This year Dec. 3 marks the first day of Hanukkah, with the first candle kindled the previous evening. Also referred to as the “Festival of Lights,” Hanukkah celebrates the miracle that occurred when the Maccabees bravely reclaimed the Temple. Their sanctuary was desecrated with little oil left to light the menorah. The story tells us…
Photo: From left, Temple Emek Shalom Rabbi Joshua Boettiger (blue T-shirt) and master timber-framer Robert LaPorte (yellow hat) help congregants lift a post and beam section of the sukkah they built without nails. By Mary Silva The sukkah is designed to be both sturdy and vulnerable – offering shelter, but open to the…
Compiled by Deborah Moon You can find a gift for everyone on your shopping list with just one stop – at your neighborhood bookstore. You can help an adult maximize the joy of life, or give a young mother an honest, lyrical look at a new stage of life, or give readers insight into the…
September in Tucson brings many things I love: cooler temperatures permitting long walks in Sabino Canyon, intermittent rains that drench my garden and the Jewish holidays that kick off the new year. A sense of optimism, of new beginnings and opportunities, fills the air. In stark contrast, I began September with a horrendous car accident….
Maimonides Jewish Day School in Southwest Portland announces Oregon’s second annual Hanukkah essay contest. All Oregon students in third to sixth grades are encouraged to reflect on and write an essay on the topic, “What Freedom Means to Me.” The Jewish Federation of Greater Portland is a contest partner. The contest has sections for third-fourth…
(Note: Jewish holidays start at sunset the evening before the first day of the holiday) Rosh Hashanah Sept. 10-11, 2018 On Rosh Hashanah the sound of the shofar announces the arrival of the High Holy Days, or 10 Days of Awe that stretch from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashanah celebrates the creation of…
By Beth Ricanati, MD I make bread every Friday. More specifically, I make challah for Shabbat. I made my first batch of challah dough more than 10 years ago, almost on a dare. It turned out so well, I did again. Before I realized it, I had found my meaningful ritual. I have made challah…
Tisha b’Av (the 9th day of the month of Av), which we commemorate this year on July 21-22, reminds us that more than 2,000 years ago Jews failed to heed the warnings of the prophet Jeremiah, with the result that the first Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, the first of many negative things that occurred…
PHOTO: At Gesher, seder participants role play their way through the Passover seder. “Dress up” as slaves, flee to the middle of the Red Sea, feast and tell the story as if we were slaves leaving Egypt. Gesher provides slave clothing and sustenance for the journey. Passover (March 31-April 7, 2018) Passover, also known…
