Holidays

Whether it is bearing fruit, cleaning the air or protecting us from an oppressive sun, the value of trees — and nature itself — has long been recognized by the Jewish people.

Two archaeological discoveries with highly symbolic value dating back to the ancient Jewish kingdoms of Israel were revealed just before the start of Chanukah.

Chanukah is here and there are plenty of ways to throw a festive holiday party without breaking the bank or setting your kitchen ablaze.

Sunday, Dec. 3

Chabad of the East Valley has announced plans for its Sukkah Hopping Tour, which invites children and parents to visit four sukkahs throughout the East Valley in order to view and celebrate the different customs and traditions around the holiday and its iconic structure.

For the first time in nearly a decade, Gesher Disability Resources (formerly the Council For Jews With Special Needs) will be providing sign language interpretation for High Holiday services. Gesher is partnering with Temple Emanuel of Tempe to provide the services.

Contemplation. Reflection. Introspection. Solemnity. Forgiveness.

Between blasting shofars, snacking on sweet treats, family and community gatherings and a break from the usual routine of the school day, the High Holidays are a special time for children.

For many Jews, the High Holiday period is a time of deep observance and self-reflection, but for an increasingly large share of American Jewry, the holidays also bring a new set of challenges that go to the very core of one’s faith.

When Temple Chai Executive Director Joe Miller first heard of the proposal to turn the synagogue into a part-time homeless shelter, he was more than a little skeptical.

For rabbis, it’s their annual golden opportunity to reach a much larger audience than usual. For members of a congregation, they can be either enlightening or entertaining highlights of the services, or dreary and sometimes infuriating sessions. In any scenario, there’s no better barometer of the state of American Jewish life than the controversies that inevitably attach themselves to High Holiday sermons.

Jewish families around the world begin Rosh Hashanah meals by dipping apples in honey, symbolizing their hope for a sweet New Year. They also drizzle honey into holiday cuisine.

Forget Valentine’s Day. Jews have a romantic holiday of our own.

An estimated 1,500 or more people gathered at Castles & Coasters in Phoenix on May 14 for Chabad of Arizona’s community Lag B’Omer celebration.

What holiday is not mentioned in the Torah or anywhere until the 13th century and has no particular foods associated with it? The answer is Lag b’Omer. The Torah commands us to begin on the second night of Passover and count the omer. Omer, which means sheaf, was a measure of grain from the new barley harvest cutting, brought to the Temple on the 16th of Nisan.

Gluten-free matzah might sound like a bad joke – after all, regular unleavened bread tastes pretty cardboard-like already.

When Rabbi Robert Kravitz pulled off his tie at the Latino-Jewish Seder on March 21, he said it was symbolic of seeking freedom. Wearing a tie, he said, is a custom that feels confining and men do it to themselves out of social convention. So he liberated himself of the tie and continued leading the seder, reading from the “Freedom Celebration Haggadah” created for this annual event.

Two weeks before Passover, Rabbis Elana Kanter and Michael Wasserman of The New Shul were leading a model seder – a very special one, using a brightly colored, easy-to-hold Haggadah with visual images.

At first glance, the drab town of Bershad, Ukraine, 160 miles south of Kiev, seems nearly identical to the other settlements that dot the poverty-stricken district of Vinnitsa.

Born into a Catholic family with a Jewish surname, I should have expected I would one day find myself leading a Passover seder.

From the wizardry of Harry Potter that echoes with Passover’s themes to a cartoon frog who wisecracks his way through the seder, this year’s new crop of Passover books for kids offers something for all ages and interests.

Rabbi Pinchas Allouche will present "Passover on Fire! An Instructional Demo Seder" 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 4, at the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale.

I love serving light foods that are naturally kosher for Passover. With so much matzah, vegetable and fish dishes are often a welcome addition in my home.

TEL AVIV – Wonder Woman, Rosie the Riveter and a female Israeli fighter pilot walked into a bar. They were just a few of the heroines out in Tel Aviv Saturday for the night of Purim.