea of trying something small in practice with the MVP,” she said. She’s incorporated the MVP approach at Temple Emanuel in a couple of ways in the last year, both with active adult member programming.

Epstein called the MVP “a foundational element of the Atra methodology across our programs that will continue as we implement our strategic plan.”

The first was a reinvention of the Lunch & Learn series. After some modifications were made — a name change, new marketing, members choosing topics and a reasonably priced and healthy lunch — Olshein ran a three-month experiment with the understanding that at the end of that period everyone would reevaluate.

“We needed to know if there would be enough people to make it worthwhile and also ask for feedback to see if people wanted something different. At January’s

session, we had great feedback and decided that we’ll continue,” she said.

A similar experience happened for the active adult film series and discussion group, which will also continue.

“It’s important to make sure our programs are nimble enough to respond to members’ needs,” Olshein said.

“We don’t need a whole year to try things on to see if they fit. If they need to be altered we’ve left the room to do it because of this philosophy of experimentation that allows us to make changes as we go along,” she said.

Olshein is excited for Atra’s expansion and looks forward to new opportunities it will offer. She recommends the MVP concept to colleagues as a low-risk experiment.

“Congregations can be afraid to fail, but if you market it as an experiment, people could see it as a learning opportunity,” she said.

In the two years since Olshein and Schneider participated, Atra has “integrated individualized coaching even more into our programs,” Epstein said.

Atra soon plans to release a report of research into the impact rabbis have on young Jews’ lives, and will launch a new website at atrarabbis.org to grow its network and make its programs and resources more accessible. JN

For more information, visit atrarabbis.org.

A group of rabbis and their coaches in an Atra cohort. COURTESY

Arizona teens join thousands at 99th BBYO international convention

SHANNON LEVITT | STAFF WRITER

“I’ve loved seeing everyone back together for the biggest BBYO international convention ever!” 16-yearold Sadie Feinberg told a rapt audience just before Shabbat began on Friday, Feb. 17. The Scottsdale teen served as part of BBYO’s press corps during its 99th international convention (IC) in Dallas this year, which was livestreamed.

The Jewish youth organization prides itself on developing leadership skills in teens, so to become one of the faces of BBYO’s largest convention yet, Feinberg, already with podcasting experience in her local BBYO chapter, had to apply for the IC role and prove herself to be an apt young journalist ready for an international stage.

As part of the news desk, Feinberg and her co-host, Jason Calderon, interviewed Matthew Grossman, BBYO CEO, asking him about the ins and outs of running a growing international organization and his plans for its future, in addition to talking to a social media expert, quizzing

teen participants and introducing TikTok videos.

“Jason and I wrote the whole script ourselves,” Feinberg told Jewish News.

The number of opportunities for leadership positions is one of her favorite things about the organization because “it gives everyone a chance to lead and everyone can find their own place,” she said. Currently, the Horizon High School junior and member of the Center for Jewish Philanthropy of Greater Phoenix’s Youth Board is the Mountain Division’s Regional Chair for Senior Appreciation, where she plans programs for BBYO seniors, including organizing a letterwriting campaign to let members in their final year know how much they’ll be missed.

Feinberg’s roots in BBYO are deep, going back to her maternal greatgrandfather, who was active in Denver. Three generations of Feinbergs have served on the board of the Mountain Region, which includes Las Vegas and

Henderson, Nevada, Salt Lake City, Chandler, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sun City and Tempe.

“I was more drawn to BBYO because my family was in it, and then my sister really pushed me in and I love that because it gave me a new social network. Being a part of the Jewish community is very important to my family,” she said.

Dallas was her third IC, though the convention was held online her freshman year due to COVID. Last year’s meeting in Baltimore was very chaotic because people hadn’t seen one another in person in so long, she said.

This year’s convention, titled “Now is Our Time,” was more about reuniting with old friends and bidding farewell to the seniors who will be leaving soon. It also offered a huge array of speakers and activities to the 3,200 teens who participated.

There were 35 featured speakers from all walks of life. Among them were Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, U.S. Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff and U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt. Additionally, there were dozens more speakers, guests and musical performers participants could sign up to see.

Feinberg was most excited to hear from TikTok influencer Chris Olsen, who uses his platform to help his followers manage mental health while on social media, and some of the touring cast of the musical “Hamilton,” because she’s a self-described theater kid.

“David Hogg (founder of March for Our Lives) talked about a better future and gun safety — he was one of the cooler speakers there,” she said.

Regional President of Mountain Region Noah Fox, a senior at Horizon High, has been “super engaged” in BBYO throughout high school.

“I instantly fell in love with it, and I love the leadership aspect. As teens, we can plan and decide how we want to run events,” he said. Being on the board offered him the freedom to get creative. “It was the first time in my life that I felt part of something and in charge of it and helping it grow.”

He spends roughly three to four hours every week on his responsibilities for the organization, in addition to traveling to other chapters in the region. The investment of time has been worthwhile because the communication and social skills he’s developed will put him in good stead in any career he chooses, he said.

Due to his position on the executive body, Fox was invited to a private town hall meeting at IC with Emhoff to discuss antisemitism.

“We got screened by the secret service! Being in proximity to someone with that much influence was really inspiring to me, and he’s interested in the causes that are important to me,” Fox said.

Though he’s not normally a fan of gymnastics, he went to hear three-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas and was blown away. “She was a really great speaker and talked about motivation and sticking with your goals — I walked away with a lot more than I expected,” he said.

Coming together as Jews and celebrating Shabbat is an important aspect of every IC. For Fox, Havdalah with thousands of other young Jews is a transformative experience.

Jason Calderon and Sadie Feinberg prepare for their broadcast at this year’s BBYO International Convention in Dallas.

“Being in a room with 3,200 kids who all know the same prayers even though they’re from different countries and speak different languages is incredible. We sat next to kids from Spain who didn’t speak much English and we didn’t really speak Spanish, but we knew the same prayers and it was great,” he said.

Older kids had told fifteen-year-old Hayden Press that Havdalah at IC was among their favorite things, but he still wasn’t sure what to expect when he arrived in Dallas, his first convention.

“It was really cool to see everyone in one room, and it reminded me of camp,” he said.

That was how he summed up the whole weekend, which he hadn’t expected “to be so big and fun.” Meeting other kids from across the country and world — teens from 45 countries participated in IC — was a high point.

Before going, he sat down with his mom and planned his weekend. She advised him that he had to have a game plan going in or it would be overwhelming given all the speakers and activities on offer.

“There were so many options and you could go to one and if you didn’t like it, you could go to a different one. I liked the ones I chose, so I didn’t have to move,” he said.

He was very impressed by Deborah Lipstadt, who he hadn’t expected to be so interesting, and Gabby Douglas. “I liked how she talked about not giving up,” he said.

The students weren’t the only ones overwhelmed by this year’s opportunities.

Tess Perez, regional director for Mountain Region, was impressed listening to Andrew Stern, a Holocaust survivor, and his granddaughter, who represented the Los Angeles organization If You Heard What I heard.

“Hearing them talk about the importance of passing on the stories to future generations was really special,” she said.

Hearing the Second Gentleman tell the thousands of young Jews that he’s proud of his Judaism was another special moment, she said. But like so many others, Havdalah is her favorite time.

“We’re all there together — it’s what BBYO is all about,” she said. JN

For more information, visit bbyo.org.

Jewish News is published by the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix, a component of the Center for Jewish

of Greater Phoenix.

Teens from across the country and world descended on Dallas for the BBYO International Convention in February.

Philanthropy

Noah Fox, fourth from the left, poses with his friends from across the country at this year’s BBYO International Convention in Dallas.

Pardes’ students memorialize ‘resistors’ in permanent art exhibit

SHANNON LEVITT | STAFF WRITER

Pardes Jewish Day School has a challenging, but very exciting, decision to make by the end of the school year. After about 18 months of work, “Resistors in Color,” the eighthgrade class’ artistic composition, which showcases many of the brave souls who not only resisted but fought back against Nazis, is complete and ready for a permanent home.

On Wednesday, Feb. 22, the artists’ parents, along with the broader community, were invited to the unveiling of the piece — eight colorful glass panels set in a custom wooden frame 9 1/2 feet tall by 6 1/2 feet wide and sitting atop curved wooden legs.

The enormous artwork is currently housed on the bimah in the sanctuary of the Scottsdale day school, but only for now. By the end of the year, Pardes’ administration, with input from teachers

and students, will decide on its final locale. It is the first student artwork to have a permanent installation in the school’s history.

As grand as the faux-stained-glass work is, it wasn’t the only art on display in Wednesday evening’s exhibit “Upstanders in Color.” The sixth-grade class also showed their Holocaust-inspired artwork based on upstanders, people who rescued and actively saved those persecuted under Germany’s Nazi regime.

The evening included a short talk by a Holocaust survivor, Marion Weinzweig, and a second-generation survivor, Ettie Zilber. The artwork was accompanied by handouts containing the image of each piece, names of the artists and QR codes, so that people could learn more about the work.

Wednesday represented the culmination of months and months of preparation that

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began with an $11,300 project-focused learning initiative grant from Facing History and Ourselves, a global nonprofit whose mission statement is “to use lessons of history to challenge teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate.”

The grant stipulates that the project must tell stories about the Holocaust using an artistic lens.

“We applied with fingers crossed and received a very nice grant,” said Sarah Ettinger, eighth-grade humanities teacher, who led the project in partnership with art teacher Hannah Carter.

Their challenge was to use the funds in a way that would represent the school and the community with lasting artwork.

Alison Hurwitz-Kelman, a Facing History representative who came to Wednesday’s exhibit, believes they met and even surpassed that challenge.

“They chose to amplify voices that can’t speak for themselves, and this school looks like the model for what it looks like to amplify that voice in your own way,” she said.

Formal Holocaust education begins in sixth grade at Pardes, when students learn about upstanders. For this project, kids chose an upstander by using the Yad Vashem Archive to find biographical information, details about those saved and any existing photographs.

The eighth-graders started on their masterpiece unwittingly while in seventh grade, working on a unit about Holocaust resistors. Kids made illustrations and sketches of the resistors, which Carter saved over the summer. The first week back to school, she handed them back and explained the concept for the massive group art project.

Once the class was divided into groups and decided on a concept for their

individual panels, they had to determine how to proceed, including developing a list of supplies and expenses.

“We had to take it from the lens of a working artist,” Carter said. “You need to have your receipts to know where things are coming from and what they’re being used for. They wrote an artist statement and documented everything.”

The money goes fast.

“Epoxy is expensive, clay is expensive, paint is expensive, brushes are expensive, tools are expensive, even paper,” Carter said. “It’s all expensive.”

She was a stickler for documentation, explaining to the kids that they had to make the most of the materials and use them “wisely and appropriately for what we want to accomplish.”

Ettinger sat on the sidelines at first while Carter’s class did the initial work, but her turn to take charge of the project came sooner than she anticipated.

“She started, but I had the other end of the project,” Ettinger explained. She assisted the students in creating interactive QR codes, explaining the subject of the art, the process and challenges. The kids wrote a script, did an audio recording, imported it into movie editing software and stitched together images of their resistor or resistance movement. That way, as people listen, they can see photos of the actual people or events.

Then came the bonus challenge — “although the kids were not so happy about it,” she laughed. She instructed them to provide subtitles as well. “So now they’re starting to see that art is much more than just the art piece.”

Seeing the completed work was the “shining jewel on top of everything,” Carter said. The students felt the same.

Eighth-grader Ben Frumin recounted

Pardes’ eighth-grade class stands in front of their permanent artwork on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

that when he first got the assignment to make a drawing of his researched resistor, he thought, “I’ll just make a cool drawing, but I didn’t think about it turning into this big thing. It’s pretty cool that we’re going to be able to have it up tonight and then in a permanent fixture at the school.”

His classmate, Justin Sacks, was similarly proud of the work.

“We worked hard to make it, and it took like a year and a lot of hours. It’ll be pretty cool to have people walk by and point to it because I can say, ‘I did that,’” he said.

Michelle Schwartz was happy that her

group selected her drawing of Hannah Szenes, Hungarian poet and Special Operations Executive paratrooper, for the second panel from the top left.

Ellen Sacks, Justin’s mom, knew that his class was working on a project about the Holocaust but never suspected this would be the result.

“It’s amazing and unlike anything we would have done as students,” she said. “One of the things that Pardes does so beautifully is weave together so many different facets of education and experience, to cross over other subjects and come back together and culminate in this amazing project where the kids can present and learn and put their own spin on it.”

“The students have grown up quite a bit this year, just in the way that they approach these types of things,” Carter said.

Ettinger echoed that statement. Students came to her as the exhibit date approached, worried that a survivor might see something emotionally triggering in the artwork.

“They’re actually thinking about how to pick images with care so as not to hurt somebody else. That’s the part I wasn’t expecting, and it has been a delightful surprise to see how our students have taken it all with the seriousness that it deserves,” she said. JN

“Resistors in Color,” the eighth-grade class’ artistic composition. COURTESY

Hannah Carter, left, and Sarah Ettinger, right, led the “Resistors in Color” project from the beginning.

Women’s Leadership Institute offers introduction to Mussar

SHANNON LEVITT | STAFF WRITER

In the first of four “Mussar: The Jewish Way of Building Character” classes, offered in February by the Women’s Leadership Institute (WLI), Sharona Silverman invited her students to explore the concept of “humility.”

To begin, she asked them to consider whether they take up too much or too little space in their daily lives. Their homework was to examine the ways they practiced humility during the week, where they resisted it and what they could do to foster it.

She suggested they use the focus phrase, “No more than my place, no less than my space,” that concretizes an otherwise abstract idea.

“You focus on it (the phrase), write it down, put it on your mirror, chant it or sing it — but think about it,” Silverman said. She wants them to recognize that they have value and deserve space while being mindful not to take more than their share. The course will also examine

ethical considerations around honor and patience.

Mussar is a Jewish spiritual practice that gives concrete instructions on how to live a meaningful and ethical life, something Silverman has been studying and practicing since she first encountered it two decades ago.

After reading “Climbing Jacob’s Ladder: One Man’s Journey to Rediscover a Jewish Spiritual Tradition” by Alan Morinis, Silverman chanced to meet him at a book signing in Phoenix.

Silverman managed Temple Chai’s Shalom Center at that time, and along with then-Temple Chai Rabbi Mari Chernow and a few congregants, she started a Mussar group informally known as the “Mussar Mammas.”

She was drawn to Mussar for the way it makes the heart feel what the mind knows, thereby becoming a more holy and whole person. That was also the premise of the Shalom Center, which she co-founded in 1996.

“I felt we need to do that by feeling and acting on Jewish wisdom, not just with the head. Mussar teaches us we are holy souls and our job is to be a vessel to bring this wholeness into the world,” she said.

Rabbi Elana Kanter started WLI eight years ago. Since then, 104 people have gone through the Institute as mentors or mentees. When COVID-19 appeared, Kanter suspended the regular program and focused instead on her alumnae.

“We could build on existing relationships but we couldn’t build new ones on Zoom,” she said.

Silverman is the alumnae program’s first class; she was a mentor in WLI’s first cohort eight years ago.

Kanter generally teaches at the Institute, but though she was already familiar with Mussar — had even taught it — she recognized Silverman as the expert and is content to be a student in the class.

She approves of Silverman’s method, especially giving homework that encourages students to develop character traits while learning about them simultaneously.

“When I was teaching Mussar, it was just the ideas but we weren’t actually doing it. It really is something that’s meant to be done,” Kanter said.

Aside from writing down the focus phrase and journaling, Silverman encouraged students to find “small, concrete or time-bound activities” to do regularly. For example, those taking too little space should try to become

more visible, perhaps by wearing bright clothing or raising their hands in class. Conversely, for those who take too much space, they might try sitting in the back of the room for a change, Silverman said.

People might find those things uncomfortable, but it’s all a part of the work.

Jessielyn Hirschl is bringing the lessons to her work and personal life.

She is generally a front-of-the-class person, but only because she is concerned for the presenter/teacher, who might not think people are engaged.

“I raise my hand because I worry about them, but maybe I shouldn’t be so quick to fill that space. Maybe I should let the silence linger and give space for something to happen,” she said.

“This class has already been transformational,” Hirschl said. “I told Sharona that I’ve tried to work on myself in a lot of different ways but this is the first time I’m really unpacking some of the challenges in my life.”

Kerri Robbins also sees places to incorporate these lessons into her daily life and has let people share their frustrations with her without rushing to solve the problem.

“Sometimes people just need to share and be heard, and my proper place is just to be a listening ear,” she said.

Ellen Widoff saw the lesson’s connection between humility and healthy self-esteem.

“Importantly, to be humble is not to hide but to provide the best service possible to others. Mussar implies that when we acquire self-knowledge, it is not just self-serving, but ensures that we radiate and expand our influence to others,” she said.

For Kanter, the lesson about humility started the moment the class did.

“Anytime you put yourself in a learning situation, it really is an act of humility. It’s important for teachers to remember that experience,” Kanter said.

“Some people want to stay on an intellectual plane and Mussar might seem touchy-feely, but Judaism has a rich tradition of meditation. This offers a path to a life of mitzvot and Torah study with an open heart,” Silverman said. JN

To learn more about the Women's Leadership Institute, visit womenlearning.org.

Sharona Silverman

COURTESY SHARONA SILVERMAN

‘Dive deep’ to understand Israeli diversity, says BJE speaker

SHANNON LEVITT | STAFF WRITER

In July 2018, Israel’s controversial nation-state bill established Israel as the historic home of the Jewish people with a “united” Jerusalem as its capital and declared under law that the Jewish people “have an exclusive right to national selfdetermination.”

The fact that this Basic Law made no mention of equality or democracy was a primary motivating factor for Gadeer Kamal-Mreeh, the first Druze woman elected to Israel’s Knesset, to join the Israel Resilience Party and stand for election under the umbrella of the Blue and White Alliance.

“I know that this is the homeland of the Jewish people, and I respect it. I have a problem with what was not written in the law: equality,” Kamal-Mreeh told two separate gatherings sponsored by the Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Phoenix’s Passages series on Sunday, March 5. She spoke at Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley (TBS) in Sun City in the early afternoon and at Temple Kol Ami in Scottsdale later that evening.

“Are we, the State of Israel, afraid of ensuring equality for all our minorities — the Jewish people, who experienced what they experienced in the last century?” she asked a rapt audience.

Her question was not simply a rhetorical device to keep her listeners interested. Given that she personally embodies what the law excludes — “My name is Gadeer. I am an Israeli but not a Jew. I am an Arab but not a Muslim. I’m a minority within a minority” — it was an entree to a much bigger question: “After 75 years, what is Israel’s identity?”

Kamal-Mreeh began her talk by sharing a bit of her biography as well as a succinct breakdown of Druze history, religion and largely positive relationship with Israel, both before statehood and since 1948.

She was raised to be a social agent. Her parents told her, “If you have something to say, say it, and if you have something to change, go and change it,” she said.

Growing up, Kamal-Mreeh loved interviewing her friends, classmates and teachers because she liked talking to people to learn about them. At 12, she even went to a local TV station and convinced the manager to give her her own small interview program.

To be an involved global citizen, something she encouraged in all her listeners, one must play an active role, she said. Her natural inclination was to engage her country and the world through journalism. In 2012, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation hired her to present in Arabic. Then in 2017, she became the first Druze woman to anchor a Hebrew-language weekend

news program on Israeli television’s Channel 1.

She was happy with her career until one morning in January 2019, while washing dishes, she was called by a member of the Blue and White Alliance to consider entering politics.

“It took me one month to say yes because Druze women are still not equal socially,” she said.

Her campaign caused a sensation in the Druze community, and though initially her staffers were male, she soon found many women eager to join her cause.

“They were thirsty for the opportunity because when we talk politics, it is beyond politics. It means I have an equal voice,” she said. Equality continued to be her touchstone through a tumultuous period of quick consecutive elections. Her first term in the Knesset lasted only 29 days until a second election was called in the country.

When Kamal-Mreeh was offered a minister position after the third election in March 2020, she declined because it was clear there would be no amendment to the Basic Law ensuring equality for all Israelis.

“I said, ‘No, thank you. I prefer not to be a minister because I want to work for the opposition and fight for those values,’” she said. Thus, she went to work for the Jewish Agency as a special liaison to the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. She also works with Hillel International to promote Jewish student interest in Israel on American college campuses.

Since traveling the world in her new role, she has had the opportunity to meet a wide variety of people who hold misperceptions about her homeland. Education is the only counter to ignorance; to learn about the country, people need “to dive deep and learn what the challenges are,” she said.

She challenged her listeners to get to know Israel’s “rich mosaic of people.”

“The next time you travel to Israel, go to the periphery, meet minorities and see how much our path is intertwined. Go and see how much we shaped our life together,” she said.

Kamal-Mreeh’s mantra is: “Don’t talk about them. Talk to them.”

She highlighted the heterogeneity of Israel’s various sectors, saying the only way to know the reality of the people on the ground is to meet and talk to them.

“Get to know the differences and the uniqueness of each sector and Israel — warts and all,” she said.

Passages’ speakers are hosted in different locations across Greater Phoenix because “the Bureau wants to service the whole Valley,” said Myra Shindler, BJE’s

executive director. One goal of the series is to present a wide variety of speakers with different viewpoints.

TBS Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan, who introduced Kamal-Mreeh, was impressed with her forthrightness on a tough topic.

“Usually, these kinds of speakers tend to speak in platitudes and say a lot of words about nothing — she was the opposite,” he said.

Fay Henning-Bryant, TBS’s president, was inspired by Kamal-Mreeh’s commitment to Israel.

“I think she’s very seriously thinking about going back into politics because she’s having a very hard time doing what

she’s doing instead of being involved in trying to change things,” she said.

During the Q&A, Larry Dworkin, a snowbird from Toronto, asked KamalMreeh about the direction of Israel, which he feels “is a really tough situation” and said that he doesn’t “like the direction it’s going as a Jew.”

Kamal-Mreeh responded that she had cried that very morning about the ongoing demonstrations regarding the judicial reforms in the country.

“We are heading toward a hard future,” she said. JN

To learn more about Passages, visit bjephoenix.org.

Pictured from left: Myra Shindler, Gadeer Kamal-Mreeh and Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan.

JFCS and BJE host community food drive for Passover

Jewish Family & Children’s Service (JFCS) and the Bureau of Jewish Education (BJE) have begun their annual community food drive for Passover. The organizations are asking for assistance from the Jewish community in Greater Phoenix. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, food prices climbed 10% in 2022, and JFCS noted the increase in the number of people dealing with food insecurity.

Kathy Rood, JFCS Jewish program manager, said a monetary or food donation will help to ensure “a meaningful holiday for more than 200 Valley families.”

BJE Executive Director Myra Shindler said the food drive helps “Jewish families in need, as well as the homebound elderly, giving them the opportunity to observe the Passover holiday with dignity. Passover food is so very expensive, and thus, the community stepping up to help, fulfills the mitzvah of Maot Chitim.”

Perishable food such as Kosher chickens will be purchased with donations. The money will also go to supplement food collected in Passover drop-off location boxes at local synagogues and the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus by March 30.

Kosher for Passover non-perishable food items requested include, but are not limited to, matzah, gefilte fish, wine, grape juice, matzah ball (and soup) mix, horseradish, candy, cookies, cake mixes and matzah farfel.

“JFCS wants to ensure that everyone in our Jewish community has access to the food they need to observe a traditional Passover,” Rood said.

“Giving tzedakah is a critical mitzvah to sustain community, and this food drive gives everyone who is able a chance to help and support those in need. This in turn allows for those who receive the foods the chance to feel cared for, which as our rabbis teach, can bring healing in ways we can’t even imagine,” said Rabbi Aviva Funke, BJE associate director,

Hebrew High principal and IGNITE director.

To make a monetary donation, send a check to Bureau of Jewish EducationPassover Food Drive, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Suite 203, Scottsdale, AZ 85254 or donate online at .jfcsaz.org/donate/ donate-online-now/passover/. If you or someone you know needs assistance in celebrating Passover this year, contact Kathy Rood at JFCS at Kathy.Rood@ jfcsaz.org or 602-452-4627.

Temple Chai welcomes new executive director

The first week of March, Wendy Cohen started her new role as Temple Chai’s executive director. Her first day was atypical given that it coincided with Purim. Instead of the normal first-day drill of setting up her office and learning the computer system, Cohen was treated to watching kids from the early childhood center march in the Purim parade, while she threw together a costume for herself and memorized a line for the Purim spiel.

“The second day was all work,” she told Jewish News with a laugh.

Five years ago, Cohen moved to Greater Phoenix from the Washington, D.C. area where she spent two decades in leadership at the American Gastroenterological Association. After arriving in Scottsdale, she became the executive director of Experience Matters, a human services nonprofit helping retirees repurpose their skill sets. A few months into the COVID19 pandemic, she took over as interim executive director for the Phoenix Girls Chorus before becoming a senior director for Duet: Partners in Health & Aging.

Cohen is always searching for new challenges and Temple Chai is her first foray into synagogue leadership. When she learned of the position and its requirements she decided to apply. Her application was one of more than 35 from across the country.

“We were looking for an executive that brought years of experience to us and

Wendy has that along with a passion and desire to help us grow and continue to be innovative,” David Weiner, Temple Chai president, told Jewish News.

“I thought I had the skill set, and obviously they thought I had the skill set, to be successful here,” Cohen said.

After her interview with Temple Chai staff, Cantor Ross Wolman invited her to the next Shabbat service where they were having a brisket cookoff and a vegan cookoff.

As a vegetarian, Cohen decided to bring a dish. She and her husband, Jeffrey, felt very welcomed and very in sync with the congregation’s values regarding diversity, equity and justice, she said.

“It just felt like it was a really good fit,” she said.

Cohen is excited to join Temple Chai in a transitional period. Rabbi Emily Segal started last July, the congregation is looking for a new building after making the decision to sell its property in 2021 and her entrance is another big shift.

“This trifecta, as it were, is something I’m very excited about,” Cohen said. “I feel that Rabbi Segal brings a unique perspective from her experiences while I have a different perspective from my experiences, and I’m very excited to team up with her and work as two women in the field and bring a sensitivity to issues that are important to this congregation. It’s a little daunting to think of moving a whole congregation but I am excited to be part of that process.”

To prepare for the challenges ahead, Cohen joined the National Association for Temple Administration and will attend its annual conference next fall. In the meantime, she is part of a regional cohort of executive directors from Arizona, Idaho, New Mexico, Colorado and Washington that meets on a weekly Zoom call to share best practices.

While she digs into the nitty gritty of synagogue administration she is enjoying getting to know the Temple Chai community. Having moved not

long before the COVID-19 pandemic began, the Cohens have been somewhat isolated since they didn’t have the time to form a large network of friends before quarantine and social distancing set in.

“I’m a very social person and a people person. I get a lot out of making those connections,” she said.

Cox in Tucson and Phoenix offers Jewish Life Television

Jewish Life Television, the nation’s largest 24-7 English language, Jewishthemed television network is now available to Cox Communications’ subscribers in Greater Tucson and Greater Phoenix.

More cultural than religious, JLTV has viewers of all faiths for its programming, both original and acquired, including Fauda, Prisoners of War and Servant of the People (starring Ukrainian President and Time Magazine’s Person of the Year Volodymyr Zelensky).

JLTV seeks to entertain and educate its audience about Jews’ cultural and religious experience in the United States, in Israel and around the world, with multiple genres including children’s programs, cooking shows, comedies, dramas, history, news and talk shows, travel and more.

“Given that, according to Berman Jewish DataBank, Greater Tucson ranks in the top 50 largest Jewish communities in the nation, and Greater Phoenix is in the top 10, according to the American Jewish Population Study, we are thrilled that Cox video subscribers in Tucson and Phoenix will have the opportunity to watch JLTV,” Brad Pomerance, JLTV’s executive vice president, told Jewish News.

Jewish Life Television is available through Charter/Spectrum, Comcast/ Xfinity, Cox, DirecTV nationwide, and other video operators. To find JLTV’s channel position in any community, sign onto www.jltv.tv/channels.

Seder plate CREATIVE COMMONS CC0 1.0 UNIVERSAL PUBLIC DOMAIN DEDICATION

Promo poster for Jewish Life TV’s program, “Servant of the People.” COURTESY OF JEWISH LIFE TELEVISION

Wendy Cohen, left, and in the gray hat, right, delivering her line in Temple Chai’s Purim spiel. PHOTOS COURTESY OF WENDY COHEN

How the late actor Topol turned Tevye into a Zionist

ANDREW SILOW-CARROLL | JTA

f you were born anytime before, say, 1975, you might remember Israel not as a source of angst and tension among American Jews but as a cause for celebration. In the 1960s and ’70s, most Jews embraced as gospel the heroic version of Israel’s founding depicted in Leon Uris’ 1958 novel “Exodus” and the 1960 movie version. The1961 Broadway musical “Milk and Honey,” about American tourists set loose in Israel, ran for over 500 performances. And that was before Israel’s lightning victory in the Six-Day War turned even fence-sitting suburban Jews into passionate Zionists.

That was the mood when the film version of “Fiddler on the Roof” came out in 1971. The musical had already

been a smash hit on Broadway, riding a wave of nostalgia by Jewish audiences and an embrace of ethnic particularism by the mainstream. The part of Tevye, the put-upon patriarch of a Jewish family in a “small village in Russia,” was originated on Broadway by Zero Mostel, a Brooklyn-born actor who grew up in a Yiddish-speaking home.

Ashkenazi American Jews tended to think of “Fiddler” as family history — what Alisa Solomon, author of the 2013 book “Wonder of Wonders: A Cultural History of Fiddler on the Roof,” describes as the “Jewish American origin story.”

But Mostel didn’t star in the film, which landed in theaters while the afterglow of Israel’s victory in its second major war of

The legacy of art

JEREMIAH KAPLAN

Do you know a local Jewish artist in the Phoenix community? Are they your friend or family member?

My grandmother, of blessed memory, shared her passion for sculpture and metalworking with me. My father shares his love for music. My mother, a local artist, inspires me to seek creativity in all aspects of my life. My own home is filled with art, stories, music and a strong creative spirit. There is Jewish artwork, both newly acquired and gifts of previous generations coming together beginning with a single, meaningful piece of art: the ketubah proudly hanging in my home … more on that story in a moment.

I grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, and was surrounded by art and those who live it. When we moved to Arizona, our

survival had yet to fade. Famously – or notoriously – the part went to Chaim Topol, a young Israeli actor unknown outside of Israel except for his turns in the London productions of “Fiddler.” With an Israeli in the lead, a musical about the perils and dilemmas of Diaspora became a film about Zionism. When Topol played Tevye in London, Solomon writes,“‘Fiddler’ became a site for celebration, drawing Jews as well as gentiles to the theater — some for repeat viewings — to bask in Jewish perseverance and to pay homage to Jewish survival. The show didn’t change, but the atmosphere around it did.”

Topol died on March 8 at 87, and he is still best known as Tevye. His death reminded me of the ways “Fiddler” is —

and isn’t — Zionist. When Tevye and his fellow villagers are forced out of Anatevke by the czarist police, they head for New York, Chicago and Krakow. Only Yente, the matchmaker, declares that she is going to the “Holy Land.” Perchik, the presumably socialist revolutionary who marries one of Tevye’s daughters, wants to transform Russian society and doesn’t say a word about the political Zionists

SEE TOPOL, PAGE 14

TRADITION IS PASSED FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION AND SERVES AS A BACKBONE FOR OUR FAITH. ART IS PASSED FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION AND SERVES AS ITS SOUL.

synagogue, Temple Chai in Phoenix, created a dedicated gallery space for local artists to showcase their livelihood alongside preserved historic artifacts. My mother was moved by these spaces and the artists that presented their works for the congregation. She began collecting art to bring into our home, thus beginning her influence on me and my family today. The old was made new, through young eyes, and the new was made holy.

Phoenix area synagogues, community centers and museums embody love and appreciation for art by proudly displaying the original works of Jewish artists, but how can we bring this home with us? We beautify spaces where we congregate as a people, but how do we bring this into our living spaces?

It’s funny how some pieces of art come into our lives. My wife and I were busy planning our wedding with details galore, such as selecting our ketubah. We decided to independently select our favorite designs (from a website specializing in such things) and compare notes. As we came together to choose a design, we decided to write down our favorites and orchestrate a “big reveal” to see just how onerous our final selection process would be. To our shocked delight, and out of thousands of designs, we both

selected the same ketubah. It would be wonderful if all wedding decisions were that b’sheirt! This single work of art forms the cornerstone of our Jewish home.

Where would you go to purchase art for your home? New York? Los Angeles? Where would you go to find a Jewish artist in Phoenix? This might be a little tougher. While there are several local directories that support local Jewish arts and culture, we sometimes struggle to connect local Jewish artists with local Jewish patrons.

Tradition is passed from generation to generation and serves as a backbone for our faith. Art is passed from generation to generation and serves as its soul. The beautification of a Jewish home is more than decorating a space. When we fill our homes, intentionally, with original works of art by Jewish artists, their very brushstrokes create a legacy for our children.

My mother recently told me a story about a commission where the Jewish client asked for a message on the back of the painting itself, hidden from public view. It was a message of love and legacy for her children inscribed behind the canvas, a spiritual fingerprint brought into their family’s home.

My wife and I took our son recently to the Celebration of Art in Scottsdale to visit

A NOTE ON OPINION

my mother’s booth. It was immediately apparent how well he connected with the creativity and atmosphere in the tent. Her booth happens to be near another Jewish artist, and the sense of community and intergenerational love was palpable. As a father, seeing my son engage in this discourse brought tears to my eyes.

When Jewish patrons come to see my mother, she is always excited to share the Jewish symbolism, ideals and spirit within her art. Throughout history, we have reclaimed lost treasures. Today, the sparks of creation give us the opportunity to claim our connection to Judaism by meeting Jewish artists and bringing their original works of art into our homes. What dedicated spaces have we created, or need to be created, to support those that inspire us?

“Like the bone structure of a skeleton, the construct of our character leaves footprints of those who have shared our time and space. My hope is that my paintings will remind you of your own history and its importance in your existence.” — Loren Yagoda (a.k.a. my mom). JN

To see Loren Yagoda’s art, visit lorenyagoda.com. Jeremiah Kaplan is a researcher and educator for the Arizona State University school of social work, music lover, art lover, avid reader, husband and father of two.

We are a diverse community. The views expressed in these opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the views of the officers and boards of the Jewish Community Foundation, Center for Jewish Philanthropy, Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix, Cleveland Jewish Publication Company or the staff of the Jewish News. Letters must respond to content published by the Jewish News and should be a maximum of 200 words. They may be edited for space and clarity. Unsigned letters will not be published. Letters and op-ed submissions should be sent to editor@jewishaz.com

Loren Yagoda

COURTESY OF JEREMIAH KAPLAN

Topol appears as Tevye in the 1971 film “Fiddler on the Roof.” COURTESY OF SILVER SCREEN COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES VIA JTA

Vayikra — Leviticus 1

e begin the third and middle book of the Torah — Leviticus — with what today we would call a “shout-out.” God “calls out” to Moses — Vayikra el Moshe! —and subsequently through him to the Israelites. The Almighty “calls out” to Moses listing the requirements for the five kinds of sacrifices that need to be brought forth; the different kinds of animal parts, grains and oils that are to be offered as sacrifices for various kinds of concerns. All to be offered in the portable sanctuary, the Tent of Meeting or the Tabernacle, while the Israelites were camped in the Sinai desert.

Vayikra el Moshe! God “called out” to our ancestor Moses! Why so challenging? Why not “addressed” or “spoke to” or “whispered?” Did the Almighty have to

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13

who sought to create a workers’ utopia in Palestine.

“There is nothing explicitly or even to my mind implicitly Zionist about it,” Solomon told me a few years back. And yet, she said, “any story of Jewish persecution becomes from a Zionist perspective a Zionist story.”

When the Israeli Mission to the United Nations hosted a performance of the Broadway revival of “Fiddler” in 2016, that was certainly the perspective of then-Ambassador Dani Danon. Watching the musical, he said, he couldn’t help thinking, “What if they had a place to go [and the Jews of Anatevke could] live as a free people in their own land? The whole play could have been quite different.”

Israelis always had a complicated relationship with “Fiddler,” Solomon told me. The first Hebrew production was brought to Israel in 1965 by impresario Giora Godik. American Jews were enthralled by its resurrection of Yiddishkeit, the Ashkenazi folk culture that their parents and grandparents had left behind and the Holocaust had all but erased. Israelis were less inclined to celebrate the “Old Country.”

“Israelis were — what? — not exactly ashamed or hostile, but the Zionist enterprise was about moving away from that to become ‘muscle Jews,’ and even denouncing the stereotype of the pasty, weakling Eastern European Jews,”

speak loudly to get Moses’ attention? Was the upcoming presentation heightened by the use of “calling out”? Or maybe Moses was otherwise occupied, busied with running the daily operations of his sometimes cantankerous people. Possibly Moses wasn’t tuned to the right ‘channel’ to receive the words of the Almighty or had other important issues on his mind.

WNonetheless, I’m struck by the tough voice of God to Moses, “called out.” Granted, many need to be brought to attention by the strict voice of a teacher or a coach. Some must hear another’s words spoken loudly to assure their impact. There are those who must be vocally challenged in order to quicken to a message.

Having been a teacher for decades, I’ve learned that bringing a noisy class to attention however is more easily accomplished by using a modulated voice, rather than challenging back with a shout. Between Moses and God, however, the relationship and the vehicle for communication was already established. Before and following the time of the burning bush through the Exodus story, Moses and God already had that connection, an ability to hear one another and to

said Solomon, warning that she was generalizing.

That notion of the “muscle Jew” is echoed in a review of Topol’s performance by New Yorker critic Pauline Kael, who wrote that he is “a rough presence, masculine, with burly, raw strength, but also sensual and warm. He’s a poor man but he’s not a little man, he’s a big man brought low — a man of Old Testament size brought down by the circumstances of oppression.”

Mostel, by contrast, was plump, sweaty and vaudevillian — a very different kind of masculinity. The contrast between the two Tevyes shows up in, of all places, a parody of “Fiddler” in Mad magazine. In that 1973 comic, Mostel’s Tevye is reimagined as a neurotic, nouveau riche suburban American Jew with a comb-over, spoiled hippy children and a “spendthrift” wife; Topol’s Tevye arrives in a dream to blame his descendants for turning their backs on tradition and turning America into a shallow, consumerist wasteland. A kibbutznik couldn’t have said (or sung) it better.

Composer Jerry Bock, lyricist Sheldon Harnick and book writer Joseph Stein set out to write a hit musical, not a political statement. But others have always shaped “Fiddler” to their needs.

In the original script, Yente tells Tevye’s wife Golde, “I’m going to the Holy Land to help our people increase and multiply. It’s my mission.” In a 2004 Broadway revival, staged in the middle of the second

respond. Neither needed to “call out” to receive the other’s attention.

I must admit that I abhor being yelled at. Tell me something needs to change, OK. Something needs to be different, fine. My actions must be altered, good. Tell me, don’t yell at me. Don’t “call me out!”

Yet, it appears that Moses had to be “called out” by God to begin hearing the instructions contained here in Leviticus; seems a bit harsh. Especially, since this third book of the Torah has an even kinder, gentler name than the Greek, Leviticus. It’s known as Torat Kohanim, the Priestly Torah. (Even if the Levites are only mentioned in it once, Lev. 25:32-34.) Yet this priestly book opens with a challenging and forceful voice, Vayikra el Moshe!

Luckily for us today, the opening of this Sidrah is mollified by the positive words of the Haftarah (Isa. 44:18). Here we are provided with a truly spectacular motivation explaining when to forcefully speak up, to shout and to break forth in joy! The earlier “shout out” to Moses is quieted as we read from this DeuteroIsaiah passage quoted in the High Holy Days Machzor, “I have swept away your

intifada, the “increase and multiply” line was excised. In a review of Solomon’s “Wonder of Wonders,” Edward Shapiro conjectured that the producers of the revival didn’t want Yente to be seen as “a soldier in the demographic war between Jews and Arabs.”

Topol himself connected “Fiddler” to Israel as part of one long thread that led from Masada — the Judean fortress where rebellious Jewish forces fell to the Romans in the first century CE — through Russia and eventually to Tel Aviv. “My grandfather was a sort of Tevye, and my father was a son of Tevye,” Topol told The New York Times in 1971. “My grandfather was a Russian Jew and my father was born in Russia, south of Kiev. So I knew of the big disappointment with the [Russian] Revolution, and the Dreyfus trial in France, and the man with the little mustache on his upper lip, the creation of the state of Israel and ‘Masada will never fall again.’ It’s the grandchildren now who say that. It’s all one line — it comes from Masada 2,000 years ago, and this Tevye of mine already carries in him the chromosomes of those grandchildren.”

The recent all-Yiddish version of “Fiddler on the Roof” — a Yiddish translation of an English-language musical based on English translations of Yiddish short stories — readjusted that valence, returning “Fiddler” solidly to the Old Country. It arrived at a time when surveys suggested that Jews 50 and older are much more emotionally

transgressions like a cloud … for I have redeemed you … For the Eternal has redeemed Jacob and is glorified in Israel.”

That’s worthy of a shout out! So, call out with good reasons, but always prepare a solid back-story to strengthen the legitimacy of your shouting. Give someone a good “talking to” when deserved! But reject the desire to forcefully “call out” an individual. It’s an important lesson from the past that should be helpful to us today and in the future. JN

Rabbi Dr. Robert L. Kravitz has served the Arizona Jewish community for nearly four decades. He currently provides spiritual support to Jews in 28 Greater Phoenix area hospitals as the Rabbinic Chaplaincy Coordinator (with two other colleagues) for Jewish Family & Children’s Service. He also serves as Senior Police Chaplain with the City of Scottsdale and is a member of the planning committee for the 2023 International Conference of Police Chaplains scheduled in Phoenix this July.

attached to Israel than are younger Jews. For decades, “Exodus”-style devotion to Israel and its close corollary — Holocaust remembrance — were the essence of American Jewish identity. Among younger generations with no first-hand memories of its founding or victory in the 1967 war, that automatic connection frayed.

Meanwhile, as Israeli politics have shifted well to the right, engaged liberal Jews have rediscovered the allure of pre-Holocaust, pre-1948, decidedly leftist Eastern European Jewish culture. A left-wing magazine like Jewish Currents looks to the socialism and anti-Zionism of the Jewish Labor Bund; symposiums on Yiddishspeaking anarchists and Yiddish-language classes draw surprisingly young audiences. A Yiddish “Fiddler” fits this nostalgia for the shtetl (as does the “Fiddler” homage in the brand-new “History of the World, Part II,” which celebrates the real-life radical Fanny Kaplan, a Ukrainian Jew who tried to assassinate Lenin).

Topol’s Tevye was an Israeli Tevye: young, manly, with a Hebrew accent. Mostel’s Tevye was an American Tevye: heimish, New York-y, steeped in Yiddishkeit. It’s a testament to the show’s enduring appeal — and the multitudes contained within Jewish identity — that both performances are beloved. JN

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.

PARSHAH VAYIKRA

RABBI DR. ROBERT L. KRAVITZ

Rabbi Dr. Robert L. Kravitz COURTESY OF RABBI DR. ROBERT L. KRAVITZ

Find area congregations at jewishaz.com, where you can also find our 2023 Community Directory.

2023 Passover community seders

If you are new to the area, don’t have family in town to celebrate with or are not hosting seder this year, chances are you can find a community seder to celebrate the anniversary of our people’s exodus from Egyptian slavery close by where you live. Here is a list of Passover seders around the state.

SUNDAY, MARCH 26

Community Model Seder

12:30 p.m. online and in person at Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Join Gesher Disability Resources for this inclusive event led by Rabbi Aviva Funke. Registration required. For more information, email debbies@gesherdr.org.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29

Choc-Over Seder (Youth)

6:15 p.m. at Temple Beth Sholom of the East Valley, 3400 N. Dobson Road, Chandler.

Enjoy a fun spin on the Haggadah with those in grades 3-12. Cost: $10 per person. For more information, visit tbsev.org.

SUNDAY, APRIL 2

CBI’s 5th Annual Women’s Seder

4:30 p.m. at Congregation Beth Israel’s ballroom, 10460 N. 56th St., Scottsdale. Join Rabbi Sara Mason-Barkin and the women of CI for an afternoon of laughter, joy, friendship and song. Cost: $58 members ($68 nonmembers). For more information, visit swrorpswre.formstack. com/forms/womens_seder_2023_ registration.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5

Passover Seder

5:30 p.m. at Jewish Community of Sedona & the Verde Valley Synagogue, 100 Meadowlark Dr., Sedona. Join Rabbi Alicia Magal for an evening of story, song and symbolic food. Cost: $72 members ($90 nonmembers), $25 ages 6-12, ages under 6 free; reservations due by March

22. For more information, visit jcsvv.org/ events/passover-seder/.

Community Passover Seder

6 p.m. at Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley, 12202 N. 10st Ave., Sun City. Join TBSWV for its community seder. Cost: $45 for adults, $22 ages 7-13, free for ages under 7. Make your reservation by April 1 by calling the temple at 623-977-3240.

Pesach Seder for Seniors

6:15 p.m. at location in Central Phoenix, provided upon RSVP. Join Smile On Seniors and Rabbi Levi and Chani Levertov for an interactive seder with traditional food and insights into the Hagaddah. Cost: $30 suggested donation; RSVP required by March 27. For more information, visit sosaz.org.

Passover Community Seder with Chabad of Gilbert

6:30 p.m. at Chabad Jewish Center of Gilbert, 4475 E. Carriage Way, Gilbert. Cost: $25 adults, $10 children. For more information, visit jewishgilbert.com/seder.

Passover Seder with Chabad at ASU

6:45 p.m. at Smetana Family Shul at the Levenbaum Chabad House, 971 S. Ash Ave., Tempe. Open to college students, family members, faculty and the greater community. For more information, visit jewishasu.com.

Chabad of the East Valley Community

Passover Seder

7 p.m. at The Pollack Chabad Center for Jewish Life, 875 N. McClintock Dr., Chandler. Join Chabad for a gourmet seder with an international wine selection

and special activities for families with kids. Cost: $65 adults, $55 ages 3-12. For more information, visit chabadcenter.com/seder.

Chabad of North Phoenix Pesach Seder

7 p.m. at 22044 N. 44th St. #100, Phoenix. Enjoy a seder with round matzah, four cups of wine and an explanation in English of what’s happening at each stage and an opportunity for discussion.

Cost: $50 adults, $30 ages under 12; prices increase by $10 per person after March 31. For more information, visit ourjewishcenter.com.

Chabad Tucson Community Passover Seder

7 p.m. at Chabad Lubavitch of Tucson, 2443 E. Fourth St., Tucson. Passover seder meal led by Rabbis Yossie Shemtov and Yehuda Ceitlin with full-course dinner, reading of the Haggadah, songs and stories. Cost: $65 adults, $35 children. For more information, visit chabadtucson.com.

SEE SEDERS, PAGE 17

MALA BLOMQUIST | MANAGING EDITOR

Matzah pajamas are the latest trend in a long history of American Jewish branding

JACKIE HAJDENBERG | JTA

Rabbi Yael Buechler conceived of her latest product two years ago, after planning ways to make the Passover seder fun for her two young sons. But it wasn’t until she started promoting the matzah pajamas she designed that she decided to make adult sizes, too.

After she reached out in December 2021 to The Maccabeats — the Orthodox a capella group that releases splashy new videos for most holidays — to offer kids’ pajamas for their Passover project, they demurred.

“They wrote back jokingly, ‘Haha — but like, do they come in grownup sizes?’” Buechler recalled.

Now, both lines have been selling like, well, unleavened hotcakes. Jewish influencers have modeled the pajamas on social media, often as entire families, and the children’s set vaulted near the top of Passover sales rankings at Modern Tribe, an online marketplace for Jewish products. And four members of The Maccabeats premiered a video while wearing the adult matzah pajamas.

That this year’s popular Passover product is technically sleepwear reflects a new frontier in the ongoing commercialization of Jewish holidays. It also reflects the turn toward comfort clothes that Americans in general have made since the COVID-19 pandemic began just before Passover three years ago.

“You used to get dressed up to go to seder, but now everyone is a lot more casual,” said Amy Kritzer Becker, one of Modern Tribe’s owners.

Indeed, the promotion of fancy clothing for Passover is a prime example of American consumerism layered atop traditional Jewish practice. Many traditionally observant families buy new clothes, especially for children, for the

holiday, to fulfill the mitzvah of “simcha,” or joy.

That became a marketing opportunity for clothing manufacturers as Jews moved to the United States in large numbers and emerged as a new consumer segment.

“Because of the alignment of the Passover holiday with Easter, it was an opportunity for Jews to also purchase nice attire,” said art historian Kerri Steinberg, author of “Jewish Mad Men: Advertising and the Design of the American Jewish Experience.”

Steinberg says the commercialization of Judaism has been a defining characteristic of American Judaism — and, in some ways, a safeguard for Jewish identity in a country that long boasted of being a melting pot.

“One thing that’s been very discrete and sort of distinctive I would say about Judaism in America is how it’s been branded and marketed, and packaged,” she said. “[That acculturation] stopped short of full assimilation because in order to maintain a vibrant Jewish market, their identities had to be sort of retained in a discrete way.”

“In America, capitalism has been the key structure,” Steinberg added. “So it does make sense that there were opportunities for more consumption of Jewish goods and products around the holidays.”

Some of those goods and products were integral to observing the holiday. American Jewish newspapers from the turn of the century and onward featured ads from companies like Streit’s, Horowitz and Manischewitz battling over claims to the best matzah and whitefish.

And of course there is also the Maxwell House Haggadah, created as a marketing ploy for the coffee company in 1932 and still produced today. Its creator, Joseph

Jacobs, was an advertising maven who saw huge potential in a base of Jewish customers; he is credited with inventing the concept of targeted marketing.

But other products promoted for Passover had little or nothing to do with what happens during it. Stetson advertised its hats to Jewish customers in Jewish newspapers, while Colgate hawked perfume and other companies noted sales on shoes. Even Macy’s had a Passover department advertised in a March 1912 edition of the now-defunct Hebrew Standard.

By the second half of the 20th century, other forces were working in favor of Passover products. The rise of identity politics in the 1970s meant that many Jews were seeking items that would let them display their Jewishness, Steinberg said. Then, starting in the 1990s, the rise of kitsch, a nostalgic aesthetic, opened the door to nostalgic items such as Manischewitz purses, Streit’s aprons and gefilte fish T-shirts.

Just as dreidel and menorah patterns are ubiquitous on items mass-produced for Hanukkah, the telltale striping of factory-produced matzah has long adorned items marketed for Passover.

“People have always loved matzah products,” said Becker, whose store offers a slew of print-on-demand matzahemblazoned products, as well as baby shoes in the print.

“Obviously matzah is the preeminent symbol of the holiday,” Steinberg said. “Claiming matzah is just a proud assertion of Jewish distinction.”

For Buechler, who launched her line of Jewish fashion products a decade ago with nail decals of the 10 plagues, the motif was inspired by her son’s confusion.

She had gotten her children new pajamas to liven up another at-home seder, their second during the pandemic. “It goes late anyway,” she reasoned about the festive meal, which traditionally cannot begin until after sunset.

When she offered the two options — one yellow and the other blue — her then-2-year-old son declared he would have the “matzah pajamas.”

She decided to turn his idea into reality, creating a design that could be printed on fabric, ordering samples and then producing them in a large quantity in China. Then she set to work promoting the product, mailing free sets to influencers and reaching out to

The marketing for clothing for Passover has changed from fancier outfits to matzah-print pajamas. DESIGN COURTESY OF GRACE YAGEL; IMAGES

Under Supervision of Chabad of Arizona

Brad’s mobile pizza oven ser ves delicious hand crafted pizza in your backyard

A great way to celebrate all occasions

online Judaica stores, many of which were initially hesitant to purchase inventory they weren’t sure would sell. (Buechler also gave a set of matzah pajamas away through Kveller, the Jewish parenting site that, like JTA, is part of 70 Faces Media.) Then the adults began to demand pajamas for themselves, which were manufactured quickly.

How does fast fashion square with the meaning of the holiday?

“Passover has always been about making things in haste,” Buechler said. “And when you think about the matzah itself, the entire reason we have matzah is because we left Mitzrayim, we left Egypt,

SEDERS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

Pesach Seder at Chabad Lubavitch of Fountain Hills

7 p.m. at 16830 E. Avenue of the Fountains, Fountain Hills.

Join Chabad for a community seder. Cost: Free; Donations appreciated. For more information, visit jewishfountainhills.com.

Pesach Seder at Chabad of Scottsdale

7:30 p.m. at 10215 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale

Enjoy a community seder with handbaked shmurah matzah, wine and dinner with traditional customs. Cost for residents: $65 adults, $36 children; prices increase by $10 per person after March 24. For more information, visit chabadofscottsdale.org.

Pesach Seder at Chabad-Lubavitch of Mesa

6:15 p.m. at Chabad Jewish Center of Mesa, Gold Canyon and Apache Junction, 941 S. Maple, Mesa. Cost: $36 adults, $15 children. For more information, visit chabadmesa.com.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5 & THURSDAY, APRIL 6

Seder with Chabad of Prescott

6:45 p.m. on April 5 and 7:30 p.m. on April 6 at 345 N. Washington Ave., Prescott.

Enjoy gourmet Passover cuisine and interactive seder. Cost: $54 adults, $18 children. For more information, visit jewshprescott.org.

Chabad of Anthem Annual Passover Seder

7 p.m. on April 5 and 7:30 p.m. on April 6; email rabbi@jewishanthem.com for address.

Enjoy a seder with hand-baked matzah, kosher wine and a gourmet dinner. Cost: $40 adults, $25 children. For more information, visit jewishanthem.com.

Passover Seder under the Stars

7:15 p.m. on April 5 and 8 p.m. on April 6; Chabad of Paradise Valley & Arcadia, Mockingbird and Lincoln Drives,

in a hurry.”

So far, Buechler says she has sold around 1,800 sets of the matzah pajamas. Etsy lists them as a “bestseller” item, and ModernTribe, which also sells Buechler’s Midrash Manicure products, has sold over 100 of the children’s matzah pajamas since adding them to their inventory. They were the second-highest selling Passover item last year, behind coasters featuring the 10 Plagues.

“We’ve had a hard few years,” Kritzer said. “I think people just want to have a little fun too.” JN

For more information, visit midrashmanicures.com.

Paradise Valley. Enjoy an interactive seder under the stars. Cost: $50 adults, $30 children, $36 Young Jewish Adults (YJP). For more information, visit jewishparadisevalley.com.

Community Seder Nights with Chabad of Flagstaff

7:30 p.m. April 5 and 8 p.m. April 6 at Molly Blank Jewish Community Center, 930 W. University Ave., Flagstaff. Cost for residents: $54 ages 12 & up, $18 ages 4-11, ages 3 and under free. For more information, visit jewishflagstaff.com.

THURSDAY, APRIL 6

Community Passover Seder

6 p.m. at Sun Lakes Chapel Center, 9240 E. Sun Lakes Blvd. N., Sun Lakes. Join Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation for their annual seder. For more information, visit sunlakesjewishcongregation.org.

Second Night Passover Seder

6 p.m. at Congregation Or Tzion, 16415 N. 90th St., Scottsdale.

Catered, kosher meal and song-filled seder. Cost: $65 adult members ($75 nonmembers), $36 children members ages 5-12 ($45 nonmembers). For more information, visit congregationortzion.org.

Second Night Community Passover Seder

6 p.m. at Temple Solel, 6805 E. McDonald Dr., Paradise Valley. Enjoy a traditional, kosher-style Passover meal. Cost: $36 adult members & guests ($50 nonmembers), $18 ages 5-12 ($25 nonmembers), ages 4 & under free; reservations will be accepted until noon on April 3. For more information, visit templesolel.org.

Dorot Passover Seder

7 p.m. at Beth El Congregation, 1118 W. Glendale Ave., Phoenix. Join Beth El Phoenix for a second night seder. Cost: $65 adults ($55 vegetarian meal), $30 ages 5-12 ($10 vegetarian meal), $15 ages 3-5. For more information, visit bethelphoenix.com/passover-2023. JN

Sephardic Matzah Spinach Pie recipe

SUSAN BAROCAS | THE NOSHER VIA JTA

Matzah pies called minas are a classic Sephardic Passover dish, traditionally served for brunch or lunch with the slow-cooked, hardboiled eggs called huevos haminados The truth is that a mina makes a great side or main dish for any meal, even when it’s not Passover.

INGREDIENTS

• 20 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed

• 5 or 6 sheets plain matzah

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped

• Salt to taste

• 1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and diced

• 1/2 cup fresh dill with thinner stems, finely chopped

option is to shred, salt and squeeze

With a top and bottom “crust” made from sheets of matzah, the filling can be made of meat — like seasoned lamb, beef, chicken — or vegetables, most commonly spinach and cheese, though sometimes with leeks or mashed potato added. Another option is to shred, salt and squeeze about 2 pounds of zucchini to use in place of the spinach in the recipe below. The flavors in this vegetarian mina mimic spinach and feta borekas or spanikopita, but I’ve added a twist. Given the fondness for artichokes in Sephardic food (and for me personally), I’ve added some to the filling for extra texture and flavor.

• 1 cup (about 4 ounces) crumbled feta

• 2/3 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, divided

• 1 1/2 cup milk (can be low-fat)

• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)

• 3 large eggs, divided

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Put the spinach into a fine mesh strainer and set in the sink or over a bowl to drain.

3. Fill a large baking pan with tepid water. Break two sheets in half as equally as possible. Add the matzah to the pan of water for 2 minutes, making sure they are submerged. (You can gently lay a couple heavy pieces of silverware across the top of the matzah to hold it down.) The matzah should be pliable but still hold its shape. Take each sheet out by lifting it holding onto two corners. Let some of the water drip off for a moment, then lay the softened matzah in a single layer on a thick dish towel or two. You can do the matzah in batches depending on the size of your pan.

4. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and a couple pinches of salt, stir and sauté about 5 minutes until the onion starts to soften. Mix in the chopped artichoke and cook another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, as the artichokes and onions begin to take on a little color.

5. As the mixture cooks, use a large spoon or your hands to squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the spinach. Set the squeezed spinach into a large mixing bowl, breaking up the clumps. When the onion and artichokes are ready, add to the bowl with the spinach and stir to blend the vegetables. Add the dill, feta,

1/3 cup grated cheese, milk, pepper and nutmeg, if using. Mix until well blended, then taste for saltiness. Depending on the saltiness of the feta, add salt as needed. Beat two eggs and stir into the mixture until well blended.

6. Put 1 tablespoon olive oil in an 8 x 11.5-inch (2 quart) glass baking dish. Swirl the oil to cover the bottom and a bit of the sides, then put the dish in the preheated oven for 4 to 5 minutes. Heating the baking dish will help create a good bottom crust and keep it from sticking. As soon as the dish comes out hot, cover the bottom completely with about 1 1/2 sheets of matzah, slightly overlapping. The matzah should sizzle as it hits the oil. Spoon half the spinach mixture onto the matzah and gently spread evenly. Cover with another layer of 1 1/2 sheets of matzah, then the remaining spinach mixture making sure it’s even. Add the top layer of matzah, covering the filling edge to edge. Use the extra half piece of wet matzah to fill in any of the layers as needed.

7. Beat the remaining egg and tablespoon of oil together. Pour the mixture all over the top of the matzah. Some will drip down the sides and that’s fine. Use a pastry brush to spread any pools of egg so the coating on the matzah is even. Bake for 40 minutes, then sprinkle the remaining 1/3 cup grated cheese evenly over the top. Continue baking another 10 to 12 minutes until the top is golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting. Serve warm. JN

PHOENIX • SCOTTSDALE • CHANDLER • GLENDALE

The top 10 problems found during a home inspection

ROSIE ROMERO, JR. | COLUMNIST

If you are thinking about or are getting ready to buy or sell a home, many issues could pop up during the home inspection — some major, some minor. If you live in an older house, a thorough evaluation of the home in its current condition can help you work toward getting it in tip-top shape for comfortable living. Whatever your situation is, these 10 issues are most commonly found during a home inspection.

1. Overloaded or double-tapped circuit breakers

Overloaded or double-tapped circuit breakers can cause a fire. All the home’s wires feed into the breakers, where there’s a place for one wire, or circuit, per breaker. The common problem is two circuits twisted into one little breaker. They can overheat and cause a fire. Homeowners often overload circuits when they put an addition on the house. Suddenly, the home needs more capacity for electricity, so the owner doubles up on a circuit. To fix the problem, add circuits, don’t overload them. For this, you need to hire a Registrar of Contractors (ROC) licensed electrician, who will perform a load calculation and decide how much load can pull on that circuit.

2. Poor water flow in the home

We’ve all been there: someone flushes the toilet while you’re taking a shower, and suddenly, there’s no water pressure in the shower. The cause can be corroded pipes or poor water pressure in the house. A plumber can discover whether the pipes are clogged and can cut around them to improve water flow. Sometimes, the cure is as simple as unscrewing the screen on the faucet and removing the white limescale buildup caused by Arizona’s notoriously hard water.

3. Poorly performing air conditioners

Perhaps your home’s ducts were not installed properly in the attic and are kinked or too small. Gaps in the attic’s

ductwork or in the air handler, or a leak in the connection between a roof-mounted air conditioning system and the house, can cause cool air to blow out of the house and draw hot air in. These are mostly installation problems, but sometimes, the trouble is a lack of maintenance or missing insulation. A home inspector can identify the problem, and a professional ROClicensed contractor can fix it.

to make an air conditioning duct space, for instance, or to add an air handler, your roof could fail.

Hire a structural engineer and a ROClicensed carpenter to re-support the trusses and get everything back to normal before any structural damage occurs, causing leaks or the ceiling to sag.

6. Slab damage

Clay-based soil expands and contracts when it gets wet and dries out quickly. Water can get under the slab and cause it to lift or drop, also known as heaving and settling.

Prevent water from getting near the foundation. If damage occurs and is extensive, you may need to consult a slab remediation specialist who can dig to the slab and lift or lower your home to level it again.

4. Roof issues

Concrete tile is beautiful on an Arizona rooftop. However, in homes that are at least seven years old, the membrane underneath the tile, which keeps the house dry, can rot, tear or wear out and leak — especially if it’s made from lower-grade paper. Often, it’s not just one tile that’s broken. When homeowners walk on the roof to do self-repairs or hang holiday lights, they can break the tiles.

Those tiles protect the home from a lot of wear and tear from the sunshine and rain. Hire a professional ROC-licensed roofing contractor to inspect your roof. They know how to walk on every kind of roof. Don’t risk breaking the tiles, or your neck, walking on them.

5. Broken or damaged trusses in the attic

The truss is the wood that forms the triangle in your attic. It carries the weight of the plywood, shingles or tiles on the roof. Trusses are strong but if someone alters them by cutting through a member

7. Bad repair jobs

These can almost always be traced back to an unlicensed contractor. That is why the individual you hire must be licensed to do the work you are hiring them to do. Again, licensed for the work they are hired to do. Not someone licensed to install cabinets whom you hire and repair your roof. Structural disasters waiting to happen include patio support columns without strapping, undersized wood used for the roof and a patch rather than a permanent repair.

Broken roof tiles could signal more serious problems with the underlayment that keeps water from leaking into the house.

Three mortgage questions to always ask a lender

DANIEL FISCHPAN | SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

The more you know about the home buying process the less surprises there will be. When you get an interest rate quote from a lender how do you know if it’s a good rate? More importantly, how do you know that you are not being taken advantage of? Here are three simple questions to ask.

1. What are the fees associated with getting a mortgage?

There is a whole slew of closing costs associated with the purchase of real estate. The only costs that a lender can control are the fees associated with the origination of the mortgage. All these fees will be found in section A of the loan estimate (LE). Some examples of these fees are:

and sometimes thousands of dollars. A lot of these fees are nonsense and an opportunity by the lender to make more money. The lender is already winning by originating your mortgage. A great lender has little or no fees at all.

2. What would my interest rate be today with no points?

When inquiring about a mortgage, it is very important to say “with no points” which begs the question, what is a point?

• Type of property (single family or condo)

• Primary, secondary or investment property

3. What would my rate be if I went borrower paid and how much extra will that cost me at closing?

This is a good question to ask because it will tell you exactly how much commission the lender is earning on your mortgage. You will also learn how much lower your interest rate can be if you choose to pay for the lender’s commission as part of your closing costs.

• Application fee

• Document preparation fee

• Processing fee

A point represents 1% of the loan amount. On a $400,000 loan one point is $4,000. Often lenders will quote you an attractive rate and not tell you that the rate will cost you two points at closing. Asking what the rate is with no points also helps in comparing rates from different lenders. Any lender should be able to give you rates based on these following items:

• Underwriting fee

• Wire transfer fee

These fees can add up to hundreds

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

8. Unfinished or unpermitted home additions

These are the easiest to spot: an enclosed

• Purchase price

• Down payment

• Credit score

There are two different ways a lender can earn commission on your loan amount. The first way is called “lender paid.” This means that the lender’s commission is included in your interest rate. This results in a higher interest rate. Throughout the mortgage industry, almost all — if not all — interest rate quotes are lender paid quotes. The second way a lender can earn

commission is called “borrower paid.” This means that you will be charged the lender’s commission at closing. The benefit of borrower paid is the interest rate will be lower resulting in a lower monthly payment. The drawback is paying the lender’s commission at closing will increase your closing costs. By asking these three questions you will be able to uncover all the lender’s fees, compare apple-to-apple rates from different lenders, learn how much lower your interest rate can be and how much commission the lender is earning. JN

After completing his MBA in finance, Daniel Fischpan moved from New Jersey to Scottsdale to focus his energy in helping people navigate through the mortgage process at Modern Home Lending in Scottsdale where he is a loan officer. For more information, contact him at 480-300-2829 or daniel@modernhomelending.com. HOME

carport with an air conditioning unit stuck in the wall and the outline of what used to be the garage door in a new room. Sometimes rooms don’t have heat or air

conditioning systems, and some don’t even have electricity. When you try to sell your home, the appraiser will likely not count this kind of half-baked addition in the square footage and therefore, your asking price goes down. If you did not get a permit for the addition, it won’t be on the tax rolls and won’t be part of the appraised value of the home. If your addition isn’t finished, such as half of the drywall is up, the ceiling isn’t complete, etc., get a permit and finish it. If you are staying in your home, you’ll be more comfortable. If you are moving, you’ll get a better price and make a better first impression on potential buyers.

9. Lack of maintenance

Some people don’t do a thing to keep their homes in good shape and working order. The front doors are rotting at the sill, the window screens are torn, the eaves are faded, and/or the exterior trim paint

is down to bare wood. Those are sure signs that no one cares about this house. And that’s just the neglect you can see.

10. The gas line is not capped

The worst offender is the gas line not being capped. Without a valve, gas can leak out when it is turned on in the house. Gas goes to the water heater, furnace and stove, among other appliances. Each appliance should have a shut-off valve. Call a professional ROC-licensed plumber to install the gas line properly.

A home inspector doesn’t fix these things; they only find them. The inspection is the first step in getting your home in shape for comfortable living or for the real estate market. JN

Rosie Romero, Jr. is co-owner of Arizona’s home improvement radio program “Rosie on the House.”

Daniel Fischpan COURTESY OF DANIEL FISCHPAN

Get ready for spring training!

Josh Rawitch, the Jewish president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, formerly senior vice president of communications for the Arizona Diamondbacks, leads a tour group from the Hall of Fame around Salt River Fields on Feb. 25. COURTESY OF JOEL

Survivors attend ‘Winter Journey’ gratis

Eight Holocaust survivors, including Charlotte Adelman and Ike Feiges pictured here, attended “Winter Journey and The Inextinguishable Symphony” at Scottsdale Center for the Arts on Jan. 22. The film “Winter Journey” tells the story of a Jewish couple who emigrated to America in 1941 after playing in the Jüdische Kulturbund, (Jewish Cultural Association) in Germany. A news release explains that the Jüdische Kulturbund was a littleknown aspect of Nazi Germany in which a remarkable ensemble of Jewish artists was maintained as an insidious Nazi propaganda tool. The tickets were free for survivors who chose to attend. COURTESY OF ROZ GOLDBERG

Book lovers in Tucson

Ruth Rotkowitz of Peoria was invited to be part of the Indie Author Pavilion, showcasing books published by small, independent presses, at the Tucson Festival of Books, March 4-5. Her two novels, which both explore the issues and challenges facing Jewish children of Holocaust survivors, were featured.

Preparing for the Super Bowl

Lou Rich puts on tefillin before the big game at a Smile On Seniors’ Super Bowl party. COURTESY OF SMILE ON SENIORS

ZOLONDEK

Featured Event

WEDNESDAY,

MARCH 29

JNF Women for Israel Cocktail Reception: 5:30 p.m. The Clayton House, 3719 N. 75th St., Scottsdale. Join Jewish National FUnd-USA and guest speaker, Olga Meshoe Washington, as she takes you on her personal journey as a South African Christian Zionist and advocate for Israel. For more information, contact Leila Mikal at 480-447-8100 ext. 987 or lmikal@jnf.org.

Events

SUNDAY, MARCH 26

2nd Cup with Rabbi Emily Segal: 10:30 a.m. at Temple Chai, 4645 E. Marilyn Road, Phoenix. Enjoy your second cup of coffee with a side of conversation with Rabbi Segal. Cost. Free. For more information, visit templechai.com.

Klezmer Concert: 2-3:30 p.m. Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley, 12202 N. 101st Ave., Sun City. The Rural Street Klezmer Band will perform traditional Jewish folk music of Eastern European Jewish communities. Cost: $20 per person. For more information, visit bit.ly/3IufWpk.

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 to serve food to those in need. For more information and to RSVP, email arizonajews4justice@gmail.com.

SUNDAY, MARCH 26 & MONDAY, MARCH 27

Albert Einstein Academy AZ Family Information Sessions: 4 p.m. on March 26 at Congregation Or Tzion, 16415 N. 90th St., Scottsdale and 8 a.m. & 3 p.m. on March 27 at the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Learn more about the Albert Einstein Academy AZ, a college preparatory for grades K-2 & 7-9 which includes a worldlanguages department teaching Hebrew. For more information, visit aeaz.org.

TUESDAY, MARCH 28

Educators’ Conference: 5-8 p.m. Arizona Jewish Historical Society, 122 E. Culver St., Phoenix. For teachers of grades 6-12 in any discipline who are either new teachers or new to teaching about the Holocaust. Every teacher will receive a certificate for 3 seat hours. Cost: Free. For more information, visit azjhs.org.

Women’s Roles in Diverse Faith Traditions: 7 p.m. East Valley Jewish Community Center, 908 N. Alma School Road, Chandler. The East Valley JCC will host a faith forum in partnership with the Arizona Interfaith Movement that will feature panelists representing the Christian, Hindu, Islamic and Jewish faiths. Cost: Free; option to attend in person or on Zoom. For more information, visit bit.ly/400r9WZ.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29

Community-Wide Briefing with Oren Segal: 6 p.m. Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Join Oren Segal, vice president of the AntiDefamation League’s Center on Extremism, for a discussion of the landscape of extremism in the U.S. and in Arizona and

what we can do to fight it. RSVP required at bit.ly/AZOren23.

THURSDAY, MARCH 30

Parkinson’s Wellness Day at The J : 9:15 a.m.-12 p.m. Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Join The J for an informative event for those who have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Physical therapist Shannon Jameson and speechlanguage pathologist Therese Uthke will describe the importance of their respective professions, highlight clinical updates from recent studies and provide tips and strategies on how to move and speak with intent. All attendees are asked to wear comfortable clothing to move in. Cost: Free; registration required. For more information, visit vosjcc.org/pdwellness.

When Extremist Ideas Are No Longer

Considered “Extreme:” 7 p.m. in person or virtual. Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Join the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, co-presented with The J and Arizona State University Center for Jewish Studies, for a program featuring an expert panel discussing the dangers posed when extremist ideas are normalized and what is being done to challenge them. Cost: Free; registration required. For more information, visit ushmm.org/online-calendar.

SUNDAY, APRIL 2

PJ Library Lotsa Matzah and Locomotives: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Adobe Mountain Desert Railroad Park, 23280 N. 43rd Ave., Glendale. Get ready for Passover with PJ Library and enjoy crafts, activities, train rides and family fun. Cost: Free. For more information, visit phoenixcjp.regfox.com/ lotsa-matzah-and-locomotion.

Film Screening: Jews of the Wild West: 2-4 p.m. Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West, 3830 N. Marshall Way, Scottsdale. Enjoy a community-wide showing of “Jews of the Wild West” in partnership with the Center for Jewish Philanthropy. Supporting organizations include the Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival and Arizona Jewish Historical Society. For more information, visit scottsdalemuseumwest.org/project/ jews-of-the-wild-west-film.

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.

MONDAYS

Mahjong: 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. East Valley Jewish Community Center, 908 N. Alma School Road, Chandler. Come play Mahjong each week. For experienced players only. Free; registration required at evjcc.org/ mahjong.

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.

Anxiety in the Modern World: 6 p.m. Online. Learn the secrets of the Torah for living stress-free in the current environment with Rabbi Boruch of Chabad of Oro Valley. Cost: Free. Tune in using this link: zoom. us/j/736434666. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

MONDAYS

Ethics of Our Fathers: 7 p.m. Online. Learn with Rabbi Zalman Levertov. Tune in at: 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. Tune in at: JewishParadiseValley.com/ class. Cost: Free. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

Partners in Torah: 7:30 p.m. Online. Join a growing group of inspired learners with Project Inspire. Cost: Free. Tune in at: us04web.zoom.us/j/3940479736#success, password is 613. For more information, email Robin Meyerson at robin@ projectinspireaz.com.

Learning to Trust in God: 7:30 p.m. Online. Learn with Rabbi Yossi Friedman. Tune in at:

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.

TUESDAYS

Tuesdays at the J: 10-11:30 a.m. East Valley Jewish Community Center, 908 N. Alma School Road, Chandler. Join individuals and couples age 55 plus for presentations on a variety of topics. Cost: Free; registration required. For more information, visit evjcc. org/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? We can 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. Tune in at: JewishParadiseValley.com/YJPclass. For more information, visit chabadaz.com

WEDNESDAYS

History of the Jews: 11:00 a.m. Online. Learn the Jewish journey from Genesis to Moshiach with Rabbi Ephraim Zimmerman. Cost: Free. Tune in here: 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 and references culled from our traditions to address a relevant topic. For more information or to join, visit cbtvirtualworld.com.

Torah Study with Chabad: 12 p.m. Online. Take a weekly journey of Torah with Rabbi Yossi Levertov. Cost: Free. For more information, visit chabadaz.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.

CALENDAR

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. Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. In person and via 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.

Words & Whiskey: 8:30 p.m. Online. Learning session for men. Cost: Free. To RSVP, email rmollenaz@gmail.com or call/ text 310-709-3901.

THURSDAYS

America’s Four Gods: 10-11 a.m. Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley, 12202 N. 101st Ave., Sun City. Interactive four-week program led by Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan and Temple President Fay Henning-Bryant, Feb. 2-23. Based on the book, “America’s Four Gods: What We Say About God — And What That Says About Us,” written by Paul Froese and Christopher Bader. Cost: $18 for members and $36 for non members; advance registration and payment required by Jan 30. For more information, contact 623-977-3240 or templebethshalomaz@gmail.com.

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

Talmud - Maakos: 11 a.m. Online. Learn with Rabbi Shlomy Levertov. Cost: Free. Tune in at: 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 1-253-2158782, 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.

The Science of Everything: 4 p.m. Online. Explore the most fundamental work of Chassidut: the Tanya, with Rabbi Boruch. Cost: Free. Tune in at: 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. Tune in at 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.

Middle Eastern Percussion - Beginner

Level: 12:45-1:45 p.m. One World Dance and Music Studio, 3312 N. Third St., Phoenix. Learn the fundamentals of Middle Eastern rhythms on tabla/doubek (drum), riq (tambourine) and zills (finger cymbals). Cost: $20 per class. For more information, visit oneworlddanceandmusic.com.

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 varying dates and times. Temple Chai, 4645 E. Marilyn Road, Phoenix. For more information, contact Sheana Abrams at (602) 971-1234 or sabrams@ templechai.com.

Pre-Shabbat Kiddush Club: 6 p.m. Online. Say Kiddush with Rabbi Mendy Levertov. Cost: Free. Tune in here: 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 Andrea at 480-664-8847 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: 7:30 p.m. Gloria Christi Church, 3535 E. Lincoln Dr., Paradise Valley. Rabbi Alison Lawton and Cantorial Soloist Michael Robbins lead Shabbat services twice a month. Beth Ami welcomes people who are not affiliated and looking for a spiritual connection. For more information, visit bethamitemple.org.

Seniors

MONDAYS

Fitness Xpress Series with Zoe: 11-11:30 a.m. Online. Presented by JFCS Center for Senior Enrichment. Workout features weight and band exercises as well as yoga poses. Exercises will be demonstrated standing, but can also be done sitting in a chair. Cost: Free. For more information, visit jfcsaz.org/cse.

Sip & Schmooze: 11 a.m. milk + honey, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Sip on kosher coffee or tea, enjoy a pastry and schmooze every second Monday of the month. RSVP appreciated to chani@sosaz. org or 602-492-7670. For more information, visit sosaz.org.

Featured Presentation: 12:30 p.m. Online. Join Smile on Seniors Mondays and Wednesdays to learn from a variety of presenters about topical issues, like Q&As with medical professionals, entertainers and lectures. Cost: Free. For more information, visit sosaz.org/virtual or email Rabbi Levi Levertov at levi@sosaz.org.

TUESDAYS

Movie Discussion Group: 11 a.m. Online. Join Smile on Seniors on the third Tuesday of every month hosted by Issy Lifshitz. Cost: Free. For full details and the movie of the month visit sosaz.org/virtual or email Rabbi Levi Levertov at levi@sosaz.org.

WEDNESDAYS

Fitness Fun with Zoe: 10-10:45 a.m. Online. Presented by JFCS Center for Senior Enrichment. Workout features light chair exercises with optional weights. Cost: Free. For more information, visit jfcsaz.org/cse.

Chair Yoga with Zoe: 11-11:45 a.m. Online. Presented by JFCS Center for Senior Enrichment. 45-minute chair yoga class. No prior yoga experience required. Cost: Free. For more information, visit jfcsaz.org/cse.

THURSDAYS

Memory Cafe: 10-11 a.m. first Thursday; 1-2 p.m. third Thursday. Online. Presented by Jewish Family & Children’s Service. Program for those with changes in their thinking or memory, mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease or a related disorder, along with their care partners. For more information, visit jfcsaz.org/our-services/ older-adult-services/memory-cafe/.

In the Kitchen with Benita: 12:30 p.m. Join Smile on Seniors on the fourth Thursday of every month for some delicious cooking or baking fun! Cost: Free. For full details visit sosaz.org/virtual or email Rabbi Levi Levertov at levi@sosaz.org.

FRIDAYS

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.

Sit or Stand Ballet Class: 12-12:45 p.m. Online. Presented by JFCS Center for Senior Enrichment. Jennifer Cafarella Betts and Friends from Ballet Theatre of Phoenix teach this class. Grab a chair or you can stand next to a chair or counter. Cost: Free. For more information, visit jfcsaz.org/cse.

Musical Friday: 12:30 p.m. Online. Join Smile on Seniors on the first Friday of every month for a musical presentation. Cost: Free. For full details visit sosaz.org/virtual or email Rabbi Levi Levertov at levi@sosaz.org.

MILESTONES

OBITUARY

EDWARD S. LEVY

Edward S. Levy of Scottsdale died on March 10, 2023. He was 97. He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and served in the United States Navy. Edward is survived by his wife, Jeanne Levy; daughters Joan Silverman of Scottsdale, Susan Paull of Scottsdale and Jill Levy of Denver, Colorado; five grandchildren and five greatgrandchildren.

Services were held at Mt. Sinai Cemetery on March 12, 2023, officiated by Rabbi Jeremy Schneider and arranged by Sinai Mortuary of Arizona.

Donations in his name can be made to Jewish Family & Children’s Service (jfcsaz.org) or Hospice of the Valley (hov.org). JN

SHARE YOUR ENGAGEMENT, WEDDING, BIRTH, BAR/BAT-MITZVAH ANNOUNCEMENT AND ANY OTHER SIMCHA ON BOTH JEWISHAZ.COM AND THE WEEKLY JEWISH NEWS ... FOR FREE JEWISHAZ.COM

MT. SINAI CEMETERY

For sale: one plot in a semi-private estate in the original Jacob Section of the cemetery (Jewish only allowed).

Has been upgraded to companion (burial for 2) space. Includes granite bench on adjacent space with name engraved.

jarpell@yahoo.com

40-CLASS SERIES

40 Great Philosophers & what they mean for Judaism!

Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz

Beginning Mar. 21, 2023

Tuesdays @ 10:00 am PT

Green Burial and Jewish Law

Rabbi Adina Lewittes

Tuesday, March 28, 2023 @ 1:00 pm PT

ZEICHICK FAMILY LECTURE: Zionism and the Challenge of Power

Rabbi Dr. Donniel Hartman

The Prayer Book

Rabbi Mike Feuer Thursday, May 4, 2023

Soft as a Reed: Comfort and Flexibility in Receiving Torah

Rabbi Sarit Horwtiz

Monday, May 22, 2023 @ 1:00 pm PT

Is Territory Sacred? Unexpected Kabbalistic Teachings for an Age of Religious Conflict

Dr. Nathaniel Berman

Thursday, June 15, 2023 @ 1:00 pm PT

Tov! — What I’ve Learned About Jewish Ethics By Studying The Good Place

Rabbi Jonathan Spira-Savett

Thursday, June 1, 2023 @ 1:00 pm PT

Sunday, May 14, 2023 @ 7:00 pm PT IN-PERSON AND

6-CLASS SERIES Practicing Judaism in the 21st Century: Rereading the Torah as a Spiritual Handbook

Rabbi Dr. Darren Kleinberg

June 7, 14, 21 and 28, 2023 -

July 5 and 12, 2023 @ 1:00 pm PT

Dr. Jonnie Schnytzer Thursday, May 18, 2023 @ 10:00 am PT

George Washington’s Vine and Fig Tree: Micah 4:4 and the Religious Character of the American Republic

Dr. Aaron Tugendhaft

Thursday, July 6, 2023 @ 1:00 pm PT

Listening to the Heart of Genesis: Parashat Vayeitzei: Jacob’s Ladder

Rabbi Leila Gal Berner

Thursday, July 20, 2023 @ 1:00 pm PT

Do the Hebrew Prophets Speak to You?

Rabbi Barbara Symons

Thursday, August 3, 2023 @ 1:00 pm PT

pm PT

Reading Matthew from a Jewish Perspective

Dr. Amy-Jill Levine and Dr. Marc Brettler

Thursday, August 10, 2023 @ 1:00 pm PT

Inherited Discourses and Creative Adaptation in the Japanese Imaginaire

Dr. James Baskind

Thursday, August 17, 2023 @ 1:00 pm PT

Transcendental Judaism–Hearing the “still small voice.”

David Lieberman

Thursday, August 24, 2023 @ 1:00 pm PT

Debut Fiction and the Holocaust: When Fiction Steps in for History

Martha Anne Toll

Thursday, September 7, 2023 @ 1:00 pm PT

Ruach Hamidbar