If you asked Shlomo Pri-tal 30 years ago what his retirement would look like, he never would have imagined it would include making glass art.
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In the last dozen years, Sheryl Bronkesh, president of the Phoenix Holocaust Association, has launched a group for second generation Holocaust survivors, broadened the reach of PHA and helped to ensure the Holocaust is taught in Arizona’s public schools.
At Temple Kol Ami we have a decades long tradition of participating in social action activities and organizations. We see ourselves as a force for good, “doing Jewish” across Greater Phoenix with unique social programs. One of the things I love about Temple Kol Ami is that as a member, if th…
Roberta Harmon has always been drawn to working with people with special needs.
Dr. Robert Ziltzer, 58, could have spent his entire medical career running his successful primary care practice in Scottsdale. It was his plan when he went to medical school in New York, where he was also born and bar mitzvahed. He even stayed in school an extra year in order to become board…
Twins Eli and Brian Hemmert of North Scottsdale weren’t sure what they wanted to do for their b’nai mitzvah project — until Aug. 27.
Emery Kutz knows all too well how food can bring people together---and keep them apart.
Stan Coffield and his wife were pretty open-minded when deciding where they would retire.
A few weeks ago, a package arrived from my aunt. I opened it to find presents wrapped in a light blue wrapping paper with white dots. The words, “Just a little care package for your first Chanukah! I’m glad you’re in our family!” were written beautifully in cursive.
Five-year-old Levi Miller has been asking to go to the Children’s Museum of Phoenix for a year.
Jan Krulick-Belin’s father was a Jewish World War II veteran. But she only recently began seeing that side of him.
Rabbi Moshe and Sashie Levertov were directing the Aleph-Bet Preschool & Kindergarten in Phoenix and raising their four kids, all between age 8 months and 6 years, when Sashie was diagnosed with leukemia at age 27 in January 2012.
Diane Targovnik just set the date for her son’s bar mitzvah in 2023. He’s only 11, but she wanted to get it on the books. When he was born, she and her husband decided against circumcision. Since then, they have lost Jewish community over their decision. Part of that loss includes cutting ti…
Greeting the new first-grade class at Congregation Beth Israel’s Mark L. Haberkorn Religious School last month, Stacy Rosenthal looked around the room at the small faces and thought many seemed familiar. She asked to see the hands of those who had gone to preschool there. All hands shot up i…
Becca Hornstein’s move to Phoenix in 1983 coincided with reaching her breaking point: She had had enough of her son’s exclusion from Jewish life.
Valen Krasnov, like many other 3-year-old boys, loves playing sports with his dad, pushing his dump trucks and helping to set the table. But unlike most other 3-year-olds, he recently underwent a liver transplant.
The founders of two prominent, local Jewish organizations, Becca Hornstein of Gesher Disability Resources and Andi Minkoff of the Minkoff Center for Jewish Genetics, will speak about the origin story for each agency on Oct. 27. The event is sponsored by the Women’s Leadership Institute and p…
I am a Jewish educator at Pardes Jewish Day School, and my husband, Seth, is the cantor at Congregation Beth Israel. If you were to drive by our house during the month of Kislev, two things would become apparent: We’re the only Jews in our neighborhood and we really like large Chanukah decor…
The grand prize from last year's Gesher Disability Resources' gala is shown on the screen for all to see.
Gesher Disability Resources’ annual gala fundraiser will be virtual in 2021, just as it was in 2020. The decision was finalized at Gesher’s August board meeting.
Jewish learning is a lifelong journey and the Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Phoenix is celebrating its dedication to teaching with a series of programs commemorating 50 years of existence.
Allison Summer spent the past year coming to terms with the “overwhelming lack of control” she felt personally, and despair she’s witnessed in her patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hanna Haimov will be making soup for the High Holidays — a lot of soup.
In my pediatric practice, I ask about bullying: “Are there any bullies or mean kids in your school?” or “Have you ever gotten picked on?” Parents will occasionally nod their heads, but children nearly always respond affirmatively.
A few months ago, my father-in-law was thumbing through my son’s new book about Judaism, which my aunt had sent him. That same weekend I was invited to a virtual seder with more than 20 people from across the United States and Israel.
Miriam Litzman’s preparation for the High Holidays looks a little different than most.
Two weeks ago, on July 18, our 85-year-old father began having weakness that completely sapped him of his energy — he could barely move. Less than 24 hours later, we called 911 as his weakness led to a fall. We thought this all could be connected to a cardiac issue. He had a complete work-up…
It was around 2007 when Rabbi Zalman Levertov, head of Chabad of Arizona, realized he had made a mistake.
It was Rosh Hashanah and Lauren Hendeles sat inside Congregation Beth Israel sobbing. “God, please hear my prayer. Please bless me with a child,” she prayed. It was 2017 and Hendeles was overcome with the physical, emotional and spiritual toll of unexplained infertility.
The immigration attorneys at Goldman & Goldman, PC in Tucson can relate to their clients — perhaps more than most.
Andrea Barth knows it’s summer when she feels hot in parts of her body she didn’t even know could register heat.
If not for his wife, Larry Cohen probably wouldn’t participate in Jewish life much, if at all. But Cindi Cohen, who isn’t Jewish, was adamant about prioritizing Judaism in their lives from the get-go. She incorporated Jewish elements in their wedding, raised a Jewish child and became an acti…
In the century or so since its founding as Israel’s first university, the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology has acquired a reputation as a driving force of Israeli innovation.
Susan Miller can finally move around without feeling like the Tin Man from the “Wizard of Oz.
Judi Gyory Missel grew up not knowing much about her extended family.
Rebecca Wolf remembers when she first learned about the Holocaust. She was about 8 or 9 years old and in Hebrew school.
“In A Different Key,” a documentary that tells the stories of various people on the autism spectrum, will debut in Arizona at the Sedona International Film Festival on June 15.
What do you do with 50ish unused yarmulkes from a wedding 25 years ago?
Laura Drachler had to hustle to finish one last task before she could drop off her kids at Congregation Beth Israel’s Camp Stein for the summer. On May 14, both Max, 14, and Zoe, 12, received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and by the time they arrive at camp, they will be fully protected.
Jim Stevenson and Madelyn Shulman stand under the chupah on Oct.18, 2020 with Jonathan and Jeremy Shulman holding the poles.
Susan Finks had such a great family vacation during the COVID-19 pandemic that she’s planning another one for next month.
Morgan Singer wasn’t planning to be a stay-at-home mom.
It’s a busy day in the emergency room when an elderly lady with advanced dementia and pneumonia is wheeled in by ambulance. She is at death’s door. I introduce myself to her two daughters as the emergency physician and notify them of their mother’s critical condition.
The world looks different now than in 2019 — the year Arizona State University published the first study of the local Jewish community since 2002. Still, its findings have major implications for Jewish organizations and synagogues looking to engage more of the community.
Karolyn Benger has a social media network — and she’s not afraid to use it. Benger, who is “deeply concerned about justice and women in Judaism,” said one positive application for the platforms is helping Jewish women finalize long-awaited divorces.
Ian and Alexa Sachs with their new twin son and daughter and dog.
To speak about infertility is taboo. It always has been and probably always will be. This is why we are sharing our experience.
Suzy Wortman lost Randy Wortman, her husband of 54 years, on Feb. 14, 2020.
Lani Harrison of Scottsdale is risk averse when it comes to her kids. But when she learned Moderna would be starting a trial for a children’s vaccine against COVID-19 in Phoenix, she didn’t hesitate to try and enroll her children, ages 8, 6 and 4.
