The Arizona Jewish community walks the Fifth Commandment talk. By providing quality places to live, a variety of medical and social services at home and at local centers, and an ever expanding docket of activities, Jews in the Grand Canyon State are caring for their aging parents and relatives – as well as offering many…
Arizona is one “Jew friendly” place for Jewish children, families and adults. There are so many amazing resources that an article can’t possibly cover them all – it takes a Resource Guide to do justice to the plethora of programs, agencies and schools that make Jewish life so rich here. (Download the Resource Guide from…
Tucson native Rabbi Jennifer Krause coined the term, "The Book of Yes," as a framework for embracing the future. A product of Arizona's much-accomplished Sarver family, Rabbi Krause guides our response to Jewish tradition’s prayer to be inscribed in the Book of Life during the Days of Awe. She inspires us to embrace the unknown…
The Jewish Community Association of Greater Phoenix (Association) was established in 2012 with the combination of the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix, the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center (VOSJCC) and the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus. The vision was to leverage the synergies of each to drive engagement and growth not just within…
Among the luminaries were Michael Wormser, Emil Ganz, the Goldwater (Goldvasser) brothers and Isidor E. Solomon. Michael Wormser, a French Jew, began acquiring land in the Valley around 1863. He later opened stores, first in Prescott and then in Phoenix. Upon his death he left land to Temple Beth Israel to establish the first…
While the first known Jewish settler arrived in Southern Arizona in 1854, the earliest indications of Jewish religious activities in Arizona appeared in newspapers in the 1870s Newspapers in Prescott and Tucson began announcing that Jews in those communities were closing their places of business and gathering for High Holy Days services. In 1880 Jewish…
ROSH HASHANAH (Sept. 5-6, 2013) Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is celebrated each year on the first day of Tishrei, early in the fall. The day is a special time of rejoicing as we wish each other L’Shanah Tovah, a good year. It is also a solemn day because Rosh Hashanah is not only the…
Last February my family was about to sit down to Shabbat dinner. As we gathered in the dining room and took our seats, my then 5-year-old son, Leo, was nowhere to be found. My wife and I called out his name, and suddenly he emerged from his bedroom, running up to us with a big…
