NEW! “So You Think You Can Dance?” Bring the whole family for our Simhat Torah celebration, starting with appetizers, Caesar salad, deli platters, fruit & more (alcohol will be offered). At 6:13pm, share in CAI’s traditional Hakafot as we celebrate with Israeli singing and dancing, and refreshments (there will be a children’s holiday-related activity in another room). Get a guided tour from Creation to Mt. Sinai as the Torah is completely unrolled to encircle all who attend! THERE IS NO CHARGE TO ATTEND DINNER; however, reservations are required by Oct. 2.
The celebration continues with a festive service geared toward families with children. At 9:30am, the Sifrey Torah are taken out of the Ark. The children parade behind, then go up on the Bimah and are blessed.
NEW! In the Cantor Falkow Lounge, we offer a special program for children to include stories, singing, seriously silly snacks and shenanigans with Rabbi Ruven Barkan. We’ll then rejoin the congregation, followed by lunch in the Rabbi Breger Hall (a potato bar with Russet & sweet potatoes & lots of toppings, an array of salads, & sweets). THERE IS NO CHARGE TO ATTEND LUNCH; however, reservations are required by Oct. 2
All kids 3rd – 12th Grades are invited to learn about CAI’s exciting youth programs. Step up & experience the next level. Whether USY is new to you or you’re in Kadima moving to Junior USY, or Junior USY moving to Senior USY, this is going to be fun! Enjoy pizza & age-based experiential activities & stations. Plus: Senior USY advisors will lead attendees in the human “hamster ball” & “Capture the Flag.” It’s all free, but we ask that you RSVP to Rabbi Ruven Barkan by Apr. 14.
WELCOME TO BELAKOVSKAIA CHESS ACADEMY – a Unique Fast-Learning Chess Program for Children in the Southwest U.S.
THE UNIQUE TRAINING PROGRAM IS DESIGNED BY ANJELINA BELAKOVSKAIA – A 3-TIME U.S. WOMEN’S CHESS CHAMPION, WOMAN INTERNATIONAL GRANDMASTER, WORLD CHAMPION AMONG STUDENTS (USSR TEAM) AND LEADER OF THE US OLYMPIC CHESS TEAM
My philosophy is to challenge kids through fast pace, very creative, yet highly organized and logical experience, that broadens their horizons, amazes them at what they are capable of and sets them off to explore and compete.
My goal is to help students develop critical thinking skills that they can utilize on the chess board and beyond, simultaneously preparing them to the States and National competitions.
Chess and Academic Achievements: Numerous studies have proven the benefit of chess in boosting academic achievements – http://www.psmcd.net/otherfiles/BenefitsOfChessInEdScreen2.pdf – and I strongly believe in it from my own experience – most of my students are taking Advanced Math, Reading and other subjects.
Schedule: 16 Weeks –
FALL 1 (8 weeks): Aug 14, 21, 28, Sep 4, 11, 18, 25, Oct 2
Break (1 week)
FALL 2 (8 weeks): Oct 16, 23, 30, Nov 6, 13, 20, __, Dec 4, 11
Each class is limited to 10 students.
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS & MEDIA COVERAGE:
1st Individual and Family Team Chess Tournament in Tucson
PBS / Arizona Public Media (05/27/2014): “US Chess Champion: Game Can Expand Kids Skills”
UA@Work: “National Champion Teaches Students How Business Is Like Chess”
Chess and Science Festival and All-Girls Chess Tournament at Flandrau Science Center – video
Find updates at: https://www.facebook.com/BelakovskaiaChessAcademy
The evening includes a wine, cheese and dessert reception; Havdallah program “Areshet S’fateinu … May the Words of our Lips … Translating Prayer into Song”; the changing of the Torah covers and a moment to honor our Minyan; followed by the opening service to the High Holy Days, Selihot, at 10:00pm. No charge; however, reservations are requested by Sept. 19.
Even if your loved ones are not buried in CAI’s Cemetery, you are encouraged to participate in the service and pay your respects to your dearly departed. The 30-minute service includes a special booklet of prayers.
“Special Needs” – “Disability” – “Inclusion” – so many ways to describe individuals in our community who have differences. Come hear what those words mean to a mother of a young adult, a disability agency, and an individual. Rabbi Nate Crane will moderate a panel through which these speakers can tell their stories sharing what support means to them in both the secular and Jewish communities. Learn how best to help in various situations and get involved in a way that makes sense to you.
Panelists Amy DL Hummell of Gesher Disability Resources, Sharon Landay, and Barton. Facilitated by Rabbi Crane of Congregation Or Tzion and Hagigah.
The Center for Holocaust Education and Human Dignity of the East Valley Jewish Community Center will host a daylong program commemorating the victims of the Holocaust in observance of Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Registration is required for all programs. To register, click here. All programs are free except for the Open Beit Midrash guided tour, which includes a kosher lunch. To make a payment, click here.
- Self-guided tours (Noon-3 p.m.): “Through the Eyes of Youth: Life and Death in the Bedzin Ghetto” is an exhibit created by the Martin-Springer Institute at Northern Arizona University that tells the story of young people in the Jewish ghetto of Bedzin, Poland, before, during and after the Holocaust. Reservations are required.
- Guided tour and lunch (11 a.m.): Bjorn Krondorfer, director of the Martin-Springer Institute at Northern Arizona University, will lead a tour of the above exhibit as part of Open Beit Midrash. The cost is $14, which includes a kosher lunch following the tour. Reservations are required by April 29.To register, click here. To make a payment, click here.
- Screening of “Shalom Italia” (1 p.m.): This documentary by Tamar Tal Anati tells the story of three Italian Jewish brothers set off on a journey through Tuscany, in search of a cave where they hid as children to escape the Nazis. Their quest, full of humor, food and Tuscan landscapes, straddles the boundary between history and myth, both of which really, truly happened. Reservations are required.
- Teacher’s workshop (4-5:30 p.m.): In this free workshop, Bjorn Krondorfer, director of the Martin-Springer Institute at Northern Arizona University, will lead a tour of the exhibit and discuss how to approach stories from the Holocaust with students. The program is geared toward teachers who teach high school or college students. Reservations are required.
- Yom Hashoah ceremony (6 p.m.): Procession of survivors and their descendants and a candle-lighting ceremony; presentation by Holocaust survivor Marion Weinzweig, author of “Lonely Chameleon”; presentation by Bjorn Krondorfer, who will share his story about finding out as an adult that his father was a German soldier at a slave labor camp in Poland; and reading of names, Mourner’s Kaddish, El Maleh Rachamim led by Rabbi Michael Beyo. Reservations are required.
Partners of this East Valley JCC program include The Martin-Springer Institute of Northern Arizona University, Temple Emanuel of Tempe, Temple Beth Sholom of the East Valley and the Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation.