Arizona Jewish Life November 2015 Vol 4/Issue 2

NOVEMBER 2015

THE JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE FOR ARIZONA

Philanthropy and the New

Culture of Giving SENIORS

Leading by Example

Jessica Berg Helps Students STEP into the Future

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6 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 7

Inside

Features

November 2015/ Cheshvan-Kislev 5776 | Volume 4/Issue 2

36

46

Seniors

74

Father of consumer cultural theory still teaching at 94…………………………………..50 COVER STORY Tea with Honey (Manson)………………………………………………………………………….54 Jessica Berg and STEP open doors….…………………………………………………30 Pioneers in literacy draw on camp experience……………………………………………….56 UPFRONT Ken Goodman writes kid’s book………………….….…………………………………………..57 B-JWLD customers are happy customers……..……………………………………..12 Senior celebrate in style at Maravilla……………….………………………………………….58 BUSINESS Project aims to decrease Parkinson’s falls…..……………………………………………….62 Ins & Outs………………………………………….………………………………………….14 HOME & GARDEN Kitchens to live in …….…………………………………………………………………….36 Technology to change your home……..………………………………………………..41 Urban home tour……………………………………………………………………………45 FOOD Chef’s Corner: Stuff your veggies…....……………………………………………….. 46 A Taste of Arizona: Smoke Dem Bones…...…………………………………………..48 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT A Life in Art: Beth Ames Swartz………………………………………………………….64 Celebrate Jewish Book Month with a good read….………………………………..66 People of the book………..……..………………………………………………………...68 ISRAEL Israeli technology is changing homes…………………………………………………41 Parkinson’s research in Israel…………………………………………………………..62 Mourning Moti Kirshenbaum ……..……………………………………………………78 Life without Thanksgiving………………………………………………………………...84

Charitable Giving

Life & Legacy is changing culture………………………………………………………16 Joshua Simon gets as much as he gives……………………………………………..18 Tracy Salkowitz and a new generation…….…………………………………………..21 Camp Swift counselors cheer…………………………………………………………...24 Swift’s new leader loves camp career……….………………………………………..24 Youth Philanthropy board doubles……………………………………………………..27 Why we give……………………….……….…………………………………………………28 Charitable giving advertiser directory…………………………………………………28

CORRECTIONS

JKids

JKids & Teens Events…………..……………………………………………………………………70 Adoption is a triple win…………...………………………………………………………………..71 Jewish preschoolers get into yoga……………………………………………………………….74 What does autism label mean? …………………………………………………………………76

JLiving

Chef gives back one bite at a time...……………………………………………………………80 Federation Notes…………………..………………………………………………………………..84 In Israel, every holiday is ours....………………………………………………………………..84 FACES & PLACES ………….………………………………………………………………………..86 Previews ……………………….………………………………………………………………………87 Calendar …….………………..………………………………………………………………………89

Columns

46 Chef’s Corner by Lucia Schnitzer 48 A Taste of Arizona by A. Noshman 66 To Life by Amy Hirshberg Lederman 76 Family Time by Debra Rich Gettleman

COVER PHOTO: Jessica Berg

• An article about mitzvah projects in the October issue of Arizona Jewish Life listed the wrong last name of one youth. Sophie Dube, daughter of Steve and Suzi Hilton, fundraised for the Banner Alzheimer’s Foundation at her bat mitzvah.

• An October Biz In about Barbara Kaplan’s new website of recommended design connections gave the wrong name of one recommended business. Kaplan recommends the Buffalo Collection (7044 E 5th Ave., Scottsdale).

8 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

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THE JEWISH LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE FOR ARIZONA

Publishers Robert Philip and Cindy Saltzman Advertising and Editorial Director Cindy Saltzman Editor-In-Chief Deborah Moon Contributing Editor Leni Reiss Social Media Editor Debra Rich Gettleman Webmaster Karl Knelson Advertising Sales advertise@azjewishlife.com 602-538-2955 Art Director Philip Nerat Copy Editor Susan Moon

Simplify your charitable contributions and maximize the benefits of your giving with a Donor Advised Fund at the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix.

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Columnists Amy Hirshberg Lederman, Abigail Klein Leichman, A. Noshman, Lucia Schnitzer, Mylan Tanzer and Stuart Wachs Contributing Writers Sarah Chen, Zoe Isaac, Anne Lowe, Suzye Kleiner, Rhona Melsky, Debra Rich Gettleman, Melissa Hirschl, Polina Olsen, Teddy Weinberger and Sheila Wilensky How to reach us: 602-538-AZJL (2955) Subscriptions: 503-538-2955 Advertise@azjewishlife.com Editor1@azjewishlife.com Publisher@azjewishlife.com

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A Prince Hal Production (TGMR18) The content and opinions in Arizona Jewish Life do not necessarily reflect those of the publishers, staff or contractors.

Articles and columns are for informational purposes only and not intended as a substitute for professional advice. Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, Arizona Jewish Life, and its agents, publishers, employees and contractors will not be held responsible for the misuse of any information contained herein. The publishers reserve the right to refuse any advertisement. Publication of advertisements does not constitute endorsement of products or services.

Proud members of:

We are an aging nation. The fastest-growing segment of our population is those 85 and older. Age is the biggest risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and memory loss in general. In fact, some memory loss is considered a normal part of aging.

So what’s an aging nation to do? Stay active, stay engaged. Research has shown that seniors who stay active both physically and socially keep their brains in shape as well as their bodies.

In our special section on Seniors this month, we profile several people who have that all figured out.

Meet a Tucson professor who is still teaching and engaging students at the University of Arizona. Find out where you can have tea with an active nonagenarian. Hear how a couple of octogenarians are still drawing on their experiences with Jewish camp to help kids learn to read. Learn from the couple that moved to a retirement resort community and forged new friendships; the pair is now teaming up with those new friends and the staff to create meaningful Jewish holiday experiences in their new home.

Even beyond the senior pages you’ll find seniors doing amazing things. In our Arts & Entertainment section, meet an artist who discovered the connection between art and earth 50 years ago during a rafting trip down the Grand Canyon. She has parlayed that understanding into an arts career that is now the subject of a soon-to-be-released documentary.

Our younger story subjects seem like they, too, are on a path to live a long healthy life. When Jerald and Lisa Altman decided to expand their family by adopting a baby from Ethiopia, they discovered how a toddler can keep you feeling young in your 40s. Jerry says keeping up with a toddler keeps him young. And he’s giving back to the country that gave him that boost by returning to Ethiopia each year for a medical mission. This year the couple’s two teenage daughters joined him in Ethiopia after their Birthright trip to Israel. The three conducted hearing tests and gave donated hearing aids to children in need.

Even preschoolers are developing some healthy habits that can last a lifetime. Yoga for the young set is a growing trend at Jewish preschools and J’s around the country. The lifelong benefits of movement and concentration will serve them well as they grow through life.

Youth are also learning the benefits of philanthropy. In our Charitable Giving section, you can read about the explosive growth of the B’nai Tzedek Jewish Community Foundation’s Youth Philanthropy Board, which doubled in size in just one year.

The NOWGen gets into the charitable mood and benefits the community through giving circles. Another giving circle, Jewish Funders of Arizona, is just one way 30-year-old Josh Simon gives back. These younger generations will be ready to step into the new culture of giving that is evolving thanks to the national Life & Legacy program that came to Phoenix this year. Through Life & Legacy, community members commit to end-of-life legacy gifts that will benefit our community for generations to come.

All in all, the future looks bright – both for our older years and for our future generations.

The great outdoors and the great indoors, all in one.

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They sure can. And Maravilla Scottsdale is a perfect example. Some would say it’s about as beautiful as a retirement community can be.

But here’s the best part. Maravilla is located smack-dab in the middle of the great outdoors, too. And you can take advantage of it all by joining one (or several) of our many active clubs.

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ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 11

Upfront

By Rhona Melsky

Vered Milner keeps customers happy with B-JWLD creations

“That’s kind of how this business started back in 2004, and I started by just bringing back from Israel some samples of jewelry, As a young woman from Israel who had never left home, it including rings, earrings, bracelets and necklaces” with an idea never dawned on Vered Milner that she would leave her small of showing samples to prospective customers who would order hometown of Tetach Tikva to end up in Phoenix by way of jewelry. “I put the samples in my car and drove around to some South Africa to run a lux jewelry company. boutiques. The first boutique didn’t want to place an order; they After serving in the Israeli army, Vered moved to South Afjust wanted the samples. I realized I had something desirable. rica with her first husband. “It was my first time on an airplane,” Immediate gratification is the way this business goes,” which is Vered says, adding that she didn’t speak the new language and why she carries stock. did not know anyone in her new Vered’s B-JWLD line is higher home. end and made with high-quality She needed to find a job and materials. Each piece is glued, started working in marketing and stitched and made by hand with sales at a large corporation, evenmaterials such as crystals, leather, tually moving into sales managesuede, 925 silver plate and 24k yelment. 0She took her experience low or rose-gold plate, and all piecand moved to one of the largest es are handmade in Israel, of which supermarket chain in Africa, Pick Vered is very proud. She sells to n Pay, where her last position was boutiques, hotels and resorts in general manager of its private-laArizona as well as in California, bel program.

Massachusetts, Minnesota and Vered and her first husband diMontana. Necklaces account for vorced after 10 years. She and her 50% of her business. current husband, Robby Milner, To ensure the quality of her worked together, which is how product, Vered is hands on and they met. Robby had two children travels to Israel every summer to from a previous marriage, son work in the studio. She brings Tyler, now 28, and daughter Kirby, back a large collection for fall and 25. Together they had daughter winter, an important period due to Jordan, 17, and son Dean, 14. the pre-holiday market. She brings Due to security and safety back a smaller collection for spring issues in South Africa, the family and summer. decided to move in 2003. “I wantPrior to 2007-2008, when the ed a warm place,” she says. “And I market took a nosedive, her bracedidn’t want a big city after leaving lets could sell for $400 each. The Johannesburg.” After vacationing collapse of the market also brought in the Valley for a week, they with it the closure of 70 percent of relocated to Arizona. the stores to which Vered sold her Following a total of 18 years line. “My business took a huge hit Vered Milner presenting the B-JWLD fall/winter collecof working in the corporate world because I had no one to sell to,” she tion at the WWIN show in Las Vegas in August 2015. in South Africa, “I realized very says. quickly that to carry on working The massive loss caused her to with a big corporation would require a major change from what rethink her business strategy and “how I would approach this I was used to in South Africa,” Vered says. “If I wanted to keep new era,” Vered says. Things never returned to pre-2008 days, that kind of job here in the US, my kids would have to go to a and she did not want to close her business. She decided on two preschool full time and I would have very little time to spend things: First, she had to cap her price points but have product with them.” that still looked good and was not as expensive. Second, she had Instead she decided to do something on her own, something to work harder with current clients and build up their business that would free her up to spend more time with her children, so instead of killing herself trying to find new business. she started B-JWLD, a handmade fashion jewelry business. She Her new strategy also included events and trunk shows so says her sales and marketing background enables her to do just that customers didn’t have to buy up front, which was important about anything. As a child she worked at her aunt and uncle’s to customers worried about overspending. “It is more affordable, costume jewelry shop, which is now a business which stocks yet unique, and they do not have to commit up front.” After a parts, stones, beads and more for making jewelry. A trip back tough 2008, the next year was almost back to what it had been home to Israel sparked her idea for B-JWLD. previously. Vered has since added additional trade shows, and 12 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

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although most of her business is in Arizona, she is expanding nationally. Travel is now easier as her children are older.

While the jewelry business can be competitive, Vered knows “to stay ahead of the game all the time” with fresh ideas.

“I can almost tell which customer is going to like what piece,” she says. “What guides me is coming up with pieces that will match my customers’ style and what will sell.

“I want to stay true to my designs,” she says. “It has to have an identity to be connected to B-JWLD. I try to come up with designs that make sense and stay with the identity of my lines. If you try to be everything to everybody, it’s not going to work because then you spread yourself too thin and try to be just like other designers.”

With a new show on the horizon in Atlanta, Vered is always looking for new opportunities. “Being in a business, nothing ever stays the same,” she says.

“The only constant thing is change. You have to keep moving and keep looking for new stores, new ideas and new opportunities.”

Her business keeps her going. Not only does she now get to spend more time with family, she is in what she calls “a happy business. One of my biggest joys is that it makes people happy.”

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ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 13

NEW VALLEY OF THE SUN JCC BOARD FORMED

After three years of oversight through its board, the Jewish Community Association has reinstated a board with a singular focus of providing strategic direction and oversight of the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center.

The new board’s officers include Chair Jonathan Hoffer, who is also vice chair of the JCA board; Vice Chair Bob Silver; Secretary and Treasurer Joel Kramer; and JCA President & CEO Stuart Wachs. Other members include Kristina Brown, Dan Sheinert, Sara Schneider and Gary Weiss.

“We have a beautiful facility and great staff, but we’ve been missing an organized group of lay leaders engaged in setting strategy and goals to make The J the best it can be,” said Hoffer. “The formation of this board, and the committees that evolve from it, are a call-toaction for those people with a vision and a passion for The J and the community.”

The board is charged with increasing volunteer involvement, membership and financial support of The J, as well as its relevancy among the Jewish and non-Jewish communities.

“We felt it was time to have a group of lay leaders who are passionate about advancing the vibrancy of The J,” said Wachs. “I look forward to working with the board to create one of the most vibrant JCCs in the country.”

The J serves all ages and abilities and enriches lives through childcare, fitness, education and cultural programming.

12701 N Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale | 480483-7121 | vosjcc.org

HADASSAH SOUTHERN ARIZONA ELECTS ANNE LOWE AS PRESIDENT

Anne Lowe was elected president of the Hadassah Southern Arizona chapter at the Aug. 6 board meeting.

This is the third time that Anne has been elected president of this chapter.

Her 2015 presidency will continue until the end of December. A new board for 2016 was elected during the Oct. 18, 2015, luncheon, and this board will be installed at the Dec. 6 brunch. Installing officer will be Cathy Olswing, president of the Desert Mountain Region of Hadassah and member of the National Board of Hadassah.

Anne has also been president of the Milwaukee, WI, and Princeton, NJ, chapters of Hadassah. In addition, she served on the 14 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

National Board of Hadassah as president of the Great Lakes Region from 1988 through 1991. She recently retired from working for the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, where she had been Northwest Division director and the outreach director.

The new 2016 board for Hadassah Southern Arizona includes the following officers: President Anne Lowe, Organization Vice President Ruth Beecher, Program Vice President Theresa Dulgov, Membership Vice President Lynnda Schumer, Education Vice President Marti Cohen, Development Vice President Debra Jacobs, Treasurer Marcia Winick, Records Administrator Shelley Lipowich, Recording Secretaries Helen Rib and Marlene Zoloto, and Corresponding Secretary Karen Skolnik. loweflyingbooks@gmail.com | 520-481-3934

BOARD OF RABBIS HIRES CONSULTING TEAM FOR NEW INITIATIVE

The Board of Rabbis of Greater Phoenix, in conjunction with the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix, have hired consultants Sandra Price and Rhonda Bannard to begin rebuilding the voice of the Jewish community that was lost when the Jewish Community Relations Committee closed seven years ago.

The BOR hired the consultant team to focus on developing a structure for this new organization, defining Sandra Price its governance model, refining the mission and uniting the community around key issues, including social justice concerns. Bringing the diverse Jewish community together, with its different perspectives, has been in the works for several years.

“This effort began in earnest back in 2011 with a Jewish Community Conversation hosted by the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix, and many have been working toward this day ever since,” says Rabbi Bonnie Sharfman, past president and current secretary of the BOR executive committee.

“We're excited about our ‘team’ approach with two professionals who have strong ties to Phoenix and our community.”

Sandra Price, Ph.D., Rhonda Bannard JD, a former public affairs attorney, has extensive experience in community development, organizational capacity building, dispute resolution and ethics. Price teaches in the School of Community and Resource Development at Arizona State University.

She has been part of the Jewish Community Conversation since 2011; she was tapped to facilitate subsequent strategy groups to revive a strong Jewish voice able to step up

on behalf of the community and to work with interfaith groups and others to advance the ideas and ideals of the Jewish community.

Rhonda Bannard joins Price in the community and coalition-building work. She is the founder of Inspired Connections, a consulting company that serves a variety of nonprofit, corporate and small business clients in the areas of community relations, strategic planning, fund development, Rabbi Sharfman marketing, PR and event planning. Rhonda has helped set up a number of organizations, built coalitions and launched initiatives. Prior to running her own company for the past 15 years, she worked as an executive at the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Phoenix Partnership, as well as other nonprofits and in the TV news business.

Originally from Montreal, Rhonda came to Phoenix with her parents as a young child and spent time at the Hebrew Academy.

The consultants will also work closely with the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, based in New York, to understand best practices and trends in this community engagement work.

THE CREATING SPOT OPENS IN SCOTTSDALE

The official grand opening of The Creating Spot takes place Nov. 11 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 5 pm by Scottsdale Vice Mayor Linda Milhaven. The event will feature displays of student works and a contest to name The Creating Spot’s teddy bear mascot. There also will be drawings with workshops and art as prizes, plus refreshments and music to round out the celebration.

Jewelry artist Cheryl Senkfor and dichroicglass artisan Bobby Harr pooled their creative resources to open the contemporary art studio/gallery in downtown Scottsdale.

Cheryl says her hand-woven metal jewelry line was inspired by angels after she suffered a traumatic brain hemorrhage in 2003. “I saw three angels who told me I would survive and touch as many people as possible with my creativity,” she says. She not only survived but developed fine motor skills that allow her to weave precious metals using the lost art of Viking knit, which dates back to 8th-century Ireland. Last year, she won the Ornamental Jewelry Award at the Tempe Festival of the Arts. A portion of the proceeds from The Creating Spot benefit the Brain Injury Alliance of Arizona (biaaz.org).

“I wasn’t inspired by angels, but do share Cheryl’s desire to teach and give back to the community,” Bobby says. Bobby is self-taught and began his journey into the world of fused and kiln-formed glass art in 1998. His work has been displayed in more than 160 galleries and shops across the United States and Canada.

Cheryl and Bobby will teach group or private lessons at the studio. They offer various hands-on classes including wire and epoxyclay jewelry, fused glass art objects and many

fabric arts. In addition to their Fused Glass Mezuzah Workshop, they now offer Fused Glass Menorah and Shabbat Candle Holder workshops in addition to a workshop on making hand-painted silk tallitot.

7127 E 6th Ave., Scottsdale | info@thecreatingspot.com | TheCreatingSpot.com.

BUFFALO COLLECTION NAMED BEST HOME ACCESSORIES/ FURNITURE STORE

Buffalo Collection, a boutique furniture and home furnishings showroom in Old Town Scottsdale, was recently named Best Home Accessories/Furniture Store by Phoenix Magazine 2015 Best of the Valley: Reader’s Picks.

Owned by Michael and Laura Levenberg, Buffalo Collection features buffalo leather furniture, which is exceptionally soft, strong and durable. The store’s one-of-a-kind pieces are handmade in America by artists and craftsman using Old World craftsmanship.

“We are honored to be named Best Home Accessories & Furniture Store in the Valley after being here just over three years,” Michael says. “We appreciate all the local support since expanding our business from Colorado.”

The showroom features a collection of fine furnishings including sofas, love seats, chairs, ottomans, bar stools, benches, beds and antiques. The store also offers fine art, unique accessories, pillows, organic tables and lighting, reclaimed woods and handbags.

Designs range from classic, contemporary and modern to traditional, transitional and western.

Buffalo Collection works with clients on a personal level of service and specializes in custom orders. Pieces are delivered by white glove service locally and throughout the United States, and worldwide shipping is available.

7044 E 5th Ave., Scottsdale| 480-946-3903 | BuffaloCollection.com

STACEY COHEN JOINS FEDERATION AS NOWGEN SENIOR DIRECTOR

The Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix welcomes Stacey Cohen as its new senior director of NowGen programs. She has an extensive background in sports marketing and with the Jewish community as a BBYO advisor.

Cohen will work to expand the JFGP’s NowGen programs and engagement among Jewish young adults. Her task is to create a robust schedule of programming that spans from mentorship and leadership development to cultural Judaic programming, while maintaining the strong social events that NowGen currently supports.

“Our job is to prepare these young people to serve the community both inside and outside the federation and to create connections to the greater Jewish community,” says Cohen. “When a young Jewish man or woman moves to the Valley, I want the federation to be the primary resource that connects them to the community.”

Cohen grew up in the Valley and received a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Arizona. Her work took her all over the West Coast, working with professional sports teams in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Fresno and a sports marketing agency in Seattle.

She recently returned to the Valley with a desire to connect to the community.

“I have been interested in nonprofit for a long time and look forward to using my marketing and PR skills to increase engagement among young Jewish adults and to develop a new generation of philanthropists and leaders for our community,” she says. She invites community members to reach out to her and share ideas to increase engagement among the community’s young adults.

480-634-4900 ext. 1141 | scohen@jewishphoenix.org

What does the Federation do?

We help people.

Your donation to the Federation fosters Jewish education, inspires young Jewish adults, cares for Jewish seniors and forges ties with Israel.

Your gift helps the most vulnerable individuals and families among us—children, single parents, those with special needs and the elderly— here, in Israel and in 70 countries throughout the world.

That’s it. That’s what we do.

WE HELP PEOPLE. Give today. Create tomorrow.

Helping Jews in need and building vibrant Jewish communities here, in Israel and throughout the world.

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ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 15

Charitable

Life & Legacy changing the culture of giving

By Deborah Moon

A dozen Phoenix-area Jewish organizations are well on the way to ensuring a stable finan-

JCF’s policy is to distribute 5% of the fund to the beneficiary agency each year, independent of that year’s actual investment cial future for themselves and the Valley Jewish community in return. Based on what he calls the accurate or even conservative general thanks to a partnership between a local and a national estimates of the committed future gifts, he says: “In only four foundation. months, our partner agencies have secured legacy gifts that In February the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater would translate to $600,000 in annual giving, year in and year Phoenix in partnership with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation’s out.”

Life & Legacy program began training legacy teams for 12 The initial results are especially impressive since “for the community partners (see list next page). Life & Legacy National majority this is a first-time effort to raise endowments,” accordDirector Arlene Schiff has conducted four training sessions for ing to Rachel. A few partners already had legacy societies and the teams, which range in size from four to 10 members. Legacy got off to a quick start, while others needed more time to create teams have learned how to have conversations with potential a case statement and legacy plan before having legacy converdonors about committing to end-of-life legacy gifts. They began sations. Seven of the organizations already have reached 33% of those solicitations in May. their goal for the first year.

“The JCF’s 12 community partners have made great progress Before solicitations began, each partner gave the foundation a towards securing the future of your Jewish comprospect list. If an organization appeared on two munity,” says Arlene. “A year ago, the word legacy or three lists, Rachel talked to the organizations wasn’t in most of your Jewish organizational vocababout working together to approach the person. ulary. A year ago, the lay leaders and professionals For those on four or more lists, Rachel contacted from the participating organizations might not have the individuals and asked them how they would known each other, let alone worked together on belike to be approached. half of the entire community. A year ago, the idea of Regardless of which agency makes the pregrowing endowments and planning for the Phoenix sentation, each potential donor has the option to Jewish community’s future was something everyone make legacy commitments to the other commuknew they should be doing, but other things were nity partners. Every donor receives a list of all 12 taking precedence.” partners and can check off as many as they wish At the end of September, the community to include in their legacy plan. partners had secured 114 commitments from 79 “We are witnessing our partner agencies donors with a total estimated value of $11,970,300, Rachel Rabinovich collaborate for their mutual financial benefit in according to JCF Life & Legacy Program Director ways previously unseen in our community,” says Rachel Rabinovich. Of those 114 commitments, 56 Richard. gifts are valued at $10,649,632. Each partner organization has That cooperation is apparent in the experience of Pardes an initial goal of securing 25 commitments by April 30, 2016.

Jewish Day School, which has already received commitments for Those who meet the goal each receive a $10,000 incentive grant 14 legacy gifts. Pardes Director of Development Tami Adelman from the two partner foundations. says that the Pardes legacy team has had some donors either “In my experience that is amazing progress in a short amount check off additional organizations for gifts or have asked to also of time, and I am confident each of the participating organimeet with other legacy teams. zations will meet or exceed their legacy goals and be on much “We are pleased to be working as a community,” says Tami. stronger footing because of it,” says Arlene.

“Organizations accepted into the program are working together JCF President and CEO Richard Kasper likewise is pleased instead of against each other. by the early results. As these future gifts are received, the funds “It has been a true gift that the Jewish foundation and the will be added to the respective agencies’ endowment funds at the Grinspoon Foundation have come forward with the tools we foundation. Endowment funds are invested to grow over time. need to start a comprehensive endowment program,” Tami adds.

16 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

Even as a seasoned development professional, she has learned important skills at each training and says ideas from other organizations have been very helpful.

In addition to the partners working together, Richard says he is also pleased by the prospect of changing the culture of giving in Jewish Phoenix.

“We are talking about changing the culture of Jewish giving in our community,” he says. “When you are working toward a cultural shift, you don’t expect that change to come overnight. …

At the same time, the program’s initial results are evidence that our message is resonating with the community, so I am confident we are on the right path.”

Arlene says that cultural shift is occurring on a national level.

She reports that in 2012 Harold Grinspoon knew the country was in the midst of a $59 trillion transfer of wealth, and that hospitals, universities, colleges and arts organizations had been securing legacy commitments for years. That winter he asked, “Can Jewish communities be motivated to become proactive in encouraging widespread legacy giving?”

“Three years later we can answer with a resounding YES as the Life & Legacy program expands across the country,” says Arlene. Life & Legacy now works with 29 Jewish communities and 13 Hillel campus affiliates. As of June 30, 2015, Life & Legacy-trained legacy teams had secured more than 5,800 legacy commitments with an estimated value of $224 million in future gifts to the Jewish community.

“To date more than $16 million in gifts have been received, helping the recipient organizations build their endowments and secure their future,” Arlene says. “As planned, Life & Legacy is on track to achieve its goal of integrating legacy giving into the philanthropic culture of the North American Jewish community.”

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To discuss a legacy gift with any community partner, contact JCF Life & Legacy Program Director Rachel Rabinovich at rrabinovich@jcfphoenix.org or 480699-1717, ext. 1405, and she will connect you with the legacy team for that organization.

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 17

Charitable

Joshua Simon gets back as much as he gives

By Rhona Melsky

Ask Joshua Simon why it’s important to give, and he will say, “Because I can make a difference.” As president of SimonCRE, Joshua is not your typical 30-year-old. He founded the company in 2010 at the tender age of 25 and started from nothing without any help.

“We’ve grown in five years,” Joshua says of the full-service commercial real estate development company, which has developed and leased more than 2 million square feet of retail space throughout the United States. The firm specializes in retail ground-up development, redevelopment and single tenant build-to-suit projects.

According to Joshua, when you start with nothing, it chang-

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es the dynamic of how things are done. “I didn’t want to be beholden to investors and have to answer to somebody,” he says.

“We’ve bootstrapped it with no investors. We got bank loans and do our job.”

Spreading his wings

Born in Chicago, Joshua has been in the Valley since he was 12. He became a bar mitzvah in Scottsdale, and he majored in business and communications at Arizona State University.

During college he did an internship for a development company and continued to work for the company through college and afterward for a total of six years. He then decided it was time to go off on his own. “I like to create, and I like to be much more in charge of my own destiny,” Joshua says. “I felt it was time for me to spread my wings. I knew if I would fail that this was the time to fail as I had no wife, no kids, no responsibilities. There’s something about youth that makes you more of a risk taker.”

That attitude and chutzpah paid off. Most of SimonCRE’s growth has been in the past year. The company has 15 full-time employees and expects to develop $120 million in construction in the next 12 months spread over 40 projects in nine states.

Among the employees is Joshua’s mother, Nikki Simon, who is office manager and bookkeeper. “If you can’t trust your mother, who can you trust?” he asks.

Getting back to Jewish roots

As a child, Joshua attended Sunday school and Hebrew school in Chicago. Things changed when he came to North Phoenix, where he says there were not as many Jewish kids his age, “so I fell off the bandwagon.” While in college he looked to join a fraternity; while deciding on two different houses, one Christian and one Jewish, he chose the Jewish fraternity. “It’s one of the better decisions I made,” Joshua says, and some of the guys from the house are still his best friends.

That led to involvement in the community and with the Jewish Federation as he began attending events. He was the chair of Young Jewish Phoenix and chaired Mazelpalooza for six years, raising more than $100,000. “We grew it from a couple

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hundred people to close to a thousand people last year,” he says.

Although he says the event does not serve any real religious purpose, it does bring together Jewish young people on Christmas Eve in a fun, social gathering. He says he is no longer personally involved in the event as time does not allow, “so I donate more with my checkbook.”

Giving and getting connected to Israel

Joshua gives because he says he can make a difference. “I get people involved,” he says. “I’ve seen the difference I’ve made.”

While on a Detroit mission with Stuart Wachs, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix, he and Stuart visited Dan Gilbert, founder of Quicken Loans and majority owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team, who is very involved with the Jewish community in Detroit and giving back.

Joshua was impressed and wanted to effect change in Phoenix.

“I want to fix it so that people see it’s cool to give,” Joshua says.

“We need to create a better environment here for better giving.”

He previously served on boards including those for City of Hope and the Jewish Federation of Phoenix and is the current chair of the Southwest Idea Exchange for the International Council of Shopping Centers. Joshua continues to be a major donor to a variety of Jewish and non-Jewish charities that are important to him. He is a Ben Gurion Society member, which is one of the first organizations to which he donated. He is a major gift donor for the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix, with donations of $10K per year, as well as being involved with Young Jewish Funders of Arizona, A Giving Circle, of which he is a co-founding member.

During college while on a Birthright trip to Israel, Joshua knew the deal was sealed. “On a bus there were about 55 of us, and it was such a bonding experience to see what an amazing country Israel is,” he says. “Now I have Israeli friends. I see how the news portrays Israel, and it sometimes is completely not how it really is.” The trip solidified his deep connection to Israel, a need to see the Jewish state continue to thrive and his strong desire to make a difference.

In 2014 he began his involvement with AIPAC and joined its New Leadership Network, which gets involved with the political process in understanding how to help push important issues for Israel – important not just to Jews but to the general population as well. “It empowers me to want to try to make a difference,” Joshua says. “The power of the purse is much stronger to help make sure elected officials know it is important to us.”

Although he is a huge supporter of Jewish causes and Israel, Joshua also loves his Sun Devils and is active in the Arizona State University Foundation. Education is also very important to him. “We need to keep those kids here (in Arizona),” he says.

“The better the education, the more employers will locate here and help the economy.”

Along with the goals of taking care of his family and ensuring his employees are successful, helping his community is also high on Joshua’s list. “My job is to ensure everyone is successful.”

For Joshua, charitable giving is a form of satisfaction. “I feel like I’ve been lucky,” he says. “If you have the ability to do it, you should do it. Find your passion when it comes to charity and giving back to the community. Like all things in life, if you don't follow your passion, you won't want to stay engaged and make a difference.”

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20 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

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Charitable

Tracy Salkowitz: Giving to bring Judaism into the next generation

By Rhona Melsky

If it’s better to give than to receive, then generational giving must be even better still.

Some of Judaism’s basic tenets are rooted in tzedakah (justice, but often translated as charity). To give beyond one generation into the next, to give to help sustain the Jewish people is a mitzvah in and of itself.

“You don’t have to stop giving because you stop living,” says Tracy Salkowitz, CEO of the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona, which she has led since 2012.

Giving back to the Jewish community and the community at large is at the core of what Tracy is as a person. As a community organizer for more than 30 years, she has used her passion and energy to help causes ranging from civil and religious liberties to reproductive rights.

“Generational giving starts with how we view ourselves and how we view our responsibility to the world around us,” says Tracy.

In terms of her own legacy, Tracy focuses on what she has contributed to her community and what she will contribute in the future, along with the lessons and values she is leaving her children. She says it is important to engage children, because they are the next generation. She and her husband, Richard Edwards, have four children between them: Melissa, 36; Sean, 35; Matt, 32, and Roshann, 25.

“Our Jewish tradition is very focused on leaving the world better than how we found it,” she says. “So part and parcel of that is first and foremost examining, reflecting and doing your part. Secondly, it’s passing on those values to your children, and there are a variety of ways to do that.”

Finding Judaism and giving back

Tracy grew up in a Conservative Jewish home, but one that was very liberal. Born in New York, she grew up in Los Angeles.

With no formal Jewish education as a child, she eventually got involved in USY. It was during high school and college that she started on a self-exploration and study of Judaism that led her to spend a year in Israel. Upon her return to the states, she decided to work for the Jewish community. She worked for a variety of Jewish organizations from the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America in Los Angeles to Hillel, where she was

Tracy Salkowitz

an outreach worker.

“I did that for a year when the head of LA Hillel council said, ‘You need to go to graduate school.’ ” Tracy took heed and got her master’s in community social work.

Finding her dream job at the JCF came unexpectedly after a chance meeting with a friend at a bat mitzvah. “Let me tell you about this great job in case you know anybody,” her friend said. “I would love that job,” said Tracy, who had been away from working in the Jewish community for a while. “Running a foundation had always been a dream of mine, and running it in the Jewish community was ideal.” After moving to Tucson and working at the JCF she says, “From minute one, I felt so welcomed by this community, and Tucson is so warm and welcoming and I just love it. We are very happy transplants.”

A foundation based on a future of giving

The JCF is focused on funds for the future, which means its mission is close to Tracy’s own. “We were founded to secure the Jewish community into the future,” she says.

Not only does her work mirror her own values, it reflects how she has raised her daughter Roshann. “I wanted to bring her up to embrace her Judaism and her Jewish community,” she says.

“It’s how we celebrate Judaism and our community and how we model for our children. One thing that I encourage is the old model of the tzedakah box, where kids would put in a little money every week. What I encourage for my daughter, and what I encourage donors to do, is that any donation my daughter wants to make or has made in her young life I will match. It’s a matter of having a daily framework that honors contribution, honors our role of being a partner and expresses our ongoing appreciation for the blessings we have.”

From volunteering at senior centers on Christmas to delivering meals to AIDS patients and participating in a variety of civil rights marches, throughout the years Tracy and her family have always been involved and participated in volunteerism.

“Engaging and involving our children at whatever age they are promotes the cycle of philanthropy or involvement and engagement,” she says.

Into the future

At the JCF, Tracy and staff work with families who come in to work on their legacy plans. Many of them want to continue ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 21

to support causes they care about after they are gone. One of the funds created at the JCF is the Emerging and Emergency Jewish Needs Fund, created in October 2012. It is specifically geared toward helping the Jewish community in times of emergencies.

Typically, when people are ready to talk about an endowment fund, they come into the JCF, tell their story and discuss what is important for them. “We hear wonderful stories, then through conversation donors will ask, ‘Is there any way to involve my children,’ ” Tracy says. “We don’t have a major initiative on generational philanthropy; it happens naturally – organically if you will.”

Other programs that promote engagement include a new Birthright program and the new PJ Library. Literally referring to pajamas, the PJ Library provides a book once a month to Jewish families with children at no cost to them. Donors can set up a plan where money from their estate can support these types of programs whereby funds will go in perpetuity and always be available to the Jewish

“Running a foundation had always been a dream of mine, and running it in the Jewish community was ideal.”

community.

Tracy involved daughter Roshann through her own legacy plan, which many donors do with their children. “I set up a fund for my daughter so she would have access to funds every year that she could direct.”

When people set up their endowment funds, many donors want their children to be advisors on the fund, so “what we encourage donors to do is to have their endowment fund provide annual money for their children’s philanthropy through the vehicle of a donor-advised fund,” Tracy says. “So how it would work is I set up an endowment fund and after my death my will provides the funds that actually fund the endowment fund.

Every year a portion of interest goes to the causes I identify.”

Giving back should be something that comes from the heart.

Initially many give because it is something expected of them. “I give back because I want to; it honors me, it makes me feel good when I can help the community,” Tracy says.

When it comes to the JCF, she says, “We are here to help support the perpetuation of the Jewish people. It goes hand in hand with continuing to invest in our community.

“Thinking about how you want to be remembered and being able to contribute for years to come even after your lifetime is an extraordinary gift.”

More importantly, generational giving shares values in an intentional way by allowing children to decide where to contribute in the community. “Generational giving is imbuing values of tzedakah from generation to generation.”

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NOWgen giving circle announces grants

Technion alumna Kira Radinsky, named in Forbes’ 2015 “30 Under 30 in Enterprise Technology,” created an algorithm to predict everything from natural disasters to corporate sales.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix NOWGen Giving Circle at the end of August made its inaugural funding grants, with almost $20,000 allocated to programs within the Valley, throughout the United States and in Israel.

“Our circle members gave $19,500 to local, national and international organizations that are working on incredibly effective and scalable initiatives that benefit communities around the world,” says Jonny Basha, co-founder of the NOWGen Giving Circle. “For many of us, it was the first time we’ve been able to give meaningfully, and we appreciated the opportunity to make a difference.” He adds that the group as a whole feels a sense of accomplishment from contributing to organizations that are making a difference in the world.

Local agencies received 48% of the circle’s allocations, totaling $9,500. Among the grant recipients are: • Council for Jews with Special Needs to expand its Chaverim Tovim program • BBYO for its newly created Advisor Training program (additional funds were available through a matching grant) •Moishe House Phoenix to help offset the cost for young adults traveling to Moishe House learning retreats and conferences.

On the national level, the Jewish Disaster Response Corps received $5,000 to subsidize an intern for 2016.

Programs in Israel received 26% of the circle’s allocations, totaling $5,000: • Machshava Tova Eco-Tech received funds to help subsidize the cost of its programs, which help at-risk youth gain computer skills, enter entrepreneurship competitions and create tech devices.

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• The Israel Free Loan Association also received funds to help those in need.

The NOWGen Giving Circle comprises 11 young Jewish adults who want to give in a meaningful way.

Members meet monthly and contribute a minimum of $500. The federation provides funding and guidance to the circle.

For more information on the next NOWGen Giving Circle grant cycle, contact Erin Searle at esearle@jewishphoenix.org.

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ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 23

10/13/15 8:24 PM

Charitable

Counselors cheer the loudest for Camp Swift’s campers

By Zoe Isaac

Zoe Isaac pictured with her campers from last summer.

Jenna crossed her fingers, heart racing, hoping she'd be the lucky girl to spend four days with us.

Four days to escape for a bit.

“At my school they draw our names out of a hat, and whoever’s name gets picked gets to come here to Camp Swift,” says Jenna.

She wanted the chance to sleep in a creaky bed, be surrounded by watermelon bugs and eat grilled cheese in the middle of the woods – the “camp experience.”

Jenna wasn’t able to ask her parents or do a couple of extra chores in order to board the bus. It was a game of chance for an opportunity that was out of her reach financially. But that year, Jenna got her chance.

That is why Swift counselors, including myself, scream and cheer so loudly when the campers arrive at camp. Because we can control the impact of their experience that week.

Ready. Set. Go.

As a counselor, I love to watch my campers eat. I love knowing that for at least a few days my campers feel full – a feeling most of us only complain about.

As a counselor, I love taking my campers to Keppie’s Closet – getting to clothe them with items they don’t have at home. I love sending my campers home with a jam-packed suitcase.

As a counselor, I love Shaboogie time. This is when we counselors sit around with the campers in our cabin to discuss serious life topics. Dreams of being doctors, lawyers and teachers. Each year I try to leave them with an indelible message: “You can do anything you set your mind to. Your potential is unlimited.”

Each year I give my campers letters as reminders of those positive messages. Of course, most of them will lose the piece of paper on the car ride home, but my goal as a counselor is to leave them with something more permanent. Through their experience I hope these messages are now engrained in them: Camping in the woods for the first time is fun because you should never be afraid to try new things. Talking about school and the future is important because you can go anywhere you want. You should make new friends because you have a lot to offer a person. Dancing in front of the camp is special because you are special and deserve moments to shine.

As a counselor, I hate waving good-bye to my campers as they board the bus home.

And as a counselor, I can only hope I've given my campers a 24 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

little piece of summer and a little piece of Swift. I know it will always be a piece of me.

Zoe Isaac is a senior at Desert Mountain High School where she is the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper. She is also on the teen leadership board of Friendship Circle and a congregant of Temple Solel.

Swift’s imprint on new leader turns camp into career

By Suzye Kleiner

It has been a year of change for the Camp Swift Youth Foundation.

A new director is at the helm and is securing community partnerships while instituting new leadership opportunities for teens. Kaylie Marsh, Swift’s new executive director, is a recent graduate in Nonprofit Management who served Kaylie Marsh Swift in a variety of roles over the last 10 years since she started as a counselor.

Founded in 1980 by Jewish teens, Camp Swift has blossomed into more than just an overnight camp. The organization now has many touchstones.

Rooted in the spirit of tikkun olam, Swift has the dual mission of serving economically disadvantaged children while creating impact and meaning for the thousands of Jewish teens who have helped to grow the organization to the year-round program it is today.

At its core, Swift is still gifting overnight camp experiences to more than 300 children each summer to provide them with fun, food and engaging programs for several magical days. An estimated 15,000 campers have experienced Camp Swift since it began.

WeizInst_SMOCK ad-3.604x 4.937 NEW_Layout 1 6/11/15 2:46 PM Page 1

The impact is great.

After 15 years of Swift’s year-round programs, dozens of former campers have grown up to volunteer as counselors alongside the Jewish teens.

The following Q&A with Kaylie Marsh has been edited for brevity and clarity.

You have worn many Swift hats. What has been most eye opening for you?

Having started as a counselor, my involvement was driven by the fact that I loved kids and wanted to give back to the community. What surprised me most is the impact the program had on me as a counselor. Despite having grown up in a household that emphasized the value of tikkun olam, nothing ever impacted my worldview the way Swift did.

What type of community partnerships has Swift embraced?

Executive Council Charities has been a huge supporter of Camp Swift both through its tax credit outreach as well as its grants process. We also have partnerships with local Jewish youth groups, Paradise Valley Unified School District’s After the Bell program, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Phoenix, Wilson School District, Balsz School District, Homeward Bound and Labors Community Service Agency.

How do the schools and other programs involve Swift?

We work with the schools, boys and girls clubs, and homeless shelters to recruit campers to our programs. Most use Swift as an incentive program for their students to have good attendance, be well behaved and get good grades.

What is this new Team Swift Program?

Our teen leadership program has been reformatted as a youth

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board responsible for developing its own programs, fundraising and community outreach endeavors. The opportunities offer room for enhanced leadership development and growth.

How do you define Swift’s success?

Swift has instilled a commitment to social action in our teens – many of our former counselors have decided to pursue careers where they are helping others. Many attribute this to Camp Swift opening their eyes to the world around them and instilling a desire to give back and make the world a better place.

As for Swift campers, since the inception of Club Swift 5 years ago, our campers now have something tangible to strive toward – the opportunity to become counselors when they're old enough. This really does keep them focused on doing well in school so that they can have an opportunity when they're older to come back and give kids like themselves the opportunity to experience camp. Now we have dozens of young adults pursuing college degrees who credit their involvement with Swift as a motivating factor.

ARIZONA CHARITABLE TAX CREDIT To support Camp Swift Youth Foundation through the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit, visit campswift.org/taxcredit.

If you are an Arizona taxpayer, you qualify for a dollar for dollar reduction in your taxes when you donate up to $400/joint filers ($200/individuals) to Swift before 12/31/15. How it works: Anyone who pays Arizona income tax may be eligible for the tax credit.

You do not have to itemize to qualify.

These tax credits are independent from the Public & Private School Tax Credits – you can take advantage of all of them.

In addition to a State tax credit, your gift may also qualify you for a charitable deduction that may include any amount above the tax credit minimum.

Join us in supporting our community, today, tomorrow, forever... your passion. your dreams. your legacy.

jcftucson.org | (520) 577-0388

26 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

Charitable Growing Youth Philanthropy Board to award $20,000 in grants

The B’nai Tzedek Jewish Community Foundation’s Youth Philanthropy Board doubled in size this year.

The Jewish Community Foundation’s Youth Philanthropy Board began the year with an incredibly strong start. Based on the tremendous demand, the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix created two board cohort groups: seniors and freshman; juniors and sophomores. The pairings will allow the returning youth leaders to provide significant leadership and the smaller group allows for greater participation by all board members.

The youth philanthropy board is comprised of a cross-section of teens from Reform, Conservative and Orthodox congregations. Each youth board member has made the commitment to their personal philanthropy by establishing a B’nai Tzedek Youth Philanthropy Fund at the foundation.

After an initial six-hour board retreat in August and their first two-hour meetings, each board has developed a funding mission statement and identified the Jewish values that will help inform their giving. Each cohort has been entrusted with $10,000 for grants.

The senior/freshman cohort will award grants to local organizations and programs that provide treatment, education and/or awareness of cognitive, mental and/or physical disabilities and disorders.

The junior/sophomore cohort is committed to helping every child, especially those most at-risk, in the Greater Phoenix area realize his or her full potential by supporting programs and partnerships that empower families and change lives.

For more information on the board and grant applications, contact JCF Youth Philanthropy Director Andrea Cohen at acohen@jcfphoenix.org.

www.jewishgeneticsphx.org

OUR GOAL:

Healthy Jewish Children FREE of Jewish genetic diseases

OUR MISSION:

To screen all young Jewish adults of child-bearing age in our community

OUR PROCESS:

Offering Education & Screening Events twice a year with FREE and subsidized screenings for young Jewish adults of child-bearing age (18-45), including FREE genetic education and genetic counseling.

Offering screening of the most up-to-date panel of disease mutations available in the country. Providing Awareness and Educational opportunities throughout the year regarding Jewish genetic diseases and the importance of screening.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

Donate Today: www.jewishgeneticsphx.org/donate/ Purchase a Tribute Card: www.jewishgeneticsphx.org/tribute/ Leave a legacy Gift: www.jewishgenticsphx.com/legacy/ AWA R E N E S S

E D U C AT I O N

KN O W L E D G E

Tel: 480-668-3347 info@jewishgeneticsphx.org www.jewishgeneticsphx.org

12701 N. Scottsdale Road Scottsdale, AZ 85254 Please remember the Jewish Genetic Diseases Center of Greater Phoenix in your will, estate plan or by beneficiary designation

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 27

Charitable

WHY DO WE GIVE? “Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.” ~ H. Jackson Brown Jr.

“Deeds of giving are the very foundations of the world.” ~ Mishna, Pirkei Avot 1:2

"If a man aspires towards a righteous life, his first act of abstinence is from injury to animals." ~ Albert Einstein

“I started to work with the Ryan House because I felt that children with life shortening diseases deserved to live a happy life.” ~ Ryland Davidson (Arizona Jewish Life, October 2015)

“I don’t want this disease (Alzheimer’s) to rob other people of a good life, a relationship with their parents and grandparents – I want this solved. I want a cure to be found.” ~ Sophie Dube (Arizona Jewish Life, October 2015)

DIRECTORY

American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science 1762 Westwood Blvd., Suite 410 Los Angeles, CA 90024 909-913-1307 weizmann-usa.org

The Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel, is one of the world’s top-ranking multidisciplinary research institutions. Weizmann’s scientific community conducts groundbreaking research in medicine (including cancer and brain disorders), energy, technology and the environment. Founded in 1944, the American Committee supports the Institute’s mission of “Science for the Benefit of Humanity.”

American Liver Foundation

4545 E. Shea Blvd., Ste. 246 Phoenix, AZ 85028 602-953-1800 liverfoundation.org/chapters/arizona We make a measurable difference in the fight against liver disease through financial support for research, education, advocacy and information for patients/families, and by creating public awareness campaigns. Our mission is to facilitate, advocate and promote education, support and research for the prevention, treatment and cure of liver disease.

American Technion Society 4079 Governor Dr. #343 San Diego, CA 92122 858-750-2135 ats.org

Israel's leading science and technology university, Technion is home to Israel’s first Nobel Prize Laureates and graduates who formed the development team behind the Iron Dome. Known as “Israel’s MIT,” Technion’s students and faculty contribute to the world’s betterment through cancer and Alzheimer's research, alternative energy, water conservation and nanotechnology.

Arizona Humane Society 1521 W Dobbins Road Phoenix, AZ 85041 602-997-7585 azhumane.org

Every pet deserves a good life. This passionate belief has driven the Arizona Humane Society for nearly 60 years. We rescue, heal, adopt and advocate for homeless, sick, injured and abused animals, and are committed to providing second chances and saving the lives of pets.

Child Crisis Center/Crisis Nursery Inc. 817 N Country Club Mesa AZ 85211 480-834-9424 childcrisis.org

Child Crisis Center/Crisis Nursery provides hope to vulnerable children and families. The agency operates emergency children shelters; licenses, trains and supports foster and adoptive families; and provides early childhood education through a preschool, parenting classes and workshops. The foster care tax credit reduces your taxes while helping Arizona's foster children.

Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona 103 W Highland Ave., Ste. 200 Phoenix, AZ 85013 602-258-8100 freeartsaz.org

Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona heals homeless and abused children through artistic expression. Free Arts programs are planned to include elements that promote safety, self-expression and a sense of belonging. All Free Arts programs are delivered by volunteers and artists. In 2014, over 800 volunteers served 8,319 children.

28 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

Charitable Friends of Public Radio Arizona dba KJZZ/K-BACH

2323 W 14th St. Tempe AZ 85281 480-774-8452 KJZZ.org/K-BACH.org FPRAZ, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, was founded in 2001 to assure the vitality and future excellence of central Arizona's public radio stations KJZZ and K-BACH through stewarding all membership revenue and charitable contributions made to the station. KJZZ is the NPR affiliate serving greater metropolitan Phoenix.

Hadassah: Arizona Chapters

Hadassah Southern Arizona: 520-275-5044 Hadassah Valley of the Sun: 480-998-1880 Devorah: 480-656-7327 Shalom: 480-883-9159 Tikvah-West Valley: 623-847-4761 hadassah.org Hadassah is proud of its 103-year history of women making a difference for the people of Israel, America and the world. Our vision: Building a world where our Jewish values in action create strong community and an enduring Israel. Our promise: Connecting and empowering Jewish women to effect change.

Higley Center for the Performing Arts

4132 E Pecos Road Gilbert, AZ 85295 480-279-7193 higleycenter.org The venue hosts concerts and performances in its 1, 235-seat Concert Hall and its intimate 186-seat “Little Theater.” Higley hosts an acclaimed series of nationally touring artists and entertainers as well as community rentals. It is home for student events of the Higley Unified School District and other educational institutions.

Hillel Jewish Student Center

1012 S Mill Ave. Tempe, AZ 85281 480-967-7563 hillelasu.org ASU Hillel is present for students during their most formative years. Through leadership development, professional mentoring, religious, cultural and Israel education initiatives, students gain the confidence, knowledge and skills to take ownership over their own adult Jewish experiences and subsequently make an enduring commitment to Jewish life.

Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix 12701 N Scottsdale Road, Suite 202 Scottsdale, AZ 85254 480-699-1717 jcfphoenix.org Since 1972, the Jewish Community Foundation has been the most trusted, independent resource for Jewish philanthropy in Greater Phoenix. We help individuals and families achieve their charitable goals, and help organizations secure their financial future. You don’t have to be wealthy to work with us. Ensure our Jewish future.

DIRECTORY

Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona

3567 E Sunrise Dr., Ste. 143 Tucson, AZ 85718 520-577-0388 Jcftucson.org We help people support the causes and organizations they care about through donor advised funds, legacy planning and endowment funds. As a result, millions of dollars in charitable distributions flow into Southern Arizona, the nation and the world annually.

Jewish Family & Children’s Service

4747 N Seventh St., Ste. 100 Phoenix, AZ 85014 602-452-4627 jfcsaz.org JFCS strives to increase self-sufficiency and strengthen families through quality behavioral health and social services. We provide counseling, emergency financial assistance, holiday giving, older adult services, Aleinu Orthodox programs, career services, resource information & referrals, Holocaust survivor services, hospital chaplaincy, a Jewish senior enrichment and a senior concierge.

Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix

12701 N Scottsdale Road Scottsdale, AZ 85254 480-634-4900 jewishphoenix.org The Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix strengthens and sustains a vibrant Jewish community – meeting critical needs in Phoenix, in Israel and around the world. The federation serves as a community resource by maximizing the impact of the dollars raised and supporting organizations that make a difference in our community.

Jewish Free Loan

3443 N Central Ave., Suite 707 • Phoenix, Arizona 85012 602-230-7983 jewishfreeloan.org Jewish Free Loan provides interest-free loans and financial literacy workshops to enhance the quality of life of Jewish Arizonans. Loan programs include, but are not limited to: Adoption/IVF, Education/Vocational Training, Jewish Summer Camp & Israel Experiences, Jewish Education, Debt Consolidation, Small Business, and Emergency Needs. Confidentiality assured.

Jewish Genetic Diseases Center of Greater Phoenix

12701 N Scottsdale Road • Scottsdale, AZ 85254 480-668-3347 jewishgeneticsphx.org We provide awareness and education of the importance of carrier screening for young Jewish adults. Our subsidized education and screening events for those of child-bearing age tell them if they are carriers of a genetic mutation that can affect their future children. We rely solely on gifts to subsidize screenings.

This directory includes the charitable giving organizations advertising in this issue of Arizona Jewish Life.

Jewish National Fund

8698 E San Alberto Dr., Suite B • Scottsdale, AZ 85258 480-447-8100 Over 115 years, JNF has become a global environmental leader: planting more than 250 million trees, building over 240 reservoirs and dams, developing over 250,000 acres of land, creating more than 2,000 parks, providing infrastructure for over 1,000 communities, and connecting thousands of young people to Israel and their heritage.

Jewish Tuition Organization

12701 N Scottsdale Road, Suite 203E Scottsdale, AZ 85255 480-634-4926 jtophoenix.org The mission of the Jewish Tuition Organization is to provide need-based scholarships to Arizona students to attend participating K-12 Jewish day schools in Metropolitan Phoenix. Individuals, S corporations and C corporations should contact us about receiving a dollar for dollar credit for supporting the organization.

Jewish Education Tax Credit Organization

3822 E River Road 520-647-8442 jetco.org JETCO is the only Jewish school tuition organization in Southern Arizona. All contributions go toward scholarships to students in need at the Tucson Hebrew Academy and the Esther B. Feldman Kindergarten at Congregation Anshei Israel. Contributions to JETCO qualify for a dollar-for-dollar tax credit on your Arizona State tax return.

National Council of Jewish Women

president@ncjw.net 602-576-1432 ncjwaz.org Since 1893, the National Council of Jewish Women has championed the needs of women, children and families.

Informed by Jewish values, we help those in need or at risk in our community through programs that address domestic violence prevention, human trafficking awareness, reproductive freedom, child welfare and women’s rights.

Planned Parenthood Arizona, Inc.

4751 N 15th St. • Phoenix, AZ 85014 602-263-4210 ppaz.org Planned Parenthood Arizona is the largest sexual health organization in Arizona serving 90,000+ Arizonans through our health care, education and advocacy efforts.

Our health centers are comfortable places for honest information and compassionate care, and our education programs for teens and parents increase positive health outcomes for young people.

Valley Youth Theatre

525 N Third St. • Phoenix, AZ 85004 602-253-8188 vyt.com VYT is in its 27th season of producing professional youth theater. Each year nearly 800 children, representing all socio-economic backgrounds, audition and/or participate as actors, technicians and musicians. Through programs such as Literacy and the Arts, over 60,000 disadvantaged children have experienced the live theater.

VYT is a nonprofit 501(c)3.

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 29

Cover

30 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

BreakingDown Jessica Berg and the STEP Student Expedition Program Jessica Berg is the real deal.

Walking into her home you get the sense of a women with an earthy artistic sensibility. She is warm, engaging and deeply committed to her role as a wife and mother. But once you start talking to her, you realize she’s also a sharp businesswoman with a passion for the nonprofit social service community and a mission to make a difference.

She served as director of Congregation Kehillah in Scottsdale prior to assuming her role as chief operating officer of the STEP Student Expedition Program in March of 2015. STEP is a program devoted to breaking down the barriers of privilege and enabling low-income families to send their kids to four-year universities across the country. STEP is also about sending those kids on a wilderness expedition – one that opens up their world and broadens their horizons – but more about that later.

“I grew up with privilege, so I don’t judge privilege,” Jessica says. “But STEP is about changing who gets educated in this country.”

One of the STEP requirements is that a student be a “first gen” or first generation in their family to go to college. “First-gen, low-income families have become a major priority at a lot of colleges,” Jessica says. The list of schools STEP students attend is an impressive one, including Duke, Georgetown, Emory, UCLA, Middlebury and Smith College to name a few. For kids who normally would miss out on college or attend local community college, STEP offers a world of opportunities to attend an impressive list of four-year universities, many of which offer STEP students full tuition waivers.

Barriers STEP row in class

STEP in June

Jewish values began at home

Jessica grew up in a Jewish home where Jewish values were simply part of her everyday experience.

“Tikkun olam always resonated with me,” she says.

“It was just part of who we were. It was ingrained in me by my parents. I wasn’t even conscious about it until I was much older. My parents taught me that just living Jewish values within our immediate community wasn’t enough. You need to take that

Student interviews in front of rabbi mural at Jessica Berg’s home ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 31

STEP founder and President Dr. Tracy Baynes, center, with Juan Panduro and Jacky Granillo at the Metro Tech Awards last year. Both graduated high school with honors in the class of 2015. Juan is now at Arizona State Univeristy’s Barrett Honors College and Jacky is at Smith College. Both are on full scholarship.

idea of repairing the world into the larger community.”

She credits her father for a lot of her passion to help people. As a plastic surgeon, he spent much of his time devoted to emergency surgery. One of her father’s patients paid her bill with a rhubarb pie because that was all she could afford. Jessica’s father spent time working in Africa, where he operated on a young girl with a cleft palette and multiple deformities.

The girl later converted to Judaism due to Jessica’s father’s kindness and the strength of his impact.

Devoted to closing the education gap Jessica’s devotion to STEP and to closing the education gap between high- and low-income kids is palpable. “We’ve found the way to break the chain of generational poverty,” she says. “It’s through higher education.”

How does a student expedition program such as STEP lead young people toward a college path and subsequent life and career success? Dr. Tracy Baynes, founder and president of STEP, explains: “Through challenges met, students come to realize that they have a tremendous wealth of personal strength from which they can draw to shape their futures.

They recognize that with determination, perseverance and hard work, success can be reached 32 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

“We all want to work to achieve diversity. But how do you do that?

STEP offers solutions that change families forever. This is how you do it, for the community and for the kids.”

– Jessica Berg

even in the face of hardship. The result is one of individual transformation.”

Nearly half of all low-income high school students never go to college, a rate five times that of high-income students. Even more disturbing is that in predominantly low-income high schools, the college completion rate is only 8%. So where does income inequality really rears its ugly head? Right in the world of higher education. Luckily, STEP is bridging the gap between the haves and the have nots and making the four-year college experience a reality for many low-income Arizona students

who will be the first generation in their families to go beyond high school to higher academic achievement.

Breaking the chain

Jessica Berg gets a kiss from her son Ash on Mother’s Day. This month Ash turns 3 and will celebrate with his first haircut in an upsherin ceremony.

STEP kayaking in Alaska

College-prep/leadership program accepting applications The Student Expedition Program equips low-income, first-generation college-bound Arizona high-school students with the knowledge, confidence and leadership skills to successfully transition to college and obtain a college degree. The two-step program features 1) focused guidance throughout the college preparation and application process, and 2) an

immersion leadership program.

STEP’s College-Prep Program is now accepting applications from qualified high-school sophomores in the Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas. For a complete program description and to apply, go to stepexpedition.org/apply.html.

Application Deadline: Nov. 19.

STEP was founded in 2002

by Dr. Baynes, a veteran in experiential education and expedition leadership. Dr. Baynes has devoted decades to leading expedition-based programs designed to build students’ self-confidence, increase their ability to meet new challenges and broaden their view of their own capacity to achieve academic and life success. She had worked as an Instructor with National Outdoor Leadership School, Outward Bound and Semester at Sea, where she saw the impact the transformative powers of expedition-based education.

Dr. Baynes initially developed STEP as an Alaskan wilderness leadership expedition program to break the chain of generational poverty.

“Trust me, this is not a vacation,” says Jessica. “There are no cell phones allowed.

These kids learn how to survive in the wilderness – and this achievement is transformational.” STEP students partner with the National Outdoor Leadership School to venture into the backcountry of Alaska to learn survival and leadership skills that will last a lifetime.

STEP now funds two three-week Alaskan expeditions each year and plans to offer a third in the near future.

The organization also offers a college preparatory program for high school students from low-income families. Since the initiation of the college prep program in 2011, 100% of STEP participants have gone to college, and Jessica estimates that 98% of those ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 33

[] students will graduate successfully. The college prep course offers training in standardized test prep, monthly workshops, intense homework assignments, writing, scholarship coaching, presentation skills, email etiquette, one-on-one staff interaction and counseling, and a host of other college-related skills that may previously have been unavailable to low-income students.

Jessica is eager for STEP to help even more students.

“We’re still small and want to grow the organization,” she says. “We have four paid staff, and it’s just not possible for us to do everything we want to do. We are all super proud and positive about what STEP is doing. We can’t help every child. But we are very clear about who we are and what we can do.”

As COO, it is sometimes difficult for Jessica to balance her career and family life. “Sometimes the juggling can be a challenge,” she says. “You have to learn to be OK with being ‘good enough’ on both ends.”

Jessica is truly passionate about breaking down barriers. “We all want to work to achieve diversity,” she says.

“But how do you do that? STEP offers solutions that change families forever. This is how you do it, for the community and for the kids.”

For more information on STEP, visit stepexpedition. org or contact Jessica at jberg@stepexpedition.org.

Jessica Berg with husband, Al Aguinaga, and son, Ash, on a family hike.

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Kitchens to live in

Bulthaup Scottsdale creates kitchens for people who love to cook and entertain Story by Deborah Moon• Photos by Bill Timmerman

H G

ome &

arden

Bulthaup Scottsdale: 480-945-5500 | 4175 N Goldwater Blvd. bulthaupaz.com 36 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

A former architect, Robert Moric sees each kitchen as living space that reflects the personality of the owner.

“Every kitchen is different,” says Robert, owner of Bulthaup Scottsdale. Robert works with each client to create a kitchen that reflects the client’s aesthetic taste and functional needs in the available space.

“Our clients choose to cook,” says Robert.

One of those clients, Steve Pollock, is no exception.

“I entertain a lot,” says Steve. “I have a lot of dinner parties and I do the cooking.”

Though when he hosted 29 people for a seder this spring, he says he confined himself to cooking the soup and had the rest of the Passover meal catered.

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 37

Robert Moric and Steve Pollock sit in front of the kitchen Robert designed for Steve. Photo by Carmen Liebowitz

“The kitchen is amazing,” says Steve. “It is fabulously organized with lots of work space and space to pivot easily.”

Pivoting is essential for Steve, who has used a wheelchair since “too much booze and too much testosterone” on his 21st birthday resulted in a car accident.

“I use my wheelchair for cooking, for tennis – it is my mode of transportation,” says Steve, who also has a hand-cycle that he rides often. In tennis, he’s even competed in his wheelchair and won medals at the Maccabiah Games in Israel.

Steve, who also has homes in Vancouver, BC, and New York City, decided he wanted a winter home in Arizona 10 years ago.

He rented his current home while looking to buy and fell in love with it. So when he couldn’t buy it, he bought another home 38 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

across the street.

“Five years later it came on the market and I bought it,” says Steve. But it needed a complete renovation. “Robert worked on the kitchen. He and I are on the same page. He has exceptional taste, and I don’t say that lightly. He knows his business and he knows how to plan a kitchen.”

In fact, when Steve was trying to renovate his kitchen in Vancouver, “we were stuck. … He (Robert) looked at it and solved it in a day. He looks and figures out the perfect solution.”

The perfect kitchen for Steve’s Arizona home is an accessible one, “but you wouldn’t ever know it. It serves as a regular kitchen,” Steve says.

The minor adaptions that make the kitchen work for Steve are

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slightly recessed cabinets that allow him to roll his chair closer to the cooktop and countertops (which are 34 inches high rather than the standard 36 inches).

Robert adds that the kitchen has a horizontal orientation. “The oven, coffee machine, refrigerator … are all next to each other on the same level,” says Robert. “It’s a panoramic.”

The kitchen also features professional-grade Gaggenau appliances. Steve especially likes the induction cooktop, which uses a high-frequency induction coil below the surface to heat cookware via magnetic field while the surface remains cool to the touch. “Heat only transfers to the metal pots,” explains Steve.

“You can’t burn your fingers … and it’s extremely efficient and the temperature change is instant.”

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He adds the kitchen is designed to be part of the living space. “When I’m cooking for friends, I want people around drinking wine and hanging out all in the same room.”

Robert says, “The cooktop and sink are in the island so he can always face his ‘audience’ of family and friends.”

Robert and Steve also agreed on lavish use of wood for a dramatic aesthetic.

“We used striped walnut with blond and dark areas to create energy,” says Robert. “We broke the back area into 2-foot increments to use as a backdrop for the monochromatic island.”

Some of the 2-foot-wide panels conceal appliances such as the refrigerator, freezer and dishwasher, while others open onto cabinets for storage.

To accommodate Steve’s desire for a clean look, the cooktop hood is set into the ceiling and can only be seen from directly underneath.

“It’s all a clean, sophisticated feel,” says Robert.

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12 technologies

that are about to transform your home

Israeli companies are tops in ‘smart home’ solutions to save you time, worry, energy and water.

By Abigail Klein Leichman

Bezeq, Israel’s largest telecom, recently set up a model “smart home” at its Tel Aviv headquarters and in the IKEA store in Netanya to demonstrate its Bhome subscription service – a cutting-edge package of Wi-Fi-enabled sensors and monitors to help keep out intruders and save energy.

But you don’t necessarily have to live in Israel to take advantage of sophisticated Israeli smart-home technologies.

Whether you want to control temperature, humidity and lights, monitor and optimize water usage, activate audio systems and alarms through a mobile phone or tablet, there’s a product on the market – or close to market – to help you do it with the magic of the Internet of Things.

Here are a few of the many options available now or coming soon.

1. SwitchBee

This Netanya-based startup provides a platform including programmable switches, a central control unit, a smartphone/ tablet application and cloud-based data services. The plug-and-

play devices, featured in the Bhome model smart home, are designed to embed in existing outlets quickly and wirelessly.

The company says you can convert a light switch into a smart switch in less than two minutes, or turn your whole house into a smart home in less than 90 minutes. Using the app’s secure dashboard, the user can program custom preferences for each SwitchBee-enabled light or device including on/off and fine adjustments.

2. Singlecue

Singlecue is a standalone device that lets you use touch-free gestures to control infrared- and Wi-Fi-enabled media and smart-home devices in its range of sight. You can do everything from lowering the thermostat to lowering the TV volume to lowering the blinds. CNN named Singlecue one of 36 “coolest gadgets of 2014.”

Singlecue is made by eyeSight Technologies, a Herzliya company whose machine-vision systems have been built into devices made by OPPO, Lenovo, Toshiba, Hisense, Phillips and other manufacturers since 2005.

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 41

3. EarlySense

This digital health company in Ramat Gan recently released myEarlySense, an under-mattress automatic sleep-monitoring system designed to integrate with smart-home solutions. Users can adapt their home environment based on the sleep-cycle data collected from the myEarlySense sensor – for example, arming and disarming home security systems, turning off the TV, turning on the coffeemaker, and adjusting the thermostat. The myEarlySense technology is built into Samsung’s new SleepSense IoT device.

4. Smart Garden Hub by GreenIQ

Recently launched at Home Depot stores across the United States and also sold online, GreenIQ’s Smart Garden Hub allows you to adjust irrigation based on past, current and forecasted weather – without stepping outside – yielding water savings of up to 50%.

The device connects to the Internet via Wi-Fi or cellular connection and is controlled from an iOS or Android app.

The Petah Tikva-based company’s app can also adjust outdoor lighting and can connect to a Netatmo weather station and rain gauge or a water-flow sensor for leak detection.

5. Sensibo

Sensibo’s tagline is “Give your old air conditioner a brain.” The system includes a pod that sticks onto your A/C and heating unit, and an intuitive app that lets you monitor and modify your settings from any smartphone, tablet or computer. If you’ve got a Samsung in the living room, an LG in the bedroom and a Friedrich in the study, Sensibo will control all of them with one interface. A new public API for developers will enable integration of a Sensibo device with other home appliances as well.

6. SmarTap

SmarTap’s digital shower system, currently available in Israel and the UK and next year in the United States, was chosen for Bezeq’s Bhome demo to show how the product can reduce water and energy use by enabling precise control of flow and temperature.

An app lets users program actions such as preheating the shower, setting a maximum temperature and flow rate, and specifying how high to fill the bath. The Nesher-based company will be adding functions such as automatic leak detection, opening cold-water pipes to prevent freezing, and monitoring usage patterns; the software will be upgraded remotely with each new feature. IBM Research in Haifa is now researching how SmarTap can help reduce water and energy use in commercial buildings.

7. PointGrab

Anything plugged into a power source can be connected to PointGrab’s PointSwitch product to enable gesture-controlled adjustments and on/off actions up to 17 feet away, even in full darkness. This Israeli gesture-control technology is already

42 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

powering tens of millions of devices made by Fujitsu, Acer, Asus, Lenovo, Samsung, TLC and Skyworth. The company is based in Hod Hasharon.

8. ENTR by Mul-T-Lock

This battery-operated smart lock from Mul-T-Lock in Yavneh is designed to be retrofitted into existing doors.

ENTR lets users control entry from a smartphone, tablet or other Bluetooth-enabled device. You can create or disable virtual keys immediately, lock or unlock the door at preprogrammed times, and monitor the system remotely. The underlying algorithms were developed at the Israeli R&D facility of US chipmaker Freescale.

9. Evoz

Evoz turns an iOS device into a virtual baby monitor. Its technology is built inside the Belkin-Evoz WeMo monitor, which stores and graphs baby’s cries and analyzes the information to provide parenting tips; and in British Telecom’s next-generation home video devices. Evoz also can be used for monitoring housebound seniors, detecting and sending alerts about safety and security, and evaluating electricity usage.

10. WeR@Home by Essence

This cloud-administered wireless system lets users manage and communicate with a large variety of third-party connected home devices, such as lighting, thermostats and door locks. Essence is based in Herzliya.

11. SmartH2O by BwareIT

Attach the SmartH2O home water meter to your sink or shower tap or your garden hose, download the app and start seeing exactly how much water your household is using, how long the water is running and at what temperature, and how much it’s costing you.

Now being incubated in Startup Scaleup, the European Commission’s IoT accelerator, the device could be on the market within a year to give conservation-oriented users an unprecedented awareness of water consumption. The app will also inform you of any leaks, and show how your water usage compares with the average in your region or country. If you’re proud of how you stack up to your neighbors, you can share your rating on social media.

12. Mybitat

This IoT company, headquartered in Herzliya, is partnering with Samsung to develop a smart-home solution aimed at helping the elderly remain in their own homes longer and enhancing their quality of life. The technology combines advanced sensors, cloud-based software and behavior analytics to monitor an individual’s daily routine and wellness. If it detects changes in behavior or health, the system will send alerts to preselected family members or caregivers.

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the art of organization

Midtown Urban Living Tour

The Midtown Neighborhood Association is hosting the third annual Midtown Urban Living Tour 11 am to 5 pm, Nov. 7.

The Tour will feature some of Midtown’s finest residential buildings. Last year’s tour attracted nearly 1,000 visitors in a 4-hour period. The Midtown Urban Living Tour will showcase homes in seven celebrated Midtown communities. Tour goers will have the rare opportunity to explore selected homes in: Artisan Lofts on Central, Villa del Coronado, Regency House, Phoenix Towers, Tapestry, One Lexington, Executive Towers and Chateau on Central.

In true urban fashion, tour goers are encouraged to enjoy the convenience of riding the Light Rail for travel between communities. Pedal cabs and a trolley service will also be available and there will be bike racks at each property for cyclists. Before or after exploring Midtown living options, tour goers may stop for a bite at one of the many excellent restaurants found in Midtown, some of which will be offering special deals for tour goers showing evidence of ticket purchase.

This sector of downtown is home to a bustling business district, world-class museums and culture, fine restaurants, lush parks and a diverse mix of housing options.

Come see why midtown is at the crossroads of “live, work and play” in Phoenix.

Tickets are available at Regency On Central, 2323 N Central Ave. in Phoenix.

For information on ticket prices and how to purchase tickets in advance or on the day of the event, go to UrbanLivingTour.com. Ticket Price: $15 online and $20 day of tour. eventbrite.com/e/2015-midtown-urban-living-tour-tickets-18234593159

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www.twoplatesfull.com ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 45

Food

STUFF YOURSELF AND YOUR VEGETABLES

CORNER

By Lucia Schnitzer

Roasted poblano peppers stuffed with pulled brisket red chili Lucia Schnitzer and her husband, Ken, own Luci’s Healthy Marketplace in Phoenix. The local coffee shop and marketplace opened in 2009 in Lucia’s honor after her successful battle with breast cancer. She successfully manages her career, her growing family (four children), her personal well-being and the countless demands of the day.

46 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

Here's an easy way to incorporate more veggies into your diet – make them your meal's main event. Use tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers and even sweet potatoes as the base for your dish by filling them with lean meats or flavorful cheeses, and then add on even more vegetables.

Here is my favorite stuffed recipe. These stuffed peppers make my husband so happy when he hears I’m making them. Accompany these stuffed poblanos with beans and pico de gallo.

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For the Beef: 3 pounds brisket 1 medium onion, chopped 5 garlic cloves, chopped 3 tablespoons canned chipotle peppers, chopped 1 16-ounce can red enchilada sauce 1 tablespoon ground cumin 2 tablespoons smoked paprika 1 teaspoon ground coriander 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth Salt and pepper to taste

WHERE EVERYONE IS WELCOME

For the stuffed poblanos: 6 poblano peppers 3 cups cooked quinoa 2 tablespoons chopped red onion 3 tablespoon chopped cilantro Pomegranate seeds Chipotle mayo sauce

Instructions: Combine all ingredients for the beef and put in a large crock pot or preheat oven to 300º.

Season brisket with salt and pepper and add to an oven-proof dish or crock pot.

Add onions, garlic, chipotles, red enchilada sauce, cumin, paprika, coriander and chicken broth.

Cover the dish and transfer to the oven and cook for 2 to 2½ hours until the brisket is tender enough to easily pull apart. If using a crock pot, you can cook the brisket as quickly as 4 hours or up to 10 hours if you want to cook it during a long day at work. Using two forks, shred the brisket and set aside.

Meanwhile, cook quinoa and season with salt and pepper.

Wash the poblanos and place on a baking sheet. Broil in the oven, turning until all sides are blackened. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Gently remove the stem, seeds and as much of the skin as you can from the peppers. Cut or tear down the center so the pepper will lay flat.

To assemble: Place about ½ cup of cooked quinoa in the center of the pepper and top with a heaping scoop of pulled brisket.

Garnish with chopped onions and cilantro.

Serve with chipotle mayo sauce and pomegranate seeds.

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Taste of A

By A. Noshman

Arizona

Perched on a tiny corner sits a little restaurant with a huge personality. The smell of smoke fills the air, and there’s no doubt when you swing open the door that BBQ awaits. What you don’t know until you are inside is that you’re about to meet the nicest people, and they really love what they are doing. Paul Williams (yes, the former Phoenix Sun and ASU star) is the pit master, and he and his family members serve up delicious BBQ and friendly conversation. It’s a BBQ joint, and I mean that as a term of endearment. So many corporate BBQ chains have to manufacture their image, but this place just drips with authenticity.

It’s a funky little building with a lot of character. The menu is on the wall and you order at the counter. Take your time to look things over and ask questions, because there’s a lot of great food being offered. Right off the bat I noticed the prices, $10.99 for a full meal with sides. Where do you see BBQ priced likes this?

If there’s a downside, it’s that they run out of items because everything is made fresh. One day there was no mac n’ cheese, another day there was no peach cobbler and no greens.

But there is a silver lining – it means you have to come back again! After ordering you pick a table and they bring your food.

Some things are in plastic foam bowls, entrees are on plates and some items come in a plastic basket. It’s all kind of eclectic, but it turns out to be a marriage of everything that is good. Over the course of several visits, here is what I had:

BBQ Brisket Dinner $10.95 (includes two sides) Who doesn’t loved smoked brisket smothered in sweet sauce?

So often restaurants will use liquid smoke and bake their brisket.

48 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

Smoke Dem Bones $$ 1650 E Indian School Road, 85016 602-277-5766 smokedembonesbbqphoenix.com

Not here. You can tell by the tenderness of the meat and the crispy char on some pieces that this meat is slow-smoked for hours. It is served bathed in a delicious homemade sauce that is sweet with the mildest hint of heat. You can also order a brisket sandwich at lunchtime for $6.99 that includes one side and a drink.

BBQ Chicken Dinner $10.99 (includes two sides)

BBQ Brisket

I didn’t bother to ask what pieces of chicken come with this order; much to my delight, I was served legs and thighs. I am a dark meat eater (turkey too) – it’s where the flavor is.

I understand why people like white meat chicken. It’s delicate and has less fat, but when you are talking smoked sauce-laden chicken, dark meat is the way to go. The chicken was very tender, heavily smoked and slathered in BBQ sauce. For me, it’s not a knife and fork affair, so it’s a good thing there are rolls of paper towels on the tables.

Fried Okra (side included with meal or can be purchased for $3.99) These little gems are unbelievable.

They are hand-battered in cornmeal, quickly fried and served piping hot.

So often, restaurants bake a frozen version of this traditional Southern dish, and it just fails in comparison BBQ Chicken to what you can get here. My friend likes to dump salt on them; to me they are fine the way they are. Either way, you can ask for ranch dressing as a dip if you like, just make sure if you are an okra fan that you get these.

Beans (side included with meal or can be purchased for $2.99) Paul explained that all his sides are vegetarian because he knows there are people who can’t eat meat or don’t eat pork, and he wants to respect those needs. The beans were excellent, very tender, nice BBQ flavor and are another must try.

Cabbage Friend Okra

Cabbage (side included with meal or can be purchased for $2.99) Yet another delicious, simple, Southern-style vegetarian side dish. Soft, hot and slightly bitter (like greens), this side dish was a lovely complement to the sweet smoky BBQ. Besides, it’s actually good for you.

Red Velvet Cake $4 A generous slice of silky and moist red velvet cake comes with two forks, and it’s a good thing it does. It’s too rich to eat

by yourself. The icing is delicate and not too tangy, and the cake itself is heavenly. It’s double-layered with some more icing in between, so no matter where you are nibbling in the slice, you can always get some of that delicious icing. Never managed to have the peach cobbler, so you know what that means? Yes, I have to go again.

Their name pretty much says it all. Smoke Dem Bones, nothing pretentious (especially the prices), just down-home cooking served with style. It bothers me when restaurants use the term homemade. What’s funny about this restaurant is they don’t use that term, and I think they should. Everything about this experience feels like home. You should go. I will be the guy in front of you trying to get peach cobbler.

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Sidney Levy with a wood carving from Israel

seniors

Sidney Levy: Family man, researcher, teacher Founding father of consumer cultural theory still teaching at 94

By Deborah Moon

Inside 50 Still teaching at 94 54 Tea with Honey 56 Literacy pioneers 57 Senior pens kid’s book 58 Celebrating at Maravilla 62 Parkinson’s fall prevention 50 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

Sidney J. Levy, a 94-year-old professor at the Eller School of Business at the University of Arizona, plans “to keep reading intently until the last breath.”

“Teaching, studying, writing is my life; students keep me active, thinking, interacting,” says Sidney, who is known as one of the founding fathers of consumer culture theory. “I work with students and colleagues on research, assist in classes and seminars, attend conferences, etcetera.

I love doing it and see no reason to stop as long as I can continue to do it.”

An International Force

He also has remained active in the international marketing world. In June he was the keynote speaker at the international Consumer Culture Theory Conference. Each year the CCT presents the Sidney J. Levy Award to the best CCT-oriented dissertation article published in the preceding year.

An article about the conference by David Speer notes, “Levy defined culture as the way people relate to the things of nature and how they make and use objects, language and customs.”

Before “retiring” to Arizona, Sidney had served on the faculty of Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University since 1961. According to the school’s website (kellogg.northwestern. edu), “He is recognized as one of the main contributors to marketing and consumer behavior in the 20th century for his work on brand image, symbolism and cultural meaning in marketing. With his Kellogg colleague, Philip Kotler, he challenged the view of marketing as restricted to commercial activities, and redefined the concept of marketing as an all-encompassing phenomenon that could be applied to a broad range of social activities.”

During a 1967 trip to Greece, Sidney Levy and his daughter, Joyce, and son, Bruce, explored the Theater of Dionysus. “That trip led Joyce to say she wanted to study archeology, which she did before she became a lawyer, and led Bruce to study classical and archaic Greek so he could read Homer in the original,” says Sidney.

Research On Brands and Symbols

Sidney received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1956, doing research that launched a long career.

“I had a lot of experience as a graduate student and afterward working at a little company called Social Research Inc. doing many research projects for many different kinds of organizations,” says Sidney.

Based on those experiences and the conclusions he drew from them, he wrote two pieces in the Harvard Business Review that drew a lot of attention and garnered thousands of citations in the literature. “ ‘The Product and the Brand’ caused ‘brand image’ to become a major part of the world's vocabulary and thinking about marketing,” he explains. “The second piece, ‘Symbols for Sale’ explained more fully the way brand images were symbols that people use to express themselves as marketing providers and as consumers showing their identities.”

His professional achievements netted him numerous honors. In 1982 he received the highest honor in his field when he was named a fellow of the Association for Consumer Research. He was recognized as the American Marketing Distinguished Educator in 1988 and received the first Living Legend of Marketing Award in 1997. He received the Paul D. Converse award for outstanding contributions to the science of marketing in 2000.

In 1997 he became chair of the marketing department at the Eller College of

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Management, University of Arizona, where he is currently the Coca-Cola Distinguished Professor of Marketing.

A Family Man

Despite the stellar career achievements, Sidney reflects most fondly on his years as a young father. He was 31 when he first saw Bobette Adler, who became his wife six months later. She was a skilled psychotherapist who ran a crisis intervention program in Chicago. Living in Chicago, they not only rose in their respective careers, they raised their children, Bruce and Joyce.

“As a 94-year-old I look back enviously at those days, among the happiest in my life,” says Sidney. “My wife died of ALS at 75; my son died of cancer at 40; they leave me totally bereft. … I often dream about them and I think about them every day.”

Bruce composed music, studied Russian and Greek, and earned a doctorate in mathematics. The Bruce J. Levy Memorial Prize in Mathematics is presented annually at Pomona College.

He is survived by Leslie Ann Bowman of Philadelphia.

Sidney’s daughter, Joyce Adler Levy, “a brilliant tax and estates attorney,” and her husband, Christopher P. Egan, live in Skokie, IL. Sidney was raised in Chicago. His parents, Jacob Levy and Kate Rosen, emigrated from small villages in the Ukraine and met in St. Louis before marrying and moving to Chicago to raise their three children. Though the Levy family was Orthodox, Jacob was vigorously anti-religious and a radical intellectual, who was ousted from Russia by the czar's men due to his radical

views, says Sidney.

“Although my mother was casually observant of Judaism and lit candles on Friday, religion played little role,” says Sidney. “My parents spoke Russian or Yiddish only when they didn't want us kids – my older sister, me and my younger sister – to understand, so we did not learn either language except for common catchphrases heard in the environment of a Jewish neighborhood.”

Like his father, Sidney does not feel a connection to religion, but he is a strong supporter of Israel.

His younger sister, Rita, married Aharon Remez, the first commander of the Israeli Air Force, who went on to serve in the Knesset and as Israeli Ambassador to Great Britain. Though both Rita and Aharon are gone, Sidney has three nieces who live in Israel.

“I care about Israel in the way that any intelligent, thinking person aware of history should care about it,” says Sidney. “Even if I did not have family in Israel, I would think the country is the victim of widespread anti-Semitism by non-Semites and anti-Judaism by other Semites, all examples of the universal tribalism that afflicts human groups.”

While his resume sounds impressive, his autobiography, One Man in His Time (available on amazon.com), has been described as “an exciting and human tale of upward mobility, of living the American Dream and traveling the world. It is a romantic story of enduring love, with the joys and sorrows that come with life and death.”

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Emmett Koelsch, 1956

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seniors

Tea with Honey Honey Manson as a graduate registered nurse in 1949 from the Millard Fillmore School of Nursing, which was affiliated with the University at Buffalo.

Some people drink their tea black, and some like it with sugar owned a single book of their own. Therefore, it is not a surprise and cream. But on Tuesday, Nov. 3, Hadassah Southern Arizona that Hadassah Southern Arizona chose to honor Honey’s many will take delight in Tea with Honey. achievements in a long life dedicated to charitable good deeds.

The chapter will honor Honey Manson, a woman who has The keynote speaker for this event is Barbara Sofer, a given so much to the Tucson Jewish community and who reprize-winning journalist, author and inspirational speaker who cently celebrated her 90th birthday. also serves as the Israel Director of Public Relations for HadasIn addition to Honey’s devotion to Hadassah, where she is the sah, where she reports the stories of Hadassah’s achievements in chair of the Nurses Council, she is known throughout the Tucprint and movies. She has witnessed and documented the daily son Jewish community for her volunteerism. Her list includes effort to create an island of peace and sanity within Jerusalem's B’nai B’rith, Jewish War Veterans, Interlargest medical center. national Jewish Film Festival, B’nai B’rith Barbara writes a popular weekend Covenant House, B’nai B’rith Manor on column for the Jerusalem Post that deals Pantano, Jewish Community Relations with the challenges and miracles of Council, and Jewish Family and Children’s everyday life in Israel, where she moved Services (specifically with LEAH, Let’s from the United States 40 years ago.

End Abusive Households).

Because of the prominence of Hadassah There is no doubt that Honey totally Hospital in the news, she has worked delights in the doing of mitzvot. Last with top-tier media including “60 December, she staffed a table at Shalom Minutes” and “Nightline” in formulating Tucson’s Hanukkah Mall Madness at the programs that show Israel in a positive Park Place Mall (sponsored by the Jewish light. She also contributed to the EmFederation of Southern Arizona). She my-winning CNBC program “Jerusalem was representing the Jewish community’s ER.” 1st Rate 2nd Hand Thrift Store, and she Barbara appeared on “Good Morning came prepared with boxes of children’s America's” new Seven Wonders of the books. During the two-hour event, she World series as an expert on the spiritual gave away gently used books to children uniqueness of Jerusalem; she likes to of all races and religions. She absolutely think of herself as a maggidah, an itinerbeamed when she had given all the books Keynote speaker Barbara Sofer ant teller of the stories of Israel, past and away, some to children who had never present. She is the author of six books, 54 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

PROUD TO INDULGE YOUR EVERY INDULGENCE. the most recent being A Daughter of Many Mothers, the story of Holocaust survivor Rena Quint.

Her prizes include many Rockower awards for Jewish journalism, the Sidney Taylor Award for the best Jewish children's book and the 2008 Eliav-Sartawi Award for creating understanding through Middle Eastern journalism. She is married to scientist/ writer Gerald Schroeder. They have five children and a changing number of grandchildren.

Hadassah Southern Arizona hopes to raise funds for Honey’s passion: the education of good nurses. Everyone is welcome to attend the event; membership in Hadassah is not required.

Admission: $72 (includes $30 cover) per person or be a special donor who will be noted in the program: $90 and $180 per person. Donations are welcome.

This gala event will be an Aruchat Arba, or 4 pm tea and minimeal. It will be held at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, 3800 E River Road, Tucson. Hats and gloves are optional!

All proceeds will benefit the Henrietta Szold Hadassah-Hebrew University School of Nursing’s Clinical Master’s Degree Program. The School of Nursing is a special favorite of Honey’s.

For more information, contact Debra Jacobs 520-275-5044.

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seniors

Ken and Yetta Goodman: University of Arizona pioneers in literacy education

By Sheila Wilensky

Kenneth S. Goodman, University of Arizona professor emeritus, and Yetta Goodman, UA regents professor emerita, both of whom are at the College of Education, began their careers as camp coordinators for the Jewish Community Centers of Los Angeles. They were there from 1948 to 1962.

“Our Jewish camping and social work experience helped develop our educational philosophy as child-centered, humanistic and holistic,” says Yetta. Ken espoused the philosophy that camp activities should exemplify values, history and culture – seamlessly incorporating democratic principles into everyday life.

It’s a philosophy he still embraces and shares with Yetta, his wife and colleague of more than 50 years.

Yetta, 84, grew up speaking Yiddish as her first language in an Orthodox Cleveland family. She began teaching elementary school in 1952 while also raising the couple’s three daughters.

“The majority of Jews were socialists when they first came here,” Yetta says, adding that Jewish education should be focused 56 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

on “our history in this country,” including the Jewish labor movement. “In Tucson, we’re too focused on Israel. Israel isn’t the only issue.”

“Often, if you’re not religious, you’re not considered Jewish,” says Ken, 87, who was born in Chicago and grew up in Detroit.

Nationally and internationally known for their pioneering work in literacy education, the Goodmans have written hundreds of articles, book chapters and books.

“All our work adds up to the fact that any kid who learns language can learn to read,” says Ken. “For kids having a hard time with reading, they do much better on an iPad. They’re motivated to engage with their peers,” adds Yetta.

“My two great-granddaughters are in a sweatshop kindergarten in Houston,” says Ken. “They don’t have naps. They don’t play. Kids learn language by the time they go to school. They need content to learn to read.”

Reading is about much more than reading itself, which is the focus of Ken’s forthcoming book, Reading, the Grand Illusion

(Rutledge Press), co-written with Peter Fries and Steven L. Strauss.

The Goodmans came to the University of Arizona to teach in 1975. “We had a quite good school system in Tucson,” says Ken. Since then, “the schools have been starved to death.

It’s been very hard for teachers.” Arizona State University ended its college of education, leaving its doctoral students high and dry. “I think the UA would kill its college of education, but it’s too important to a lot of parents, particularly to parents of girlswho want to become teachers.”

In the current climate of standardized testing, Ken says “we are losing the backbone of democratic educational practices, some of which stem from a tradition in Jewish education called pilpul,” generally known as the Socratic method. “This kind of instruction is not about memorizing

“All our work adds up to the fact that any kid who learns language can learn to read.”

– Ken Goodman

data for higher test scores, but is about acquiring the ability to evaluate and understand complex ideas.”

Jewish parents may believe that the current trend in highstakes testing is “not our problem,” explains Ken. “There’s a tendency for Jewish parents to think their kids do well in school. Testing only favors certain conforming kids. Nonconforming kids’ talents don’t show up on standardized tests,” he says. “Nonconforming kids may do as poorly as poverty-stricken kids.”

Here in Arizona, “the worst thing is what (the state legislature) has done to bilingual kids,” requiring four hours of English instruction per day in K-12 classrooms, says Ken. “They’ve loosened it up a bit in high school because kids aren’t getting the content they need. If they can speak a certain level of English, they can take electives.”

Another big problem, he says, is that “teaching has been treated as a nonprofession.”

Still, the Goodmans are optimistic. “My big hope is for a population that appreciates great teaching,” says Yetta. “The social nature of teaching, among students and teachers, is collaborative. That’s what I love to see.”

Sheila Wilensky is a freelance writer, editor and educator living in Tucson. tucsonwritereditor.com

The Smart One: A Grandfather’s Tale

by Ken Goodman

By Sheila Wilensky

The Smart One: A Grandfather’s Tale melds Ken Goodman’s ancestral history with a rollicking good story. The book, his first one for young readers, portrays a Jewish family’s quandary at the turn of the 20th century in the former Vilnius district of Lithuania, which is now in Belarus, a former Soviet Republic.

Goodman depicts Old World Eastern European Jewry while interweaving fun facts with a subtle sense of humor. For example, who knew that the village of Smorgon was the birthplace of the bagel?

In the nearby agricultural village of Karka, the author’s actual father, Duvid Mendel Gutman, is a young boy living with his parents and two older sisters. When a labor strike begins at Smorgon’s bagel factory where his sisters work, the family is in imminent danger – partly because they’re Jewish and partly because of their increasing commitment to left-wing politics.

Goodman’s grandfather must decide the family’s course of action, while his grandmother frets and periodically offers her two cents. Meanwhile, their older daughter is a strike leader, plotting with cohorts dressed as dancing bears who hide out in the woods.

For them, change is in the air.

On May Day, the sisters dance around the maypole. “Hurray for May Day,” they sing. “Up with Mama!

Down with the bosses!” When their papa returns from synagogue, a frequent argument ensues. Is it time to leave for America, where everyone has an equal right to education and fair wages?

Therein lies the heart of the book: Can the American dream uphold Goodman’s ancestors’ progressive politics and traditional Judaism?

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 57

Howard and Janice Lavitt during the seder dinner this past Passover.

Tradition! Celebrating Jewish holidays in style at Maravilla Scottsdale

By Rhona Melsky

Life doesn’t end at retirement, and the Jewish holidays don’t stop when people move into senior living communities. Just ask Janice and Howard Lavitt, who moved into Maravilla Scottsdale almost three years ago and have never looked back. “Initially, our children told us about the community,” Howard says. “We liked the lifestyle. The other places we toured were institutional, but Maravilla felt more like a resort than a senior living place.”

While living at Maravilla, Janice and Howard not only enjoy a fulfilling active life, they continue to celebrate all the Jewish holidays. They mix Maravilla style and Jewish tradition with the help of Erin Masterson, program director at Maravilla Scottsdale, who oversees all the programming and activities in independent living, assisted living and memory care. She also oversees the fitness program, which includes everything from tai chi and Zumba to line dancing and yoga. “Janice does yoga and Howard does a lot of personal training,” Erin says.

Janice and Howard call Maravilla home, which is easy to do when the lifestyle includes a variety of amenities and an activity program that sets it apart. “The staff, including Erin, are great,” Janice says. “We are very fortunate to know everyone and have made a good number of friends here.”

Howard agrees that it’s not just the place. “It really is nice being around people you like.”

MARAVILLA: 7325 E Princess Blvd., Scottsdale 480-538-5600 l MaravillaScottsdale.com

58 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

Home for the High Holidays and much more Although holidays are for family, they are also for friends. There are many Jewish holidays to celebrate, and Janice and Howard enjoy celebrating with their Maravilla friends, both Jewish and non-Jewish alike. “It is very amazing to me how many people who are not Jewish come to participate,” Janice says. “It really is a community here.”

Whether celebrations takes place directly at Maravilla or at another location, Erin ensures that Janice and Howard and all those who celebrate are where they need to be for the holidays. From holiday services to medical appointments, Maravilla offers transportation to all who want and need the service.

“We have a rabbi that comes in on a monthly basis,” says Erin. “Rabbi Levi (Levertov) with Smile on Seniors comes to our community and is involved with prayers for Jewish residents for the High Holidays, and then we provided transportation to Temple Solel. For Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur we provided transportation to synagogue.”

“Maravilla has a great relationship

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with Rabbi John Linder at Temple Solel and coordinates services with them,” Howard says, as he and Janice are members.

Passover is a favorite for Howard, which is celebrated in style at Maravilla. “We have a unique seder dinner where it involves others, and we teach them about our culture and traditions. The cooperation and planning with our activity director (Erin) has made our Passover seder a beautiful and ceremonious dinner.

“Erin and the chef work closely together to ensure that the traditional food for our holidays is served in the dining room … right down to the haroseth,” he says. In addition, one of the couple’s children, Melissa, visits from Indiana to celebrate Passover.

Live, learn and celebrate!

Erin ensures all residents feel at home. Everyone in the community is welcome to any and all holiday celebrations so that residents can partake and learn about other cultures and traditions.

“I spent time with Howard learning Jewish culture,” she says.

“Howard and I sit down and go over what menu we will have” for certain holidays. “He has taught me a lot about bringing Jewish activities and holidays to Maravilla. We have dinners on site and work with Temple Solel and Rabbi John Linder and have even borrowed haggadot from them.”

As far as holidays go, Hanukkah is very special for Janice, who says she especially enjoys gathering together to light the menorah. Erin coordinates with the rabbis for activities such as dreidel decorating ideas and making potato latkes.

Life begins anew at Maravilla The holidays are a large part of Maravilla’s culture, but the community also offers a variety of other amenities. “What makes Maravilla Scottsdale different, while we offer a full continuum of care, meaning that we offer independent living, assisted living and memory care, what folks at Maravilla Scottsdale really love and appreciate about the community is that it offers residents far more independence in their lifestyle than perhaps in a traditional CCRC (continuing care retirement community),” says Donna Thomas, director of corporate communications, Senior Resource Group, headquartered in Solana Beach, CA. Additionally, “Maravilla Scottsdale is structured with very modest monthly fees in comparison to other CCRCs, because you are not prepaying for care,” Donna says. She adds that another unexpected plus is “the extraordinary architectural styling and design that is also uncommon.”

The community is open to seniors 62 and older with the average age of residents ranging from the upper 70s to the low 80s. Most are pretty active people who already live in Scottsdale or have relocated there, according to Donna. The community’s monthly fees include one daily meal, weekly housekeeping, all utilities, laundry service, transportation and so much more.

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ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 59

The people make the place Originally from Chicago, Janice and Howard met in grammar school. Howard says, “I knew I wanted something to do with her. But as a young boy I didn’t understand what, so I pushed her down on the ice and pulled her hair.” Janice says she reported him to the teachers. “He tortured me,” she says. “He was a pest.”

After dating on and off for years, they married Aug. 2, 1947. Howard, a closet cowboy, and Janice moved to Scottsdale in 1975, acquired two horses and explored the Valley on horseback. They have three children: Alan, a veterinarian, lives in Chicago; David, an anesthesiologist, is in Seattle; and Melissa, who is vice chancellor of Indiana State University.

Erin Masterson

Although their children recommended Maravilla, Howard, a retired structural engineer, and Janice, a former secretary, loved the Maravilla lifestyle. The amenities and the people set it apart and make it a perfect choice for the couple, according to Janice.

To help make everyone at Maravilla feel truly at home and important, Erin works with all the residents to bring everyone’s traditions together. “I work with residents who are Jewish to brainstorm about their traditions and culture,” she says. “It’s a collaboration of everyone who lives here. We get together and talk about what we want to do with the holidays.

The culture of Maravilla is changing based on Jewish residents. We are taking bits and pieces from different couples and what they’ve done with their families and bringing it together to make it a Maravilla tradition as we grow together as a family.”

60 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

Managing Lung Disease During the Holidays Phoebe Brown Staff Writer

The holiday season brings people together for many celebrations. However, for people with lung disease, the holidays can seem daunting. Between traveling, cooking and eating, someone could easily become fatigued, which could make breathing difficult. One way to avoid excessive exhaustion is to practice moderation when eating. While indulging in holiday festivities, practicing moderation can help people with lung disease enjoy the holidays and improve their overall quality of life.

Triggers such as air pollution, overexertion and overeating can cause flare-ups. While some triggers are uncontrollable, others are manageable. Staying inside when air quality is poor can help with lung function. Overeating or eating foods that cause gas or bloating can make breathing uncomfortable, so even during the holiday season, it is important to keep moderation in mind.

It might seem like common sense but taking time to enjoy good food and company at the table could help someone feel satisfied instead of overfull. Drinking plenty of non-caffeinated fluids can help control hunger and keep people hydrated. Eating smaller portions of foods, including desserts, could help reduce pressure, especially in someone who is short of breath. Extra pounds could cause extra heaviness and difficulty breathing.

For those suffering from debilitating lung diseases, options exist now to improve quality of life, such as diet and moderation. A clinic in the United States, the Lung Institute, states they have helped lung disease sufferers by offering an additional treatment option in the form of stem cell therapy.

Stem cell therapy is a minimally-invasive, outpatient treatment that harnesses the natural healing ability of the stem cells that already exist in the body. Stem cells are harvested from the patient’s own fat, blood or bone marrow, separated, and reintroduced into the body. Stem cells naturally fight infection and disease by repairing damaged tissue with new, healthy tissue.

This is a slow process, but stem cell therapy has the potential to expedite the natural healing process for those with certain progressive diseases, such as lung diseases.

People with lung disease have various options to help them take their health into their own hands, such as using an alternative treatment like stem cell therapy along with diet and moderation. By controlling factors that exacerbate their symptoms, and by taking action to improve their lung function, people with lung disease can enjoy the holidays and improve their quality of life.

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Call (855) 434-9235 or visit lunginstitute.com/JewishLife ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 61

Project aims to reduce falls for Parkinson’s patients

What does the Federation do?

We help people.

Your donation to the Federation helps meet the needs of our growing senior population, opportunities for socialization and connection to the community. Your gift helps the senior members of our community to remain active, healthy and living independently in the community longer and with Jewish dignity.

That’s it. That’s what we do.

WE HELP PEOPLE. Give today. Create tomorrow.

Helping Jews in need and building vibrant Jewish communities here, in Israel and throughout the world.

480.634.4900 x1299 | jewishphoenix.org/donate

62 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

Many patients in the latter stage of Parkinson's disease are at high risk of dangerous, sometimes fatal, falls. One major reason is the disabling symptom referred to as Freezing of Gait (FoG) — brief episodes of an inability to step forward that typically occurs during gait initiation or when turning while walking.

Patients who experience FoG often lose their independence, which has a direct effect on their already degenerating quality of life. In the absence of effective pharmacological therapies for FoG, technology-based solutions to alleviate the symptom and prolong the patients' ability to live independently are desperately being sought.

CuPID is a project three years in the making and the product of an eight-member European Union-funded consortium including researchers at Tel Aviv University. It strives to provide personalized rehabilitation for patients with Parkinson's disease who experience FoG or other gait disturbances. CuPID is a home-based, personalized rehabilitation tool in the form of a smartphone app that harnesses wearable sensors, audio biofeedback and external cueing to provide CuPID is a homeintense motivational based, personalized training tailored to each patient. The results are rehabilitation tool in the monitored remotely by form of a smartphone medical professionals, who provide quality care app that harnesses while enhancing patient compliance. wearable sensors, audio The CuPID app biofeedback and external just completed its pilot run and is being cueing to provide intense fine-tuned for more motivational training widespread use. It uses small sensors placed on tailored to each patient. a patients' shoes that measure a person’s gait in "real-time." If certain deviations from a pre-set norm emerge, an audio message alerts the patient to change his or her walking pattern immediately to avoid a dangerous situation.

"FoG is a leading cause of disability in patients with Parkinson's disease," said Prof. Jeffrey Hausdorff of TAU's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Center for Movement, Cognition, and Mobility at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (TASMC).

Prof. Hausdorff is the lead investigator on the Israeli team. "It often occurs during 'walking transitions' associated with turning, starting, stopping and moving in open spaces. It can also occur when people approach narrow spaces, such as doors or elevators, and in crowded places. Recognizing such situations is a very powerful key for prevention – and this is one of the features of this program."

Prof. Hausdorff and his team at Tel Aviv Medical Center conducted a pilot study on 40 subjects: 20 patients with Parkinson's disease who used the CuPid app and 20 patients who carried out conventional exercises and did not use the app. The results are promising and the investigators are currently exploring the

possibility of a larger follow-up study to further demonstrate the app's efficacy.

Repairing a "short circuit" Dr. Anat Mirelman, also of TAU and TASMC, co-directed the project. She explained that FoG episodes resemble a short circuit in the brain, rendering it unable to generate the appropriate stepping pattern, often leaving the patient in an untenable and frustrating situation.

The app is designed to circumvent that difficulty.

"There are two modes to the app," said Dr. Mirelman. "The first improves the overall gait pattern – 'keep it up, you are walking well,' says a virtual physical therapist – and the positive feedback while walking actually helps the patient emotionally as well as functionally. If the gait pattern needs adjustments, the app will let the user know. The second mode helps patients avoid and free themselves of FoG if they are already stuck. We believe, and we have already seen in clinical trials here at the hospital, that this has the potential to improve the quality of life for these patients quite dramatically.

"FoG reduces patients' independence.

Patients become afraid of walking by themselves and this leads to self-imposed restrictions in mobility," Dr. Mirelman continued. "When their feet get stuck to the ground, their bodies lunge forward – it's very frightening. People often end up in wheelchairs, and this is a vicious cycle, as it places more reliance on the assisted-living infrastructure."

"The program now integrates the expertise of a patient's physical therapist, who establishes what is considered a patient's 'normal' or 'strong' walking pattern," said Prof. Hausdorff. "It's unobtrusive and has the potential to reduce dependence on Parkinson's medication that has detrimental side effects. How much or how often the app is used depends on how advanced the disease is, but since the system is so small and non-invasive, it can be used just about anywhere.

It's exciting to think of the potential of long-term use."

Courtesy of American Friends of Tel Aviv University (aftau.org).

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 63

Arts & Entertainment

A Life in Art

By Leni Reiss

The Thirteenth Moon: Facing Snow. Acrylic and mixed media on canvas.

Beth Ames Swartz stands in front of four paintings created as a homage based on works of other artists.

The Thirteenth Moon: Evening near Serpent River. Acrylic and mixed media on canvas.

64 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

During a visit to Beth Ames Swartz’ secluded Paradise Valley home/sanctuary/studio, her base of operations for the past 45 years, the nationally recognized and renowned artist enthusiastically described her latest project.

She is the subject of a soon-to-be-released documentary about her life in art. Titled “Beth Ames Swartz/Reminders of Invisible Light,” the 26-minute, not-for-profit film is being produced by Odyssey Film of Cave Creek and will be previewed in the Valley in a few months. The title, Beth says, “is ambiguous enough – it could mean our relationship to God and/or the light within all of us.”

The phrase relates to Beth’s first 40 years of artistic output and ties in with a collectible volume with the same title that was the inspiration for a 2002 retrospective of her work at the Phoenix Art Museum.

The film, now in post-production, will be available on a national level to public broadcasting stations and to local and national groups and organizations. It reflects the message and works of art in her book and reinforces Beth’s lifelong philosophy: to seek wisdom and to help others.

Edna and Art Sitelman recently hosted a wine and cheese reception at their North Central home to honor Beth, to preview the documentary’s trailer (a five-minute “sizzle reel”) and to encourage membership in the Phoenix Sister Cities Ramat Gan Committee, where Beth serves on the board. The event also launched the Indiegogo Internet film campaign under its fiscal sponsor, the Phoenix Institute of Contemporary Art, to raise funds for documentary post-production.

Beth’s initial artistic foray came about as early as age 5 with her first paint set. She eventually attended New York’s prestigious High School of Music and Art in addition to Cornell University “to take every available art course.” She earned a master’s degree in fine arts from NYU. But she credits a rafting trip down the Colorado River 55plus years ago with “an inspirational breakthrough – a connection of art and the earth.”

When she moved to Arizona from New York (with her first, late, husband) Beth says she initially “hated the harshness” of the desert terrain and missed the lush Eastern greenery. She sought out local parks and lakes seeking a comfort level. It was then that she perfected a series of watercolors. But her life changed, she says, on the 1970 river trip. “I always have been a feminist,” she says. “I bonded with the earth, and was able to fuse an emotional experience with my artistic output.” With paints and sketchbook at hand, Beth recalls “drawing the entire trip, coming

to the realization that up until that time, I hadn’t even begun to deal with the cycle of life, death and rebirth, and burning away what is transforming.”

This concept, along with visits to 10 sacred sites in Israel and the study of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, culminated in her Fire Series, premiering in 1981 at the Jewish Museum in New York and nine other museums nationwide. “It was the transforming power of fire that inspired me,” she says.

Through the years Beth says her art has helped her to survive and thrive. “I was raised in a home where the basic values of empathy, compassion and love were stressed. This led me on the path to discover my role and purpose in the universe.” Scattered throughout the home she shares with husband John Rothschild is a collection of Buddhas. “I appreciate their serenity,” Beth says.

Valley collector Edna Sitelman observes that Beth’s paintings “are a testament to her belief in the healing and restorative power of art … to challenge our perceptions – to awaken the soul.”

Completion of the documentary is anticipated in February, in time for Beth’s 80th birthday. Attractive, energetic and articulate, she is an embodiment of her philosophy: “Whatever you do in life, do it creatively.”

Beth will be available for personal appearances and documentary showings for Valley groups and organizations. For information, contact her at info@bethamesswartz.co

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 65

Check out these new books during

Jewish Book Month Compiled by Polina Olsen

The Devil in Jerusalem

by Naomi Ragen St. Martin’s Press, 2015, Hardcover, 310 pages, $29.99.

When two children are brought into Hadassah Hospital with shocking injuries, Detective Bina Tzedek is contacted.

The children’s mother, an ultra-orthodox American émigré refuses to answer questions. As Tzedek investigates, the disturbing story of how a charismatic and psychopathic cult leader has taken over people’s lives begins to unfold.

Written by the internationally best-selling author of nine novels including The Tenth Song, and based on a true story, The Devil in Jerusalem brings intrigue, intensity and betrayal into Ragen’s portrait of how predators can turn people seeking holiness into tragic victims.

The War Reporter

by Martin Fletcher Thomas Dunne Books, 2015, Hardcover, 306 pages, $25.99.National Jewish Book

Award winner and well-known TV news correspondent, Martin Fletcher’s new novel traces a journalist’s mission to document the atrocities of Bosnian war criminal Ratko Mladic.

Protected by shadowy figures that have prevented his arrest for a decade, Mladic turns his henchmen full force on the journalist and the beautiful interpreter that he loves.

Drawing on his own experience as a war reporter in Bosnia and Sarajevo, Fletcher brings authentic and chilling realism to his novel. Called “An Engrossing if unsettling thriller … a page-turner” by Publishers Weekly, The War Reporter depicts the life-and-death realities of war correspondents.

66 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

Single Handed

by Daniel M. Cohen Berkley Publishing Group, 2015, hardcover, 448 pages, $27.95.

When President George W. Bush presented the Medal of Honor to Tibor Rubin in 2005, the ceremony was long overdue. The only Holocaust survivor to receive America’s highest military distinction, Tibor’s valor in battle and Chinese military camp prisoner experience qualified him for the medal in 1954, but the paperwork was never filed.

Filmmaker, journalist, and film critic Daniel M. Cohen’s riveting war memoir brings Rubin’s inspiring story to the public for the first time.

Beginning with his early life in Hungary and years at the notorious Mauthausen concentration camp, Cohen show how inventiveness, bravery, and concern for others saved Rubin and the many others he helped.

Killing a King: The Assassination of Yitzak Rabin and the Remaking of Israel

by Dan Ephron W.W. Norton & Company, 2015, hardcover, 336 pages, $27.95.

A chilling reminder of how an assassin’s bullet can alter the course of history, Dan Ephron’s book documents the two years leading up to Yitzak Rabin’s assassination from the eyes of both Rabin and his killer, 25-year-old law student Yigal Amir. It shows that while the world’s admiration of Rabin included a Nobel Peace Prize, his policies deepened the internal divide between left and right and galvanized Israel’s Jewish extremists.

The Days Between: Blessings, Poems, and Directions of the Heart for the Jewish High Holiday Season

by Marcia Falk Brandeis University Press, 2014, Hardcover, 222 pages, $24.95.

An inspirational companion to traditional Jewish High Holiday prayers, poet Marcia Falk’s book recreates key prayers and rituals in moving and non-patriarchal language. Intended for Jews of all persuasions, this book may particularly appeal to non-Orthodox movements and unaffiliated Jews.

Days in the History of Silence

by Merethe Lindstrom

Other Press, 2011, paperback, 230 pages, $14.95.

Acclaimed Norwegian novelist Merethe Lindstrom’s new book shows how the repercussions of secrecy invade and sometimes overpower people’s lives. The story of a Holocaust survivor, who hides his Jewish identity, and his wife, who gave her son away when she was 17, the book is “A quiet and unnerving masterpiece,” according to the Norway Times.

Reign of Terror: The Budapest Memoirs of Valdemar Langlet 1944-1945

by Valdemar Langlet 2015, Skyhorse Publishing, paperback, 208 pages, $14.99.

Valdemar Langlet shares the trials, tribulations and challenges in opposing the Nazis. Valdemar issued Letters of Protection, passport-like documents with official-looking stamps that frequently saved Hungarian Jews from deportation to the death camps. As the Red Army approached, Langlet risked his life to shelter Jews and other refugees in safe houses throughout Budapest.

New books by local authors Shakespeare’s Conspirator

by Steve Weitzenkorn, 477 pages, CreateSpace and Amazon Digital, 2015, , $18.95 paperback, $2.99 Kindle. ShakespearesConspirator.com

Shakespeare’s Conspirator: The Woman, The Writer, The Clues describes how a woman writes many Shakespearean plays – and how she embeds a web of clues in every script.

Set in 1587, the novel depicts Shakespeare as struggling to launch his career. Finally he persuades James Burbage, a theater owner, to stage “Henry VI.” Burbage is one of several proprietors who had refused to look at Amelia Bassano’s comedic script. Infuriated after being blocked at every turn, she reluctantly seals a secret pact with Shakespeare. So begins a fiery relationship that triggers suspicions, plots to expose them and grave dangers.

Craving recognition and ways to break through, Amelia pursues illicit relationships with Elizabethan luminaries while becoming a controversial advocate for women. Scandals and complications follow as her life takes dreadful turns. When Shakespeare pressures her to write a soul-tormenting script, she fears being exposed as a hidden Jew, a felony in Elizabethan England. Undeterred, she buries hints to her authorship and identity in Shakespeare’s plays. But not everyone is deceived. Everything comes to a head, and the dangers are never greater than on the day the Globe Theatre debuts.

Sammy’s Journey

by Sam Sterk, 326 pages, CreateSpace, 2013, paeperback $15.62, Kindle $7.99 Sammy’s Journey tells the story about a young Israeli boy who after numerous yearly hospitalizations is accepted to the Jewish National Home for Asthmatic Children in Denver for a two-year cure. His plane journey will take him over 10, 000 miles away from his home in Israel. While placed in the Denver facility, he soon discovers that his troubled family life is a psychological trigger of his asthma. A psychologist helps sort out Sammy’s feelings of abandonment, rejection and parental neglect while helping Sammy develop improved coping skills.

To Tell Our Stories: Holocaust Survivors of Southern Arizona

by Raisa Moroz CreateSpace, 2015, paperback, 206 pages, $18.

During World War II's Nazi onslaught, 6 million Jews were systematically and brutally killed. Yet millions survived, their lives altered permanently by the terrors they faced. After the war, many left long-established homes to settle in Israel and the United States, hoping for renewal. Here are 36 stories of survivors who have made Southern Arizona their home. Each is an intimate slice of the Holocaust as it occurred throughout Europe and the Soviet Union. And each story is a dedication to loved ones and friends lost and brutalized during a portion of history that has since defined 20th century history and modern-day genocide.

The book is available in Tucson at Antigone Books, the Jewish History Museum, and the gift shops at Anshei Israel and Bet Shalom and globally on Amazon.com. Proceeds from book sales support the Holocaust Survivors Program at Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona.

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 67

To Life

What it means to be “The People of the Book”

Amy Hirshberg Lederman

In 1965, when I was just 11 years old, I bought my very first Bible. Not the “Jewish” kind, the one my friends made fun of because it opened backwards, but the Official King James Version published by Oxford University Press. I read late at night with a flashlight under the bedcovers, underlining in orange crayon the passages that stirred me. By my 12th birthday, I knew as much about Matthew, Luke and John as I did about Abraham and Moses, and while my parents thought it a bit odd that I preferred the Bible over Barbie, they rewarded my curiosity by buying me more books.

As a Jew, I have always taken great pride in the fact that we are referred to as “The People of the Book.” I assumed the name originated within Jewish circles as a way to identify and connect the Jewish people with the Torah. But surprisingly, the name surfaced during the 7th century as a Muslim reference to Jews and Christians, who were regarded as “infidels with a protected status.” Jews were the people of the book because we possessed a prior revelation from God that was manifest in our Five Books of Moses. As such, in the early years of Islam, we were permitted to live undisturbed among Muslims and observe our faith without interference, although that changed significantly by the 11th century.

The Five Books

The Torah, also called the Five Books of Moses and the Chumash in Hebrew, was expanded into the TaNaKh. The Tanakh is an acronym for 24 books that are divided into three major categories: Torah, Nivi’im (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings). In a sense, the Tanakh is the very first consolidated Jewish library: it presents the history and ideas of the first 3,500 years of the Jewish people, written by different authors over many centuries, covering the time period from Creation until about the time of the Bar Kochba revolt in the 2nd century C.E. In 499 C.E., the second most important Jewish book was codified. The Babylonian Talmud, a compilation of discussions, arguments and analyses of a broad range of subjects by the greatest rabbis of the first four centuries, vastly expanded Jewish literature. It is filled with Jewish law (Halacha), interpretations of Biblical texts (Midrash) and stories that teach moral lessons (Aggadah). For centuries thereafter, Jewish literature was defined as those books that emanated from the Torah and Talmud or found their source in Jewish law and liturgy.

The concept of Jewish literature has been radically augmented since the Middle Ages to include many other types of literature.

Sephardic/Ladino ballads, Yiddish stories, European Enlighten-

68 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

ment literature, Hebrew poetry and Jewish-American novels are examples of what we designate as Jewish literature today. In its broadest sense, Torah is more than the name of our Jewish Bible; it literally means “teachings” and includes all of the wisdom from Jewish texts and literature.

What does it all mean?

But what exactly does it mean to be the people of the book?

As Jews we are commanded to study the Torah and teach it to our children. It is our spiritual inheritance – the road map for Jewish behavior and guidebook for what God expects of us. But the relationship between study and action is a complex matter, one that intrigued the Talmudic rabbis who attempted to reconcile the tension between these two essential Jewish values. In a sense, the Jewish “chicken or egg” question goes like this: Which is more important, the study of Torah or how we act?

There are conflicting texts about what takes priority: study or action. On Shabbat we read Elu Devarim, a prayer that recites a list of nine mitzvot whose rewards are without measure, such as honoring our parents, doing acts of kindness and visiting the sick. This prayer concludes with the words: “And the study of Torah is equal to them all because it leads to them all.”

But in Ethics of the Fathers (1:17) we read: “It is not study that is essential, but rather action.”

And a frequently cited debate from the Talmud pits Rabbi Akiva against Rabbi Tarfon, who asserts that action is greater than study. The majority sides with Rabbi Akiva however: Study is greater than action because it leads to action.

Bringing this debate into our fast-paced, social media-dominated world may seem antiquated to some, but not to me. The question posed today might be this: How does Jewish study affect us in our own lives? Does it guide us at home, help us at work, inspire us in our community and provide pathways to engage in a spiritual life? Can we employ Jewish wisdom to help us deal with our problems, relationships and choices?

If Jewish study entails digging deeply into our texts so that we can discover and apply meaning and relevancy to our own lives, the kind that will enable us to tackle, resolve and survive the issues and problems of everyday life, then we shall ever remain the people of the book.

Amy Hirshberg Lederman has written more than 300 columns and essays that have been published nationwide. amyhirshberglederman.com

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ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 69

Kids

& Teens too

A child-friendly resource for parents

Kids & Teen

EVENTS November ONGOING: Club J at the Valley of the Sun JCC Provides afterschool programming ranging from sports to cooking and crafts to Israeli culture and more for those in K-8. Transportation from nearby schools available. 12701 N Scottsdale Road. 480-483-7121 ext. 1275, vosjcc.org

J-Care Afterschool Program at the Tucson JCC Includes a variety of activities, help with homework or teens can hang in the Youth lounge. Bus transportation from schools available for K-12. 3800 E River Road, 520299-3000, jzorn@tucsonjcc.org, tucsonjcc.org

J-Care at the J – East Valley JCC Pick-ups from area schools for grades K-6. Includes homework club, cooking, Israeli culture, dance, sports and much more. Early pickups from Kyrene on Wednesday early dismissals. EVJCC, 908 N Alma School Road in Chandler. 480-897-0588 or hastj@evjcc. org, evjcc.org

MIMkids Mini Music Makers (ages 0-5) Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays in November Introduce your child to the wide and wonderful world of music through MIM’s early childhood music and movement courses. Explore music from around the globe with your children while singing, dancing and playing instruments. Designed for children and caregivers, each four-week session explores a new musical culture in engaging ways.

Motor, pre-language and musical skills are developed simultaneously, while children actively participate in the music making. $12 per class or $40 for four. Visit MIM.org for class times listed by age. The Musical Instrument Museum, 4725 E Mayo Blvd., Phoenix.

Reservations required. programs@MIM.org or 480-245-6962

sports, art, games and more! Valley of the Sun JCC, 12701 N Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Fees vary. 480-483-7121, ext. 1275, or youth@vosjcc.org

Nov. 11 & 25 Paradise Valley & Scottsdale School’s Out Day. When school is out, Club J is a safe and fun place for your child to spend an enriching time with friends. 480-483-7121, ext.

1275 or youth@vosjcc.org

Nov. 21 Kids Night Out. The J’s fun-filled kids’ nights allow parents to enjoy special time while their children have a fun with friends enjoying dinner, games, a movie and build-your-own sundaes. Grades K-5. 6-10 pm. Valley of the Sun JCC, 12701 N Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Members: $20; nonmembers: $30. 480-483-7121, ext. 1275, or youth@vosjcc.org

Nov. 22 Kids in the Kitchen: Master Chef Junior Edition, Experience the Joy of Kosher Cooking!

Sponsored by Chabad of the East Valley. For children grades 1-6 where they will have the opportunity to roll up their sleeves, cook, bake and decorate fabulous foods, take home their own handmade creations and collect delicious recipes in their own cookbook! noon-2 pm, Pollack Chabad Center for Jewish Life, 875 N McClintock Dr., Chandler. $80 yearly membership or $12 per session. youth@chabadcenter.com

Dec. 5 & 6 The American Girl Fashion Show, presented by Phoenix Children’s Hospital Foundation.

This fun, engaging program showcases historical and contemporary fashions for girls and their dolls. Proceeds benefit The Emily Center Family Health Library at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Dec. 5, 11 am and 3 pm; Dec. 6, 11am and 3 pm. JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort, 5350 E Marriott Dr., Phoenix. $70. phoenixchildrensfoundation.org/american-girl-fashion-show, americangirlphx@gmail.com

Nov. 1

Dec. 10

Arizona Musicfest Young Musicians Fall Concert. Young musicians will astound audiences with their virtuosity as Arizona Musicfest showcases today’s leading classical talent. 2 pm, MIM, 4725 E Mayo Blvd., Phoenix. $12.50. MIM.org or 480-478-6000

Girls Night Out, sponsored by Chabad of the East Valley. This is a combination of learning and fun through regular meetings, special programs and hands-on activities and projects! As they share interests, goals and experiences, club members develop a sense of unity and friendship with other Jewish girls their age. Each meeting will relate to one aspect of the Jewish woman. For girls 9-12. Pollack Chabad Center for Jewish Life, 875 N McClintock Dr., Chandler, youth@chabadcenter.com

Nov. 11 PARDES School’s Out Day. When school is out, Club J is a safe and fun place for your child to spend an enriching time with friends. Activities, include enrichment classes,

70 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

Sophie Altman meets her brother-to-be 3-month-old Eli in Ethiopia

Adoption yields trio of rewards

Sophie and Eli

Happy son, medical missions, children’s book

By Deborah Moon

When Haiti was devastated by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in January 2010, Lisa Altman suggested her family consider adopting an orphan. Lisa and her husband, Dr. Jerald Altman, and their teenage daughters, Sophie and Emma, all agreed.

But when they were told that authorities were still trying to reunite parents and children separated by the disaster, the Altmans looked to other countries. Learning that Ethiopia was open to foreign adoptions, the family began the application process, which included home study and background checks. By the end of the year their adoption application was approved in Ethiopia.

Jerry, an otolaryngologist, and older daughter Sophie made plans to go to Ethiopia in June 2011 to teach the doctors how to perform newborn hearing screenings. It was the first of what would become annual medical missions to the African nation.

Just before the two left for that first mission, the family

received a referral with information about an infant available for adoption. Jerry and Sophie drove four hours from the community where they were volunteering to the orphanage in Awassa, Ethiopia, on June 26 and met 3-month-old Eli. Court dates, paperwork snafus and various other issues dragged on for nearly a year, but on May 31, 2012, the adoption decree was signed and the Altmans applied for Eli’s visa. On July 4 of that year, Jerry, Lisa, Sophie and Emma went to the orphanage to pick up their new son and brother.

Following the advice of social workers and adoption literature, the family “cocooned” for about three months – keeping Eli at home and keeping visitors at bay – to enable the boy to bond with his new family.

“Follow what the adoption agency and social workers tell you,” Jerry advises prospective adoptive families. “They have the experience and they are right.”

By that November Eli was also welcomed into the Jewish family with a conversion service at Congregation Beth Israel and

November is National Adoption Awareness Month Nov. 21 is National Adoption Day ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 71

Sophie and Jerry hearing screening

a private ceremony at the mikvah. Eli, now 4, attends the CBI preschool.

Jerry wholeheartedly recommends adoption. “The process is stressful, but now that it is behind me, I never would have done anything differently.”

Having a toddler in their 40s was also a challenge, but equally rewarding. Jerry, 48, and Lisa, 47, found there is a big difference from having a toddler in your 20s. Jerry, who was in his residency when the girls were young, has been able to be much more engaged playing with Eli. He says he still has the energy to roll around and play with him. “It keeps you younger, active,” he says.

“I like going to his soccer games and meeting other parents.”

This summer Sophie, now 21, and Emma, now 18, joined their father on his latest medical mission to Ethiopia. Both girls went to Israel on a Birthright trip and then joined Jerry in Ethiopia.

72 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

Last year Jerry joined a group of doctors from New York who went to Mek’ele, Ethiopia, to do ENT surgeries and train doctors. But this year he coordinated his own trip through the Ethiopia Worldwide Orphans Foundation and took hearing aids to help children.

“It’s so dramatic,” he says. After fitting a 13-year-old who had not been able to hear with a hearing aid, he says, “Her smile was enormous.”

Jerry and his daughters also met Dr. Rick Hodes, who serves as medical director of Ethiopia for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.

The Jewish-American doctor has lived in Ethiopia aiding children with heart and spinal problems for more than two decades. The Altmans joined Hodes and the many children he has adopted for Shabbat dinner.

While the Altman family has been enriched by the addition of Eli, and Ethiopian children have had their hearing improved or restored

by the annual medical missions, American children can reap the rewards of the experience, too.

While reading the cautionary nursery rhyme Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed to his young son, Jerry realized an engaging children’s book might show the young patients in his practice another danger.

“There were no children’s books dealing with the subject of sticking small objects in noses and ears, and kids do this all the time,” Jerry says. He teamed up with Richard Jacobson, who is also Jewish, to write Don’t Stick Sticks Up Your Nose! Don’t Stuff Stuff in Your Ears!

The colorful pictures and funny rhymes teach ear and nose safety to kids aged 2 to 6. This year the duo re-released the book with a few modifications to target a Jewish audience.

“It will help young readers learn to appreciate and respect the intended functions of their God-given bodies,” according to Jerry.

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ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 73

Kids

& Teens too

Preschoolers at Temple Emanu-El in Tucson experience calm focus as they explore yoga poses.

Jewish preschoolers get into yoga

By Sarah Chen

Teaching yoga in preschools has exploded in popularity nationwide, and Jewish preschools are catching on. Numerous websites and curricula offer yoga as a way to strengthen, stretch, relax and energize young children’s bodies and improve overall health through movement.

“Teaching yoga is not just a trend among Jewish preschools, but among preschools in general,” says Mindy Henry, associate director of the Olga and Bob Strauss Center for Early Childhood Education at Tucson’s Temple Emanu-El. “Yoga teaches children how to focus, how to calm down and be in the moment.

Yoga has shown to have lifelong benefits.”

The Strauss ECE incorporates yoga into their 3- and 4-yearold curriculum in the Katz Family Library and Youth Center adjacent to the preschool space. Their yoga teacher, Ally Magdalin, typically teaches yoga through storytelling, and the children use yoga to act out the characters and situations as they progress through the movement. The class uses dim lights and yoga mats to create a relaxing atmosphere.

“Jewish preschools tend to be pretty up on the nationwide 74 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

education trends,” says Mindy. The Strauss ECE plans to keep yoga running as long as possible.

The newly opened Tucson Jewish Montessori, run by Rabbi Israel and Esther Becker, hopes to incorporate yoga into their curriculum in the future. “It is still early days, and G-d willing, we will be able to add it in the future,” says co-founder Ester Becker.

The Tucson J uses yoga as a part of their national Discover: CATCH (Coordinated Approach to Child Health, Nutrition and Exercise) curriculum. Children from ages 6 weeks to 5 years attend movement classes, which incorporate yoga in the last 30 minutes of class.

“Yoga reinforces skills that are important for students to learn on their own,” says Marian Schiltz, associate director of the Early Childhood Education department. “Self-regulation, meditation, deep breathing – all these skills work towards our goal of helping students to recognize when they’re over-stimulated or angry and then self-regulate that behavior.”

Marian has seen the yoga teaching pay off in big ways. “At

the beginning of the year, our 4-year-old class was holding their child’s pose for about 10 seconds,” Marian explains. “But recently the entire class held their pose for a complete minute, in total silence. Truthfully, it was sort of shocking to see a room full of 4-year-olds being so silent and focused for so long!”

Because so many yoga poses are named for animals – cat and cow, cobra, downward-facing dog – it is easy to come up with animal sounds to accompany the movements. Marian frequently incorporates an animal story as she teaches.

“Most of this is more intuitive that we recognize,” says Marian. “To achieve the ability to let it be, to breathe slowly, to take a break from our fast-paced society, these are things we all need as humans.”

Nowhere is this more evident than with the youngest babies at the Tucson J. During a recent session, Schiltz lifted a soft scarf up over a small group of babies lying on their backs. “Every single baby lifted their feet and grabbed them with their hands … Happy Baby pose!” says Marian chuckling. “We learn these things intuitively; we just forget them over time.”

Sarah Chen is the associate director of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s northwest division and serves as a freelance writer in her spare time. She lives in northwest Tucson with her husband and two preschool-aged children.

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 75

Kids

& Teens too

Debra Rich Gettleman

Family Time

What’s in a label?

Finding the truth in the diagnosis.

As a parent who has had both of her children labeled “autistic” at very young ages by either a teacher, aide or some other academic “expert,” I don’t take the diagnosis of autism lightly.

However, neither of my children suffer from the disorder, for which I am grateful. They are both excelling in school, making friends and generally succeeding in various extracurricular activities and community projects. Sure, they have some “issues.” They can be moody, temperamental, irrational, even down right rude and incommunicative at times. But by true medical standards, they are not autistic, at least not according to my husband, the pediatrician, whom I happen to love, believe in and trust implicitly.

It was terrifying to be told by teachers and school experts that something as serious as autism was plaguing my offspring.

I launched into therapies galore, tested every sensory organ and spent thousands of dollars on neuropsychiatric evaluations. I understand being freaked out by a diagnosis of autism.

What’s really going on?

But don’t shoot me. Truly, I am only the messenger here.

While the statistics on autism are staggering, I contend something else is going on here that parents need to recognize.

Reports and data from our own Center for Disease Control suggest that autism is increasing exponentially. In 1975 the CDC reported that 1 in 5,000 children suffered from autism.

That increased to 1 in 150 by 2002 and in the latest findings 1 in 68. What are we doing wrong?

Some celebrities tell us it’s about diet. Various senators and presidential hopefuls insist it’s because of vaccines (a theory soundly debunked by scientific evidence). Lobbying groups say it’s due to a variety of environmental factors. The only thing we can agree on is that the numbers keep going up – and it’s tragic.

But what if I told you that research is now showing direct evidence that much of the increase in autism in this country is due to a reclassification of individuals with related neurological disorders rather than an increase in the actual rate of new cases of autism? Huh? Well, in a study published in the July 22 American Journal of Medical Genetics researchers analyzed 11 years of data covering more than 6 million children per year.

What they found is fascinating. The researchers found no overall increase in the number of students enrolled in special education classes. They also found that the increase in students diagnosed with autism was offset by a nearly equal decrease in students diagnosed with other intellectual disabilities. Their conclusion was that large increases in the number of autism cases in this country are likely the result of shifting patterns of diagnosis.

They aren’t the only ones to suggest that reclassification is the reason we’re seeing the autism numbers soar. A recent Dutch study published in the Journal of the American Medical 76 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

Association concurs that the rise in autism in Denmark is due to changes in reporting practices rather than increases in the disorder.

Diagnosing the diagnosis

The practice of moving people from one diagnostic category to another is known as “diagnostic substitution.” In the case of autism, it appears that more children are being classified as autistic today than are being branded with labels such as “mental retardation” or mere “language impairment.” A UCLA study of 489 children who had been living in Utah during the 1980s identified 108 children as “challenged” or “intellectually disabled.” These children were not considered autistic. When the investigators went back to their records using today’s autism criteria, they determined that more than half of those children would have received an autism diagnosis.

The other reality is that early intervention can be costly, and in order to get services for our children, we need to have a legitimate diagnosis so that the insurance companies will fork over the cash. We all want to do what’s best for our kids, and we live in a time when doing nothing feels like colossal neglect. So we put our kids through speech therapy and occupational therapy, physical therapy, eating therapy. My oldest son, Levi, and I giggle sometimes about all of the therapies I put him through as a toddler. I was so worried about doing nothing that I engaged in what now appears to be a ridiculous number of unwarranted therapies out of fear, pressure and maternal guilt.

Defining “normal”

But what if we’re just defining “normal” differently these days? What if the things our parents and grandparents thought of as quirks and character foibles were merely that and that our insistence to label and leap into early intervention is unnecessary at best and at worst sending our children the inalterable message that something is very wrong with them? That’s a scary thought to entertain.

Please understand that I do not discount the very real struggles of children with autism or other intellectual and neurological challenges. These are real disorders that parents need to be aware of and treat to the best of our medical capabilities. I just raise the question that perhaps we all need to take a step back, breathe and accept the less than perfect parts of our children without the compulsion to label them with a legitimate DSM-5 title and enroll them in years of therapy that may or may not be useful, essential or even appropriate.

Debra Rich Gettleman is a mother and blogger based in the Phoenix area. For more of her work, visit unmotherlyinsights.com.

APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN FOR SUMMER 2016!

JEWISH NATIONAL FUND SCHWARTZ-HAMMER IMPACT FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

Bennett Katz teaches a June 2014 chess class at UMOM, the largest shelter for homeless families in Phoenix.

A once-in-a-lifetime, free summer abroad program for Arizona high school students through Alexander Muss High School in Israel, the only non-denominational, international, academic program in Israel.

Mitzvah project keeps kids engaged Bennett Katz founded AZChess4Charity in 2013 as a mitzvah project for his bar mitzvah. The program is still going strong.

Bennett started with a benefit chess tournament at Temple Chai to raise money for starting a weekly chess club at UMOM and to give scholarship to underprivileged kids at the Ramat Gan Etude Chess club in Israel.

The chess tournament raised several thousand dollars, which has funded the weekly chess club since then. Additionally, the family presented a check at a tournament in Ramat Gan when Bennett became a bar mitzvah with a celebration in Israel.

The chess club has been meeting weekly since May of 2014 with a professional coach. On average, 20-30 kids and adults attend each week.

“The kids and parents say that they love it because it ‘makes them smart’ and is a free activity to do with their family that promotes quality family time,” says Beth Katz, Bennett’s mom and principal of katzdsigngroup.com.

Now 14, Bennett is a freshman at Chaparral High School.

“He founded it and we are still going strong with his philanthropy,” says Beth. “We are running low on dollars and need to fundraise again.”

Donations can be made on his website: azchess4charity.com.

“AMHSI was the perfect combination of having the time of your life in Israel while learning the importance and history of Judaism and the land of Israel.”

Reuben Nach, 2015 Schwartz-Hammer Impact Fellow

2015 Schwartz-Hammer Fellowship Recipients Gabriel Friedland - Desert Mountain High School, Scottsdale, AZ Reuben Nach - Sunnyslope High School, Phoenix, AZ Madeline Stull - Horizon High School, Scottsdale, AZ Rachael Weinstein - Ironwood Ridge High School, Oro Valley, AZ Madyssen Zarin - University High School, Tucson, AZ

Arizona high school students entering senior year in the Fall of 2016 are eligible.

For more information or to apply, visit jnf.org/azfellowship jnf.org · 800.JNF.0099

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 77

An American in Israel

Mourning Moti Kirshenbaum

By Mylan Tanzer

One day after his 76th birthday, the dean of Israeli satire, Moti Kirshenbaum, died suddenly of a heart attack. This column is dedicated to him – not only for his groundbreaking role in introducing political satire into Israeli society and creating Israeli television, but for his long, exceptional and diverse career that became, as one of his many colleagues wrote, “the script of the drama that is Israel over the last 45 years.”

Satirists who serve as co-hosts/analysts of daily and often controversial news analysis programs are rarely figures of universal popularity, especially in a country as polarized as Israel.

Moti filled that role from 2003 until the day he died, literally minutes before he was to go on the air for his weekly radio sports segment (sports was one of Moti’s passions). Yet in the hours and days following his shocking death at his home in the small coastal community of Mikhmoret, a consensus about Moti emerged. Eulogies, including those from the prime minister and president, competed for completely justified superlatives. The sadness of people from all social, ethnic and political segments of society was absolutely authentic.

Moti had that extra ingredient that despite his cynicism and criticism, which spared no one, turned him into someone whom absolutely everyone seemed to love. Columnist Ben Caspit described this love: “(Moti) … had a kind of nonchalant Israeli familiarity that made him the ultimate sachbak” (Hebrew slang taken from an Arabic word literally meaning your friend, and used to express someone who displays camaraderie, chumminess, folksiness, etc.).

He was a sachbak even though in his essence, he was a biting satirist, an outspoken journalist and a sometimes rough around the edges, always no-holds-barred commentator. In my opinion, he was the Israeli hybrid of Norman Lear, Lorne Michaels, Edward R. Murrow and Woody Allen, with a bit of Michael Palin of Monty Python fame rolled in.

Moti was born in 1939 in Kfar Saba to Polish immigrants, who were able to acquire British mandate immigration certificates to enter British-controlled, pre-state Israel. He claimed the foundations of his sharp social and political insights came from his childhood. He described his hardworking father, who peddled shoes, as someone whose entire life consisted of buying goods for a little and selling them for a little more in order to survive.

He graduated from the Pardes Hanna Agricultural High School and served in the IDF Nahal unit’s parachute brigade.

He went to Los Angeles in 1963 to attend UCLA’s School of Film and Television and work as a stringer for the Yediot Ahronot daily newspaper. As he became known through his parttime writing, he was asked to return to Israel before completing his studies to help establish the Israel Broadcasting Authority, 78 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

which was the first Israeli television channel. He quickly became one of the most important and influential correspondents and editors at the fledgling station, creating and producing many of the first IBA documentary films.

The Yom Kippur War caught him on sabbatical in New York.

Like tens of thousands of others, he boarded the first plane back.

Hours after landing he was in the Golan Heights with a cameraman filing some of the most dramatic, daring and heart-wrenching footage gathered throughout the war. His ability to translate the trauma into reports that a shocked and stunned nation could absorb prompted the director-general of the IBA to ask him to become chief editor of the nightly news, which was in complete disarray due to the war.

After rehabilitating the department and creating a dynamic and modern news operation, Moti began the phase in his career that built his persona. His creative abilities allowed him to channel the trauma of the war and his massive disillusionment into the creation of “Nikui Rosh” (literally translated as “a head cleaning”), the first satirical program ever produced in Israel. First broadcast in 1974, the series immediately generated immense interest and controversy. Prior to “Nikui Rosh,” mainstream dissent against the government line – whether political, social or cultural – simply did not happen. Our leaders were considered almost infallible, and any critique was considered to be motivated by personal or political interests. The aftermath of the war shattered that illusion. As the writer, creator and director of the show, he gathered a young and fairly anonymous group of actors including Rivka Michaeli, Tuvia Tzafrir, Dubi Gal and the late Sefi Rivlin, who rode the success of the program to become some of the most popular stars of Israeli entertainment for decades to come. His “Saturday Night Live” type of format of sketches radically and permanently changed Israeli humor.

The program filled the void created by the dissonance between the government line and post-war reality. As pre-war ideas were shattered, the different dialogue of “Nikui Rosh” achieved an impact far beyond simply a fresh, entertaining and humorous weekly show. Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin and others openly criticized the program, cementing its iconic status. Since IBA was the only television channel at that time, anything broadcast on the channel was seen by virtually the entire population. (A program like this funded, produced and broadcast on state-owned TV is a sign of Israel’s true democratic nature, and a freedom I hope will not be limited in the future.)

In 1976 “Nikui Rosh” won the Israel Award for television, cinema and radio, the highest honor given for such a program.

The program enabled Moti to express his sharp wit and tongue through his ability to construct short and ironic moments that contained everything that is good and bad here. He had a unique insight and talent to conceive and implement a concise satirical vision far more significant than the pompous political statements

that previously dominated the public domain. Feeling that the program had achieved its aim, Moti moved on. Throughout the ’80s he continued working at the IBA while also continuing to work independently on other projects. His weekly IBA segments were humorous, poignant and precise diagnoses of the country, its diverse people, unexpected landscape and surprising wildlife (nature was another of his passions). His Friday night news program was the most highly watched of the week.

In 1993 Moti was asked by the late Shulamit Aloni, who was then education minister with responsibility for the IBA, to return as director-general. The IBA had become a bloated stateowned bureaucracy and was once again in disarray. It was unable to compete following the introduction of rival commercial Channel Two and Cable TV in 1991.

It was at this time, during my tenure as CEO of the Sports Channel, that I met Moti for the first time. Meetings with him were memorable. His booming voice, complete lack of formality, professional insights and love of sports – but mostly his dry, understated, self-deprecating sense of humor – had us holding our sides. He made it a pleasure to travel to Jerusalem and enter the obsolete and somewhat depressing labyrinth of the IBA building. In 1997 Kirshenbaum’s IBA tenure ended. He continued to write, produce and direct. With the establishment of the new commercial Channel 10 in 2003, Moti and IBA veteran Yaron London, a talented and intellectually brilliant presenter and writer, launched the daily news analysis program aptly titled, “London and Kirshenbaum.” These two respected village elders, who complemented each other completely, gave a perfect platform for those who already knew and loved Moti and for a whole new generation to be exposed to his gifts.

Over the years, I occasionally saw Moti, but I felt like I was in constant contact with him because wherever I was – in the office, at home, travelling – I always made it a point to watch the program, either live at 6 pm, the repeat at midnight or on-demand on my computer. It gave me a true, direct and witty understanding not only of the day’s news, but of our situation in general, which no matter how bad, Moti knew how to convey in a warm, informal, non-patronizing and of course humorous way. He allowed you to get the perspective necessary to be able to sleep at night, just like a father tries to not to hide reality from his children, but who packages it in a way that gives perspective and hope. If you understand any Hebrew, it is worth viewing segments from the program on YouTube to see how zany, offthe-wall, brash and facetious two 70+ presenters can be, while still offering an in-depth and very serious news show. Without a doubt, “London and Kirshenbaum” was the closest thing Israel had to Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show.” The contrast between London’s animated, emotional antics and Kirshenbaum’s stoic, sphinx-like posturing was the mainstay of the program. Channel 10’s political correspondent Nadav Perry, who regularly appeared on the show, called his tribute to Moti “A Song of Praise to Sanity.” He wrote, “Moti had seen it all. The young ‘kids’ in the studio would get all excited about the latest coalition crisis or statement by Iran’s supreme leader. Yaron would scream or get angry at the latest scandal or of the insensitivity and stupidity of the government, and Moti was just there. His left hand perched on the handle of his chair, watching from the side, his eyes half open. When the drama would reach its peak, everyone would look over at Moti who would summarize everything in one short and ironic sentence that would cause everyone to crack up and

would be the only thing that anyone would remember from the item.”

In addition to the program, Moti owned a production company with his three sons and continued to produce award-winning documentaries, travelling the globe to remote locations such as Antarctica, South Sudan and the Caucuses to portray these locations in the unique way only he could. He travelled throughout Africa to produce a series of wildlife documentaries about some of the most intriguing and endangered species of wildlife.

Ben Caspit described the unique angle that Moti brought to his wildlife documentaries: “Moti’s love of wildlife thrilled me each time anew. His ability to humanize a zebra, or a gnu or a gorilla, to crack a joke in its presence, was wondrous.” At the time of his death, Moti was in the production process of a new documentary filmed in South America.

Of all the sad and mournful eulogies, the two that resonated most deeply were from his loving grandchildren and his sidekick, Yaron London, who said, “I have never had a relationship with anyone like I had with Moti. I will never have a relationship for the rest of my life like I had with Moti. We knew what each other was thinking, we could complete the sentences of the other.

The dynamic, both on-screen and off-screen continued to grow from day-to-day. I feel blessed to have had such a relationship, but I feel lost without it. I have lost my brother. It hurts. I am alone.”

More than anyone, London knew what made Moti tick: “He loved his people, his country, its nature and although he was not evil, he showed no mercy to those who tarnished the beauty of Israel and what it should be… In these moments, the humorous banter in the studio comes back to my mind. The PA’s would joke that they better know how to administer emergency care in case one of us croaks in the studio, or how the younger talent would ask us when we were planning on vacating the presenters chairs. Moti would answer, that we will never retire while we are at the top. We will only leave on a stretcher.”

Just like loved ones who die suddenly and create an overwhelming vacuum, Moti Kirshenbaum left this world while he was a daily part of my life, until the last moment of his life.

He was the ultimate storyteller of Israeli society. His satirical sense of humor and intellectual courage also made him one of the main pillars of Israeli journalism. No matter how bad the situation or the event, as long as Moti was around and commenting on events, things seemed to be under control. You could depend on Moti, but he left without saying goodbye. I have no doubt that is precisely the way he wanted it. He died doing what he loved, entertaining and educating us in his own special way.

He was the last person who would have willingly retired. He wouldn’t have been able to stand all of the praise.

He is sorely missed.

Mylan Tanzer is an American native who moved to Israel in 1981. He was the founding CEO of the first Israeli cable and satellite sports channel. Since 2005, he has launched, managed, and consulted for channels and companies in Israel and Europe. Tanzer lives in Tel Aviv with his wife and five children. He can be reached at mylantanz@gmail.com.

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 79

g n i v Li

Inside

80 Celebrating food 84 Federation Notes: Thanksgiving 84 Holiday key for American Jews 86 Faces & Places 87 Previews 89 Calendar

80 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

Chef Eddie Matney: Celebrating food, giving back one bite at a time

By Rhona Melsky

There are chefs. And then there is Chef Eddie Matney. Just like his food, he is bold, bright and appetizing. A food force to be reckoned with, Chef Eddie is a big personality nationally and in the Valley. Known as “the most colorful chef ” in the Phoenix metropolitan area, he describes his cooking as “a mirror of America.”

While his cooking reflects a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic flair mixing classic American and Mediterranean traditions, Eddie is not afraid to take chances. “I push the envelope with flavors,” he says, adding that that it is the way he approaches food.

With a host of accolades to his name locally and nationally, Eddie has been featured in Food and Wine, USA Today, Bon Appétit, Food Arts, Nation’s Restaurant News and Money Magazine. He also co-hosted “Your Life A to Z” on Arizona’s Channel 3 twice a month. He represented the Arizona Cardinals at the “Taste of the NFL” event for 15 years and was featured on CBS’ “The Early Show” when in New York for his dinner presentation at The James Beard House. If all that were not enough, he is also the co-author of two cookbooks, Cooking with a Passion and Heartfelt Cuisine. Most recently he was featured on two nationally televised cooking shows, “Bite This with Nadia G” and “Guy’s Grocery Games” with Guy Fieri, where he competed with and beat three other chefs in a cooking showdown.

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 81

The Matney family, clockwise from front: Gabriella, Jennifer, Jacob and Eddie.

A convert to food and Judaism As a child in Massachusetts, Eddie at first wanted to be a veterinarian. He then fell into the restaurant business when he started working at his uncle’s gourmet market. He eventually co-owned the Stockbridge Café in the Berkshires in Massachusetts and then came to Arizona in 1986 to open Steamers. After

owning a variety of restaurants, he currently owns Eddie’s House in Old Town Scottsdale. The restaurant allows him to do what he most enjoys: cook and be an entrepreneur.

After moving to Arizona, Eddie, who was raised a Catholic and is of Lebanese descent, met a lot of Jewish people, who became good friends. Because of “a deep draw to the Jewish faith,” he decided to convert. “It was something in my heart.” It Sat.,Nov. 21 7:00PM PRE-HANUKKAH Gift Auction & Bake Sale

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was then that the 36-year-old divorced chef, who said he would never marry again, started the conversion process. “I was already in conversion classes, then I met my wife, Jennifer, a few weeks after classes.” Converting, he says, is “one of the greatest things I ever did.” The once-proclaimed confirmed bachelor now shares his home with Jennifer Blank-Matney, his wife of 18 years, daughter Gabriella, 12, son Jacob, 14, and a variety of animals, including a dog, a guinea pig, a Blue-tongued skink and two African spurred tortoises.

Bringing people together through food Eddie does not have a favorite holiday – from Thanksgiving to Passover to Hanukkah, he enjoys them all. “My mom taught me at an early age that food is an expression of love, and if you really love what you do, how could you go wrong?

“I love cooking for any holiday that brings family and friends together, even people that you don’t know,” he says. “It’s great to sit around the table whether you know someone for 10 years or from a month ago; the common denominator that brings people together is food. Whether you are the CEO of a big company or a $15 an hour cook, you are all at the same level when sitting and eating at the table.”

While he believes in an open table for all, Eddie also believes in giving back. For 27 years he has been feeding the homeless while helping to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for a variety of Valley charities. “We’ve worked with a lot of organiza-

tions and also supported a lot of Jewish charities in Arizona,” he says.

Cook with Chef Eddie He enjoys working with the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, especially since it is where his children attended school. After some discussions, he worked with the JCC to present the three-part “Cooking with Eddie” series, which is being offered by the JCC and Allstate Appliances. The series began with Fall Flavors on Oct. 12 and continues with a Thanksgiving session on Nov. 2 and Holiday Celebrations, which will take place Nov. 30. Eddie will feature ideas to help create holiday menus. “Everyone will have a good time,” he says. “You get me and my undivided attention. You get to eat and drink with friends and you’re helping the JCC.” Supporting local businesses is also at the top of Eddie’s list.

“I firmly believe that people should support independent chefs’ restaurants,” he says, as those are typically the ones that give to the local charities.

Eddie wants food to be more than just a statement. “I treat food in a way that life is a celebration,” he says. “I want to continue the celebration when you eat my food. I want it to be a celebration in your mouth, so that when you bite it, it bites you back.” In a good way, of course!

For more information on Eddie’s House, visit eddieshouseaz. com or call 480-946-1622. For information about “Cooking with Eddie,” call 480-483-7121.

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ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 83

FEDERATION NOTES

Thanksgiving: A time for gratitude and for sharing our bounty

By Stuart Wachs

Life without

Thanksgiving

By Teddy Weinberger

The heat is subsiding and by Arizona standards there is a bit of a chill in the air as summer fades into fall and we begin thinking of gathering friends and family to celebrate Thanksgiving. Our tables reflect our bounty. Our hearts are filled with gratitude for our many blessings. Thanksgiving is the perfect time of year to reflect on those blessings.

As I look back over the past three years, I am grateful for how much this community has embraced me and my family.

I am also thankful for how this community steps up to help Jews in need and to build vibrant Jewish communities.

During this season of Thanksgiving, I ask you to reflect on your blessings and to share your bounty with the less fortunate. Those in need of our help range from Jews suffering in Ukraine, who lack even the most basic necessities, to senior adults right here in our own community. Those seniors desire social interaction that reflects their Jewish dignity, and they need services to maintain their independence.

Together, we enrich the lives of tens of thousands of Jews here in Phoenix, in Israel and around the globe through educational, social and cultural programs. We have such a great opportunity to make the Greater Phoenix Jewish community among the most vibrant in the country.

November finds us in the final two months of our campaign, and though we are ahead of where we were at this point last year, we need your support to reach our goal of a $500,000+ increase over last year’s campaign. Achieving our increased goal will provide additional funds that can expand our collective impact and improve the quality of life for Jews around the world.

If you’ve not yet made your donation, I ask you to do so. If you have, I ask you to consider making an additional gift. So many here in the Valley and around the world are dependent upon us for help, and they are grateful to those who help meet their needs.

Blessings and gratitude to you and yours during this season of Thanksgiving.

Stuart Wachs is president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix.

84 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

Everyone knows why Thanksgiving is so dear to American Jews: Here is a holiday that all of America’s Jews can fully and actively enjoy. Spiritually, of course, giving thanks is praiseworthy in Judaism (“hakarat hatov,” acknowledging the good, is the traditional Jewish term for this), and the ecumenical element of the holiday provides Jews with a veritable invitation into Thanksgiving.

But what sets Thanksgiving apart for Jews is that they can actively participate in the central event of the day – the Thanksgiving meal. All of the classic elements of this meal (turkey and stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potato, pecan pie, etc.) may comfortably grace any Jewish person’s table, whatever their observance of the kashrut laws.

Then there are the holiday parades and the football games – more Thanksgiving ingredients that any American Jew can enjoy. I remember with great fondness going to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with my Dad and sisters and brother (Mom got the morning off to work on her doctorate in Comparative Literature.). How colorful and big and loud everything was: the huge cartoon-character balloons, the pageantry of the floats, and the wonderful precision of the marching bands, led by the cute baton twirlers. By the end of the parade, we were exhilarated but often frozen too, and my Dad would take us to the Bellmor Cafeteria for hot chocolate and for these small, hollow, milk-chocolate turkeys, which we would save to eat at home but which would inevitably end up melting upon one of our radiators.

On Thanksgiving, I loved feeling integrally part of the much larger American experience. I loved doing what every other American was doing. We all yearn for this sense of belonging. Given the relative frailty and impermanence of human existence, we have a need to feel part of something bigger than ourselves, to feel part of a much larger group entity. As an American I most felt this way on Thanksgiving.

I have not had a Thanksgiving in 19 years. The closest I came was when our friends Mona and Yigal invited us over for a Shabbat turkey dinner a few years ago on the Friday night after the holiday. For someone like myself who loved Thanksgiving, the surprising thing is that I don’t miss it so much. I think that the reason for this is that now that I am in a land where my national identity never conflicts with my Jewishness (this is not to say that Judaism validates all of

Israeli politics, but that there is no inherent tension with being Jewish and being Israeli). I often have the chance to experience the positive group feelings that in America I most associated with Thanksgiving. In other words, what I received from Thanksgiving in America, I receive here in the context of my observance of Shabbat, Jewish holidays, and Israeli national celebrations and commemorations.

And let’s not forget: while for many American Jews Thanksgiving is the highlight of their American celebratory year, for most other Americans Thanksgiving is but a festive interlude in the march toward Christmas. Even as a child I was aware of the price to be paid for the emotional high generated by Thanksgiving – I became more sensitive to my inability to participate in the post-Thanksgiving sweep toward Christmas. This “price” is epitomized for me by the grand finale of the Thanksgiving Day Parade, the appearance of none other than Santa Claus. Yes, even at the Thanksgiving Day Parade I was made to feel a little different from my fellow Americans who celebrate Christmas.

This is why in Israel, where I have so many days for feeling unadulterated group spirit, I never really felt the loss of Thanksgiving. The baton twirlers, on the other hand, are another story.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Teddy Weinberger, Ph.D., writes from Givat Ze’ev, a suburb of Jerusalem just over the Green Line. He and his wife, Sarah Jane Ross, made aliyah in 1997 with their five children. Teddy is director of development for Meaningful, a company that works with Israeli nonprofit organizations. His in-laws live in Scottsdale for most of the year.

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ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 85

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FACES & PLACES

VBM SEASON UNDER WAY -Rabbi Bonnie Koppel, at right, chats with Rabbi David Wolpe prior to his presentation at Temple Chai on “Why Faith Matters.” Wolpe, spiritual leader at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, delivered the 2015 Sy Sacks Memorial Lecture. Mary Tessler, left, and Lory Fischler were among the crowd who gathered to hear Wolpe in the packed sanctuary. The event inaugurated the season of speakers for Valley Beit Midrash. Photos by Leni Reiss

SUPER SUNDAY – Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix Fall Phone-A-Thon Co-Chairs Susan Farber and Gail Ober take a moment to pose during Super Sunday on Oct. 11. A bank of volunteers man the phones during the fundraiser.

SUMMIT TALK – Director of Women’s Philanthropy Robin Loeb poses with author guest speaker Rebecca Alexander and Speaker Series Co-Chairs Suzanne Swift and Gail Ober. Anderson spoke at the for the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix event Oct. 8. Anderson suffers from Usher’s Syndrome and recently climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro despite being vision and hearing impaired.

DECORATING THE SUKKAH – Students and parents of Temple Beth Shalom, Sun City, prepare for the Jewish harvest holiday of Sukkot by decorating a Sukkah. The children made paper decorations to hang in the Sukkah in preparation for Sukkot.

86 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

LIFE-SAVING LESSON – Ellen Rosenbaum at the Cactus Fire Station in Scottsdale, learns correct CPR technique from Benjamin Korn, a Scottsdale Fire volunteer. To schedule a CPR course, call 480-312-8000 and request Ben. Photo by Leni Reiss

FACES & PLACES

PREVIEWS Modern Israel Symposium to be held Dec. 6-7

SUPREMELY JUDICIAL – Michigan State Supreme Justice Richard Bernstein presented a lecture at the Tucson Jewish Community Center Sept. 22. From left, are Doug Levy, Justice Richard Bernstein, Rabbi Yahuda Ceitlin and Tucson JCC President/CEO Todd Rockoff.

Leading Israeli scholars including former Israeli ambassador Dr. Itamar Rabinovich, Prof. Asher Susser and several other international experts will come together Dec. 6-7 for a symposium entitled “Israel’s Place in the Changing Middle East” at the University of Arizona. They will address the political, economic and military challenges facing Israel within its Middle Eastern context.

In recent years, the region has been overtaken by the rather disappointing outcome of the so-called “Arab Spring” as national conflicts, sectarian civil wars and serious economic challenges rock the Middle East. Shi’ite Iran and its proxies battle for regional hegemony against their Sunni Arab neighbors. Iran’s nuclear program has increased political tensions and threatens to further destabilize the region. In the emerging new balance of power between Shi’ites and Sunnis, ISIS fighters continue to spread their influence and ideology, as they dismember the old Arab state order in the process.

The symposium will explore how Israel deals with these new regional realities, all while facing vexing internal social, political and economic challenges. What are the contours of the internal Israeli debate on Iran? What is the impact of the disintegration of states in the region on Israel’s security doctrine? How does Israel deal with radical non-state actors who are filling the void and who also seek its demise? The speakers will discuss the current situation and offer insights into what Israel and its neighbors might do next, future developments that will have a great impact on U.S. policies in the region.

This symposium will take place in the Grand Ballroom of the Student Union at the University of Arizona.

Registration is required: uafoundation.org/NetCommunity/ events/2015sbsmodernisraelsymposiumdinner

Zach Braff headlines Nov. 12 MEGA event

JNFUTURE – The Jewish National Fund Fall Kick-off event, JNFuture, held Oct. 13 at Kerr Cultural Center attracted a crowd of supporters. From left are JNF AZ Board Member Marc Kelman, JNF AZ Board President Toni Dusik, and JNF CEO Russell Robinson.

Chelsey and Cindy Saperstein also attended.

Actor, director, screenwriter and producer Zach Braff headlines the MEGA Event of the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix on Nov. 12 at the Orpheum Theatre in Phoenix.

Braff is perhaps best known for his role as Dr. John “JD” Dorian on the hit television series “Scrubs,” which spanned 10 seasons. He was nominated for three Golden Globes and an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on the show.

In 2004, Braff made his directorial debut with “Garden State,” which he also wrote, starred in and produced. It was nominated for the Sundance Grand Jury Prize in the drama category.

Braff’s critically acclaimed dramedy “Wish I Was Here” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2014. Unable to secure traditional funding to make his film, Braff turned to his fans to produce the story of a father who struggles to keep his children in a Jewish day school and his journey of self-discovery.

Braff is currently directing a light-hearted remake of “Going in ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 87

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PREVIEWS

Style” with a star-studded cast including Alan Arkin, Michael Cane and Morgan Freedman. The movie is set for release in 2016.

On Nov. 12, MEGA guests co-direct the fun, interactive evening.

They are invited to ask questions of Braff covering a variety of topics, including his Jewish upbringing, his journey from Jersey to Hollywood, transitioning from acting to directing, his view of life and more.

Braff replaces Jeffrey Tambor, who was originally scheduled to headline the MEGA Event.

Maytal & Etzion, the duo that took Israel’s reality television show, The Voice, by storm also will perform.

Reserved seats for MEGA are $100 per person for Downtown Seats and $75 per person for Uptown Seats. A portion of each reservation supports the Federation’s 2015 annual campaign to help Jews in need and to build vibrant Jewish communities in Greater Phoenix, Israel and in 70 countries around the world.

All seats are assigned and must be reserved by Nov. 6. For more information and to RSVP, call 480-634-4900 ext. 1213 or visit megaevent2015.org.

Deena Goldstein awarded solo exhibit at Temple Solel A unique exhibition of work from Scottsdale artist Deena Goldstein will be on display at Temple Solel in Paradise Valley through Nov. 30. The exhibit features 20 works

by Deena, including an eclectic collection of digital, multimedia Giclee, acrylic and reclaimed materials.

An artist’s reception took place Sept. 27 at Congregation Temple Solel, where close to 100 attendees listened to Deena’s presentation about her work, her inspirations and her process.

This exhibit was chosen by a juried selection from the Temple Solel Art Showcase Committee. A portion of the proceeds from pieces sold will benefit the temple’s art scholarship initiative.

Deena’s work embraces an eclectic collection of subject matter born of her inspirational view of life’s journey. She describes her work as free flowing, outside the box and truly from the heart. She is inspired by her father’s love for “all things western” and by her own love of life. A painter for more than 30 years, Deena’s art ranges from whimsical children’s book illustrations to graphite realism.

Much of her work today is created in a digital format, which gives her the opportunity to mix multiple mediums into a single piece. deenagoldstein.com | sunshinekids@q.com

Hear how shipwreck inspires Holocaust film Nov. 3 In 2008 when former Phoenician Stephanie Silverman Houser sold her technology-based public relations firm to sail around the world, she never dreamed she would instead be stranded on an island when her sailboat was struck by lightning. By the end of that trip, Stephanie began developing a film about the Holocaust.

The resulting short film is based on a book by Henry Oertelt, An Unbroken Chain: My Journey through the Nazi Holocaust. Stephanie will share the story of what happened on that boat and how it led to 88 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

her produce the short film “Becoming Henry.”

Dr. Corey Samuels, an associate producer of “Becoming Henry,” is the granddaughter of Henry Oertelt and participates in events to promote the film and keep Henry’s story alive. Corey and Stephanie will be answering questions the evening of the presentation.

In light of the recent anti-Semitic incidents at some of the United States most prestigious Universities and around the world, this presentation will be a timely and engaging topic.

Hadassah Valley of the Sun and Congregation Beth Israel invite you to attend this free Nov. 3 presentation at Congregation Beth Israel, 10460 N.56th St, Scottsdale, AZ 85253.

This will be the last time this film will be shown privately before being released to the public. Registration opens at 6:45 pm and the program begins promptly at 7 pm. RSVP to Linda at Congregation Beth Israel at linda@cbiaz.org or 480-951-0323; or Susi at Hadassah Valley of the Sun at susido@aol.com or 508-423-9069.

Jewish artists “Hidden in the Hills” Sonoran Arts League’s 19th annual Hidden in the Hills” Artist Studio Tour and Sale will feature at least three Jewish artists.

Bela Fidel, an oils and encaustic artist, took at least a decade Morrie Farbman’s Slickhorn Sunrise Reflection to realize that art was a permanent part of her being, and essential to her happiness and wholeness. She also works in mixed media (collage, cold wax and many other materials).

Photographer Morrie Farbman spent most of his professional career in public safety, but his passion was for photography. He takes every opportunity to pick up the camera and focus his attention on the peace and serenity of nature and landscape photography. Morrie strives to create images that capture a moment that provokes emotion and stirs the imagination.

Judith Rothenstein-Putzer has been working with alcohol transfers enhanced with pen and ink as a spin off her love of photography.

This mixed media technique is a hybrid between printmaking and photography that yields one-of-a kind images of the world around her.

The “Hidden in the Hills” Studio Tour Nov. 20-22 and Nov. 27-29 presents nearly 180 artists. Attendees can visit 44 working artists, along with their guest artists, from 10 am to 5 pm to purchase original artwork direct from the artists in this free self-guided tour throughout the picturesque Sonoran Foothills of Cave Creek, Carefree and North Scottsdale.

480-575-6624 | info@sonoranartsleague.org | sonoranartsleague.org

NOVEMBER CALENDAR Through Nov. 30 Deena Goldstein art exhibit at Temple Solel. See page 88

Through Dec. 15 Jewish Refugees in Shanghai exhibit at Cutler-Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center of the AZJHS. azjhs.org

Nov. 1 3rd Annual Desert Gathering Jewish Music Fest. 2-6 pm at Steele Indian School Park, Phoenix. Free. info@desertgatheringaz.com, 480425-0700 MusicaNova Orchestra Concert: The Colors of Music, featuring Bobae Johnson, 16, violin soloist.

4 pm. Central United Methodist Church, 1875 N Central Ave., Phoenix. musicanovaaz.com

Nov. 2 The Danish String Quartet, 7 pm, The Musical Instrument Museum, 4725 E Mayo Blvd., Phoenix. MIM. org or 480-478-6000 Medicare in 2016 featuring speaker Glen Spencer, sponsored by Hadassah Valley of the Sun,10 am, Temple Chai, 4645 E Marilyn Road, Phoenix. froma24@yahoo.com, 480-563-2221

Nov. 2 & 30 Fall Cooking Series with Chef Eddie Matney at VOSJCC. See page 80.

Nov. 3 Tea With Honey. See page 54 “Becoming Henry” film screening.

See page 88

Nov. 4 Valley Beit Midrash Lecture: “20 Profound Lessons from Kabbalah that I Made Sure to Teach My Children” by Rabbi Arthur Kurzweil. 7-9 pm, Congregation Beth Tefillah, 10636 N 71st Way, No. 1, Scottsdale. rabbi@valleybeitmidrash.org, 602-445-3112 Nicki Parrott, Rosanno Sportiello and Eddie Metz Trio with special guest Jacob Fisher. 7 pm at MIM, 4725 E Mayo Blvd., Phoenix. MIM. org or 480-478-6000

Mandy Barnett, classic country vocalist. 7:30 pm at Higley Center for the Performing Arts, 4132 E Pecos Road, Gilbert. 480-279-7194 or higleycenter.org Let’s Talk: current events discussion group, 2-3:30 pm, Valley of the Sun JCC, 12701 N Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. 480-483-7121 ext. 1213 or harrietc@vosjcc.org.

It’s Not Just Lunch – Avoiding Senior Scams. Noon at Valley of the Sun JCC, 12701 N Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. A VOSJCC/Smile on Seniors collaboration. 602492-7670 or chani@sosaz.org Israeli Sing-Along Night. Join the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix’s Israel Center for fun and music.7 pm, East Valley JCC, 908 N Alma School Road, Chandler, Free. shahare@vosjcc.org

Nov. 5 Let’s Be Strong & Single – Safety for the Single Woman, 11 am-1:30 pm, Valley of the Sun JCC, 12701 N Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. 480483-7121 ext. 1213 or harrietc@ vosjcc.org Annual Fall for the Arts ArtWalk: Landscapes and “Linda Carter Holman Show” at Wilde Meyer Gallery, 4142 N Marshall Way, Scottsdale; and Dreamscapes at Wilde Meyer Annex, 7100 Main St. Open for ArtWalk every Thursday, 7-9 pm. info@wildemeyer.com, wildemeyer. com, 480-945-2323 “Modern West” exhibit at Wilde Meyer Gallery, 3001 E Skyline Dr., Tucson. Open for ArtWalk 5-7 pm every Thursday. info@wildemeyer. com, wildemeyer.com 520-6155222 Youssou N’Dour in concert. 7:30 pm, Ikeda Theater, Mesa Arts Center, One E Main St., Mesa. mesaartscenter.com

Nov. 5-9 15th Scottsdale International Film Festival, Opening night, Nov. 5, screening of Landfill Harmonic:

7:30 pm, Recycled Orchestra Performance: 9 pm, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, 7380 E Second St., Scottsdale; screenings, Nov. 6-9 at Harkins Shea 14 Theatre, 7354 E Shea Blvd., Scottsdale. ScottsdalePerformingArts. org or 480-499-TKTS (8587).

Nov. 6 Portland Cello Project. 7:30 pm, Piper Theater, Mesa Arts Center, One E Main St., Mesa. mesaartscenter.com Temple Havurat Emet invites all veterans to join us as we honor those who had served in all the armed forces. 7:30 pm at the Lecky Center of the Robson Library, 9330 E Riggs Road, Sun Lakes. templehavuratemet.org

Nov. 6-22 The Secret Garden, the Youth Works production is for ages 8+.

Gyder Theater, Peoria Center for the Performing Arts, 8355 W Peoria Ave. Peoria. 623-815-7930 or theaterworks.org

Nov. 7 3rd Annual Chess and Science Festival & All-Girls Tournament, all day event and open to all, Flandrau Science Center & Planetarium, The University of Arizona, 1601 E University Blvd., Tucson. ChessandScienceFestival.com, 520-3700700, Anjelina@gmail.com Council For Jews With Special Needs Annual Fundraiser Gala – 30th Anniversary, 7-11 pm, Temple Chai, 4645 E Marilyn Road, Phoenix. amy@cjsn.org or call 480629-5343 MIMFest, 10:30 am-5. Repeats Nov. 8. Musical Instrument Museum, 4725 E Mayo Blvd., Phoenix.

MIM.org or 480-478-6000

Nov. 9 Jewish National Fund: Women for Israel Cocktail Reception. Jessica Abo, an award-winning journalist, will share about her passion for philanthropy and Israel. 6-8 pm.

Su Vino Winery, 7035 E Main St., No. 110 Scottsdale. kgarrison@jnf. org, 480-447-8100, ext. 967 Let’s Get Healthy – Senior Healthcare & Relocation Options, presented by Step-by-Step Senior Solutions, 10 am-noon, Valley of the Sun JCC, 12701 N Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Free, but registration required. 480-483-7121 ext. 1213 or harrietc@vosjcc.org Brandeis National Committee Concert series begins with the String Trio from The Phoenix Symphony.

BNC supports scholarships and research at Brandeis University. The four concerts will be the second Monday of each month at 12:45 pm at Palo Cristi Church, 3535 E Lincoln, Phoenix. 602-971-0012 or joansitver@aol.com

Nov. 10 VBM Panel: “Fools & Jesters: Humor, Laughter, & Healing in Jewish History and Today.” 7-9 pm, Temple Chai, 645 E Marilyn Road, Phoenix. rabbi@valleybeitmidrash.org, 602445-3112 Learn how stem cell therapy can help treat your lung disease. 4 pm at the Scottsdale Lung Institute Clinic, 8377 E Hartford Dr., Ste. 120, Scottsdale. 855-434-9235 or lunginstitute.com/JewishLife Emily Kinney is an actress and songwriter best known for her role as Beth Green on TV’s The Walking Dead. 7 pm at MIM, 4725 E Mayo Blvd., Phoenix. MIM.org or 480478-6000 JNF Arizona Women for Israel luncheon. 11 am at the Phoenix Art Museum. jnf.org/azwfi

Nov. 8

Nov. 10-15

Adopt-A-Roadway roadside cleanup. Meet in the Tucson JCC parking lot at 8:30 am. Wear closed-toed shoes and bring gloves. Anyone over the age of 16 welcome. Anne Lowe, 520-481-3934

Evil Dead: The Musical. Times vary at Piper Theater, Mesa Arts Center, One E Main St., Mesa. May be inappropriate for 12 and under. mesaartscenter.com

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | NOVEMBER 2015 89

NOVEMBER CALENDAR Nov. 11 VBM Lecture: “How to Thrive Through Life’s Transitions to Live Fearlessly & Regret-Free – with Rabbi Sherre Hirsch. 7-9 pm, Congregation Or Tzion, 9096 E Bahia Dr. Scottsdale. rabbi@valleybeitmidrash.org, 602-445-3112 Jewish Community Blood Drive, 9 am-2pm, walk-ins are welcome but appointments recommended.

Valley of the Sun JCC, 12701 N Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. 480634-4944 or online using sponsor code: JEWISHCC at bloodhero.com Native American Heritage Month Concert featuring The R. Carlos Nakai Jazz Quartet and Sihasin.7 pm, The Musical Instrument Museum, 4725 E Mayo Blvd., Phoenix. MIM. org or 480-478-6000

Nov. 12 MEGA Event. See page 87 MIM and the Phoenix Blues Society present Mike Eldred Trio. 7:30 pm, The Musical Instrument Museum, 4725 E Mayo Blvd., Phoenix. MIM. org or 480-478-6000

Nov. 13 Dave Simonett in concert, 7:30 pm, The Musical Instrument Museum, 4725 E Mayo Blvd., Phoenix.

MIM.org or 480-478-6000 Tax & Legal Seminar. Presented by the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix and the Arizona Community Foundation.

7 am-noon, Chaparral Suites Resort, 5001 N Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. RSVP: rrabinovich@ jcfphoenix.org, 480-699-1717

Nov. 13, 14, 15 Arizona Opera's second production of its 2015/16 season, Florencia en el Amazonas comes to Phoenix for the first time. Nov. 13, 14 at 7:30 pm and Nov. 15 at 2 pm in Symphony Hall, 75 N 2nd St., Phoenix. azopera.org or 602-2667464

Nov. 14 MusicaNova Young Artist Recital, Alicia Wu, viola; Sophia Chan and Hannah Butcher, harps, 4 pm.

Recital Hall at Arizona Piano Company, 4134 E Wood St., Phoenix, musicanovaaz.com

Nov. 17

VBM Lecture: “Tension Between Tradition & Innovation” with Rabbi Professor Daniel Sperber, 7-9 pm, Congregation Beth Tefillah, 10636 N 71st Way, No. 1, Scottsdale. rabbi@valleybeitmidrash.org, 602445-3112 Rioult Dance NY, A former principal with the Martha Graham Dance Company. 7:30 pm, Piper Theater, Mesa Arts Center, One E Main St., Mesa. mesaartscenter.com National Geographic Live presents: Blue World. Sylvia Earle: Oceanographer. Presented by in Partnership with National Geographic. 7:30 pm, Ikeda Theater, Mesa Arts Center, One E Main St., Mesa. mesaartscenter.com

Nov. 18 Ambassador Dennis Ross will discuss the U.S.-Israel Relationship form Truman to Obama. 7 pm at Congregation Anshei Israel. Free.

RSVP required: jfsa.org

Nov. 19 The Voice of Israel Concert.

Since meeting on Israel’s reality television show, The Voice, Maytal Michaeli and Etzion Mayer have developed both a friendship and artistic relationship that has resulted in beautiful music about Jewish identity and life for young people in Israel. Presented with the IAC. 7:30-10:30 pm, Valley of the Sun JCC, 12701 N Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Registration required: jewishphoenix.org/voice.

Double Sharp, an exciting piano duo combines the talents of the Russian-born pianists Natasha Marin and Maria Demina. 7:30 pm, Piper Theater, One E Main St., Mesa. mesaartscenter.com

Nov. 20-22 Hidden in the Hills Art Tour (repeats Nov. 27-29). See page 88

Nov. 21 Richard Thompson Trio with Special Opening Performance by Hayes Carll, 7 pm, MIM, 4725 E Mayo Blvd., Phoenix, $62.50-$77.50 (on sale 10/15), MIM.org or 480-4786000 Wyatt Earp: Life on the Frontier.

7:30 pm at Higley Center for the Performing Arts, 4132 E Pecos

90 NOVEMBER 2015 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

Road, Gilbert. 480-279-7194 or higleycenter.org

Nov. 21 and 22 Arizona Opera's Florencia en el Amazonas comes to Tucson. Nov. 21 at 7:30 and 22 at 2 pm in the Tucson Music Hall, 260 S Church St., Tucson. azopera.org or 520293-4336

Dec. 2 Forever Tango, featuring Anna Trebunskaya and Dimitry Chaplin of Dancing with the Stars. 2:30 pm and 8 pm. Mesa Arts Center, One E Main St., Mesa. 480-644-6500 or mesaartscenter.com

Dec. 3

An evening to benefit Smile on Seniors. 4 pm at the home of an SOS patron. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. 602-492-7670 or rsvp. sosaz.org

MonaLisa Touch Informational Seminar and Open House. 5-7 pm, Arizona Women's Care 9823 N 95th St. Suite 101, Scottsdale.

Free. RSVP to Jennifer 480-4550016 or Monalisatouch@azwocare. com

Chris Potter Trio, 7 pm, The Musical Instrument Museum, 4725 E Mayo Blvd., Phoenix. MIM.org or 480478-6000

“Treasures” 7-9 pm. Wilde Meyer Gallery, 4142 N Marshall Way, Scottsdale. info@wildemeyer.com, wildemeyer.com 480-945-2323

Nov. 22

Nov. 23 VBM Lecture: “Sexuality and Sanctity – Desire and Pleasure” with Rabbi Rahel Berkovits, 7-9 pm, Temple Solel, 6805 E McDonald Dr., Paradise Valley. rabbi@valleybeitmidrash.org, 602-445-3112

Nov. 24 Last Comic Standing 2015, 7:30 pm, Ikeda Theater, One E Main St., Mesa. mesaartscenter.com

Nov. 25 MIM Musical Interludes Series featuring ASU Guitar Ensemble, 10:30 am, The Musical Instrument Museum, 4725 E Mayo Blvd., Phoenix.

MIM.org or 480-478-6000 Both Sides Now: A celebration of Joni Mitchell featuring Khani Cole with Obadiah Parker and Krystal Waters. 7 pm, The Musical Instrument Museum, 4725 E Mayo Blvd., Phoenix. MIM.org or 480478-6000

Nov. 27 Under the Streetlamp perform an electrifying evening of classic hits from the American radio songbook.

8 pm. Ikeda Theater, One E Main St., Mesa, $34-$54. mesaartscenter.com

Dec. 1 VBM Presents “The Surprising Commonality Between Hassidut & Hinduism” with Rabbi Herzl Hefter.

7:00 pm at Congregation Or Tzion, 9096 E Bahia Dr., Scottsdale.

602-445-3112

VBM Panel: Reinvigorating Hanukkah. 7 pm at Temple Solel, 6805 E McDonald Dr., Paradise Valley. $18 (suggested donation). 602-4453112

Dec. 5-20 The Quiltmaker’s Gift, a favorite holiday production for all ages.

Presented by Theater Works. Gyder Theater, Peoria Center for the Performing Arts, 8355 W Peoria Ave., Peoria. 623-815-7930 or theaterworks.org

Dec. 6 Israel in the Changing Middle East.

See page 87 Israel Center Hanukkah. 4 pm at Valley of the Sun JCC, 12701 N Scottsdale Road. Free. 480-6344900, ext. 1109 or shahare@ vosjcc.org Mannheim Steamroller by Chip Davis, 3 pm & 7:30 pm, Ikeda Theater, Mesa Arts Center, One E. Main St., Mesa. Mesaartscenter.com

Dec. 7 The Milk Carton Kids with Julian Lage, in Partnership with Emporium. 8 pm, Ikeda Theater, Mesa Arts Center, One E. Main St., Mesa. mesaartscenter.com

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