Jewish News, Sept. 3, 2021

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Beth Ami Temple plans in-person High Holidays

Area rabbis plan messages of self-care, resilience during High Holidays

NICOLE RAZ | STAFF WRITER

Afocus on failing to live up to expectations combined with reciting a confession of sins, leaves people with a lot to feel bad about during the High Holiday season.

But Rabbi Alicia Magal, spiritual leader of the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley, said this year, unlike in years past, she feels she must point to all the good out there, too.

People changed their lifestyles to live as safely as they could during the COVID-19 pandemic, sacrificing social gatherings, outings and trips, despite the toll on their mental health, she said. The synagogue formed several small groups to call other congregants to check in and provide some semblance of community.

“We’ve reached out to people in a good and positive and helpful way; people have been very generous, kind and patient for a really long time,” Magal said. “It doesn’t go with what I usually talk about, but I think I have to address the good things we have done this year.”

Rabbis across Greater Phoenix are once again navigating a High Holiday season under difficult circumstances. The world faces a slew of new and ongoing challenges while COVID continues. Some rabbis don’t yet know what messages they will offer congregants in their sermons, but many say they will focus on community, self-care and resilience.

Rabbi Nitzan Stein Kokin of Beth El Congregation will focus on community and relationship building. “I started planning what I was going to talk about in June, when things were all coming back and restarting,” she said. But her message is even more relevant now, she said, with the delta variant causing health precautions to revert to peak-COVID times.

She usually encourages congregants to take time to reflect, but people

Security organization pitches trained volunteers to boost security at High Holiday services

DEBRA GELBART

Seating arrangements and other requirements may be new at High Holiday services this year, especially compared to 2019, but security will look similar to what it’s been at many Greater Phoenix congregations during previous High Holidays. But that doesn’t mean security hasn’t been ramped up at some congregations in response to an uptick in antisemitic incidents in 2021.

Additionally, an enhanced presence could be composed partially of trained congregation volunteers.

“Many Jewish communities outside of the United States have long employed a trained volunteer security model when it comes to securing their institutions that has proven to save lives,” said Evan Bernstein, CEO of The Community Security Service, an organization founded in 2007 to focus on providing training to build on-theground, volunteer-led physical security teams and safety programs.

Only recently, Bernstein told Jewish News, has the American Jewish community started to employ this model at the urging of his organiza tion. “In order to stem our vulnerability, all denominations must place a significant emphasis on ensuring that their members are trained in basic security.” Some congregations in the Phoenix area incorporate volunteers from among their members into their security plan.

Congregation Beth Tefillah held socially distanced in-person High Holiday services last year, so this year won’t seem that different to its members compared to 2020. Because of the latest phase of the pandemic, Beth Tefillah

Sharing Torah

CBI clergy invite Pilgrim Rest Baptists to view the Torah. To read more, go to p. 4.

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have been apart for so long that she felt it more important to focus on ways to move forward together.

“How can we engage with each other? What kind of teshuva do we need to do? How do we speak to each other when we’re tired and weary from all the stresses of our life?” she asked.

Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation Rabbi Irwin Wiener said the questions he was asked this past year informed his sermons. During visits with COVID patients or their family members, he “invariably’’ got the question: “Where is God in this?”

The message he hopes transcends all of his sermons is that everybody has a part to play.

“There is a partnership here,” he said of God and man. “We have certain responsibilities, and we have certain expectations of God,” he said. “But we have to discern the difference between our responsibilities and our expectations.”

His Rosh Hashanah sermon will urge people to rekindle a passion for relationships. “God doesn’t need another poem or a song,” he said. “What God needs is for us to realize that we do not speak empty words or break promises or break hearts. What God does need is for us to not hate or destroy, but continue to build a community.”

On Yom Kippur he will talk about the meaning of faith and the complementary relationship between science and religion.

He hopes to offer comfort to those seeking a way to make sense of all that is happening in the world. “There are no magic words,” he said. “But one of the things I’ve learned over the years is that connectivity has the power to heal.”

Chabad of Arizona Rabbi Zalman Levertov is focusing on 5782 being a shmita — the seventh year of the agricultural cycle mandated by the Torah for the land of Israel.

“It is a sabbatical year for us to recognize everything we have is from God, and his blessings are what gives us livelihood,” he

said. “This should be more of a spiritual year compared to other years.”

With the ongoing pandemic, hurricanes and flooding on the East coast, wildfires and turmoil happening all over the world, many are worried and don’t know what the next day will bring, he said.

“Here is a message to strengthen our faith,” Levertov said. “We must dedicate ourselves more to God and, hopefully, it will merit the coming of the messiah.”

Chabad of Mesa Rabbi Laibel Blotner intends to remind those who attend services that God doesn’t demand more from people than they can handle.

“It’s easy for a person to throw their hands up in the air or to spiritually and mentally give up. But the fact that we have these challenges, also means that we have the capacity to deal with it,” he said.

Temple Beth Emeth of Scottsdale Rabbi Zari Sussman will focus on resilience and self-care.

“Self-care is more than manicures and massages,” she said. “Proper self-care involves setting limits and boundaries.”

She will talk about the skills Judaism offers to keep past traumas from becoming future difficulties.

Last year’s High Holidays were full

of grief, she said, but she is “much more hopeful” about the year ahead.

Over the past year, people have had time to adjust and to accept our changed way of life, she said. The vaccine is a light at the end of the tunnel.

“As more and more people are vaccinated, that light becomes brighter,” she said. “Life isn’t normal yet, but it is getting there.”

Temple Beth Shalom Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan will talk about character development in his High Holiday sermons. It is not easy to grow since that requires some form of change, and “we are all creatures of habit,” he wrote in one. But “God wants us to use every ounce of our energy to find a way to make a positive change.” He believes that individuals want to live meaningful and fulfilling lives, but in order to do that “we need to cultivate what is best within ourselves.”

Or Adam Congregation for Humanistic Judaism Rabbi Jeffrey Schesnol plans to offer messages of acceptance and perseverance. “We will not give up on ourselves in the middle of our struggles,” he said. He also hopes to remind people to understand the difference between vengeance and repentance. “We have the power to forgive — others and ourselves,” he said.

Temple Kol Ami Rabbi Jeremy Schneider

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said it is difficult to find the right words that everyone needs to hear. “To be inspirational to each and every person when so many have suffered in so many different ways is difficult and overwhelming,” he said. He is hoping to offer messages of hope, a sense of community, emotional and spiritual strength and resilience.

As part of High Holiday programming, Kol Ami is offering a healing service. “I want our families and members to experience Jewish music and texts that help us to heal and cope,” he said. “We know challenges are part of being human, and music can be a cathartic, emotionally honest tool for expressing and validating our feelings.”

Temple Solel Senior Rabbi John A. Linder is tackling “the theological quicksand of reward and punishment.” It’s bad enough that people suffer — the past 18 months of a worldwide pandemic included, he said. “Biblical theology that says we are to blame, adds

SECURITY

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will hold similarly configured services again this year.

Rabbi Pinchas Allouche, the congregation’s spiritual leader, said security concerns, too, are always top of mind.

“We have an excellent security committee that has expanded over the past year and monitors all of the warnings from the FBI and other security concerns that are relayed to us,” he said.

Beth Tefillah will continue to have a robust security presence during all High Holiday services, he said. The congregation has asked its members to maintain “heightened awareness” toward any potential risk and to report any security concern promptly to security personnel, he added.

Debbie Blyn, the outgoing executive director of Temple Chai, said, “We will have a very strong security presence at services this year — one members of our community have come to expect and one they’re comfortable with and are used to seeing.”

Temple Chai’s “priorities and policies around security have always been very clear,” she emphasized. “It’s always been people over property and it’s all about protecting people.”

Temple Chai did not hold in-person High Holiday services last year because of the pandemic. This year in-person services will be held, but with limited capacity.

“We are fortunate to have an active security team that will coordinate with other local synagogues as well as the police on any security issues that arise during and leading up to High Holidays,” said Alicia Moskowitz, executive director for Beth El Congregation, which did not hold in-person services during the High Holidays last year. Beth El, too, will be in person in a limited fashion.

“A number of our staff and security team volunteers,” Moskowitz said, “are connected with the Security Community Network (a nonprofit organization that’s the official homeland security and safety initiative of the organized Jewish community in North America), Jewish Advisory Board of the Phoenix Police Department, Anti-Defamation League and

insult to injury. How can we look at our tsuris through a different, healthier lens?”

On Yom Kippur, he’ll address antisemitism and the Jewish community’s own challenges within.

Associate Rabbi Debbie Stiel will address climate change and what people can do to better take care of the planet.

Temple Emanuel of Tempe Rabbi Cookie Lea Olshein is also focusing on the shmita — and hopes the upcoming year will be one of “re-Jew-venation.”

She doesn’t think anybody would have predicted where society is now given where it was in March 2020. Needless to say, it’s been a challenging year.

“I always tell people the sermons I deliver are the ones I need to hear,” she said. She is focusing on self-care and resilience — just as the upcoming COVID booster shot will provide resilience, she said. JN

other organizations that help to keep us informed of potential threats and antisemitic activity in our area and in the wider world.”

Beth El also has joined The CSS network. “Security is everyone’s responsibility,” Bernstein said. “Unfortunately, this past year, we have witnessed antisemitism across the country rear its ugly head in ways that have left Jewish communities feeling quite vulnerable. Awareness is key to our protection and we encourage all who plan on attending (High Holiday) services to be mindful of anything that may seem out of place and immediately report it to the institution’s security director and law enforcement in emergency situations.”

While police and private security provide key elements that help with safety, Bernstein said, “a trained security volunteer who is serving his or her own community is in a unique position to recognize out-of-place objects or scenarios that private security and local law enforcement may not. The concept of an individual protecting their own synagogue or event, while their loved ones and friends are inside, is a highly impactful position. Our safety outcomes increase tremendously when we have more eyes and ears on the ground.”

Bernstein pointed out that there has been a rise in antisemitic incidents across Arizona in the last year as well, “with some Jewish communities in the state during the Israel-Hamas conflict this year suffering from acts of hate. Vulnerability is high because some feel that our insecurity is inevitable. In order for us to take more ownership of this problem, which is at the core of what CSS is trying to do, we must educate and train members to understand the basic elements of security.”

“We will have in-person services this year so we are focusing part of our security on check-in and ticketing as we welcome people into the building,” Moskowitz said. She added that “masks will make this more difficult for those who are not regulars. We are not allowing anyone without a prior reservation to walk in.”

“We need to empower our fellow family members, neighbors and colleagues to understand that security is everyone’s responsibility,” Bernstein said. “Empowering everyone to protect their community is how we can significantly increase our safety outcomes.”

CBI’s High Holidays held in Baptist church solidify interfaith partnership

HILARY DANINHIRSCH

Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church, Arizona’s largest African-American Baptist church, located in downtown Phoenix, will be opening its doors to members of Paradise Valley’s Congregation Beth Israel for its High Holiday services. The large, airy 2,500-seat church easily can accommodate the synagogue’s 600 families to pray together and still allow for social distancing and the observance of all necessary COVID-19 protocols.

This year, CBI is projecting that more than 600 people will be attending its High Holiday services. “With much higher numbers of registrants this year, their 2,500-seat sanctuary will enable us to have one service together; for the past 20 years, we have been holding two services,” said Cantor Seth Ettinger.

A limited number of High Holiday seats are reserved for church members, a reflection of the two congregations’ growing relationship.

It all started in late 2018 when CBI member Mark Sendrow suggested that the Arizona Jewish Historical Society, of which he is a board officer, hold an interfaith concert with Pilgrim Rest.

After the success of the first concert, AZJHS facilitated a second concert, this time with Ettinger participating and collaborating with the church’s musical team to direct the event; they explored the shared themes of how light is incorporated into both Chanukah and Christmas. “It was open to the wider public and had 1,200 in attendance,” said Ettinger.

“From there, we had such a good time together that we ended up planning another one that was centered around Black History Month,” said Richard Yarbough, an administrator and elder with the church.

The two congregations began planning other interfaith programs, including a Shabbat celebration, more musical programs, Torah study sessions over Zoom, as well as an interfaith Passover seder, also over Zoom.

“The idea was that we would start with culturally sensitive programs that would provide some common ground through music and culture and then lead into more meaningful collaboration,” said Yarbough, adding that these shared events have blossomed into a comfortable relationship that both congregations are eager to continue.

“Every vulnerable community gains more strength when we are in relationship, partnership and friendship with one another, and this is one of those ways in which we can become a stronger Phoenix community,”

said CBI Rabbi Sara Mason-Barkin of the connection between the two congregations.

“We are learning that we are all interconnected humans living in the same world, facing the same challenges, and the more we know each other, the better we can help each other in difficult times,” she added.

And as the COVID era is the quintessential definition of a difficult time, Pilgrim Rest was more than willing to lend its sanctuary to CBI for the High Holidays.

This is not the first time that the synagogue has used outside venues for services; in the past, services were held at a symphony hall downtown, and some have been held in other churches. “There is a beauty in seeing that spaces used for worship are holy spaces, even if used differently,” said Mason-Barkin.

Yarbough added that his church is “looking forward to hosting these very important celebrations of faith on this campus.”

As the church is about 20 minutes away from the synagogue, CBI will provide a shuttle service for those who do not wish to drive; reservations can be made through CBI’s website. And since CBI has held services at churches in the past, it is not a difficult effort to bring their portable ark, the wooden Torah table, the High Holiday prayer books and the banners. Ettinger added that family service and Yizkor will take place at CBI.

service being held in a Baptist church is a nonissue. “It’s not important if you’re in a synagogue or not — a space in which you are worshiping has to inflict feelings of awe,” said Ettinger. “They have to see the space as sacred; that is why many churches have been able to be successfully utilized. And you can’t help but feel overwhelming feel ings of awe when you step inside the Pilgrim Rest sanctuary, with how wide and large the room is. It really looks like you are in G-d’s courtroom; it’s incredible.”

Phoenix, having reached its centennial anniversary last year. Coincidentally, Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church is also celebrating its centennial in 2022. Next summer, the two congregations are celebrating by planning a joint Israel trip. Ettinger explained that the congregations will participate in their own separate rituals but will witness the other’s rituals as well.

tized in the Galilee, and we can’t wait for them to join in a celebration Shabbat service in Jerusalem. It will be really wonderful and really bring our two communities together in a very powerful way,” he said.

Jewish group seeks to stop Arizona’s new abortion restrictions

NICOLE RAZ | STAFF WRITER

The National Council of Jewish Women Arizona is among a handful of pro-choice advocates seeking to stop the state’s new anti-abortion law from going into effect.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed SB1457 last April, which criminalizes some abortions and threatens abortion doctors with jail time.

NCJW AZ joined doctors Paul A. Isaacson and Eric M. Reuss, the Arizona Medical Association and the Arizona National Organization for Women in filing a lawsuit in mid-August in the U.S. District Court of Arizona seeking an injunction before restrictions take effect Sept. 29.

“This bill jeopardizes the lives of pregnant people, potentially criminalizing them, and prohibits doctors from providing evidence-based medical care,” said Civia Tamarkin, NCJW AZ’s president.

The lawsuit targets the bill’s ban on abortions based on diagnoses of fetal genetic abnormalities like Down

syndrome and challenges a provision that gives fetuses the same rights as children and adults.

“From the moment this bill (SB 1457) was proposed, NCJW AZ has vigorously fought to defeat it because it violates fundamental human, civil and constitutional rights,” Tamarkin said.

Among the bill’s mandates, it would be a felony to perform an abortion solely because of a genetic abnormality, or accept or solicit money to finance an abortion because of a child’s genetic abnormality. It does not apply to cases where the child has a lethal fetal condition and does not prohibit abortion sought for other reasons allowed by law, including the life and health of the mother.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, along with county prosecutors across Arizona — including Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel — the Arizona medical Board and a handful of state health officials are named as defendants in the lawsuit.

Katie Conner, spokesperson for the

Attorney General’s Office, said the attorney general has a “duty to stand-up for society’s most vulnerable and our office will faithfully defend Arizona’s law to protect the lives of the unborn.”

“There’s immeasurable value in every single life — regardless of genetic makeup,” Ducey stated when he signed the bill. “We will continue to prioritize protecting life in our preborn children, and this legislation goes a long way in protecting real human lives.”

According to a 2014 Pew Research Center survey, 83% of American Jews believe that in all or most cases, abortion should be legal, making American Jews the fourth most pro-choice group surveyed behind atheists, agnostics and Unitarians.

In February 2021, Tamarkin wrote an opinion article for Jewish News about the bill, arguing the abortion restrictions are antisemitic.

“Jewish law is clear that life begins at birth and that there is no personhood until birth, according to the Mishnah (Ohalot 7:6),” she wrote. “Judaism also teaches that the mother’s life comes first and that the fetus may be sacrificed to save her life, unless the baby’s head has already emerged.”

She went on to argue that the abortion restrictions enshrine Christian beliefs into law and they “blatantly violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which prevents the passage of any law that gives preference to or forces belief in one religion.”

But Cecily Routman, president of the Jewish Pro-life Foundation, said

Geriatric specialist talks ‘complexity and gray areas’ of cognitive decline

SHANNON LEVITT | MANAGING EDITOR

Dr. Jordan Karp, a geriatric psychiatrist, has spent his career trying to improve care for older people with major depression and mood disorders, especially those facing resistant depression. And he loves his job, or rather, jobs.

Karp is a professor and chair of University of Arizona College of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and the clinical service chief of behavioral medicine at Banner University Medical Center and Group in Tucson.

Karp’s passion for his specialty began in 1992. As a newly-minted college graduate, he encountered Dr. Charles F. Reynolds, a geriatric psychiatrist, who would become his mentor and remains a colleague and friend. Working together on a project studying predictors of response and late-life depression “really hit home,” he said.

Half of older adults taking antidepressants don’t respond to first or second line medication, Karp explained. Trials on the medication were originally done with healthy, younger adults, whose brains are different. Older adults have neurodegenerative changes, vascular changes and face psychosocial issues that many younger patients don’t. Those factors can be isolation and loneliness, worsening medical conditions and poverty.

“This has been the focus of my career over the past 25 years and really been my interest,” he said.

And his interest is fairly unique considering he’s one of only 2,000 geriatric psychiatrists in the United States. The work might not be the most popular field of medicine, but for Karp, “working with older adults is very meaningful.”

He values “the complexity and the gray areas” and the way it “requires me

to attend to both mental illness and the psychology of aging, but also people’s changing medical burden, especially cardiovascular and metabolic diseases because these have an effect on the brain,” he said.

And in working with this population, he covers a lot of ground — from family systems to health care systems, and “figuring out creative ways to keep people comfortably at home and out of a nursing home or the hospital.” Some aspects of his work are akin to social work, he said, in that he has to consider the resources and entitlements his patients are due “so that they can live the best life possible to the end.”

These are some of the issues he’ll be presenting in “Preventing Cognitive Decline in Late-Life: Evidence-based ways to keep your brain healthy“ a webinar on Sept. 9. It is part of a free series offered by the Institute for Mental Health Research, an Arizona nonprofit working on innovative research in mental health for the last 20 years.

Karp intends to keep his lecture tightly focused on cognitive decline in older adults and ways to prevent it. He’ll highlight a 2020 report of the Lancet Commission on dementia prevention and intervention. The report lists 12 medical variables, which account for approximately 40% of the contributors to dementia risk. But given his limited time, he will highlight three that are particularly relevant for people to act on: the prevention and treatment of depression, improving physical activity and reducing excessive alcohol use, especially for those already showing signs of mild cognitive impairment.

Elaine Lazinsk of Scottsdale looks forward to hearing what Karp has to say. She predicts it will be “very informative.”

She’s long supported the work of IMHR, and since the death of her husband to COVID last year, webinars like this “give me ways to cope with my new reality,” she said. “It’s been a struggle dealing with his loss and the acute loneliness.”

Debra Gettleman is also planning to watch Karp’s presentation. She’s heard him speak before, and with aging parents, she’s pretty sure “he will leave us with

been “mind-blowing,” and she is inspired seeing “so much talent within Arizona,” she said. “IMHR is truly a local gem in the mental health arena.”

Nancy S. Heinrich, CEO for Jewish Senior Life, also applauds IMHR’s webinars, which are “relevant, substantive and research-based — something very important in today’s environment,” she said.

Karp will offer a Q&A after his talk and won’t be surprised if issues such as ageism, COVID or suicide come up — all topics he is well versed on. He hopes for a good discussion, which could lead people to

realize much can be done to ensure older adults have better lives.

“This is not a black or white, or curative field of medicine,” Karp said. “In some ways it’s palliative; it’s to improve people’s quality of life, keep people from being depressed or anxious, stabilize their cognition and keep them as engaged in their communities and enjoying life as best they can.” JN

The Sept. 9 webinar is free and begins at 11 a.m. To register for the webinar, visit eventbrite. com/e/institute-for-mental-health-researchsep-2021-webinar-on-cognition-aging-tickets165508258657?aff=BI

Temple Emanuel shines a light on compliments

SHANNON LEVITT | MANAGING EDITOR

Emily Schwartz, a Temple Emanuel of Tempe board member, recently found herself on the verge of complaining about the customer service of a local eatery. Her “hangry, frustrated self” got online to issue a complaint on the restaurant’s website.

But before hitting send, she stopped and asked herself why she only complained and never gave compliments. After all the good experiences she’s had, she wondered why she dwelled on a single negative one. And she knew how hard the pandemic hit the service industry. So, instead of complaining, she decided to make a point of giving compliments.

Schwartz made a decision that from that day forward she would show her appreciation to anyone with whom she had a good interaction. And she would go one step further and let a supervisor know as well. She wanted workers to feel good, but she also wanted management to know the good efforts of their employees.

As good as giving compliments felt, she wasn’t sure acting alone would make an impact.

“I realized I’m only one person, but we could do exponentially more good through the strong community of Temple Emanuel,” she said, via email. In July, she created the “Summer Compliment Blast” and challenged her community to be more mindful of people’s good work and to give compliments when they were warranted.

Initially, she created a spreadsheet for members to log compliments that she could track. The first 20 people who logged on did it that way, but Schwartz said “a kindness explosion doesn’t fit very neatly into a spreadsheet.”

While that option is still available, people have taken mainly to social media to express their appreciation. Schwartz reads Facebook messages saying “I used to do this a lot and I’ve fallen out of practice” or “Yes! Love this community! I’m ready!” And people write posts describing detailed exchanges where they end up paying someone a compliment.

Meryl Briscoe is one congregant who got on board with the idea right away. “Whether it be the friendly grocery clerk that helps in the self-checkout or the baristas we see each morning that have our order ready when they see us cross the parking lot, a smile and a few words go a long way,” she said, via email. Briscoe posted about one incident

in which a grocery clerk noticed that her husband had left his wallet on the counter, and the clerk secured it and awaited his return.

That’s the kind of encounter Schwartz hopes people will acknowledge and share.

Schwartz added her own recent positive exchange. On a trip to Chicago, her family’s first trip since the pandemic, her kids wanted a donut. Looking at the plethora of donuts on offer at Dunkin Donuts, her kids changed their minds several times. Schwartz was “cranky,” she said, but the person behind the counter was “patient and kind, even going so far as to explain to my 5-yearold what constitutes a ‘jelly donut’ and what does not.”

Instead of focusing on her own crankiness, she chose to think of the employee’s kindness and how good it felt to pay her a compliment. That’s what she hopes Temple Emanuel members will do, too.

Synagogue members responded enthusiastically. While some stuck to complimenting service industry workers, “on everything from a smile to finding a lost wallet,” others expanded the challenge to compliment family and friends, Schwartz said.

“Our goal was to create a kindness explosion during a time when the blistering heat and lingering pandemic effects breed default grumpiness,” she said. “Our hope is that those receiving the compliments will then feel more inclined to pass along a compliment to someone in their lives and the kindness web will grow ever larger.” JN

Emily Schwartz and her kids, Zachary, 5, and Avery, 7, in the airport on their way to Chicago.

PHOTO BY EMILY SCHWARTZ

Bureau of Jewish Education celebrates 50th anniversary this month

ELLEN BRAUNSTEIN

Jewish learning is a lifelong journey and the Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Phoenix is celebrating its dedication to teaching with a series of programs commemorating 50 years of existence.

Learn about the Jewish love affair with fish in a virtual kick-off event (Lox in a Box) that delivers Sunday brunch right to your front door. The Sept. 12 event, presented by Jewish educators Chaim Lauer and Gayle Feldman, features a Zoom visit to a lox factory.

“It’s a fundraiser as we look forward to 50 more years,” said Myra Shindler, BJE’s executive director. She has worked for BJE since 1992, when she started as the program coordinator for Hebrew High of Greater Phoenix.

“At 50 years, I take pride in the commitment of the staff to perpetuate Jewish learning and Jewish life in the Greater Phoenix community,” Shindler said.

Starting in October, BJE’s programs will be offered in person at the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus in Scottsdale. The special events include Wise Aging lectures this fall and a series of talks known as Passages beginning next year.

Due to the uncertainty of the pandemic, there may be a mix of in-person and remote classes, said Elaine Hirsch, director of adult learning. “We have some teachers and students who are chomping at the bit to get back in the classroom,” she said.

Established in 1971 by the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix, BJE was then called the Jewish Education Council. It became an independent agency in 1988.

“At the start, the community members saw the need to bring public high school teens together for learning and socializing,” Shindler said. The school, first led by Rabbi Jerry Kane, met Tuesday nights and continues to this day.

Today, teens get high school credit for studying Hebrew at Hebrew High. They can also pursue community service through Hebrew High Care-A-Van, a 14-day summer travel excursion. The BJE, in addition, offers teens scholarships for travel to Israel.

The adult learning program was started by Aaron Scholar, who served as a past executive director for 31 years. He instituted Passages, which this year is 45 years old. Current adult learning director Hirsch said of Scholar, “He’s extremely learned. His name befits him. Sometimes when you asked him a question, it became a lesson, a Jewish lesson.”

On Nov. 9, Scholar will be speaking at BJE’s Lunch and Learn. His topic: “The Torah as the foundation for the unique survival of the Jewish people and the world.”

In 1998, BJE added family programming

— the Jewish Baby University and Jewish Marriage University. Designed for expectant parents, Jewish Baby University combines childbirth education with an exploration of the Jewish traditions and rituals connected with pregnancy, birth and parenting.

Jewish Marriage University teaches couples how to resolve conflict in the context of Jewish rituals and traditions. It also offers an education in the Jewish marriage ceremony and making a Jewish home.

Participant Lisa Rohdeman said JBU helped her and her husband bridge the divide in their mixed-faith marriage. “It helped us make sure we can raise our child, Isla, properly in a good, solid Jewish home without offending his side of the family.”

Linda Feldman, BJE director of family education, said that “the beauty of it is that couples do make lifelong friends starting out in pregnancy. They have ready-made play groups and it’s always within the context of Jewish life.”

Dennis Helfman, a Canadian retiree, participates in the adult learning program regularly. He took classes on the development of Yiddish and literature and Sholem Aleichem. “It’s enlightening and a nice opportunity to look at different subjects and get more in-depth on a number of topics.”

Barbara Gold appreciates hearing from instructors on the Middle East who are on both sides of the political spectrum. “It’s enormously educational. I’m just thankful that the bureau is up to the minute on what courses they offer.”

Chloe Carriere, a 23-year-old chemical engineer, took comparative religion at Hebrew High, whose principal is now Rabbi Aviva Funke. “I got to learn about all different religions instead of just Judaism. I thought that was really cool and unique,” said Carriere, who continued her Jewish engagement by participating in Hillel programs at Arizona State University.

The BJE also conducts outreach to the non-Jewish community with its 30-year-old education program geared toward teachers of the Holocaust and teens.

Shindler thinks back to the bureau’s humble beginnings in a little office downtown on Osborn Avenue. “What started as simply the Hebrew High grew much larger into a multi-generational approach to Jewish learning for teens, people expecting their first baby and seniors. The program, now at the Ina Levine campus, covers the Jewish life cycle and engages people for growth at whatever stage of life they’re at.”

To register for the Bureau’s educational offerings and events, including Lox in a Box, visit bjephoenix.org.

BJE’s Hebrew High graduation in 2000 PHOTO COURTESY OF BUREAU OF

Teens prepare bags for a past Passover food drive.

From ‘Freebay’ to ‘Justice,’ Facebook groups connect local Jews

NICOLE RAZ | STAFF WRITER

What do you do with 50ish unused yarmulkes from a wedding 25 years ago?

Or a bag of tichels, scarves and halfhead coverings?

Turns out local Jews on Facebook can help with that.

Arizona Jewish “Freebay” is a Facebook group, where members can exchange free furniture, books, toys or household items.

“One person’s trash is another person’s treasure,” said Karolyn Benger, who manages “Freebay.”

Though Benger didn’t start the group, it was born out of her suggestion to Dina Bacharach.

“I made a comment to her that, at the time, the Orthodox community didn’t have a gemach,” she said, referencing a free community exchange.

Bacharach suggested a virtual exchange rather than a traditional gemach , so people don’t have to go to individual homes, Benger said. “I thought it was a brilliant idea.”

The group was created in December 2015 and has since grown to 947 members. It’s one of almost a dozen local Jewish Facebook groups. And whether it’s locating a free item, meeting other Jewish moms, networking for business or talking about social justice, each group has the same general purpose: keeping area Jews connected and engaged.

“I try to be as in touch as possible,” said Jennifer Sosnow, who is a member of at least six local Jewish Facebook groups. “And professionally, keeping tabs of who’s doing what is very helpful.”

Sosnow is Jewish National Fund-USA’s Israel programs admissions director.

“I love that Facebook groups can bring our community together in so many different ways,” she said. Sosnow has met many “wonderful people giving away free stuff” on the Jewish “Freebay” group and gets recommendations and help from the Arizona Jewish Moms group.

AJM is managed by Lakie Blech and has more than 1,300 members.

Blech joined about five years ago, when she moved to Arizona from Maryland and started looking for other Jewish moms.

“The group gives me direct responses if I need anything,” she said. “A lawyer or a doctor or a flute teacher or whatever — there’s always an answer or advice.”

When the group’s manager left Phoenix and needed somebody to take over, Blech raised her hand.

“I am happy I did. It is something

I feel is helpful and I am glad to be there and be a strong voice in the community as much as possible,” she said. Plus, she has professional social media management experience.

In an effort to minimize the amount of notifications people get and to make the page “tidier,” Blech recently began hosting two dedicated threads each month for advertisements and events.

“I just hope that it is a strong tool for the community to keep people connected.” The group is open to nonmoms too, she said.

Sosnow is also active in the Jewish Women of Phoenix group.

Candy Welner, who manages the group, said it is helpful for all things related to Jewish education, kosher food, crafts, services, camps, networking and lectures.

“Best of all is the opportunity to meet people who are new to the Phoenix area,” she said. “A lot of interactions take place through direct messaging, so the group posts are just the tip of the iceberg.”

She even turned out to be related to the husband of a woman new to Phoenix who joined the group.

The group was started in 2012 by Mikie Benjamin and Rina Krizman, who have since moved to Israel.

“We saw there was a need so we wanted to fill it,” said Benjamin. “It doesn’t matter what shul you go to, we’re all here together and can connect and help each other.”

Welner is happy with the “low-key, laidback feel” where “everybody is friendly, helpful, all age groups, all styles of Jewish observance.”

TribeNet, Arizona’s newest Jewish Facebook group, was created in April by Alyssa Belanger of The Event Genies and Jennifer Starrett of Jew PHX, who call it a group for “Heebs” who want to network. So far it has 547 members, including Sosnow.

It’s a site for Jewish professionals looking to share ideas and information, connect and build professional networks, hear from leading experts on topics of interest, and, of course, socialize and have fun, according to the founders.

Plans are underway to create a member directory and a place to find business and professional profiles on jewphx.com.

“I love working with Jewish business owners, and starting TribeNet gives us the opportunity to meet up, develop relationships with other business owners and help promote and support

each other,” Starrett said. Jewish Community Hub. With more than 3,700 members, it was created in 2016 by Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, the president and dean of Valley Beit Midrash, as a way to create an umbrella space for community engagement.

People new to the community didn’t have a centralized place to ask questions, he said. Nor was there a place to promote events or collaborate around ideas.

The vast majority of Jews in Greater Phoenix are not part of formal Jewish institutions like synagogues or advocacy

groups, he said. “So we want to find more channels for people to plug into where they can connect in ways that are meaningful for them.”

The way people use the group has evolved over time. It used to be a more conversational group, where people talked about local issues. “But we saw that it was often hard to manage, given the diversity of views,” he said. It’s become a space to share events and information about the community. He hopes to foster more respectful dialogue going forward, especially at this time of intense

This High Holiday season, as we seek spiritual and physical renewal for ourselves and our loved ones, let us also remember those in Israel who nurture and renew life every day.

Whether it’s treating civilians wounded in terror and rocket attacks or vaccinating them against Covid-19, no organization in Israel saves more lives than Magen David Adom.

No gift will help Israel more this coming year. Support Magen David Adom by donating today at afmda.org/rosh or call 866.632.2763. Shanah tovah. afmda.org

“To save one life is to save the world entire.” — The Talmud

Rosh Hashanah 5782

5781 was challenging. But we got through it. In the process, we learned how to celebrate Shabbat and Jewish holidays remotely or in compliant outdoor venues; figured out how to work remotely and still do our jobs; attended meetings, communal events and celebrations on Zoom or in carefully restricted settings; and watched our children struggle to learn remotely or attend class under difficult COVID-driven rules. Throughout it all, we yearned for a return to “normal.”

Around Rosh Hashanah of last year, as the COVID-19 infection and death rates soared yet again, there was uncertainty about our nation’s ability to react quickly and comprehensively enough to overcome the virus. A few months later, as a national vaccination program rolled out, infections and COVID-related deaths began to decline. Over time, as the number

of vaccinations increased — and with it more promising virus-defying numbers — plans were formulated to remove masks, eliminate social distancing requirements and even allow indoor gatherings. And we envisioned a triumphant return to our synagogues and workplaces by Rosh Hashanah.

But it was not to be. The stubborn refusal of millions of Americans to vaccinate — and the emergence of the highly infectious delta variant that took advantage of that reluctance — shattered our optimism and forced us to change our plans. So once again, as Rosh Hashanah 5782 approaches, we are challenged. The feeling of déjà vu — complete with all of the uncertainties of a raging pandemic that we cannot fully control — is frightening.

We worry about the impact of new restrictions on our children. Notwithstanding

Our newest immigrants

Governments are notoriously reluctant to admit mistakes. But sometimes the facts are so clear that no acknowledgment is necessary. Our withdrawal from Afghanistan is just such a circumstance. And just when we thought things couldn’t get uglier or worse, they did.

We don’t know who is to blame for the botched effort, which has been off-balance from the start. Beginning with the rushed evacuation efforts that left Americans at risk, abandoned significant military equipment and hardware and stacks of cash, and continuing with the stranding of tens of thousands of pro-American Afghans who were promised protection, we have been mystified by the apparent poor planning and execution of the withdrawal effort. Then last week, the whole

situation took a horrific turn for the worse when a suicide bomber at Kabul’s airport killed more than 170 people, including 13 U.S. service members — the first U.S. military casualties in Afghanistan since February 2020, and the deadliest incident for American troops there in a decade.

We trust that appropriate inquiries will be pursued to determine what went wrong, and why what was billed as a withdrawal has played out as a retreat, causing so much damage to America’s image and credibility.

Thus far, more than 100,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan. Many of those and future evacuees will find sanctuary in this country. It is heartening to see the warm and welcoming efforts of so many Americans for these refugees, thousands of

the remarkable efforts of our schools, last year’s education programs were not optimal. And we are concerned about the long-term impact of further reduced education opportunities.

On the economic front, we have seen two conflicting trends: The stock market is booming, as consumer spending is hot and business investment is growing. At the same time, economic inequality is getting worse, as the wealth gap continues to increase, with little hope or meaningful opportunity for the neediest among us.

Locally, we take pride that our synagogues and communal institutions have continued to work so hard to build a vibrant Jewish community, and have been remarkably attentive and creative in doing so. They have been nimble in adjusting to new rules and realities, even as they prepare for the

holidays and the coming new year.

As we think about the past year, there are two other achievements we celebrate. First, we applaud the extraordinary generosity of our communities in raising charitable dollars to support food, shelter and health care needs caused by the pandemic, while at the same time continuing to support ongoing Jewish life. The results are impressive.

Second, we marvel at the remarkably rapid development and distribution of COVID vaccines. We have never seen anything like it in our lifetimes. That singular accomplishment is emblematic of what can be accomplished when people work together. Let’s keep that in mind as we prepare to face new challenges in the coming year.

We wish all of our readers a healthy, happy and sweet new year. JN

whom supported the American presence in Afghanistan.

Interfaith groups are taking the lead to help Afghans obtain visas and find homes and jobs. Lead organizations assisting in this effort include Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Church World Service, Global Relief and Catholic Charities, as well as secular agencies like the International Rescue Committee. The national Jewish group HIAS is working with Airbnb to provide housing opportunities. And many smaller nonprofits have joined the effort, as well. For example, Arizona Jews for Justice, an arm of Valley Beit Midrash, is leading efforts in Arizona.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix, as part of Jewish Federations of North America, is collecting funds to help with emergency

situations, including the resettlement of Afghan refugees. Approximately 500 refugees arrived for resettlement in the D.C. area, with the potential for 500 more in September. Jewish Federations there have set up funds to help resettle these refugees. Synagogues, other faith groups and nonprofits throughout the region are also mobilizing to help refugee families. We applaud the interfaith and interagency cooperation and coordination for this lifeaffirming outreach effort to assist in the resettlement of Afghan refugees. While there will be time for review and evaluation of what went wrong in the evacuation process, the actual resettlement needs of the refugees who join us are immediate and worthy of our assistance. JN

Commentary Correction

New year, new beginning

RABBI IRWIN WIENER

oon we will gather in the synagogue to celebrate another year as the old one disappears and a new one takes shape. What kind of year is passing and what kind of a year lies ahead? These are just two of the questions we will ask ourselves as we

What kind of year are we saying goodbye to?

It was a year that will not soon be forgotten.

It was a year that was filled with traumas

and destruction and more importantly, the loss of so many lives because of a virus that was uncontrollable.

SIt was a year that saw a building collapse with people snuggled in their beds unaware that in an instant they would be no more. It was a year in which floods and hurricanes inundated our cities and destroyed life and property.

It was a year in which we witnessed more of our brave men and women who wear the uniform of our country killed by terrorists while rescuing the unfortunate and those yearning to be free.

It was a year that will be remembered for a long time, more than perhaps others.

Some of us will wonder whether we did enough to matter, and some will contemplate about things that never were and maybe will never be. Through it all, however, there is one constant theme that will resonate within us as we sit and sing and pray and listen, and it is something I think about, not just at this season but all year long and is best illustrated by the following story:

A yeshiva student was having a discussion with his rabbi. “Someday I, too, hope to become a rabbi,” said the youth. “Aside from my studies is there any other all-important

SEE WIENER, PAGE 11

A NOTE ON OPINION

Astory that appeared in the Aug. 27 edition incorrectly identified some information about High Holiday services:

Temple Chai will not have a service at 8 a.m. on Sept. 7, or on Sept. 16.

Tashlich is at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 7.

Temple Solel will have a mix of virtual and in-person services.

Congregation Or Tzion’s Yom Kippur Session 1 is at 9 a.m.

Temple Kol Ami is not holding a Selichot service. Yizkor and Neilah will be Thursday, Sept. 15 at 4:30 p.m.

Visit jewishaz.com to see updated information. JN

We are a diverse community. The views expressed in the signed opinion columns and letters to the editor published in the Jewish News are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the officers and boards of the Jewish Community Foundation, Mid-Atlantic Media 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.

Holocaust education honors the survivors

JAN NICHOLS

rizona now requires Holocaust education in public schools, and people are designing a new curriculum to comply. I am a retired Arizona teacher, and one summer when I was working in a graduated care facility in Scottsdale, I faced a reality that accentuated the importance of that history.

My summer job began with the supervisor warning about a cranky, old man. She assured me I wouldn’t be required to attend him because I was new. That, of course, piqued my interest. Instead of sidestepping this

Achallenge, I offered my expertise — that of a veteran junior high and high school teacher. I knew cranky.

Although a bit gruff and loud, the old man treated me politely.

In time, I found out he was Polish and had fled his homeland. In subsequent conversations, I glimpsed numbers tattooed on his normallysleeved arm. Pressing for more information, he revealed his Auschwitz registration number: 128232. The numbers’ sum was 18 or chai, which is also the word for “life” in Hebrew, he explained. Meeting a Holocaust survivor would be a fascinating story to tell my students.

I interviewed Solomon Radasky soon afterward.

His story began in 1941. When police captured the 31-year-old tailor in Praga, a district of Warsaw, his family had already been herded into a ghetto. He was allowed to work and sleep in his small shop and under surveillance could visit them. One evening, on his way to see his parents, German guards seized Solomon and threw him into a truck, then shuttled him and other captives to a destination where they cleared snow from railroad tracks. He was held there over a year.

In 1942, he learned of his father, mother and sister’s deaths. His other family members had been transported by train to Treblinka. He never saw them again. Out of

his 78 relatives, only he survived.

In 1943, during the Warsaw Uprising, a German officer shot Solomon in the foot, then sent him to Majdanek, a death camp in Germany. The bullet missed all bones, but the flesh wound hurt badly and caused him to limp. Any sign of weakness or inability to work could prove fatal. Luckily, a fellow prisoner, a doctor in his former life, performed surgery on Solomon’s foot with a small pocket knife and only urine for an antiseptic. Prisoners walked long distances to work sites. He walked painfully, but convincingly, without a limp.

SEE NICHOLS, PAGE 12

The powerful Jewish ritual that connects me to my ancestors

ELIANA KAYELLE | ALMA VIA JTA

pproximately once a year I go with my parents to Old Montefiore Cemetery in Queens, New York. Always in the Elul heat, I walk up to the metal gates inscribed with our family’s burial society name in Yiddish, “Chevra Adas Jacob Anshe Slabodke.” This is holy ground. My center of gravity shifts. Calmness washes over me as I begin to feel held. I’m reminded, even when my heart feels empty, every beat pounds with the raging thunder of my ancestors.

Here we are in Elul again — the last month of the Hebrew year that leads up to the High Holidays. My favorite custom to prepare for the new year is often overlooked, but visiting the graves of loved ones during Elul is a tradition that dates back centuries. Some offer prayers for the deceased in hopes they will intercede on behalf of the living. But the observance that resonates with me most is visiting the cemetery as a way to gain perspective on my own life

Aduring this season of return, repair and renewal.

I’ve had depression most of my life. I’ve hit the lowest of lows and at times been afraid to live. I have a chronic illness so feeling isolated is not new, but this pandemic has taken its toll. By the end of the first six months of the pandemic I had three bouts of severe suicidal ideation. Feeling the lack of community dampened my spirit so greatly, sometimes I thought it was beyond repair.

I’m also loudly queer, which results in regularly being shamed by queerphobic family.

I would love to say this doesn’t affect me, but that wouldn’t be the truth. It has caused tremendous hurt that only got amplified during lockdown. There was no escaping the feeling of being trapped between concrete walls made of loneliness and shame.

Then, just in time, came Elul.

Teshuva, a core value this time of year, often gets enacted as repentance. This has always felt hollow to me especially paired with tashlich, the symbolic casting off of sins, on Rosh Hashanah. I used to wonder what the point of repentance was if that’s all we do. We can’t just throw

away our sins and say that everything’s fine. But repentance isn’t the only goal of teshuva. The literal translation of the word is “return” as in a return to self. It’s here I find meaning and can do the inner transformational work this season calls for.

For me, a return to self means accountability where I fell short while working to repair and heal. It also means a regrounding of mind, body and spirit. The place I automatically want to do this work is the cemetery, and connecting to my ancestors is my point of reflection. What I’ve learned is that before I can think about the future, I need to look to the past.

Did you know if you go back five generations, it took at least 32 people to get to you? If you go back 10 it took at least 1,024. Our breath is nothing short of a miracle. Especially after seeing just how quickly it can be taken away, every breath feels more precious than the last. I’m reminded of the resilience of the 1,024+ people whose shoulders I stand on. I may not know the names of all those ancestors, but wow, that’s a lot of people to somehow result in my life.

As I meditate in the cemetery I’m drawn to my Poppy and Grandma Elaine’s stone. It has their names etched into a book. Between them is an eternal flame. I begin to imagine what they would think of me. Would they accept my queerness? Would they be proud of me as I study to become a rabbi? Would they love my rainbow hair? I know the answer to all three questions is yes, because I am living beyond their expectations of what life could be. Their ancestral flame burns within me and holding onto that makes my fire burn brighter.

Learning from the stories of those who came before me — their greatness as well as their imperfections — propels me forward.

I reflect on the present through the lens of the future knowing not only will I look back once again in a year’s time, but others will reflect on the legacy that outlives me.

What am I proud of?

Where have I found love, comfort, strength and compassion?

SEE KAYELLE, PAGE 12

qualification I will need?”

“Yes. The stimulus of imagination,” replied the rabbi. “You will have to imagine that somebody is paying attention to what you say.”

Will we listen to the climate watchers who shout from the rooftops to stop the destruction of our planet and all life therein? Will we listen to our medical professionals who warn us that science is the answer to combating illness and disease? Will we listen to each other as we attempt to bring sanity to a chaotic environment?

I believe that all of us during our lifetime

have wondered whether anyone listens to us: our children, our colleagues at work, our significant others — even ourselves. We have a great deal to say because communicating is the most significant way of connecting.

Sometimes we say things that really don’t matter and, of course, we do say things that affect our lives and those around us.

Sometimes we say things that have different meanings because we are not clear and precise.

Sometimes we say things we really don’t mean because we want to be sensitive to another’s feelings. And sometimes we say things that aren’t true because we are too ashamed or embarrassed as to our real intent.

The High Holidays give us an opportunity

to say things to God we never thought we had the ability to express. There are thoughts we have that mean so much because we are at a stage in life where minutes, hours, days, weeks and years are precious and not to be wasted.

It takes a great deal of imagination to expect that God is listening and hears our words because we believe we cannot see, or touch, or even hear an answer. But it doesn’t take imagination to realize that answers can come from experiences and happenings that remind us we do matter.

We see the miracles of life daily, but we tend to ignore them. We can touch a loved one because that touch awakens the understanding

of togetherness and companionship. We do hear the sounds of laughter at joyous times, and the tears that fall when we lose someone we love or witness illness.

As we embark on another year, we all should listen to our inner voice that tells us life is to live and treasure because it is a gift that keeps on giving. Listen to a friend or relative as they reach out for understanding and compassion. And, if we are having difficulty hearing, be sure we are tuned in to what is being said. Try not to miss “I love you,” or “I care about you,” or “I wish you were here.”

Rabbi Irwin Wiener, D.D., is the spiritual leader of Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation.

Hoping this year is finally the one we’ve been waiting for

DEUTERONOMY 29:9-30:20

ach year as the Days of Awe approach, many of us may struggle with the reality that is upon us. We all want to reach out and make genuine strides toward our Maker, but we are caught up in the whirlwind of daily life. Somehow, however, by the time these days pass us by, we may be able to pull it together and have a real moment with G-d in which we reconnect and energize ourselves for the new year ahead.

But time passes, and those feelings often subside. How can we maintain them? The answer it seems, is through heartfelt prayer and our recognition of the centrality of Torah to our lives. Devarim 11;12 says that the Land of Israel is “a land which Hashem

NICHOLS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

In this same camp, guards were in the process of carrying out a harrowing punishment of ten prisoners. A soldier smelled residual cigarette smoke and demanded the guilty party confess. No one admitted to the crime. The guards then selected 10 prisoners to pay the ultimate price for this. Solomon was one of 10 hoisted up on a bench with a noose around his neck. When the German soldier yelled “Jump!” the prisoners were supposed to kick the bench out of the way. Within minutes of carrying out this execution, a soldier suddenly came running, breathlessly screaming, “Halt, Halt!” The prisoners were ordered to be expedited to a different camp and the mandate was they were to be delivered alive.

Solomon eventually was sent to five different concentration camps. After Majdanek, he and others, dirty, lice-laden and starving with swollen stomachs, arrived at Auschwitz, where everyday brutality in the form of beatings, public humiliation, starvation and murder rose to an extreme level. After witnessing a humiliating flogging of a nude rabbi, he humanely covered the dying man with a threadbare blanket. For this infraction, he was severely beaten.

At Auschwitz, the guards once again consigned him to hard labor, which broke many other men. At night, he carried the dead from various sites in the camp to a mass burial, shoveled ashes from the crematorium and wheel-barrowed them to ponds created for committal. Gruesome, grisly work. Solomon contributed his survival to traits of luck, cunning, brute strength and his Jewish faith.

your G-d seeks always, always are the eyes of Hashem your G-d on it from the beginning of the year (Hashana) until the end of year (shana).”

EWhy does it not also say the end of the year like it does for the beginning? Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum, known as the Satmar Rav, provides an answer. At the beginning of every year we say to ourselves that this is going to be the year we will fix our flaws, achieve x, y and z, and become better people. But at the end of the year, it’s just shana; just another year. Nothing great was achieved and it was not the year that we expected.

He continues that in nusach sefard kedusha we pray that Hashem redeem us in such a way that the end of the year will be like its beginning, allowing us to look back and say this really was a great year; it was the year that we envisioned at the beginning.

Furthermore, this week’s Torah portion, which begins the Torah’s depiction of the final day of Moshe’s life, opens with the words “you are all standing today,” which

the 12th century biblical commentator Ibn Ezra explained to mean that the Jewish nation was encamped around the Aron, the Holy Ark of the Covenant, which contained the Tablets of the Law and represented the Torah itself.

On the day he returned his pure soul to its Maker, taking leave of his beloved Jewish nation for the final time, the greatest teacher our People have known, Moshe, left us encamped in such a way that we would merit to glean from him one parting and all-important lesson. The Torah must always be at the center of our lives, both individually, as well as on a national scale.

Through every moment of every day, be those moments mundane and seemingly ordinary or be they moments of spirituality, we must be guided by the Torah’s laws and inspired by its teachings. We must live by its edicts and choose our course by gleaning the many lessons of its narrative. We must truly be, unquestionably, the People of the Book.

That was the parting lesson of our nation’s

Find area congregations at jewishaz.com, where you can also find our 2021 Community Directory.

greatest teacher, and that is the lesson that we are meant to remind ourselves of each year as we approach these upcoming Days of Awe. How are we to reconnect to our Creator? How shall we assure ourselves of a good and sweet judgment, full of only blessing? By allowing the Torah’s holy and radiant light to shine upon every aspect of our lives.

May we all merit that through our prayers and determination to learn and live by our holy Torah, the new year which is now upon us will in fact be the year for which we hope. JN

Rabbi Yisroel Weiner is the head of school at Phoenix Hebrew Academy.

KAYELLE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

Being an expert tailor was also helpful. Officers wore jackets that he had been ordered to tailor especially for them.

In the following years, Solomon endured more miseries. At Dachau, raging typhoid killed hundreds. Although he never contracted the disease, he suffered other debilitating illnesses and watched with intense agony thousands of deaths. When the Russians and Americans liberated camps, the Nazis attempted to scatter and destroy records and kill as many prisoners as possible. Amazingly, he escaped those atrocities.

After securing the region, the Allies began to rescue and establish refugee camps. The sick received medication, the wounded were attended to, clean clothes were distributed and food was allocated.

Gradually gaining strength and resolve, Solomon reconnected with friends in Germany and created a new life. He met and married Frieda, immigrated to the United States, settled in New Orleans, established a furrier business and raised a son and daughter. After his wife died in 1998, he moved to Arizona to be close to his family. He died at age 92.

Back in my classroom, I told Solomon’s story.

I emphasized that leading up to Hitler’s takeover, German people did not speak up because of fear, apathy or ignorance. Propaganda and indoctrination heightened after the government’s seizure of all media; Germany became a one-party political system. Evil thrived and progressed and led to the killing of six million Jews and

millions more in a worldwide war.

Recently, a resurgence of antisemitic intimidation, assault, vandalism and other hideous crimes have erupted throughout the world. Holocaust deniers have gained numbers and strength. A dangerous, divisive political climate contributes to this behavior where white supremacists sport swastikas and torches and incite violence. Militia groups, armed and dangerous, invaded the U.S. Capitol. Most people are outraged, and some “patriots” have been arrested, prosecuted. Investigations are ongoing.

New laws are being enacted, but more safeguards are needed. Vigilance and awareness are important in combating antisemitic and racial crimes. All people of good faith need to speak up, organize and pressure politicians. Teaching future generations is key to changing hearts and minds. Educators need to be leaders in calling out these attacks on free speech and hateful, illegal behavior.

To accomplish Solomon’s mission of educating and enlightening about the Holocaust, he traveled, lectured and conducted seminars. His family established a website, a Facebook post and joined others in the Holocaust History Project, telling the stories of survivors. His message was always “This must never happen again! The legacy of Jewish culture and the sacrifices must be remembered and honored.” JN

What values have I led with and lived by?

In what ways can I learn and grow while there’s still time?

As I sit in the cemetery reflecting on these questions, the concrete walls start to crumble. I remember my chosen family that loves me as I am. I have an aunt and uncle that make me laugh harder than anyone else. I have older cousins who support me even when I’m too busy to visit. I have younger cousins that inspire me and will one day take on the world. Some already have. I get to support them with pride as their own flames grow stronger year after year. And I have parents that, even with rifts, view every breath I take as nothing short of a miracle.

Amidst this sea of stone I feel ancestral breath fill my chest. The strength of many has evolved into my singular being. I’m struck with the realization that there is not enough time to live any other way than boldly. There is not enough time to feel shame about any part of my identity. There’s not enough time to go back to the dark places I’ve been. I have so many blessings to live for. I recite the Shechiyanu in thanks.

My imprint on this world, as small as it might be, has already begun to take shape. JN

PARSHAH NETZAVIM

RABBI YISROEL WEINER

Jan Nichols taught in Glendale Union and Phoenix Union High School Districts for 40 years and now lives in Glendale.

Eliana Kayelle (they/them) is a queer nonbinary neurodivergent rabbinical student, theater maker and community organizer. Visit HeyAlma.com for more stories like this.

Five tips for managing your High Holiday stress and energy

DEBORAH LAVINSKY

Holiday time is no stranger to stress. The anticipation of seeing friends and loved ones in person again, preparing traditional meals and keeping the strength up to last through lengthy services can create some anxiety. As a seasoned rebbitzin and nationallycertified pilates teacher I have faced my own bouts with stress and endurance over the holidays. Some of us will be spending time in synagogue and others will be watching from home on Zoom.

Here are some of the strategies that I use and recommend to keep your energy and health up during the Days of Awe.

Accept shortcomings

With social media displaying ideas about the perfect lifestyle, body and relationship, give yourself some space to be less than perfect. From a mind, body and spirit perspective everything we think and do gets recorded by our brain and transferred to our body in some way. Negative thinking about not measuring up to the ideals we see on social media can wreak havoc on our health.

Use this sacred time to make peace with your soul and forgive yourself as we collectively forgive each other.

Focus on the bigger picture

It’s easy to get frustrated or anxious when anticipating wearing a mask for hours, not getting to sit with non-relative friends or having to watch services on Zoom. This is the perfect opportunity to reach out to people you don’t know as well — or at all — and connect with them.

Sharing a few moments of kindness, commiserating together and encouraging one other can give spirits a boost.

Give your body ease

The holidays may involve more physical activity than you’re accustomed to with long periods of standing, longer walks to and from the parking lot, navigating a larger building. Fuel your body with a nutritionally balanced breakfast before you head to services. It’s important to drink plenty of water too. Take mask breaks outside and get fresh oxygen into your body. Don’t be afraid of bathroom breaks, either. To avoid getting stiff from staying in one place for hours it’s important to get up and move around.

Keep everything in moderation

The High Holidays involve lots of eating. Some of our most treasured memories are the times we spent around our holiday table. We Jews love our food. Moderation is different for everyone, but there are some simple ideas you can use to avoid over indulging and feeling lousy afterwards. One easy strategy is to use a smaller plate instead of a large dinner plate to control your portions. Choose lighter-colored proteins like chicken and fish first, then fill in the rest of the plate with vegetables and fruit. Your smaller portions

should be side dishes and sweets.

Take the time to savor your favorite foods by practicing mindful eating and be aware of the emotional triggers that can cause you to overindulge.

Breathe

That sounds easy but wearing a mask for hours can cause lethargy, sleepiness and anxiety. As we age, we tend to take in shallow breaths from the chest and not use all of our potential breath capacity from the back and sides of our lungs. One frequent observation from years of teaching pilates is that one’s posture can also affect breathing.

Using electronic devices or having physical conditions like osteoporosis, can cause one’s posture to be bent over in a cashew shape. The rib cage rests on the pelvis which prevents the lungs from fully expanding and taking in adequate oxygen. Seniors often lose the ability to sit or stand up straight because of the loss of core strength, chronic pain or physical conditions.

Use the time sitting or standing during extended prayers to practice mindful breathing and improve your posture. One method to improve your posture is to imagine a marionette string coming from the top of your head pulling your spine up in a straight line. Once you feel this change in your alignment, consider inhaling for two counts and exhaling for two counts while maintaining this posture. You can think of a single word — shalom — to focus on during this breath exercise: “sha” on the inhale and “lom” on the exhale.

Try to feel the back of your rib cage expand into your seat back. Start with 30 seconds and work towards increasing your time and endurance. You will feel more energized and alert with consistent practice. JN

Deborah Lavinsky is the owner of Phoenix Pilates and Rossiter Center and a nationally-certified pilates teacher, advanced certified Rossiter stretch coach and reiki master. For more information, go to phoenixpilatesandrossitercenter.com.

As we persevere through these challenging times, may the new year bring you health, hope and peace.

l’shanah tovah

PHOTO COURTESY OF DEBORAH LAVINSKY

With wishes for a sweet and healthy year

recharge and renew — now and always

BAER

s the Jewish High Holidays near, we begin to take the time to reflect, recharge and renew ourselves for the year to come. Last year, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, for many of us, were observed at home as the pandemic prevented us from being in-person at our congregations. We experienced a different kind of spiritual renewal as we created our own sacred space to observe the holidays.

The High Holiday season for me is also about reconnection. And this year even more so as we have the opportunity to return to our places of worship (albeit with social distancing protocols in place). I look forward to reuniting with friends after these past many months and enjoying the spiritual uplift of the season.

Taking time for reflection, clarity of mind, body and spirit is so fulfilling. I wonder whether that which we experience during our holiest time of year — such powerful moments for our souls — can be sustained throughout the rest of the year.

I know I am not alone when, after the holidays, I slowly, but surely, move back into the familiar pattern of filling my days with the heavy lifting of work and life, stretching the boundaries of my day to take in one more meeting, make one more phone call, send one more email.

Over the past 18 months, I have truly learned the importance of self-care. Much is due to the interactions I have had with my professional colleagues at Jewish Family & Children’s Service. As an organization that cares deeply for the community, JFCS is on the front lines of mental health, health care and social service needs.

My colleagues who daily deliver direct services to those in need are encouraged and taught to take time for self-care. Members of our JFCS professional staff absorb and feel some of the pain and trauma presented daily from our clients. Without properly taking care of themselves, they can’t effectively care for others.

ADuring the pandemic, the number of individuals and families requiring JFCS assistance increased and accelerated. The virus continues to wreak havoc, and we have all experienced loss and severe trauma.

As vice president of philanthropic services at JFCS, I am not a direct service provider, but I am in constant communication with my colleagues who are and listen with empathy as they relay the stories of those whom we serve. Couple that with the constant barrage of news stories and social media posts about the impact of the virus, and my heart aches. It aches not only for those we help, but for the helpers. We were all experiencing our own losses and severe trauma.

As my boundaries continued to stretch, workdays were so blurred that I often did not take adequate breaks during evenings and weekends to recharge. On the outside, I was holding it together on screen and online. On the inside, I was exhausted, overwhelmed and mentally drained in a cycle that repeated as I pushed myself over and over again. A voice inside kept saying, “Work harder. After all, people are depending on you.”

Fortunately, my husband Michael saw my erosion of spirit, and knew I needed to get away. I am so grateful he did. A vacation — a real vacation with no emails, no texts, no phone. Truly taking time for us to reflect, recharge and renew.

I returned with a renewed sense of purpose and an even deeper commitment to the JFCS mission of “Healing lives. Whatever it takes.” But I returned with the recognition that to be my best self means taking time to take care of myself. The voice inside now echoed, “You know who is depending on you? You.”

Let’s enter 5782 with new resolve — with deeper, stronger personal commitments to ourselves and others. Kol Yisrael arevim zeh bazeh: All Jews are responsible for each other.

As the holidays draw near, I hope that all of you will take this time to reflect on the past year, to reconnect with family and friends, use these days and many more days ahead to reflect, recharge and renew. JN

GAIL

Gail Baer is the vice president of philanthropic services for Jewish Family & Children’s Service.

Phoenix Holocaust Association

Rosh Hashanah

High Holidays and Israel's lone soldiers

MICHAEL COHEN

It is Erev Rosh Hashanah and you’re in Israel, 6,000 miles away from home. It is the first year that you are not having dinner with your extended family at your aunt’s house before going to temple and you are fondly remembering those evenings with your parents, your brother and your closest cousins. When you made aliyah and joined the IDF as a lone soldier, you knew that holidays would be lonely, but you were willing to make that sacrifice.

After being relieved from duty around noon due to the holiday, you head to the apartment you share with four other non-Israeli lone soldiers. That evening, you and two of your roommates have reservations at the Michael Levin Lone Soldier Center for a Rosh Hashanah meal with 120 others from all over the world.

You’ve visited the center a few times in the past for social events where you made some new friends and felt a little less homesick. You’re hoping that tonight will give you a little taste of home.

This scenario fits many of the nearly 7,000 lone soldiers who are currently serving in the IDF. Nearly half of them came to Israel from countries around the world to make aliyah and they have no immediate family to support their needs during their service. The rest are Israelis whose family is not available to support them for a variety of reasons.

All lone soldiers experience many obstacles as they go through the extremely vigorous IDF training and active duty assignments. Loneliness is especially difficult during the holidays. Can Jews in the Diaspora support their needs? Certainly. The recognition and appreciation for the efforts in the defense of Israel bolsters their energy and determination when they are physically and emotionally exhausted from their IDF demands.

Hamar Hadu, a graduate of Hamilton High School in Chandler, who served as a med tech near the Gaza Border during Operation Protective Edge in 2014, said that “support from the community, near and far, was very meaningful. It created a sense of home and deep warmth during my time in the IDF.”

Phoenix native Sara Kalanat Turner, an Avion Tech who served from 2016 to 2018, said, “Giving money to organizations that directly help lone soldiers — not just ones that give to the army in general — is a big help.”

She also noted that educating teens who are interested in

becoming a lone soldier is important so they learn the valuable information they need before they join, during their service and after.

Her mother, Tzipi Turner, recalled how”beyond proud” she and her husband, Ian, were when their daughter decided to make aliyah and join the IDF. Unlike Israeli parents, they weren’t able to see her every week. “Thankfully, Sara and we had the support of the Michael Levin Lone Soldier Center and parents of Lone Soldier Facebook groups to help us through,” she said. “Despite all the challenges, we never regretted her decision.”

Chris Stanford, who moved from Northern Arizona to Tempe at age 11, was inducted in 2009 and served in the highly acclaimed Golani Brigade as a member of the select Flying Tigers Special Operation Reconnaissance Unit until discharge in 2012. He noted that “lone soldiers would feel more appreciated and supported if American Jews had the true facts relative to the Israel-Palestinian relationship/conflict and were less critical of Israeli policies that ensure the country’s security.”

The Lone Soldier Project at the East Valley Jewish Community Center provides support to the lone soldiers in a variety of ways.

The project has launched a Rosh Hashanah campaign to collect donations for Shabbat and holiday meals in partnership with three centers in Israel.

Throughout the year, volunteers knit winter caps to help keep the soldiers warm during winter assignments. Additionally, each year the Chanukah Greeting Campaign educates youth throughout Greater Phoenix about the role of these soldiers in defense of Israel and generates over 700 Chanukah cards expressing best wishes for the holiday and appreciation.

One Chandler couple, Revekka Olyanskaya and Mike Reytblat, said they choose to support the Lone Soldier Project in appreciation of the personal and religious freedom they’ve experienced since coming to the United States from the former Soviet Union in the late 1970s. After experiencing a great deal of antisemitism and forced freedom restrictions in their native country, they want to help support lone soldiers who join the IDF to defend Israel and fight for freedom there and in the U.S. JN

Michael Cohen, MD, is the volunteer coordinator of the East Valley JCC’s Lone Soldier Project. Learn more at evjcc.org/lone-solder-campaign.

Tzipi Turner, left, says she is grateful for the support the Lone Soldier centers provided her family when her daughter, Sara, decided to make aliyah and join the IDF.

PICTURE COURTESY OF SARA KALANAT TURNER

as part of a virtual Lone Soldier Project Yom Hazikaron presentation.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHAEL COHEN

Gratitude and self-care during the High Holidays

LAUREN SAKS

eing a brand-new mom who has spent most of her mom-life quarantined with a new baby, my daily routine has been about as smooth as my son’s sleeping schedule. Keeping the stress down to healthy levels is hard enough without a pandemic. With the High Holidays just around the corner, I can feel my stress levels rising as high as a Rosh Hashanah challah. Here are a few tips I’ve picked up to help combat the stress — just in time for the holidays.

Cultivate an attitude of gratitude

Naturally, we tend to focus on the problems we are facing rather than appreciating the countless ones we’ve overcome. Studies show those who practice the art of gratitude experience stronger immune systems, are less bothered by aches and pains, have lower blood pressure, sleep better and tend to exercise more regularly. So, add a little gratitude to your daily routine. Simply grab a notebook (or a smartphone app like Google Keep) and take one minute, literally, at the start or end of each day to jot down items you’re grateful for — or should be grateful for.

Think of it as a side of honey for your

apples. Try it for one week, seven minutes total, and see how it changes your daily life.

BMaintain a regular bedtime routine

Maintaining a regular bedtime routine sets you up for success when it comes to making healthy choices this holiday season — and beyond. And no, napping during the rabbi’s speech doesn’t count toward those sleep hours.

Sleep deprivation increases the likeliness of craving high-fat, high-shofar (or is that sugar?) foods. When faced with kugels and honey cake this season, a few extra hours of sleep will help moderate those cravings. Battle your current nightly “wind-down” routine and you will be rewarded. You’ll be shocked at how much better you’ll feel with just 20 more minutes of actual sleep.

Move more

Does exercise class feel as long as Rosh Hashanah services? There are now more virtual fitness options than ever to help you attain your fitness goals. You can find live virtual classes spanning anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes and beyond.

Live virtual workouts allow you to hold yourself accountable to your appointment. Your fitness instructor can see you (if you choose to turn your camera on), motivate you and provide real-time feedback on your

form and technique. On-demand classes allow you to attend fitness classes on your schedule, eliminating the stress of making it to the gym by a specific time or worrying about what others might think.

Get sneaky and revamp your kugel

Enjoy the traditional foods of the holiday with some sneaky additions. If you are using oil, go for the healthier ones like olive, avocado or even triple-filtered coconut oil. You can also reduce the proportions of starchy potatoes by sneaking in vegetables like shredded carrots, zucchini, parsnips or yellow squash. Your guests will notice, but they’ll probably be too polite to complain about it directly.

Look for alternatives

What’s Rosh Hashanah without a sweet honey cake? There’s no need to sound the shofar alarm. Now more than ever before, there are tons of food alternatives. Instead of regular white flour look for a recipe that utilizes whole wheat, spelt, oat or almond flour. You can also reduce the amount of sugar, still keeping things sweet with dates, figs and stevia — here’s where your guests might voice their complaints. If you, or they, just can’t cope without a real honey cake, crowd your slice with a healthy heap of fresh fruit and other healthier alternatives to give your appetite some options.

Schedule time for yourself

Taking time out of your day for yourself is not selfish or a luxury; it’s a necessity and a critical part of managing stress and mental health. Practicing self-care allows you to create a healthy relationship with yourself mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. You cannot give to others what you don’t have yourself.

Stay-home options for self-care include taking a nap, reading a book, enjoying a warm bath, listening to music or catching a virtual fitness class. Think of it as a resolution for the new year — and you have about a three-month head start on the rest of the world.

Lose the guilt

Life is meant to be celebrated and enjoyed. A day of relaxed eating doesn’t justify another Yom Kippur. So, go ahead and grab your brisket, kugel and honey cake and sit down with them mindfully. Savor them and don’t let the holiday food guilt you. That’s what your relatives are for. JN

Lauren Saks is an AFAA certified fitness instructor and program developer. She is the creator of the FitPHX Virtual Fitness Series and the owner of Energized By Exercise. To learn more, go to energizedbyexercise.com .

Returning to love

RABBI MINDIE SNYDER

or a little while I forsake you, But with vast love, I will bring you back. In slight anger, for a moment, I hid my face from you; but with kindness everlasting, I will take you back in love.” (Isaiah

“F54:7-10)

More than life cycle events, a chaplain attends to the events of life. More than tears accompanying simchas, a chaplain bears witness to tears of suffering. More than responding expeditiously to the completion of a plan, the chaplain patiently holds space for the unfolding of healing, for God’s will to be done.

In the past year, many have felt forsaken by God, hidden behind the fog of chaos. God has been out of reach, while our society’s sense of order has been repeatedly disrupted by an unending pandemic.

Isaiah’s words comfort us as we prepare to rise before God in reverence and prayer. However, these High Holidays coincide with much destruction and the burdens of reconfiguration weigh upon the hearts of our elders. Many have cried over the loss of a loved one, the loss of precious life minutes spent in pandemic-driven isolation, the loss of physical ability, the loss of human touch. Many have cried over a life that has lost its meaning and over meaningful things taken from them.

Pandemic times have put a wrench in the sacred and beautiful, twisting joy into sorrow. The sadness has been real and relentless, with a depth and a poignancy that defies prescriptive interventions. Instead, human interaction mitigates the pain. An open heart and tender ear lift the gravity of the moment, reminding the suffering one of God’s love and hope for better days.

Rather than fast forwarding to locate the comedy channel, the chaplain stops, attends to the drama, the static, the disconnections of a station in transition, in need of repair.

It has been a very challenging year. We had hoped for better by now and many made plans based upon that hope. However, the realities of the pandemic and old problems will continue into the new year — increased restrictions on visitations, trips and activities. For those aging in place, time has tremendous value because there is potentially less of it. Ongoing restrictions protect health, yet siphon off precious life minutes. Even though some find coping with more time and less to do easier than

others, all would agree the current resurgence of COVID cases and perpetual concerns with safety have been erosive.

Within these circumstances, our elders understand the Talmudic dictum: “ v’ Zeh” — “There is this and also this.”

For months I have heard declarations: I want to see and to be seen; I want to give and receive; I want to be of value and to make a difference; I want to laugh, again; I want to love.

On the other hand, I have also heard this: I am so grateful for where I live, for the gift of life, for my loved ones and my growing family; I am so grateful to experience awe and daily miracles; I am so thankful that I still have my determination and courage; I am abundantly grateful for humor when life is hard; I am so grateful to discover common ground with others who grieve for uncommon reasons; I am grateful for developing new skills and opportunities to share what I have learned over my lifetime.

Zeh v’ Zeh: There is this thing that is undesirable and difficult, generating want, but there is also this other thing that is positive and sustaining.

As Rosh Hashanah approaches, we reflect upon the complex year that has been lived. Indeed, COVID has activated the pause button on our lives, creating a unique opportunity for introspection. We have been forced to confront the unvarnished present. We have practiced and practiced mining moments for meaning. We have tamed our wild presence in ways that assure we will never miss a precious moment again. We notice the butterfly. We hear the wind. We savor our food. We feel for others.

As these concentrated moments coalesce, forming the currency of fulfillment, we surrender our earnings to the Holy One for another chance.

During our group meetings at Sun Health, we have been identifying and unpacking vital questions: How have we done? What has been accomplished? Why are

we here? Why are others not here? What could we do differently? How are things different? What is missing? What matters?

Answers hang in midair, awaiting resonance with truth. Once each person’s truth is grasped, the embryo of change awaits to connect our new year to Creation, stories across generations, along with the Divine capacity for healing ourselves and our world.

Today, we do not have Moses calling our people in the wilderness brought upon by a pandemic, but we do have a history of calling out to the God of our understanding, in distress. We can hear Moses’ cry: “El na refah na la!” — Heal her! Heal him! Heal them! Heal us, now!

As we identify essential questions and declare our intentions for healing, we make room for uncomfortable, inconvenient, unattractive feelings and contaminated thoughts. Once recognized, they are liberated and reconfigured in the enchanted vessel that melts what is hard, mends what is torn or broken. Strength can be renewed, clarity restored, burdens lifted.

We begin to forge an unfamiliar, yet friendly path forward, where artifacts give way to opportunities. During this time of transformation, we are poised for God to take us back and we remember that we are B’tselem Elohim. In God’s image, we bestow kindness. In God’s image, we promote love.

And the chaplain holds the dream for a new day, for more days, for a better year. JN

Hadassah

Rabbi Mindie Snyder serves as the rabbi and chaplain for Sun Health Communities.

Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels

Silver Foxes make a splash at Vi at Silverstone

SHANNON LEVITT | MANAGING EDITOR

Connie Wolf, 76, swam competitively in high school. When she moved to Arizona 24 years ago, swimming became her go-to exercise, one she could do yearround in the desert. She would often be found in Martin Pear Jewish Community Center’s pool in Scottsdale. But as she got older, she swam less.

Then, in January 2020, right before the COVID-19 pandemic began, she moved to Vi at Silverstone, a retirement community in Scottsdale, and found swimming again. She learned of a community of swimmers called the Silver Foxes that predated COVID, and once people were vaccinated and restrictions started to lift, she joined. Being part of the group is mainly about exercise, but it isn’t the only thing. The last 18 months Wolf spent mostly in her apartment, and as a newcomer, she didn’t have as many friends as she’d like. Becoming a Silver Fox was a venue for new friendships.

Now she has her go-to medley. “I do a crawl and then the backstroke, then the breaststroke, then the sidestroke,” she said. Butterfly is the one stroke that she doesn’t do anymore because

its focus on the shoulders gives her trouble. Luckily, there are enough strokes without it.

Jerry Anderson, 89 and founder of Silver Foxes, likes the social aspect, too, but his focus is more about health. He started swimming in 1978 when he was told that injuries from his college football career would give him trouble as he aged. Since then he has logged over 6,000 miles in the water.

The CDC lists water-based exercise as a good way for older adults to improve their quality of life and decrease disability.

Anderson moved to Vi in 2010 but it took him a few years to put the group together. When he did create Vi’s unofficial swim team four years ago, the community’s administration liked the idea and contacted Swimming World about a story. During the magazine’s 2018 interview with Jerry, the reporter quipped the swimmers were like silver foxes and the group, which had been more of a casual thing, suddenly had a name.

Anderson also added some big goals. He has clocked 1,600 miles in Vi’s pool, and thought 1,000 miles would be

a good goal for the others. Ashley Giraud, Vi’s fitness coordinator, advised him that might be too tough for some members so he changed it to 100 miles.

Wolf likes that there’s no time limit to achieve the century mark. Due to some weakness in her shoulders it’s going to take her some time. “I’ve gone 8 miles and my goal is 100 miles by my 80th birthday,” she said.

Nine of the 18 members have reached 100 miles and three have surpassed 1,000 miles.

Edward Quen, 88, is one Silver Fox who has his first 100 miles under his belt. But it took him a while before he joined the team.

Quen moved to Vi in 2015 after his

pandemic made everything a solo activity.

“You didn’t see people,” he said. “The halls were pretty empty. We wore a mask and kept our distance.”

When most COVID restrictions lifted and more people could be at the pool at the same time, he made the decision to join the swimming group.

After doing things his own way for a long time, it was fun to meet the group’s challenges with other active people.

“It’s important for camaraderie,” he said. “You personally may not be a swimmer and you meet people at another activity — yoga or tai chi or something else. I don’t do tai chi and I don’t do yoga. I swim and work out in the gym. Those

Beth Ami Temple tentatively returns in person

ELLEN BRAUNSTEIN

Beth Ami Temple of Paradise Valley is expected to reopen for the High Holidays in September after months of virtual services during the pandemic. Leadership labored over the decision given that the congregation is mostly geared towards seniors.

One of the newest members, Marsha Goodman, will be worshiping on Yom Kippur with congregants whom she has never met in person. Until a year ago, she belonged to a large Jewish congregation in Phoenix. But the temple’s religious school and intergenerational programs no longer matched her life circumstances.

As an older adult, she set about trying to find a smaller and more intimate Reform temple with like-minded people. “I don’t have a family here to participate in a school and so forth,” Goodman said of a typical synagogue’s overhead and operating costs. “While that adds vibrancy, it also adds a lot of expense.”

Goodman discovered in her search, Beth Ami, a congregation with a predominately senior membership that connects older Jewish adults to each other and their interests. The temple is known for its social gatherings in congregants’ homes and other places. The activities range from mahjong, movie and book clubs to restaurant dining, hiking and Torah study.

It’s no surprise that a temple like Beth Ami thrives in a state so extremely popular with retirees. “Some of these synagogues (focus on seniors) by choice because of the demographic realities of where they are,” said Rabbi Richard Address, the founder and director of Jewish Sacred Aging, a project of the Union for Reform Judaism.

“We’re not a full-service congregation, but we offer a lot for seniors,” said longtime board member Arnie Schwartz, an 89-year-old retired marketing executive. “They don’t want to pay high dues; they’ve been there done that, but they still want to be connected. They not only enjoy the religious aspect, but the social aspects of mixing and socializing with fellow Jews of that demographic.”

Prepandemic, from September to May, Beth Ami’s members met biweekly for Friday evening Shabbat services and the High Holidays. They worship at the Palo Christi Presbyterian Church, 3535 East Lincoln Drive, Paradise Valley.

Rabbi Allison Lawton has presided over services since 2017 and Michael Robbins, a Phoenix native, has served as cantorial soloist, also since 2017. Lawton flies in from Los Angeles to lead worship services in a church sanctuary that is converted for Jewish prayer. The cross is removed and folding panel doors are opened to reveal an ark with three Torahs, one that survived the Holocaust.

Judy Lohr-Safcik, board vice president, said that members consider Beth Ami to be one big chavurah, a Jewish fellowship group that keeps the 100 or so members socially active. “The people bond with their club members,” she said.

“I have family, but they’re not Jewish,” said LohrSafcik, who moved to Phoenix two years ago. “I wanted some place to go because my Jewish identity is important to me and I have managed to find a cadre of adults who like similar things.”

Lohr-Safcik, who is widowed, added, “We’re a family. We look after one another. I had a medical procedure done yesterday. I’ve already had inquiries on how I’m doing.”

Ruth Poles, a former board member, said the temple

is ideal for older single women. “The membership is small and it’s very personable.”

During the pandemic, services and other activities have been conducted online through Zoom. Newcomers met Beth Ami members at a virtual open house on August 27. High Holiday services are expected to be in person in addition to Zoom unless COVID-19 becomes too much of a threat, Schwartz said. Masks are required for all attendees regardless of vaccination status and social distancing will be maintained.

Beth Ami is a 43-year-old synagogue that evolved into one for seniors. “Not that we wouldn’t love to have young people, but as our members aged, that’s who we attracted,” said Schwartz, whose wife Ruth was the volunteer administrator for many years. Now the synagogue employs a part-time administrator.

Schwartz also likens Beth Ami to a giant chavurah “Our members will come to services and they don’t want to go home. They want to talk, socialize and mingle.”

“It’s more than just a senior citizen’s group,” said Lawton, who also teaches high school students in an L.A. Jewish day school. “Beth Ami is really centered by that core of Jewish values, Jewish learning, Jewish study and Jewish ritual.”

Robbins, 61, considers himself “a baby compared to most of the members. They’re all very friendly. It’s not like a big temple where the focus is on young families and children in school. So, it’s a very different way of doing things.” Robbins brings in more traditional music because of the older generation. Occasionally, he has helped celebrate a grandchild’s baby naming.

Lawton, who is 52, added that her older congregants “have a lot to offer. I find that I’m more than just a rabbi leading my congregation. I find that I’m learning from them as well. They have so much more life experience that it makes our community a rich community.” JN

For more information about Beth Ami Temple and making reservations for High Holiday services, please call 602-956-0805, email bethamitemple@hotmail.com or visit bethamitemple.org

Steve Hertzfeld blows the shofar PHOTO COURTESY OF BETH AMI TEMPLE

The rabbi reads the weekly Torah portion and she invited all the women up to the bima for a group aliyah. PHOTO COURTESY OF BETH AMI TEMPLE

Remember the family caregivers this holiday season

BOB ROTH

ith the High Holidays nearly upon us, many of us are preparing for the traditions of these Days of Awe. At the same time, some of us are providing care for an aging loved one as family caregivers. This year family caregivers are contemplating the difficulties of attending worship services and attending family gatherings while also protecting and keeping their loved ones safe from the coronavirus pandemic, especially with the uptick in cases caused by the new delta variant. Family caregiving is at the foundation of our family’s home-care agency’s beginning. My family and I created Cypress HomeCare Solutions to care for other people’s moms and dads in the same way we had learned to care for our own mom. Now, 27 years after Cypress’s founding, there has never been a more important time to honor, respect and assist these unsung heroes who are making incredible sacrifices in their lives to care for the ones they love.

The family caregivers are the backbone

Wof our country’s caregiving core. Many of us remember that back in 2011 the first of the baby boomers began turning 65 at a clip of 10,000 a day and now, in just a little more than four years, they will begin turning 80.

There is nothing magical about 80, except that the number of comorbidities for these individuals has increased to a point where many struggle to be able to live alone in the comfort of their own home. Staying independent is the goal for our seniors, and to do that people have to be able to perform some practical acts of daily living.

These include six essential skills:

• Bathing and showering: the ability to bathe oneself and maintain dental, hair and nail hygiene.

• Continence: having complete control of bowels and bladder.

• Dressing: the ability to select appropriate clothes and outerwear, and to dress independently.

• Mobility: being able to walk or transfer from one place to another, specifically in and out of a bed or chair.

• Feeding (excluding meal preparation): the ability to get food from plate to

mouth, and to chew and swallow.

• Toileting: the ability to get on and off the toilet and clean oneself without assistance.

According to a 2020 survey by AARP, more than 50 million Americans now serve as unpaid caregivers for adult family members or friends and it’s only going to continue to grow. Many of these family caregivers are struggling as well, sacrificing their own health and wellbeing to assist their loved ones for years on end. Consistent, skilled and affordable care is now in short supply — and getting shorter — and the family caregivers are shouldering an increasingly unsustainable burden without assistance.

The challenges centered around affordability and workforce are not just a problem in the United States; many countries are facing this same issue. Japan has the world’s oldest population. Japanese lawmakers passed a long-term care insurance program in 1997. The U.S. Congress seems unlikely to follow suit any time soon.

But there is hope. Something we should all be watching is the Long-Term Services and Supports Trust program,

which was passed by Washington’s state legislature and signed into law in 2019 by Gov. Jay Inslee.

The following are the bill’s key provisions:

• Starting January 1, 2022, a 0.58% premium assessment will be imposed on all Washington employee wages.

• Starting January 1, 2025, proceeds of this premium assessment will be used to provide long-term services and supports benefits.

For all the family caregivers out there, please know that you are not alone. At this year’s High Holiday services and family get-togethers, take inventory of your loved ones who are performing these selfless acts and check in with them to make sure that they are remembering to take care of themselves.

If you see a loved one in the role of a family caregiver, offer to “share the care.” By offering to share in these tasks you will be enabling the family caregiver to get the respite they need so that they can be a better caregiver to their care recipient. If they don’t accept your offer, either insist or just do it. JN

Bob Roth is the managing partner of Cypress HomeCare Solutions.

What happens when American Jews ‘watch’ the IsraeliPalestinian conflict? ‘The Viewing Booth’ offers a glimpse.

ANDREW LAPIN | JTA

AJewish college student sits alone in a dark room watching a series of short videos. They are filmed altercations from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, often violent, with some showing Israeli soldiers and citizens attacking or abusing Palestinian civilians. A camera trained on the student records her reactions as she watches. Occasionally, a man, speaking on a microphone from another room, intervenes to ask her to clarify her thoughts.

This is the premise behind the documentary “The Viewing Booth,” a deceptively simple setup that becomes a complex meditation on how different audiences can interpret the same images of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and on whether filmmaking can truly be a tool for social change. The film’s Israeli director, Raanan Alexandrowicz (the man on the microphone), created the concept to better understand the impact of such images on audiences who may not agree with their contents.

What he found, Alexandrowicz said, caused him to question his own worldview.

Working from Temple University in Philadelphia, Alexandrowicz invited seven students to participate in the booth, filming them as they watched the footage in a technique calling to mind director Errol Morris’ “Interrotron.” Ultimately, though, “The Viewing Booth” focuses on only one participant: an undergraduate named Maia Levy, a last-minute addition during filming who identifies herself as strongly pro-Israel.

Levy is skeptical of much of the footage that Alexandrowicz shows her depicting Israelis in a negative light. Yet she’s drawn to it all the same.

“You should take all of these with a grain of salt,” she says while viewing

footage distributed by the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem. “There is 100% bias to this footage, but it’s still footage that I think still deserves some type of recognition.”

As Levy reflexively questions the content and motivations of the images, she and Alexandrowicz discuss the nature of truth and preconceived belief systems. The film climaxes with Levy returning to the booth, this time to watch the video of herself from the first session — a cinematic hall of mirrors.

Opening at New York’s Museum of the Moving Image last month after a two-year festival run, “The Viewing Booth” is also now available for free streaming on the BBC’s REEL website.

Alexandrowicz is no stranger to uncomfortable interviews — his previous film was the acclaimed 2011 documentary “The Law in These Parts,” in which he interrogated the architects of the legal system that Israel imposed on the Palestinian territories it captured in the Six-Day War.

“I started [my career] by trying to document Palestinians for Israelis,” Alexandrowicz told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “And I’ve moved on from that. I feel it’s more important to represent to ourselves, as Jews, the mechanisms that we are constructing. If we are able to stare into them and understand them, we might want to disassociate ourselves from them.”

The filmmaker spoke to JTA about how he views “The Viewing Booth.”

How did you decide on the idea for the experiment, and what you were looking to learn from it as a filmmaker?

“Experiment” is definitely the feel this film has, but I just want to make sure

that it doesn’t come off as if I yielded some data. It’s a film that has the form of an experiment.

It’s a long journey that actually started five years earlier. I was questioning the effect of my previous work; I was also looking at the work of colleagues, specifically about this subject of Palestine and Israel, which I’ve devoted a few films to and is very important for me. And I asked myself, what is the role of documentation [when] trying to make change in the context of this historical event? Finally, what I came up with was that I need to try to understand what people get from the work that filmmakers, media makers, people who are making audiovisual documentation of any form, are doing.

I tried filming different viewers in different kinds of situations. I tried filming people in their natural situations at home. And I couldn’t find the right form. I decided to put out an open call at the university, asking people to come who are willing to be filmed while they’re watching these videos, and to verbalize their experience. I felt that something so constructed as asking people to watch and respond needed to be filmed in a way that would make visible its very constructedness.

In the film, you say that you put out an open call specifically for students who are interested in Israel. Yeah, I would say that there was even more of a bias to it because I hoped I would find people who are very supportive of Israel. With earlier works, my primary audience was always Israeli. But in the U.S., I was very interested in Jewish audiences — and in Jewish audiences that were on the other side of the political map. That’s where I

thought my work might have some sort of effect. So I published a call from the [Temple University] Hillel Facebook page, in the Jewish studies department, in places where there would be people who were very pro-Israel.

I’m often asked, “Why is this film only about Maia Levy and not about the other students who participated?” The reason I decided to make the film only about her is that she was most invested. These images were important to her as much as they’re important to me, although in a very different way. While hearing her responses, I understood that she is really an ideal viewer for myself as a filmmaker because on one hand, she’s very different from me politically. But on the other hand, she was a very open-minded, curious and authentic viewer.

I did try to edit sequences of a number of viewers watching certain videos while highlighting the differences between them. If [a participant] had the experience, for instance, of, while being Jewish, also being perceived as a brown person in the U.S., their experience of watching, for instance, that video of the home search [a B’Tselem-distributed clip of the Israeli military conducting a home search of a Palestinian family’s residence in Hebron] was different than the experience of Maia because they’ve had some previous experiences with police in the U.S.

After a few weeks I went back and looked at all of the footage that I had from Maia. There were about 100 minutes from that first session, and I felt that there was the heart of a more interesting film than the one I had intended. And that was when I started to think of inviting her back.

Maia Levy watches footage from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the documentary “The Viewing Booth.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF ATZMOR PRODUCTIONS VIA JTA.ORG

Raanan Alexandrowicz is the director of “The Viewing Booth.”

PHOTO BY ZACHARY REESE VIA JTA.ORG

Maia is an American Jew; you’re an Israeli filmmaker. Do you intend for her to stand in for a broader American Jewish response? If not, what do you see her viewing experiences as representing? That’s really important that you mentioned that because the one thing that I don’t want is to come off as if I’m trying to give some sort of an objective statement. It’s more of a case study of a conversation between one viewer, a set of images, and a filmmaker.

So Maia doesn’t represent the group of people who answered the call. She definitely doesn’t represent American Jews. She represents one American Jewish viewer who I, as a filmmaker, would have wanted to understand something from the media that I make — which is not the media in the film.

In the film, we see that Maia’s responses are causing you to question your own role as a documentary filmmaker. Can you break down that conversation? What was going through your head? It made me question what it means to document the world now, or specifically, to document Palestine and Israel and all the injustice that I see there, and all the things that have to change there.

It’s a film about miscommunication, of noncommunication. But in a strange way it becomes a dialogue of the different ways in which we look at images.

So, for example, we are looking at a video of this home invasion. So [the Israeli army is] coming into a home in [the West Bank city of] Hebron in the middle of the night, waking up the children and the family, conducting a search. Maia looks at it and sees it in a certain way. I look at it and see it in a different way. Now what I wanted, what I would have wished Maia as a viewer to do, was to take this image of the home invasion and read it through the context of 50 years of the military regime in the West Bank in which every night in those 50 years, homes are invaded, children are woken up — from minute one of the occupation until now.

And I would have wanted her to zoom out, to use a cinematic metaphor, and ask herself: What does this image mean if, in these last 50 years, every night you have so many of these? What she wants to do, and I’ll use another metaphor from cinema: She wants to pull the dolly back, to see the father holding a camera and filming the whole situation, filming his children being woken up.

At one point she asks, “What if there was a complaint about a bomb?” And there I do push back a little bit. I say, “Where did you get that context from?” She realizes that she’s actually taking this context from things she saw on “Fauda,” a dramatic series on Netflix. And in that way, again, she introduces

something we should be thinking about: the way that fiction and nonfiction images at the moment are in a certain kind of relationship. The boundary between them is becoming more and more blurred.

You completed this film in 2019. How do you feel now after the last few months of videos from the latest violence in Israel and Gaza circulating online and people reacting to them? Does that affect how you view your own film?

Well, it doesn’t because I feel that this cycle is just repetition. What is the difference between this and what happened before? I think the images are out there all the time, but they’re now getting a lot of attention. Maybe more people are seeing them than only the people who usually seek them out, so there are more responses, more dialogue — and that’s where what we see in the film fits in because it gives a language, or suggests a new language, for looking at arguments about images.

If anything, something that really changed the perspective of the film is COVID and the fact that we lived in viewing booths. It’s become our life.

What is Maia’s response to the film, and what is your relationship like now? We never had any conversations with each other outside of the film until the first time we presented together at (the Tel Aviv documentary film festival) Docaviv. And that was the first time that I had some idea about her background and her family’s background, and how they came to be in the U.S. And of course, I also discovered that the more I knew about her, the more that I had boxed her into some definitions that weren’t necessarily true.

Maia likes the film. I think she feels that the film is her, or at least a portrayal of her at that time — now a few years have passed. Some viewers completely decide not to listen to her, and in that way they apply their own defense mechanisms:

“What does she know about anything?

I don’t feel like she can teach me anything.” I’ve heard that from people who program human rights festivals. For me, it signals they just don’t want to deal with what she brings up.

But I think the wider response to the film is that of people who, while they think very differently from her, respect the way that she’s able to reflect, the way that she’s able to be authentic, the way that she’s able to present us with a mirror of ourselves. Whether our political views are similar to hers or different, we all view things in this way: We all bring our own biases to things we see. We all work with these types of defense mechanisms, trying to position what we see so it fits with our worldviews. JN

Wonderful Weddings

September 24

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Senior Lifestyle

October 1

From home health aides to financial planners, independent living facilities to nursing homes, this is the perfect venue to showcase how your business can help older Jewish residents navigate these challenging times.

Camp & School Guide

October 15

Parents are looking for the best for their kids. Showcase your offerings to Jewish News readers.

Featured Event

FRIDAY, SEPT. 24

Sukkot Tot Shabbat: 5 p.m. Join PlayDates by Design for a holiday tot Shabbat at Pardes Jewish Day School, 12753 N Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale. Partners include Harper Jack, Modern Mitzvah and PJ Library. A craft will be offered. Enter to win a Harper Jack sensory kit. Cost: $15 per family. Masks required for adults. For more information and to register, visitplaydatesbydesign.com/event-details/sukkot-tot-shabbat.

Events

MONDAY, SEPT. 13

From Shadows to Life: 6 p.m. Join the Martin Pear JCC, 12701 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, for an in-person author presentation by Judy Pearson. Learn about the creation of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship which forever changed the definition of what it means to be a “survivor.” Part medical history, part inspirational biography, Pearson tells the story of a social movement that continues to improve life for millions. Cost: $10 for members, $15 for guests. For more information and to register, visit jewishphoenix.regfox.com/ meet-the-authors-series.

TUESDAY, SEPT 14

Lunch and Learn: 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. Join Melissa Brown, CEO & Founder of Copper Sky Social Media and Co-Founder of Scottsdale Wine Club, at the Martin Pear JCC, 12701 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, for a learning session about social media. She has worked with business owners and nonprofits to unlock the tools, tips, and strategies used by the digital business experts to attract prospects, connect influencers, and generate over a million dollars in sales without paid advertising. Cost: $10. For more information and to register, visit eventbrite.com/e/lunch-learn-series-withmelissa-brown-tickets-167544948451.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 19

Sukkah Bag Pickup: 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. PJ Library has created Sukkot bags to help families celebrate the holiday. Inside each bag are Sukkot-themed snacks, activities and crafts for kids to learn about the holiday. Pick up will be at the Martin Pear JCC, 12701 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale. Cost: $5 per bag. For more information and to register, visit mpjcc.org/pjsukkah.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 23

Comedy: 7 p.m. Jennie Fahn’s solo 90-minute comedy, UNDER THE JELLO MOLD, makes its Arizona debut at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. The show was winner of the 2017 Hollywood Fringe Festival’s Best Solo Show and Producer’s Encore Awards and named Pick of the Fringe. Cost: $35. Purchase online at UnderTheJelloMold.com or call (480) 499-TKTS (8587).

Jews of the Southwest: 7 p.m. Join the Arizona Jewish Historical Society, 122 E Culver St, Phoenix, for an in-person film screening of “A Long Journey: The Hidden Jews of the Southwest.” The film is about self-awareness and reaffirmation, and a celebration of the richness and diversity of Jewish and Latino cultures in the American Southwest. Streaming is available as well. Cost: Free. For more information and to register, visit azjhs.org/documentary-film-series.

SATURDAY, OCT. 2

The Red Rocks Music Festival will present concerts at the Arizona Jewish Historical Society, 122 E Culver St, Phoenix, on Wednesday, September 1st, at 7:30 p.m featuring works by Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Bartok; Thursday, September 2nd at 7:30 p.m. featuring works by Boccherini, Piazzolla and Dvorak; and Saturday, October 2nd at 7:30 p.m. featuring works by

Ravel, Rodrigo, Boskovich, Lavry, and Schumann. Cost: $36. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit redrocksmusicfestival.com.

THURSDAY, OCT. 7

Bingo for breast cancer: Join the Martin Pear JCC, 12701 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, for The J’s second annual event of which 10% of proceeds will benefit a local cancer organization. Enjoy a wine tasting, raffle prizes, dessert, and bingo. Cost: $30 for members, $40 for guests. For more information and to register, visit apm. activecommunities.com/valleyofthesunjcc/ Activity_Search/1831.

SUNDAY, OCT. 10

Fiddler: 10 a.m. Join the Martin Pear JCC, 12701 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, for an in-person film screening of “Fiddler on the Roof.” Before the film, professional violinist, Maggie Martinc will play music from the musical. Cost: starting at $10. For more information and to register, visit jewishphoenix.regfox.com/movies-with-amessage-a-documentary-film-series.

THURSDAY, OCT. 21

Wine Tasting Day Trip: 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Join the Martin Pear Jewish Community Center for a Northern Arizona wine tour that includes a private tastings at three wineries in the Cornville/Cottonwood Vineyards region, lunch at one of the vineyards, and round trip private transportation to and from The J in a luxury van. Register now as space is limited to 14 people. Cost: $250 for members, $280 for guests. For more information and to register, visit apm. activecommunities.com/valleyofthesunjcc/ Activity_Search/1890.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 27

Founder Presentations: 6:30 p.m. The founders of two prominent Jewish organizations, Becca Hornstein of Gesher Disability Resources and Andi Minkoff of the Minkoff Center for Jewish Genetics will each speak about their agency’s remarkable origins on Zoom. This panel is sponsored by the Women’s Leadership Institute. For more information and to register, visit bit.ly/ WLIOct21.

THURSDAYS

Storytime at Modern Milk: 9:30 a.m. Bring your babies, toddlers and preschoolers to our weekly all ages in-person storytime at Modern Milk, 3802 N Scottsdale Rd STE 163. We will integrate favorite 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.

SUNDAYS

Bagels: 9-11 a.m. Join the Martin Pear JCC, 12701 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, for Bagels And Gabbing every last Sunday of the month in-person. Grab a bagel and a cup of coffee 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 apm. activecommunities.com/valleyofthesunjcc/ Activity_Search/1787.

Virtual Meetings, Lectures & Classes

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 1

Soulful parenting: Noon-1 p.m. -2 p.m. In this virtual presentation, author Dasee Berkowitz will combine insights from thousands of years of traditional Jewish wisdom and contemporary literature on spirituality with her own utterly relatable first-person storytelling, to help parents embrace every moment with their families. Cost: $18. For more information and to register, visitvalleybeitmidrash.org/upcoming-events.

Respecting the Elderly: 9 a.m. In this virtual presentation, Rabbanit Sharona Halickman will present about respecting the eldery. Cost: $18. For more information and to register, visit valleybeitmidrash.org/event/ respecting-the-elderly.

Meditation: 4 p.m. The Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley is offering a virtual afternoon meditation. Cost: Free. For more information and to obtain the Zoom link, visit jcsvv.org/contact.

THURSDAY, SEPT 9

Israel: 2 p.m. Join the Arizona Jewish Historical Society for this virtual book discussion on “Israel: A Guide to the Most Misunderstood Country on Earth” by Noa Tishby. While everyone seems to have a strong opinion about Israel, how many people actually know its history? Through bite-sized chunks of history and deeply personal stories, Tishby chronicles her homeland’s evolution, beginning in Biblical times and moving forward to cover everything from the First World War, to Israel’s creation, to the disputes dividing the country today. Cost: Free. For more information and to register, visit azjhs. org/israel.

TUESDAY, SEPT 14

Museum at the J: 10 a.m. Join the East Valley Jewish Community Center for a virtual presentation by the Chandler Art Museum about Dorothea Lange’s depression-era photography in Chandler. Cost: Free. For more information and to register, visit evjcc.org/tuesdays.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 17

Wise Aging: 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. In this virtual Bureau of Jewish Education course, learn positive ways to navigate a meaningful transition to your next chapter on life’s journey. Wise Aging is designed specifically to meet the social, emotional and spiritual needs of Jewish seekers entering second adulthood. Explore the tools and resources to age wisely through the lens of Jewish wisdom. Cost: $10. For more information and to register, visit bjephoenix.org/ course-events/2021/09/17/wise-aging.

MONDAY, Oct. 4

Squirrel Hill: 11 a.m. - noon. In this virtual Valley Beit Midrash class, Mark Oppenheimer, from the Podcast Unorthodox, will discuss the Tree of Life shooting and how the historically Jewish community of Squirrel Hill embodied resilience in the aftermath. Cost: $18. For more information and to register, visit valleybeitmidrash.org/event.

TUESDAY, Oct. 5

Music of Broadway: 10 a.m. Join the East Valley Jewish Community Center for a virtual presentation by violinist Julie Ivanhoe. Cost: Free. For more information and to register, visit evjcc. org/tuesdays.

TUESDAY, OCT 12

Museum at the J: 10 a.m. Join the East Valley Jewish Community Center for a virtual presentation by the Chandler Art Museum called “Frank Lloyd Wright and a New Vision for Chandler.” Cost: Free. For more information and to register, visit evjcc.org/tuesdays.

THURSDAY, OCT. 14

The Light of Days: 2 p.m. Join the Arizona Jewish Historical Society for this virtual book discussion on “THE LIGHT OF DAYS,” by Judy Batalion. Learn about the exploits of a cadre of Jewish women in Poland—some still in their teens—who helped transform the Jewish youth groups into resistance cells to fight the Nazis. Cost: Free. For more information and to register, visit azjhs.org/ the-light-of-days.

Abortion and Halacha: 1-2 p.m. In this Valley Beit Midrash virtual presentation by Rabbi Yoni Rosensweig, examine the different attitudes within Jewish law towards the possibility of abortion. Cost: $18. For more information and to register, visit valleybeitmidrash.org/event.

TUESDAY, OCT. 19

Healthy Aging: 10 a.m. Join the East Valley Jewish Community Center for a virtual presentation by Debbi Lavinsky, a health and wellness coach and pilates teacher, about strategies for healthy aging. Cost: Free. For more information and to register, visit evjcc.org/ tuesdays.

Restorative Justice: 1-2 p.m. In this virtual Valley Beit Midrash presentation by Rabbi Dr. Aryeh Cohen, look at a Rabbinic understanding of justice. It is not punishment centered, but rather centers the victim’s experience and looks at the three-way relationship between victim/ survivor, offender, and society as the basis for creating safety and justice for everybody. Cost: $18. For more information and to register, visit valleybeitmidrash.org/event.

THURSDAY, OCT. 21

Legacy of German Judaism: 1-2 p.m. In this virtual Valley Beit Midrash presentation by Professor Paul Franks, learn about German Judaism, and what it still can offer us today. Cost: $18. For more information and to register, visit valleybeitmidrash.org/event. Cost: $18. For more information and to register, visit valleybeitmidrash.org/event.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 25

The Chasidic Story: 1-2 p.m. In this virtual Valley Beit Midrash presentation by Jonnie Schnytzer, learn about the ways Chasidic masters created a Jewish revolution, which rekindled a mass of souls that were on the verge of burning out.

TUESDAY, OCT. 26

Odessa: 10 a.m. Join the East Valley Jewish Community Center for a virtual presentation by the Odessa, which will perform Klezmer music. Cost: Free. For more information and to register, visit evjcc.org/tuesdays.

MONDAYS, AUG 2.-AUG. 30

Intermediate Hebrew: 4:30-6 p.m. In this virtual Bureau of Jewish Education adult education course, Sophie Platt will teach intermediate Hebrew. Cost: $50. For more information and to register, visit bjephoenix.org/ course-events/2021/08/02/intermediate-hebrew.

TUESDAYS

Keep Calm and Play Mahjong: 6:30-8:30 p.m. Play mahjong from home with myjongg.net. Cost: Free. To join a table, email Nicole at nicoleg@ vosjcc.org.

Maintaining an Upbeat Attitude: 7 p.m. A class exclusively for people in their 20s and 30s, learn how Jewish Mysticism can help with your attitude

Marketing material for the Sukkot tot Shabbat

with Rabbi Shlomy Levertov online. Cost: Free. Tune in at: JewishParadiseValley.com/YJPclass. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

39 Ways to Repair the World: In celebration of Rabbi Shmuly’s 39th birthday, he is teaching the 39 melachot over the year (1 per week for 39 weeks). Each session will be between 15-20 minutes long on Tuesdays. Cost: Suggested $18 donation. For more information, visit valleybeitmidrash.org.

Let’s Knit: 1:30-3:30 p.m. Share the pleasure of knitting, crocheting, etc. and help others with a project or pattern. Can’t knit? We can teach you! Every level welcome. We will be sitting outside at the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus and social distancing. Our last meeting before August will be Tuesday, May 11. Cost: Free . For more information, email Nicole Garber at nicoleg@mpjcc.org.

WEDNESDAYS

Happiness Hour: 11:30 a.m. An online class taught by Rabbi Pinchas Allouche that delves into texts and references culled from our traditions to address a relevant topic and draw uplifting life lessons from it. For more information or to join, visit cbtvirtualworld.com.

The Thirteen Petalled Rose: 1 p.m. An online Kabbalah class that studies “The Thirteen Petalled Rose” by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz, focusing on the many foundational and transformational 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. Virtual 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.

Torah Study with Chabad: Noon. Take a weekly journey to the soul of Torah online with Rabbi Yossi Levertov. Cost: Free. For more information, visit chabadaz,com

Torah Study with Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley: 11 a.m. - noon. TBS of the West Valley’s weekly virtual 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. The goal is to achieve an understanding of what the text is and what it can teach us in the contemporary world. For more information, contact the TBS office at (623) 977-3240.

Lunch & Learn: 12:15 PM. Grab some food and learn online with Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin. Cost: Free. Tune in on Zoom by emailing info@ ChabadTucson.com. For more information, visit ChabadTucson.com.

History of the Jews: 11:00 AM Learn the Jewish journey from Genesis to Moshiach online with Rabbi Ephraim Zimmerman. Cost: Free. Tune in here: zoom.us/j/736434666. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

Words & Whiskey: 8:30 p.m. Join a free weekly, virtual learning session for men. To RSVP, email rmollenaz@gmail.com or call/text 310-709-3901.

SATURDAYS

Saturday Mindfulness Gatherings: 9:30

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

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

SUNDAYS

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

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

ABORTION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

Tamarkin’s argument is flawed.

Routman, who is not involved in the lawsuit, said Christian beliefs and values all came from the Hebrew Bible.

“Judaism was the first religion in human history to sanctify human life from conception to natural death and the first religion to prohibit child sacrifice,” she said. “The abortion industry is antithetical to Judaism, which is based on compassion, protecting innocent life, respecting women, nurturing families and living our biblical commandments to choose life and multiply and bring a vision of God’s will into the world.”

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights, the American

FACEBOOK CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

polarization both in the United States and within the Jewish community, he said.

Yanklowitz likes both the diversity of the membership and that everybody seems to feel welcome.

He’d love to see even more people join the group, “but I’ve also been really impressed that after all these years, it’s still robustly active.”

Yanklowitz also started the Arizona Jews For Justice Facebook group in 2015, which now has more than 2,100 members, many of whom are not Jewish. He started it because there was no other Jewish social justice group in town at the time, “and there was no channel in the Jewish community to talk about this

Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Arizona.

“Politicians should not get to decide what is an acceptable reason for seeking an abortion,” said Emily Nestler, senior counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights. “Patients are the ones best suited to decide what is best for themselves and their families, in consultation with their health care providers.”

The Supreme Court agreed in May to hear Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, there have been 561 abortion restrictions, including 165 abortion bans, introduced across 47 states so far this year as of June 7, and 83 of those restrictions have been enacted across 16 states, including 10 bans. JN

stuff,” be it antisemitism, immigration, race relations or other issues.

He’s also noticed that fewer people are willing to post much or share their views as the country has become more polarized.

But Facebook isn’t the only place online for these Jewish connections. Yanklowitz has set his sights on Clubhouse next, a new social media platform, which is based on oral dialogue.

“We do think there’s value not only in seeing each other and writing to each other, but talking with each other in a decentralized way,” he said. “People should be in touch with us if they’re interested in the Clubhouse space.” JN

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NOVEMBER 20, 2020 | KISLEV 4, 5781 | VOLUME 73, NUMBER 5

SPECIAL SECTION | 14 CHANUKAH GIFT GUIDE Fun gift ideas for the holiday SEE COVID, PAGE 3

after the divisiveness of this election cycle. For those involved in the election process, whether it was informing voters, advising poll observers or canvassing for a candidate, it was a long campaign season. Ahead of Election Day, voters were bombarded with outreach efforts and reminders to vote, all of which helped produce record voter turnout: In Maricopa County, over 2 million ballots were cast, representing just over 80% of eligible voters. Temple Chai’s civic engagement initiative was one of many outreach campaigns. Since July, volunteers were busy participating in phone banks that focused both on the Temple Chai community itself and on reaching marginalized communities where people were less likely to vote. For Kaylie Medansky, director of teen, community and social action programs

CAMP: U. of Illinois to address ‘alarming’ increase of anti-Semitism on campus

Synagogues work to limit community spread

WELLEN O’BRIEN | STAFF WRITER Time for some self-care Talya Kalman holds up a miniature pumpkin she painted during Hillel at ASU's Wellness Wednesday event. To read more, go to p. 7. PHOTO BY ABDULLAH SEE ELECTION, PAGE 2 KEEP YOUR EYE ON jewishaz.com  ISRAEL when it opened on May 20. The shul closed again on Thursday, June 11, and reopened Friday, July 17. PHOTO COURTESY OF AHAVAS TORAH

Camp NATIONAL INTERNATIONAL

CAMP Israel, EU discuss possible rail link between Mediterranean, Gulf states

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