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…
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…
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…
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 dozen Phoenix-area Jewish organizations are well on the way to ensuring a stable financial future for themselves and the Valley Jewish community in general thanks to a partnership between a local and a national foundation. In February the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix in partnership with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation’s Life & Legacy…
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…
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…
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…
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 Swift in a variety of roles over the…
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…
