Thursdays at the Arizona Kosher Pantry (AKP) are always bustling.

Rabbis across Greater Phoenix, like rabbis the world over, are sitting down right about now to put their thoughts to paper as they prepare to address their congregants for High Holidays.

As a kid in a small Jewish community in the northern Italian city of Milan, Rabbi Michael Beyo was steeped in Sephardi traditions. His father was born in Turkey, the country where his family had lived for 500 years after being expelled from Spain during the Inquisition. But when he stepped o…

On July 1, Rabbi Emily Segal will begin her new position as senior rabbi at Temple Chai in Phoenix. She and her family will move to Arizona in mid-June after serving as rabbi of Aspen Jewish Congregation in Aspen, Colo. Before Colorado, Segal served as associate rabbi at Temple Jeremiah in s…

If you’d like to change up your Passover greeting this year, you could try it in Navajo. That would be atis adeesdzá bééhániih — Passover in Navajo — as it appears in a calendar published annually showcasing Navajo and Hopi artists by the Flagstaff-based publishing house Salina Bookshelf, Inc.

Rabbi Julie Kozlow said she’s broken out of the traditional rabbinical box and is creating a more spiritually productive Jewish congregation. She said the new group, called “The Community,” founded in Prescott, is liberating for herself as a rabbi and her 25-families strong congregation.

When Temple Chai Rabbi Bonnie Koppell arrived in Arizona in 1987, people were shocked that she was a rabbi. She was the first woman rabbi in the state. Many times, she heard the words, “I didn’t know that women could be rabbis,” she told Jewish News.

Rabbi Stephen Einstein was happy to retire in 2012. For 36 years, he had been the pulpit rabbi of Congregation B’nai Tzedek, which he founded in Fountain Valley, California.

Fredric M. London has a two-car garage and a two-car carport at his Gilbert house. All of those spots are reserved for Brass Era cars and other classics that catch his eye.

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…

Khylie Gardner liked it when her dad came along to synagogue services while she was growing up. But he didn’t really know what was going on.

I was always taught that a sanctuary had to have a window in it so we could see outside. Only then would we be able to understand our Judaism in the context of greater creation.

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…

Rabbi Dean Shapiro has always been interested in justice and making the world a better place. That’s why he became a rabbi in 2008.

Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church, Arizona’s largest African-American Baptist church, located in downtown Phoenix, will be opening its doors to members of Paradise Valley’s Congregation Beth Israel for its High Holiday services. The large, airy 2,500-seat church easily can accommodate the synagogu…

A focus on failing to live up to expectations combined with reciting confessions of sins, leaves people with a lot to feel bad about during the High Holiday season.

Beth Ami Temple of Paradise Valley is expected to reopen for the High Holidays in September after months of virtual services during the pandemic. Leadership labored over the decision given that the congregation is mostly geared towards seniors.

Seating arrangements and other requirements may be new at High Holiday services this year, especially compared to 2019, but security will look similar to what it’s been at many Greater Phoenix congregations during previous High Holidays. But that doesn’t mean security hasn’t been ramped up a…

Temple Chai Cantor Ross Wolman received a sweet surprise on June 30, as he was preparing to leave for a stint at Camp Newman in Santa Rosa, California, with his family.

What would Maimonedes, Rashi or other iconic Jewish scholars have thought of social media?

When Rabbi Ariel Shoshan and his wife, Ayala, moved to Phoenix from Baltimore in July 2002, he can only recall a handful of kosher restaurants, four daily minyanim and one K-8 school.

Robin Meyerson spends her free time delivering mezuzot to those who need one, helping other Jewish women learn how to bake challah and teaching Torah.

Rabbis Mendel Slonim and Berel Marozov are spending two weeks in rural Arizona this summer finding and connecting with rural Jews.

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…

The Board of Rabbis of Greater Phoenix released a short video June 9, encouraging the Jewish community to remember its heritage and to find strength in community during a time of increased antisemitism. The video was released two days after Tucson’s Chabad of River’s front door was spray-pai…

Daniel Stein Kokin was excited to experience firsthand the heavy winds, flash flooding and afternoon and evening thunderstorms, which define the monsoon season, when he moved to Phoenix in the summer of 2019.

Over the past decade, Rabbi Dean Shapiro of Temple Emanuel of Tempe has always shown up for the people who needed him.

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.

Long commutes are nothing new for those living in Los Angeles, but Rabbi Allison Lawton’s commute may look a little different than most.

A crowd of more than 30 people milled about under an awning at the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch in Gilbert last Saturday afternoon. Volunteers with Temple Emanuel of Tempe’s hiking club carefully laid out a veritable cornucopia of snacks and drinks as kids ran around.

After many long hours of fundraising and more than a year of construction work, the Phoenix Mikvah held its grand opening this past weekend. Members of the greater Phoenix community were able to tour the new state-of-the-art facility and learn more about it. Guests in attendance — most of th…

Congregation Beth Israel in Scottsdale has hired Rabbi Sara Mason-Barkin to become its new associate rabbi starting on July 1.