The Arizona Jewish Historical Society will celebrate and commemorate Rabbi Albert Plotkin’s life at 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 15, at the Cutler-Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center,122 E. Culver St., Phoenix. This event, which includes an open house from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., is free and open to the entire community. Call 602-241-7870.
That human beings are born and die no longer comes as a surprise to most of us who've been on Earth a while. And yet there are some people whose death seems impossible, no matter how many years they've lived, because their absence is unthinkable.
Rabbi Albert Plotkin, who died in the early morning hours of Feb. 3, is one such person.
The son of Russian Jewish immigrants who settled in Indiana, Albert Plotkin arrived in Phoenix in 1955 to lead what was then known as Temple Beth Israel.
Plenty, promise organizers of the upcoming Brandeis Book and Author event. They've taken their tried and true recipe and tossed in a handful of tantalizing new ingredients - including a hot-off-the-presses celebrity cookbook - and spiced up a few others to cook up a delectable day.
"We wanted to do something special this year," says event co-chair Carol Kern, noting that 2010 marks both the 20th anniversary of the annual book event and the 60th anniversary of the founding of the local Brandeis National Committee chapter.
Clear blue skies greeted about 1,500 participants in Jewish National Fund's first community Tu b'Shevat walk, held Jan. 31 at Tempe Beach Park and Town Lake.
People of all ages - including some in strollers and others on roller blades - donned white JNF T-shirts proclaiming "Show Your Pride!" to express support for Israel; many dogs sported Israeli flags on their collars.
