Chani Levertov always appreciates getting a pregnancy announcement from a friend or family member. “There’s absolutely room in my heart to be joyous for them, as well as feeling sad feelings for my struggle,” she said. “There’s always room for both.”
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It took Ahron Cohen a few months to figure out his next move after leaving the Arizona Coyotes as its president and CEO in May. All he knew was that he “wanted to do interesting things with interesting people,” he said.
This week, the Jewish News is sharing more stories of people, organizations and synagogues that are stepping up for their community during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Aileen Becker’s 27-year-old daughter was in the first class of Shearim Torah High School for Girls in 2007. “They’ve produced a lot of bright girls who have done very well academically,” she said. But it isn't the right fit for her 15-year-old daughter.
Last Purim, a mask was just a costume and not a medical device.
Confusion. Disbelief. Denial.
Linda Luth, 68, is not shy about telling her story of surviving cancer. But when she was approached last year by a friend to share it at 2nd Act’s annual fundraiser, she hesitated. She was vaguely familiar with the organization, which funds grants for cancer survivors, publishes their storie…
Maybe it’s the fact that the wave of insider accounts of the Trump administration seems to have finally crested. Maybe everyone had a lot of time for high-yield contemplation during 2020. Maybe the entire publishing industry wanted to create some difficult choices for me, personally.
Every Purim growing up, my grandma, mom, sister and I would spend time together baking loads of hamantaschen for everyone to enjoy. I can still picture all of us together — laughing, enjoying each other’s company and baking for hours.
The COVID-19-spurred lockdown was the push Na’amah Segal Karas needed to become more observant.
Celebrating Tu B’Shevat — the new year for trees — with dishes made up of the seven species of Israel is a wonderful way to enjoy the holiday. During this special time of year we can taste nature’s delicious bounty of first fruits and nuts. While we get outside and plant trees, we can pack a…
Actor Sophia Loren broke a 10-year absence from the screen with her starring role in Netflix’s new drama “The Life Ahead.”
I have so many memories of standing around the kitchen frying up latkes as a kid with my mom and grandma. The smell of latkes filled our house for days, and while she never glanced at the recipe card, my grandma’s latkes were consistently delicious every year.
When playwright Devorah Medwin started writing “Wooden Nickels” in graduate school, “I was just happy that a character had come and that I could take dictation of what they had to say,” she said.
It’s a horror film buff’s favorite time of year: The nights are getting longer, the air is getting colder and the fallen leaves are making those eerie skittering sounds that seem to follow you down the street.
At this point in 2020, TV audiences have settled on their preferred forms of escapism.
When a Spanish soprano met a Jewish jazz bassist in 2013, neither of them imagined where their creative partnership would lead.
Nancy Dallett was apprehensive when Cantor Ross Wolman of Temple Chai asked her and other choir members to come in one by one to record music for the High Holidays. He planned to compile the sessions into a special musical video for this year’s Zoom services.
When COVID-19 shut down most in-person live entertainment, some dramatists decided to get creative. If audiences couldn’t go to the theater, the theater would come to them.
Growing up Jewish in Texas
Standing alone in the studio, bright triangles of sunlight dappling cream walls lined with mirrors and wooden ballet barres behind her, Jennifer Cafarella offered her students on Zoom a dance lesson and a peek at what awaited them at the beginning of September: four newly renovated studio sp…
Nothing brings community together quite like food. With the probability of family and friends being apart this High Holiday season, I wanted to create something that would bring us together in the spirit of the holidays.
I set out to make ground turkey kofteh kebabs: These are the well-seasoned, oblong, sausage-shaped bites that are pressed onto a skewer and grilled.
A musician and a Realtor by trade, Jonathan Fink said the quarantine forced him into a new arena.
Eric Andre’s comedy is not for the faint of heart or the sensitive of stomach.
Reviews of “Kapo” by Aleksandar Tišma and “The Convert” by Stefan Hertmans.
With “Naked Lore,” Ben Holmes’ third album as a leader, the trumpeter decided to devote himself to exploring what makes Jewish music sound Jewish.
In mid-March, as the COVID-19 pandemic swept through American cities striking terror, I was alarmed that a friend walked to restaurants every night to pick up dinner. I was shocked to learn her face-to-face food encounters were motivated, not by convenience, but by fear of cooking.
Michael Feinstein, the multiplatinum crooner and pianist, and arguably the foremost living interpreter and ambassador of the Great American Songbook, will perform at Highlands Church on Feb. 14 as part of Arizona Musicfest’s 2020 Winter Fest.
“Jewish Treasures of the Caribbean: The Legacy of Judaism in the New World,” a photography exhibit featuring architecture, woodworking and an evolving history, has opened at the Cutler-Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center in downtown Phoenix. With photos by Wyatt Gallery and text by Dr. Stanley Mi…
As winter entrenches in earnest, I am constantly devising ways to lift my mood. One way is through hosting — having (select) people around is happy-making for me, and it usually involves cooking.
Sheba Mason is a comedian with a famous father from whom she’s been estranged nearly all her life, but that hasn’t stopped her from following in his shuffling footsteps. One of her go-to lines is: “Jackie Mason is a great comedian, but I wish I was the child of a better looking comedian — li…
“Nisman: The Prosecutor, the President and the Spy” begins with a series of images and sounds: An aerial view of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Documents. A dark hallway and, then, a phone call.
There is little that actually happens in the course of Howard Jacobson’s “Live a Little.”
Northeast Florida’s highway A1A hugs the Atlantic Coast along the barrier islands and just begs for a leisurely drive. From St. Augustine on the north to Daytona Beach and Interstate 4 on the south, the road passes through historic and modern Florida’s highly varied attractions. Historic att…
Beth Emeth Congregation’s West Valley Jewish Film Festival has been a staple not just for the synagogue, but for the Sun City community as well. According to Irene Leher, festival co-chairman, this annual event brings together many Jewish and non-Jewish area residents.
Northeast Florida’s highway A1A hugs the Atlantic Coast along the barrier islands and just begs for a leisurely drive. From St. Augustine on the north to Daytona Beach and Interstate 4 on the south, the road passes through historic and modern Florida’s highly varied attractions. Historic att…
Evonne Marzouk is the author of “The Prophetess” (Bancroft Press), a book about an American teenage girl who is called to join a secret community of Jewish prophets.
Temple Solel’s quarterly art showcase currently features the work of Skip Feinstein, general surgeon, photographer and 10-year member of the temple. More than 30 of Feinstein’s photographs, which capture moments from Pakistan and Cuba to Mexico and France, will be on display in the North Hal…
"Old Jews Telling Jokes" raises the curtain at the Herberger Theater Center on Dec. 25 and runs until Jan. 19. Ahead of opening night, the cast and crew of the show dished to the Jewish News about the kosher comedy that will entertain Jews and non-Jews alike.
The Nazis dubbed them mischlinge — persons deemed to have both Aryan and Jewish ancestry. Employment, education and marriage restrictions were placed on Mischlinge, with the severity of the restrictions decided by how many Jewish grandparents an individual had.
Without cheating: do you know when the first night of Chanukah is this year? Go ahead, take a guess.
"A Chanukah miracle in its own right.”
Thanksgiving. They got it from us.The evidence: Things they don’t teach you in school, like the Pilgrims modeling their autumn thanksgiving holiday after the Jewish harvest holiday of Sukkot, celebrated just a few weeks earlier.This is actually not surprising considering that the Pilgrims — …
On Nov. 14, the Jewish National Fund held its annual Arizona Women for Israel luncheon. JNF leaders urged the 500 attendees to support the nonprofit’s development projects in Israel, and Paralympic swimmer Keren Leibovitch told her own story of perseverance and hope.
Born and raised in a country that adores soccer over most other sports, Israeli educator and sports coach Erez Lustig fell in love with American football from a young age. His improbable love for the game can be traced to his family in the United States, watching the sport on television, as …
After a lifetime love affair with butter, cheese and milk, I’ve suddenly become lactose intolerant. My doctor suggested I stop eating dairy products cold turkey, and with regret, I complied.
In one of the rare moments in “The Spy” that aspires to a little bit more than a straightforward spy drama — a perfectly fine thing to aspire to, in its own right — you get a glimpse of what the best version of this show might have been.
The powder room is usually the smallest room in the house and the most fun to design. It requires the least amount of decorating, yet can provide the greatest amount of creativity and surprise.
It’s a bit funny to review a cookbook, isn’t it? It is, in the truest sense, a matter of taste. And in cooking for oneself, the little idiosyncrasies of individual taste may conflict with someone else’s; as a matter of course, I tend to double the amount of garlic any recipe calls for.
