Pictured above: Joyce Tischler and her dog, Deja. When Joyce Tischler was a law student 40 years ago, animal law didn’t exist. Now the Animal Legal Defense Fund Joyce cofounded in 1979 has three offices on the West Coast and thousands of attorneys protecting animals’ rights. For Joyce, protecting animals is all about tikkun olam,…
Do you care for one of the more than 33,000 Arizonians diagnosed with cancer every year? Barbara Kavanagh does, and is dedicated to cancer caregiver education. Barbara is the president and CEO of Arizona Myeloma Network. “When my husband was diagnosed with multiple myeloma 26 years ago, we were devastated and felt so alone,” says Barbara….
Pictured above: Anya Bloom (standing) leads people doing TRE in an Introductory Workshop, Ramat HaSharon, Israel, April 24, 2017. Phoenix resident David Berceli, Ph.D. developed Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises™ (TRE) after working in war-torn areas. He realized in areas with widespread trauma; there weren’t enough psychotherapists to provide treatment. So Berceli developed simple movement…
Passover, which begins this year at sundown on March 30, is one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays. Every year families gather around the seder table to celebrate their Jewish heritage and commemorate the freedom of the Jewish people from Egyptian slavery and their Exodus from Egypt more than 3,000 years ago. Often Jewish…
I was born and raised in northern New Jersey but haven’t lived there since 1976, when a college degree, combined with wanderlust, led me to Arizona where I’ve happily remained ever since. I’ve listened to many jokes over the years about being a “Joisey girl.” I’ve tried desperately to lose my Jersey accent, although I never…
Pictured above: Yonatan Razel at the piano, his instrument of choice. Photo by Ohad Romano As I was thinking about the upcoming Passover preparations, two distinct thoughts entered my mind. This year, I want to share two recommendations for Passover. 1) We all have our favorite Passover seder melodies. If we are guests at a…
Pictured above: Amid the charred vegetation, Camp Newman’s Star of David survived. Within three weeks of the Oct. 8, 2017, wildfire that destroyed URJ Camp Newman, a site to hold their 2018 summer camp was located. The Union for Reform Judaism camp will convene at the California State University Maritime Academy in Vallejo, about an…
Pictured above: Shemesh Camp Director Megan Rich, left, and Youth Coordinator Ali Gates are excited that the Valley of the Sun JCC’s Shemesh Camps have received accreditation from the American Camp Association. In October 2017, Shemesh Summer Day Camp at the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center received accreditation from the American Camp Association….
When children sign up for summer camp this year at Arizona Sunrays Gymnastics & Dance Center, they will have two new locations to choose from. The first is the Sunrays’ 34,000-square-foot gym at 15801 N. 32nd St. in Phoenix that opened in September of 2017 and the second is at 3923 E. Indian School Road…
For more than 100 years, organized camps have been serving individuals with special needs. In 1899, Emma Haskell, a Chicago teacher took her physically challenged students on a two-week camping trip. In 1901, she established a permanent site in Wisconsin for campers with special needs. These programs were the beginning of the camp community’s response…
