As a young woman from Israel who had never left home, it never dawned on Vered Milner that she would leave her small hometown of Petach Tikva to end up in Phoenix by way of South Africa to run a lux jewelry company. After serving in the Israeli army, Vered moved to South Africa with…
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…
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…
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…
There was a time when women were told they couldn’t have it all – that it was impossible to have a successful career, marriage and family – let alone throw in volunteer work and actually be happy and fulfilled. In the 1987 film “Baby Boom,” Diane Keaton plays J.C. Wiatt, an over-the-top New York City…
“The key is to be able to embrace challenges before us and turn them into opportunities.” ~ Beth Jo Zeitzer, attorney, and board chair of Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix With very few women in her professional field, Beth Jo Zeitzer, Esq., is able to play ball with the boys and come out a winner….
“I’ve always felt I received more than I’ve given, even with everything I’ve done.” ~ Fran Katz, senior vice president of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona If the saying is true that you have to give to receive, then Fran Katz is going to get back nachas tenfold. She’s unstoppable in her giving –…
“The feeling I get from donating time or money or services to an individual or an organization just makes me feel good.” ~ Jennifer Kaplan, owner and founder of Evolve Public Relations & Marketing Jennifer Kaplan was born to talk. Just ask her mother, who will tell you that Jennifer came out of the womb…
“Anything I am involved in I want to leave it in better shape than when I received it.” ~ Keri Silvyn, attorney and former chair of Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona Not every young girl can say she shared her bat mitzvah with her grandmother. Keri Silvyn can. On Nov. 10, 1984, Keri and…
