Arizona Jewish Life Oct 2017 Vol. 6 / Issue 1

OCTOBER 2017

BAR/BAT MITZVAH Managing your mitzvah and more

GABBY GIFFORDS

THE POWER OF WOMEN Remarkable women in our community

ESPN’s LINDA COHN

will share stories at JNF’s Women for Israel Luncheon

Seeking triumph from tragedy

“ The women in my family served as strong role models.”

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | OCTOBER 2017 1

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strategic thinking about wealth Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management has been helping ultra-high net worth individuals, their families and foundations plan for and grow their wealth for decades.

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Arizona Jewish Life • October 2017 • Tishrei- Cheshvan 5778 • Volume 6/Issue 1

12

FEATURES

THE POWER OF WOMEN

COVER STORY

Frances Smith Cohen: Telling stories through the art of modern dance 24 The Ten Commandments of dating 25 Melissa Fink: From childbirth to crisis – when the unthinkable happens 26 Women in SPACE: Helping the future of Ethiopian Jews 28 Dr. Hannah Sivak: The science behind skin care 30 Burn baby burn – the fat!

31 Momemtum turns women into community leaders 34 What women need to know about heart disease 36 Danna Schaeffer - You in Midair 38 Fall trends hot off the runway 42

Gabby Giffords: Seeking Triumph from Tragedy 18

JEWS WITH ATTITUDE

Linda Cohn: Sports biggest fan

12

BUSINESS

Jeff Fields: Combines his talents for the community Ins & Outs

18

14 16

FRONT & CENTER

Judy Laufer: Our Choices make all the difference 44 Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford: A Jewish children’s author with a Mexican heart 47 2017 Desert Gathering Jewish Music Fest builds bridges, not walls, in the community 46

FOOD

42

Chef’s Corner: Pull-apart chocolate challah Taste of Arizona: Pomelo at the Orchard

HOME & LIFESTYLE

The Waldorf’s wondrous sukkah

48 50

52

SENIORS

Creative aging expands offerings 55 Mahjong good for the mind and spirit 57

ISRAEL

52

My daughter Ruthie helps chained women

COLUMNS

Chef’s Corner by Lucia Schnitzer A Taste of Arizona by A. Noshman To Life! by Amy Hirshberg Lederman

66

71

48 50 72

JKIDS & TEENS/ BAR & BAT MITZVAH SHOWCASE Manage that mitzvah Bar mitzvahs as an opportunity for family healing Delectable desserts An intimate Israeli bar mitzvah Bar/bat mitzvah showcase Sharon and Stewart Levine: Helping kids put their best foot forward Kids & teens event calendar

62 64 66 67 69 70

JLIVING To Life! Jewish Geography is more than a game 72 Celebration of Heritage Concert Series 74 Milions still available for corporate tax credit 76 Federation notes 77 Faces & Places 78 Previews 80 Calendar 82

COVER: Gabby Giffords, photo courtesy Americans for Responsible Solutions

6 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

60

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OCTOBER 2017 Arizona Jewish Life | October 2017 | Tishrei-Cheshvan 5778

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H OW TO R E AC H U S

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ADVE RTI S I N G AN D E D ITO R IAL D I R EC TO R Cindy Saltzman

E D ITO R- I N - C H I E F Mala Blomquist

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A Prince Hal Production ( TGMR18) 2016-2017 MediaPort LLC All rights reserved The content and opinions in Arizona Jewish Life do not necessarily reflect those of the publishers, staff or contractors. Articles and columns are for informational purposes only and not intended as a substitute for professional advice. Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, Arizona Jewish Life, and its agents, publishers, employees and contractors will not be held responsible for the misuse of any information contained herein. The publishers reserve the right to refuse any advertisement. Publication of advertisements does not constitute endorsement of products or services.

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Women are strong. No question about it. They birth children, take care of loved ones, serve in the military, balance home and career – and so much more. The woman gracing our cover this month is the epitome of strength.

We all know the story of the tragedy that occurred that January morning in Tucson. But the real story lies in Gabby Giffords’ recovery and the work that she is doing with her husband, Mark Kelly, keeping our communities safer through responsible gun control.

Gabby’s story is an extraordinary one. There are others that we have covered in these pages. Artists, businesswomen, educators, survivors. All remarkable women in our community, making a difference.

Cindy Saltzman

And for those moms (and dads) out there planning their child’s big day, we have a special section on bar/bat mitzvahs – including a valuable timeline to help keep your schedule (and sanity) on track.

We hope you find the resources and articles in this month’s issue both informative and inspirational and that your new year is off to a sweet start!

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Jewswith

Attitude Linda Cohn:

Sports biggest fan

By Mala Blomquist

Linda Cohn has spent the last 25 years behind the desk as a sports anchor on ESPN’s SportsCenter. She has hosted more than 5,000 shows, more than anyone, male or female, and was inducted into the National Sports Media Association Hall of Fame this year. Her love of sports has been a constant factor throughout her life.

Linda grew up on Long Island, and her dad was a huge sports fan. “The kind that would drop F-bombs while watching his teams,” jokes Linda. Growing up Linda had tremendously low self-esteem. She wore thick glasses and hated the way she looked. “Seeing him feel the roller coaster ride of being a sports fan – I yearned for that,” explains Linda. “I enjoyed the lows because I knew the highs would be so great. I wanted to feel.

That is what sports gave me.”

Her mother wanted her to pick up a musical instrument. She suggested the violin, but Linda wanted to play the drums, like her idol Karen Carpenter did, before they found out she had an amazing voice. Playing the violin didn’t last long – as Linda puts it, “because I sucked at it.”

Another thing her mother wanted her to do was to play tennis. “Growing up on Long Island, tennis was huge,” says Linda. “I looked more like Billy Jean King, but I wanted to be Chris Evert.” Linda shares a fond memory of meeting the legendary Billie Jean King. “It was one of the top 10 thrills of my career, not only meeting her but finding out she was a fan of mine.”

She was good at tennis, even her instructor told her if she kept with it, she had potential, but another sport grabbed her attention – hockey. “I watched hockey with my dad. I loved the Rangers,” says Linda. Then she started playing street hockey with the boys in the neighborhood. Linda played goalie and got contacts to replace her thick glasses. She felt comfortable “hiding” behind the mask and other equipment, and liked the attention she would receive as the goalie. She was also really 12 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

good at it.

“In 1976, my mom found a league on Long Island that would accept girls – but there was a catch,” explains Linda. “I was 14, but I had to play with 8-year-old boys.” She admits that experience and playing on her high school hockey team her senior year as the number two goalie, helped build her self-esteem. “I learned to deal with the whispers and the talk because I was playing hockey. I was the backup goalie in 8 of the 30 games. I got to participate in every practice. That was more important than anything,” she remembers.

After high school, Linda attended the State University of New York at Oswego, studying art and communication. She also played on the women’s hockey team for four years. After graduation, she realized that she could not be an NHL goalie and there was no women’s hockey league, so hockey as a career was out. She knew she wanted to be involved in sports in some way, so she had to make her own breaks.

Her first job was at a Long Island radio station doing the news. She approached the news director one day and offered to go to the Nassau Coliseum with her hand-held recorder and file reports on the New York Islanders hockey games if he would cover the cost of her gas. Through the reporting she did on that team in New York City, she began to meet other people in the business.

“I worked seven days a week, working at several different radio stations, on cable television, doing news if I had to, getting experience, honing my skills – anything I could do to talk sports,” says Linda.

“I think that is what sets me apart, that I’m a fan first, and that’s what helped propel my career. I was unique in the way that I wasn’t just someone reading a teleprompter – I was really getting it.”

In July 1992, Linda began working at ESPN on SportsCenter. There had not been many women to come before her from which to learn the ropes. Robin Roberts worked at ESPN at the time Linda started and then she left to join Good Morning America.

“I am most proud that my job didn’t define me, my career didn’t define me, what always came first was my love of sports,” says Linda. “Getting an interview with the cameras tolling was not my dream – my dream is talking to the athletes without a camera rolling.” Through that focus, Linda built relationships with athletes and in turn, gained their trust. She also gained the trust of viewers sharing that the best compliment she receives comes from men saying, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I never listened to sports [delivered] by a woman before you.” She laughs saying that it is always prefaced by “Don’t take this the wrong way.”

The fact that she has helped pave the way for women in sports broadcasting means everything to her. “I’m very grateful that I could make a profession and open the doors to be on a show like SportsCenter, which was totally maledominated,” Linda states. “I had to make these opportunities. No one was giving women anything on a platter. The business has changed for women so much, for the better.”

Linda will be in Phoenix on Nov. 1 as a guest speaker at the Jewish National Fund’s Annual Women for Israel Luncheon. “I’m looking forward to it.

Anytime you can leave Connecticut in November is a win,” she jokes. “I know that the people I will be speaking to can all relate to my stories. They’ve all been there, and the challenges they have, now and in the past, and how to look forward at this stage in their lives, like I am, and just try to accept things.”

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Business

Jeff Fields

By Mala Blomquist

Jeff Fields: Combines his talents for the community

Most real estate agents don’t start out their career paths as actors, but Jeff Fields is not your typical Realtor. Recently named to the 2017 class of 40 Under 40 for the Scottsdale Area Association of Realtors and (for the second year in a row) he’s been in the top 5% of production for the brokerage firm Russ Lyon Sotheby's International Realty. How he became so successful was a process that took some career twists and turns.

An Arizona native, Jeff graduated from Sunnyslope High School and then attended college at the University of Arizona.

He graduated early from U of A and taught acting for a semester. He enjoyed that experience and then decided to move to Hollywood to pursue his dream of becoming an actor.

“During that time [in Hollywood] I did a little bit of everything,” explains Jeff. “Acting, casting, directing, producing - I had moved out there specifically for acting, but then I quickly realized in the industry that I had to be more than just an actor, because there is so much downtime in acting. If you are not constantly thinking and producing and developing, it’s a very boring, lonely road – it’s not as glamorous as Hollywood 14 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

portrays it for the rest of the world.”

Jeff did work in films and his most-recognizable part came when he played the Jewish groom in the movie “Wedding Crashers.” The scene he shot with Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn where they were toasting his “wedding” became the photograph used on the back of the DVD cover and in about 350 publications around the world!

Things were going well for Jeff in Hollywood, but his grandmother had fallen ill, and she was here in Arizona. He came to a crossroads and decided to move back in 2003. He was glad that he did because he was able to spend a couple of years with her before she passed.

When Jeff moved back, his employment options were going into real estate or teaching. He accepted a position at Moon Valley High School to be the head of their theater department.

“It was a fantastic experience. We were a lot like “Glee” before “Glee” was ever invented,” he explains. “The theater program was the most relevant extracurricular program at that high school.” Jeff grew the program to 250 kids that ranged from band students to football players. “We put on these amazing Broadway shows and they would sell out. We would have to

turn people away,” says Jeff.

While Jeff was teaching, he was also building up a production company, utilizing the skills he had learned in Hollywood. In 2010, he left his position at Moon Valley High School to devote his full attention to developing Rapid Productions, LLC, producing everything from commercials to wedding videos.

Later that same year, Jeff was at a dinner party with a family friend sharing stories of his production company. Long-time Valley Realtor Mark Moskowitz overheard Jeff and said that he had to have him in real estate. Jeff agreed as long as he could blend the two enterprises. “Mark offered to mentor me and bring me in and incorporate my videos,” explains Jeff.

“That’s the path I took, and here I am six years later.”

Jeff ’s unique approach of combining videos and photography for his listings in this competitive market definitely gives him an edge. “I create commercials for my properties. I try to do creative things that show the property without being over the top,” says Jeff. “I am always looking for different ways to connect with people and show it off. I liken home shopping to internet dating – instead of picking a spouse they are picking a house.”

As if his real estate business and family life with a 1-yearold and 4-year-old don’t keep him busy enough, Jeff carves out time each week to lend his talents to Teen Lifeline. Teen Lifeline is a 31-year-old nonprofit organization that provides confidential crisis services and outreach to teens including a peer-to-peer hotline. Jeff has been involved with Teen Lifeline for five years, and this is his second year serving as president of the board.

“Being a former teacher I was in the trenches with those kids, and I could recount of at least 12 of my students that I helped prevent them from suicide,” Jeff says soberly. Jeff was personally affected by suicide as a young adult, having given three eulogies at friend’s funerals by the time he was 21. “It’s such a life-shattering event that sends a ripple of sorrow, not just through the family, but through the community,” says Jeff.

“One of the pieces that I quickly saw was if the education wasn’t brought to the forefront, it becomes embedded in the culture, and somehow that becomes an acceptable route for people to take.”

In 2016, Teen Lifeline received 19,000 phone calls. Of those calls, one in three were specifically regarding suicide. They connect the callers with whatever services they need, even if they just need to talk. “They are either embarrassed to talk to their parents, or afraid to get into trouble.

“Some kids just need one phone call. Others will call for months,” explains Jeff. “We try to do as much prevention as possible. We also do the postvention when tragedy does strike.

The first rule of Teen Lifeline is to always talk about Teen Lifeline. It’s all about awareness and making that connection of hope.”

They are currently working on an initiative to get Teen Lifeline information printed on the backs of all student identification cards. “A simple message that says, ‘you are not alone,’ and for a ‘free and confidential call – call this number,’” says Jeff. This program is currently in 90 schools and the goal is to be in all schools in Arizona within the next two years.

Teen Lifeline is also working on presenting a seminar in

conjunction with the popular Netflix series “13 Reasons Why” that deals with the topic of suicide. “My biggest thing is that I believe – and I wholeheartedly believe this – that suicide is the most preventable death that exists,” says Jeff. “It’s all about outreach and grabbing people at their deepest and darkest hour and be able to right that ship and get them whatever help they need, so that they can go on to happiness, they can go on to family and success. That’s the message that I try to put out there.”

Teen Lifeline can be reached at 602-248-8336 (TEEN) or visit teenlifeline.org.

Connections of Hope: An Evening to Celebrate Arizona’s Youth Annual event that raises awareness and funds for the “connections of hope” found daily by troubled teens who call the peer-to-peer hotline and those reached by statewide suicide prevention outreach.

Date: Oct. 6 at 6 pm Location: Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia, 4949 E. Lincoln Dr., Scottsdale Tickets: $250 each; call 480-664-1052 or visit teenlifeline.org

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INS & OUTS

Rabbi Allison Lawton

Michael Robbins

Beth Ami Temple Introduces New Clergy When the congregants of Beth Ami Temple of Paradise Valley returned to their synagogue for the New Member Open House and Shabbat Service on Sept. 8, two extra-special new faces greeted them: Rabbi Allison Lawton and Cantorial Soloist Michael Robbins.

Rabbi Lawton, relocating from Los Angeles, takes over for Rabbi Art Abrams, who had led the “small temple with a big heart” for the last 11 years.

Rabbi Lawton’s passion for combining social justice with creating sacred space, combined with her seeking new and truly unique opportunities for Jews to maintain deep connections to traditions and foster strong commitments to community, meshes well with the boutique synagogue comprised of active adults seeking Jewish religious and social connections.

According to the Rabbi, Judaism is about potential. “There is more potential within our tradition than any one person can ever fully comprehend.” The Phoenix transplant has been involved for decades in issues related to special education, LGBTQ rights, victims of human trafficking and prison reform.

Cantor Robbins joins Rabbi Lawton on the bimah. He is a Phoenix native who sang in Congregation Beth Israel’s choir for 18 years and also has extensive community theater experience. bethamitemple.org

Rose Law Group Names Laura Bianchi Director of Its Expanding Cannabis Department Scottsdale based Rose Law Group is proud to announce Partner Laura Bianchi has been named Director of its Cannabis Department.

As an integral part of Rose Law Group’s Cannabis Department since 2010, Bianchi continues to provide comprehensive legal advice, guidance and assistance in various realms of the legal cannabis industry. Bianchi has a wide range of experience in business consulting, application preparation, drafting, site selection, procurement, and all stages of the Arizona Department of Health Services Medical Marijuana Program and other legally implemented medical and adult use programs.

16 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

Laura Bianchi

Audrey Lewis

“Laura is on the forefront of the legal cannabis movement. She is creative enough to solve problems that others can’t figure out. She has a tremendous grasp on cannabis, including the complexities of federal vs. state law and understands how to steer clients in the right direction when it comes to operating in the newly regulated industry of cannabis,” says Jordan Rose, founder of Rose Law Group. roselawgroup.com

JNF Promotes Audrey Lewis to Senior Campaign Executive, Arizona Jewish National Fund (JNF) has promoted Audrey Lewis to the position of Senior Campaign Executive in Arizona. In her new role, Audrey will also be leading JNF’s efforts for their Annual Women for Israel Luncheon, held on Wednesday, Nov. 1, which draws over 400 supporters.

“We are thrilled to bring on Audrey into this new role within our JNF family and look forward to accomplishing great things together,” said JNF Executive Vice President Deb Rochford of Audrey and her accomplishments. Prior to her promotion, Audrey was the Israel Programs Admissions Director for JNF’s Alexander Muss High School in Israel; a role she held since Nov. 2016. Before joining JNF, she was an independent business owner for seven years and has served as a volunteer board member of the Arizona Friends of Israel Scouts since June 2015. jnf.org

Michael Pollack donates $50,000 to Hospice of the Valley Hospice of the Valley, a nonprofit that cares for people nearing the end of life announced on Sept. 8 that it received a $50,000 donation from Michael A. Pollack, president and founder of Mesa based Pollack Investments.

“Because of Michael’s extraordinary generosity, we are able to provide the highest quality and most compassionate care for our patients and their families, including those with no insurance or financial means,” said Debbie Shumway, executive director of Hospice of the Valley. “This gift also will support ‘extras’ not covered by insurance such as music, pet visits, honors for military

Michael A. Pollack

Susan Farber

veterans and children’s grief support.”

Hospice of the Valley, founded 40 years ago, cared for 18,000 people in central Arizona over the past year.

Pollack said the reason to donate this time was simple. He is a huge fan of Hospice of the Valley and has seen first-hand their good work and the special way they take care of patients and families.

“Hospice of the Valley is a fantastic organization and really does incredible things for people who are in the last stages of life. If my contribution is able to ease the burden of patients and families who are suffering, even just a little than I am happy to do my part,” says Michael. hov.org/donate

JNF’s Arizona Board names Susan Farber President Jewish National Fund’s Arizona Board has named Susan Farber President of the Board beginning Oct. 1, succeeding Toni Dusik, both of Scottsdale, AZ She will be joined by new board members Rodney Glassman of Phoenix, Bernard Kirk of Paradise Valley, Pam Meyer of Scottsdale, and Shirli Borenstein of Phoenix.

Farber has been on Jewish National Fund’s Arizona Board of Directors since 2014. She has been general campaign chair for three years, and put together events for the Doctors for Israel and Women for Israel affinity groups.

“I want to engage more people and make them more aware of what is going on in Israel. I want to let them know that Jewish National Fund is not political. I want to watch the work happen and unfold,” says Susan.

These new board members will work to help Jewish National Fund achieve its mission of its $1 Billion Roadmap fund. Currently, the fund has reached $450 million. jnf.org

JNF Names Arizona Women to National Board of Directors Jewish National Fund is proud to announce that as it continues to move forward with the One Billion Dollar Roadmap for the Next Decade campaign, it has named JNF Arizona Board Members

Ann Zinman

Toni Dusik

Emmi D SalonSpa

Ann Zinman and current Arizona Board President Toni Dusik to its National Board of Directors to help achieve its mission. Both women will be installed on Oct. 1.

Ann, who will serve as Assistant Vice President of Missions, has been an active member in the Phoenix Jewish community and served as President of Jewish National Fund’s Arizona Board in 2011.

“I am proud and honored to serve and help lead an organization I believe is the best for the land and people of Israel. It is a privilege to work with people whose love for Israel is so strong,” says Ann. “I hope to foster greater awareness of Jewish National Fund and all the work we do, and to get more people to Israel to experience JNF’s impact firsthand.”

Toni Dusik has been an active JNF Board Member, serving on the executive committee for many years, twice chairing the annual JNF Breakfast for Israel, and co-chairing the Women’s Luncheon. Toni will co-chair the JNF National Conference in Phoenix in October 2018.

“Being on the National Board for Jewish National Fund as the Assistant Vice President of the Israel Relations Committee allows me to take my commitment to the land and people of Israel to a new level of decision making and involvement,” Toni says, adding, “the deeper I have gone into this organization the more impressed I am. I am honored and thrilled to have been asked to be a part of this very prestigious and hard-working board.” jnf.org

Emmi D SalonSpa now open in Scottsdale Husband and wife, David Perlman and Bari Goldin, opened Emmi D SalonSpa at the end of May. Bari has been in the cosmetology industry since 2000, starting out in New York and New Jersey, she has also done extensive work in editorial, commercial, TV and film.

Bari also is an educator for the company DevaCurl, which specializes in curly hair cutting techniques and products.

Emmi D SalonSpa’s goal is to build an environment of compassion, love, innovation and excellence while celebrating their clients, coworkers and community. They pride themselves in connecting their clientele with top professionals and use only top-tier product lines.

For the spa they specialize in such skin care services as facials, dermaplaning and microblading, among others. emmidsalonspa.com.

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | OCTOBER 2017 17

Gabby Giffords Photo courtesy Americans for Responsible Solutions

18 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

People often reflect and remember where they were and what they were doing at a tragic

moment. I remember where I was on Jan. 8, 2011. It was early Saturday afternoon, and I was in the car between running errands

when my friend, Gina Nunez, called me and said, “Gabby Giffords has been shot!” Gina

GABBY GIFFORDS: Seeking triumph from tragedy

is a history teacher and follows local politics closely, so she was keeping a keen eye on Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords’ career path,

from her beginnings in the Arizona House of Representative to her third term as the

congresswoman representing Arizona’s 8th

District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

But Gabby would not get to complete that third term because a very deranged young

man had just shot her in the head at pointblank range.

What began as a positive event called

“Congress on Your Corner,” where Gabby

could meet and chat with her constituents,

changed the course of her life forever. That

tragic event also ended the lives of ChristinaTaylor Green, Dorothy “Dot” Morris, Phyllis Schneck, Dorwin Stoddard, Judge John

M. Roll and Gabriel “Gabe” Zimmerman.

Twelve other victims were injured but survived.

In the subsequent six years, Gabby has

made incredible strides in her recovery.

Every time I see her speak publicly, I am

inspired and impressed by her courage, grace

By Mala Blomquist

and strength. While planning our October

women’s issue, I hoped Gabby would agree to be featured in our cover story. I can’t tell you

how excited I was when she agreed. We used the Q&A format because Gabby’s answers

reflect her personality and optimism as she

continues her recovery and the public fight to keep our communities safe.

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | OCTOBER 2017 19

GABBY GIFFORDS You grew up in Tucson. What are some of your favorite things about the city?

The people! My family and my friends help keep me going every day. My friends in Tucson are constantly checking in and making me smile. I’m so fortunate to have such a wonderful support system in this town that pushes me to stay positive, challenge myself and get the most out of every moment. Tucson is also gorgeous! I love taking the tram through Sabino Canyon and exploring the [Arizona-Sonora] Desert Museum whenever I can.

What jobs did you hold before being a congresswoman?

Growing up, I didn’t have any big plans to run for public office. After college, I took a job in New York City working for PricewaterhouseCoopers. In 1996, I left that job to come home to Tucson and take over for my father as the president and CEO of El Campo Tire Warehouses. I wasn’t very excited about entering the tire business, but my dad needed help, and when your family needs you, you show up. I had almost no experience! I had to learn the tire business from the ground up.

It was a busy first year, but I managed to increase annual sales and make up our past losses. Three years later, after careful consideration, including negotiations for all of our employees’ jobs, I sold the company. I then decided to pursue public service and ran for the Arizona House of Representatives.

What do you miss most about no longer being a congresswoman?

Being Southern Arizona’s voice in Congress was the greatest honor of my life. I miss the privilege of representing the people of our community – both people who voted for me and those who did not. But I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the past. Today, I’m focused on my recovery and am grateful to be able to serve my community and country in a different way.

20 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

Would you consider seeking office again?

I’ve learned to never say “never” to anything. But right now, I’m solely focused on my recovery and using my second chance at service to help prevent other communities from experiencing the same pain from gun violence that our community has faced.

What has been the most challenging part of your recovery?

The pace. Speaking is still hard for me. My eyesight isn’t great, and despite hours and hours of physical therapy, my right arm and right leg remain mostly paralyzed. But instead of focusing on the things that I cannot do, I’ve tried to focus on the things that I can do and live without limits. I also have a mean left hook!

What have you learned about yourself through the healing process?

I’ve learned the importance of staying positive and focusing on the things that really matter: my family, my friends and making our country a better, safer place.

In 2013, you began Americans for Responsible Solutions after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Was this something you and husband Mark (Kelly) had been discussing prior to that?

While our plans were finalized in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shooting, Mark and I had begun talking about getting involved months earlier. In July 2012, we flew to Europe for a two-week combined vacation and work trip. The day before we left, a gunman opened fire in a movie theater in Aurora, CO, killing 12 and wounding 58 others. On the plane ride over, Mark and I discussed what we could do. We talked about putting out a statement, but we both agreed that wasn’t enough.

More is needed to be done to bridge the divide between gun owners, like us, and the vast majority of Americans who also want to make our communities safer. After 20 first- and second-

graders were murdered in their classrooms at Sandy Hook, we said “enough” and launched Americans for Responsible Solutions.

What do you wish you could have accomplished by now with ARS but have not?

Gun violence is a complex problem, but we’ve managed to make a good deal of progress in a relatively short amount of time.

Since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, we’ve helped pass more than 200 responsible gun laws in over 45 states and the District of Columbia. However significant, it’s never enough. In 2015, more than 36,000 Americans died from gun violence. We know there are some common sense measures that Congress can pass right now to help make our communities safer and reduce the number of people who die from gun violence every year. Our leaders only need the courage to act.

What is the primary goal you would like to achieve with ARS? There are many things that Congress and states across the country can do to make America safer. One policy that our organization is focused on is closing the gaping loopholes in our nation’s background check system that make it far too easy for dangerous people, including criminals, domestic abusers and even known and suspected terrorists, to get their hands on a gun without a background check. The overwhelming majority of Americans support closing this dangerous loophole. So far, 19 states and the District of Columbia have expanded background checks. But we still have a ways to go.

Earlier this year you launched the Arizona Coalition for Common Sense. Tell me about that.

Unfortunately, Arizona is not immune from the gun violence crisis that’s tearing our communities apart. So, earlier this year, Mark and I traveled to Phoenix to join a broad cross-section of Arizona leaders – including veterans,

Photos, from left: Gabby holds the hand of husband and U.S. Navy Captain, Mark Kelly in Galveston, TX; Gabby with Mark outside of their home in Tucson, AZ; Gabby, with Mark, waves to the crowd gathered at the dock in Galveston, TX; Gabby in Galveston, TX, for the commissioning ceremony of the USS Gabrielle Giffords.

PHOTOS COURTESY AMERICANS FOR RESPONSIBLE SOLUTIONS

gun owners, law enforcement leaders, business owners and domestic violence prevention advocates – in launching the Arizona Coalition for Common Sense. Together, we are committed to urging our leaders to do more to address the state’s gun violence crisis, and help make Arizona families and communities safer. We launched this coalition to create a space for diverse voices to come together and discuss how to prevent gun violence and save lives in Arizona. Our country and state are in the midst of a gun violence crisis, and we cannot afford to wait any longer for our elected leaders to act.

What should people do if they want to see different legislation on gun control?

Get involved in your community. Learn about the issues.

Talk to your friends and family. Attend town halls. Most importantly, go vote! Civic engagement is a hallmark of our democracy – it matters – and it makes a difference.

How did you and Mark Kelly meet?

I first met Mark on a trip to China in 2003 as part of a Young Leaders Forum that was sponsored by the National Committee on United States-China Relations. The first oneon-one time we spent together was actually by chance. The night before our flight left from Vancouver, I was told to meet up and have dinner with two other people on the trip. As luck would have it, one of those two missed his flight, which left just Mark and I. Our dinner was strictly professional, but the conversation was natural between us. I’m pretty sure I asked him a million questions about his job and space. We talked a little about my work in the Arizona State Legislature and my upbringing in Tucson, but the conversation remained surface ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | OCTOBER 2017 21

Gabby addressing the crowd at the commissioning ceremony of the USS Gabrielle Giffords in Galveston, TX, on June 10, 2017.

PHOTO COURTESY AMERICANS FOR RESPONSIBLE SOLUTIONS

GABBY GIFFORDS level. After the trip to China, a year went by without any contact between us. It wasn’t until I hosted a gathering for all of the trip participants in Arizona that we spoke again and first discussed our personal lives. At the time, we were still just friends, but we started talking more and more, and he soon became one of my best friends. It didn’t take long for me to learn that Mark was the smart, supportive and sincere man I had been searching for.

I heard you had an interesting first date. Would you share what happened?

At the time, Mark was training in Houston to pilot the space shuttle, and he was required to log flying hours in a supersonic jet – casual, right? He offered to fly to Tucson to come meet me. As a member of the Arizona State Legislature, I was working on a capital punishment bill and was scheduled to visit the Arizona State Prison system to talk to some folks about the issue. I invited Mark to tag along and give him a look at my life as a public servant. He insisted on sitting in the gas chamber… let’s just say our dates after this one were less gruesome, but always adventurous.

Your 10th anniversary is coming up in November. Do you have anything special planned?

I’ll choose my words carefully, so I don’t spoil any surprises for Mark! I think we are both just looking forward to spending some quality time together.

What are some of the activities that you and Mark enjoy together?

We are both very positive and genuinely enjoy spending time with one another – going out to eat, biking, exploring new places, watching our favorite television shows and traveling. We spend a lot of time on the road for Americans for Responsible Solutions, both together and apart. Sometimes our schedules force us to be apart for longer stretches than we would like. During those periods we talk on the phone and text throughout the day. No matter how busy we get, we always find time to connect. We look forward to the time we get to spend at home in Tucson.

22 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

The Navy’s newest combat ship is named after you. What were your thoughts the first time you saw the ship with USS Gabrielle Giffords on the side?

My first reaction was “Whoa!” The fact that our Navy chose to give my name to this ship is an awesome, humbling honor – one I would never have imagined, one I will never forget and one for which I always remain grateful. It is difficult to describe the pride and honor that filled my heart when I received notice from Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus that a ship would bear my name. This past June, I traveled to Galveston, TX, to commission the ship and spend some time with its amazing crew. Those sailors are awe inspiring. They represent the very best of our great country.

Were you raised in a home that practiced Judaism?

My grandfather, Akiba Hornstein, was the son of a Lithuanian rabbi. My grandfather changed his name to Giffords for reasons of anti-Semitism and moved to Southern Arizona from New York more than 50 years ago. Growing up, my family’s Jewish roots and traditions played an important role in shaping my values. The women in my family served as strong role models. I am a lifetime member of Hadassah, like my grandmother, and am now a member of Congregation Chaverim.

What role has Judaism played in your recovery?

Perseverance and resilience are such an important part of our heritage. It’s something that I draw strength from as I continue in my recovery each and every day.

What are some of your Jewish traditions?

I love to celebrate Hanukkah every year and light the menorah! I also observe Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Do you observe Shabbat?

Jewish traditions and customs are very important to me. My work schedule keeps me pretty busy, sometimes more than I would like. But I always try to take some time on the Sabbath to pause for spiritual reflection. A strong family unit is an important part of Judaism, and I enjoy spending quality time with my family, especially my mother, whenever possible.

Anne Frank

Dr. Hannah Sivak

Bette Midler

Melissa Fink

Gal Gadot

Ruth Bader Ginsberg

Wendy Wasserstein

Louise Nevelson

Golda Meir

Frances Smith Cohen

Annie Liebovitz

Bar Refaeli

THE

POWER OF WOMEN

Each October Arizona Jewish Life focuses on women.

This year our special section features profiles of

remarkable women using their skills and passions to change their world. This section also features useful information on dating, heart health and exercise.

This year our focus on women extends beyond our special section. Our cover story features former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who co-founded Americans for Responsible Solutions; she spoke with us about her efforts to curb gun violence. In January 2011, a gunman shot Giffords in the head, killed six of her constituents and wounded 12 others at an event in Tucson, AZ. Now

25

24

Frances Smith Cohen

10 Commandments of Dating

26

28 31 36

30

Melissa Fink

she and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, are dedicated to promoting laws that support safe and responsible gun ownership.

Women in SPACE

You can read about other women who have found their

Dr. Hannah Sivak

niche in the Jews with Attitude, Arts, Senior and Food

Burn baby burn–the fat

34

Momentum

Women and heart disease

sections of this month’s Arizona Jewish Life.

Together, the women profiled in this issue are building a better world.

38 Danna Schaeffer

42

Fall trends in fashion ARIZONA ARIZONAJEWISH JEWISHLIFE LIFE|| OCTOBER 2017 23

Frances Smith Cohen:

T

his year, Frances Smith Cohen will be celebrating 29 years at the helm of Center Dance Ensemble and 31 years teaching Modern Dance and Creative Ballet with partner Susan Silverman at Dance Theater West. But her beginnings with dance started as a child in Tucson.

“I started as a tap dancer and ballet, of course, but I hated pointe because it hurt my feet,” says Frances. She had her first nightclub performance when she was 16 (she lied about her age) and when she was 18, she won both the lead role in The White Shell Cross festival in Tucson and a scholarship to Bennington College in Vermont.

“I was able to go away to college and major in dance because U of A did not have a dance major, just a club,” explains Frances. “I discovered modern dance in high school when my high school dance teacher came back from having a workshop with Martha Graham.

She came back and taught us, and I was hooked.”

In her last years at Bennington, Frances was able to spend time in New York studying with Martha Graham at her studio. “I am one of the few people in the country now who actually studied with Graham,” states Frances. “She was one of the great leaders of modern dance in New York.”

Frances admits she gets sad sometimes because the young dancers today have no clue about where modern dance originated from. “They all think it came from [the show] ‘So You Think You Can Dance,’” she says. “It’s like being a ballet dancer and not knowing the history. Modern dance is fascinating because of the people involved, and I can say I knew most of them.”

She has modified her teaching to what she calls a “Grahambased” technique to pass down the work.

“Graham technique is difficult. There is a huge amount of torquing on the hip Center Dance Ensemble's Snow Queen and Frances Smith Cohen.

COHEN PHOTO BY HOWARD PALEY joints. I have had two hip

Telling stories through the art of modern dance

By Mala Blomquist

24 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

replacements,” explains Frances. “It’s brilliant, it’s gorgeous, it takes its toll – but it’s worth it!”

Even at 85, Frances spends most days during the season in the studio. She is at Dance Theater West on Tuesdays and Saturdays teaching and with Center Dance Ensemble Monday, Wednesday and Friday. “I teach them [Center Dance Ensemble] on Monday,” she says. “The company is constantly in class together, so it makes them a better company. They are a very close-knit group.”

This “close-knit group” is the resident dance company at the Herberger Theater Center in Phoenix where they perform four major shows during their season.

One of the annual favorites is “Snow Queen” and will celebrate its 27th anniversary this year. Center Dance Ensemble also performs an abridged version of “Snow Queen” for up to 1,500 children who visit the Herberger on field trips. The company raises funds so that the cost is minimal for students to attend.

CDE also brings educational outreach via performances to Valley schools covering subjects like “The ABCs of Dance,” “Science is Art” and “Poetry ‘N Motion” that align with curriculum for children in grades K-6. Frances also co-authored “Dane Essential Skills” and “Performing Dane Standards” for the Arizona Department of Education.

Frances has been an icon in the Valley arts community since her days as dance director at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. In 1963, she helped create the Arizona Dance Arts Alliance in Tucson and in 1972 she co-founded the dance program at the University of Arizona. She has received numerous awards including the 1994 Arizona Governor’s Outstanding Artist Award, the 2004 Women Who Care Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2010 Childsplay’s Pied Piper Award for her contribution to arts education.

Her love for modern dance and her passion for turning stories in productions is evident in her work and in her own words, “I’m a storyteller – that’s my style.

I love to tell stories.” And we hope she continues for many, many years to come.

The Ten Commandments of Dating

By Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, CSW and Chaya Feuerman, CSW Psychotherapists

M

any people have heard of and benefited from Rabbi Avigdor Miller’s “Ten Commandments of Marriage.” Rabbi Miller’s commandments focused on loyalty to one’s spouse and making every effort to avoid cycles of hurt and resentment. Dating, however is a different story. After all, why be loyal to someone who you may not marry? Isn’t it better to reject an unsuitable person before becoming married, than to learn to forgive and overlook flaws? The dilemma is how can you tell if you are being wise and prudent or picky and selfish? We therefore thought it might be helpful to suggest commandments for dating, and this is our attempt to distill some of the concepts we have developed about relationships into useful guidelines.

COMMANDMENT #1: STAY IN THE HERE AND NOW When dating it is very important to concentrate on the experience of being with the person. You should not let your mind wander into thinking about past relationships, or future possibilities. Just listen to your date, share your thoughts ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | OCTOBER 2017 25

Melissa Fink: From childbirth to crisis –

when the unthinkable happens

By Mala Blomquist

W

Melissa Fink with son, Miles, at his 8th birthday party.

26 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

hen Melissa Fink was pregnant with her first son, Miles, eight years ago, she was the model of a healthy pregnancy.

“I worked out the whole pregnancy, everything was great – no blood pressures issues, nothing,” she explains.

And then the unthinkable happened.

Days after Miles birth, Melissa got very ill. “I woke up with the worst headache ever – actually more painful than labor,” Melissa recalls.

“I remarked to my husband that it felt like the blood was pushing through the vessels in my brain.” Her husband Herschel rushed her to the hospital in the middle of the night with newborn Miles in tow.

Her blood pressure had spiked right after delivering Miles, so when she arrived at the hospital, they treated her as if it was high blood pressure causing the problem.

“In reality, I had had a stroke, but they misdiagnosed me and sent me home – and I got worse,” Melissa recalls.

This time when Melissa returned to the hospital, she was unable to walk and had lost function in her left arm. She was sent to a rehabilitation hospital for 10 days and went through extensive rehabilitation to learn how to walk again. “I started in a wheelchair, then a walker and then a cane,” she says. “When I came home I still had to do physical therapy for awhile – it was crazy.”

To this day, the doctors are not exactly sure what caused the

stroke, but they believe it was CNS (Central Nervous System) Vasculitis – an uncommon disorder that causes inflammation of the blood vessels.

While the immune system usually works to protect the body, it can sometimes become “overactive” and attack the body.

In most cases of vasculitis, something causes an immune or “allergic” reaction in the blood vessel walls. “Your immune system kind of ‘shuts down’ while you are pregnant, so as not to attack the fetus,” Melissa explains. “They think that after I delivered, it just came back with a vengeance and attacked the vessels in my brain.”

Fortunately, Herschel was selfemployed, so he was able to drive Melissa to her daily doctor’s appointments, take her to physical therapy, watch the baby – all this while also trying to work. Her mother helped out too. There were times when Herschel got into a babysitting bind and had to rely on others. “I learned years later that sometimes my husband would drop the baby off with friends of ours.

And I found out that one of my good friend’s mom also watched him while he was a baby,” jokes Melissa. “I didn’t even know any of this [at the time].”

Years later, when she became pregnant with her second son, Taylor, Melissa was terrified. “I went to a high-risk practice.

My rheumatologist was my main doctor, so he was there for the whole pregnancy and afterward he was on call so we could text him. He even came to my house afterward to make sure everything was OK,” she says. “I felt better because I was so closely monitored, but it was still scary.”

Melissa had no complications after Taylor was born, but she still has lingering problems from her stroke. “I still have memory issues and some sensory issues on my left side – all things only I notice,” she explains.

Battling back after this crisis provided Melissa with a “can-do” attitude and in 2016 she realized her dream of being a business owner when she purchased Girly Girlz in Scottsdale. So now her days can be filled with everything pink and sparkly and her nights can be filled with her three favorite boys – Herschel, Miles and Taylor.

and enjoy the moment. After the date you can spend as much time analyzing it as you would like.

COMMANDMENT #2: ASSESS YOUR ABILITY TO SOLVE PROBLEMS TOGETHER We believe this to be the single most important quality that a successful relationship must have. Even the best of marriages and the most compatible people experience serious and difficult challenges over the years. Ask yourself, “Is this the person I want with me during the bad times as well as the good?”

COMMANDMENT #3: DON’T GIVE UP No matter how long it takes for you to find your bashert, don’t become jaded or cynical. We know it’s easy to say and a lot harder to do, but it’s the plain and simple truth. There is absolutely nothing helpful or constructive about giving up.

COMMANDMENT #4: LOOK FOR A POSITIVE FIT WITH FAMILY STYLES AND SIMILAR VALUES While one shouldn’t rule out any person simply on the basis of him or her having a different background, the chances for success are higher when there are basic similarities. When a shidduch is being suggested, of course you are trying to find out about the individual, but make sure to ask yourself, “Is this the kind of family I would be comfortable with? Are the brothers, sisters and parents the kind of people that will eventually feel to me like my own family?”

COMMANDMENT #5: DON’T CONFUSE VALUES WITH RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS AND PRACTICE Although it may be ideal to have identical or similar religious practices as well as backgrounds, do not rule out someone who has different religious practices or customs. The main thing is not the practice, but if you share common values. For example, if one person is more yeshivish and the other more Torah Umaddah style, if both are serious about avodas Hashem, the details can be resolved. Of course, don’t wait until the kids are bar and bat mitzvah to work on it! Some matters of religious practice are non-negotiable. It would be a good idea to find a rabbi whom you both respect and whose rulings you both can agree to accept.

COMMANDMENT #6: HAVE A LOW TOLERANCE FOR ABUSE If your prospective mate broke a confidence, was deceitful in any major way or was abusive, this is a bad sign that there will be future problems. To be sure, you should always give a person the benefit of the doubt and state what he or she did wrong, but if it is part of a recurring pattern, cut that fish loose before it’s too late!

COMMANDMENT #7: ASK YOURSELF IF YOU CAN TRUST THIS PERSON Trust is a key ingredient in a relationship. If over time you are not getting the feeling that you trust this person, follow your instincts and leave while you can.

COMMANDMENT #8: DON’T BE AFRAID TO SUCCEED Though it is difficult to admit, some people are afraid to succeed. Having a ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | OCTOBER 2017 27

Women in SPACE: Helping the future of Ethiopian Jews

By Mala Blomquist

S

efitu Ezra was only 7 years old when her family arrived in Israel in 2004. Up until that point, she had only known life in the small Ethiopian village of Sekota. When Sefitu and her family (her mother, father, sister and three brothers) arrived in Israel, they were placed in the Absorption Center in BeerSheva, where they lived for almost two years before moving to an apartment in the same city. Once they moved to their apartment, Sefitu started third grade – though she had never been to school before.

Today, Sefitu is a high school graduate with her sights set on attending Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and then continuing to medical school. Sefitu’s academic success is due, in part, to her participation in the Ethiopian National Project’s SPACE (School Performance and Community Empowerment) Scholastic Assistance Program.

“SPACE provides social, emotional and nutritional support for seventh-12th graders giving them everything they need,” explains Grace Rodnitzki, Director of International Relations, Ethiopian National Project. “The program primarily helps the Ethiopian Israeli community, but also other Israeli children so that they can thrive in school and become fully integrated into Israeli society.”

The Ethiopian National Project was created as a partnership of the Jewish Federations, Keren Hayesod, the Jewish Agency for Israel, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, the

Government of Israel and the Ethiopian Israeli community itself to ensure the full and successful integration of Ethiopian Jews into Israeli society. Today, there are 141,200 Israelis of Ethiopian origin – about 1.7% of the Israeli population. Thirty-eight percent of the Ethiopian immigrants have arrived since 2000.

“After the creation of the state of Israel and after the formal proclamation from the rabbis of Israel that Ethiopian Jews were indeed Jewish by the rabbis in Israel, that what set into motion the major secret operation that brought so many Ethiopian Jews to Israel,” explains Grace. The first secret operation was Operation Moses in 1984-85 and the second operation was Operation Solomon in May 1991, where more than 14,000 Ethiopians Jews arrived in Israel in 36 hours.

Grace was in Israel during Operation Solomon, which was life-changing and what led to what she calls her “aha moment.”

“Seeing the newcomers being taken to their new homes and wondering how challenging it would be for them,” she remembers. “I came to Israel to make a difference and do my part; this is how I want to do my part.” That’s what led her to ENP. The biggest challenge facing the Ethiopian Jewish community is that they came from an agrarian life. “In Ethiopia, they were farmers and shepherds, and didn’t need a formal education to be successful and to support their families,” explains Grace. “When you place that community into Israel – a fast-paced modern technological society – then all of a sudden the challenges become almost insurmountable.”

These challenges are part of the reason why the SPACE program is so important to the future success of the community. SPACE includes an individual mapping of each child’s needs, four hours of weekly instruction, a nutritious lunch, an Ethiopian-Israeli community counselor, a pedagogic counselor and school-based coordinator. Extracurricular activities, including visits to universities, field trips to museums and leadership-building exercises, are among the additional activities offered to complement the holistic program, From left, Greater Phoenix Executive Director Marty Haberer, Federation Israel & Overseas Chair Jake Bennet, Ethiopian National Project Director of International Relations Grace Rodnitzki and ENP SPACE Graduate Sefitu Ezra.

28 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

while comprehensive work with parents ensures they are full partners in their child’s progress.

“The Federation has a sense of obligation and commitment to take this story to the next chapter,” says Robin Loeb, COO of Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix. “We’ve brought the community to Israel, now there is a struggle and danger of them not being able to succeed, but this program is an amazing program to encourage a bright and successful future for young Ethiopian Israelis.” Grace and Sefitu came to Arizona this August as part of a Federation initiative to strengthen our community’s ties to Israel. They spoke at two Federation gatherings and also at the National Young Leadership Cabinet Retreat and the I-LEAD Conference.

ENP obtains its funding from Federations, and the Government of Israel has approved a four-year funding commitment which will cover just under half of the total cost of funding a child in SPACE, yielding a cost to ENP of $588 per child per year. “For the coming year, we have funding for 4,766 children, but we have 8,729 children that need support – we need more funding,” says Grace.

Grace feels that if the majority of the seventh-12th graders can be reached through SPACE, “It will prevent the continued investment in a community in need because the young population will be able to support their own children, and be an example for others as a successful Ethiopian Israeli community.”

Sefitu’s siblings are further proof of how well the SPACE program benefits its recipients. Two of her older brothers were in SPACE. One brother is studying engineering at Ben-Gurion University after serving in the IDF and her other brother, who was a paratrooper, is studying to become a nurse. Her younger sister is also in SPACE – she’s in the 11th grade. “I love to help people, and want to make people feel better. I also want to give back all I have received, and know I can make a difference,” says Sefitu. “SPACE helped me in math, English and the sciences. ENP helped me believe I can do whatever I set my mind on doing. And that’s what I’m doing today.”

successful relationship may inadvertently hurt other family members. For example, a youngest or only child of a widowed parent might find it difficult to marry and abandon his parent. Or a younger sibling might feel bad about getting married before an older sibling. In the long run, if you let these fears run your life, no one will be happy. On the other hand, if you are unafraid to do what is healthy and appropriate for you, this may actually liberate others in your family to live their lives to the fullest.

COMMANDMENT #9: TRUST YOUR FRIENDS Getting an objective opinion can be really crucial when you are making serious life decisions. Don’t be afraid to share your anxiety and ask for their thoughts.

COMMANDMENT # 10: DON’T BE SWAYED BY ROMANCE AND PASSION Romance is a great thing if you have it, but it does not necessarily predict or assure success in a relationship. You can have strong feelings for someone who ultimately is not the best choice for a marriage partner. Some people are attracted to those who hurt them, and others start off relationships being attracted to the same qualities that they ultimately end up despising. Therefore, although it is important to feel attracted to your potential mate, and you certainly should not marry someone who you have no positive feelings for, what you should be looking for is shared values, mutual respect, and an ability to enjoy each other’s company. If you just have passion and romance without the above, when it wears off you are left with nothing.

Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, CSW co-authors a weekly column in the Jewish Press on religion, relationships and parenting, along with his wife Chaya Feuerman, CSW. The Feuermans also have authored a book, titled How to Have Fun Without Getting into Trouble: Essays on Relationships, Parenting and the Self. In addition, Simcha serves as Director of Community Services at Ohel Children’s Home and Family Services and maintains a private psychotherapy practice in Queens, New York, where he provides individual therapy, family therapy and couples counseling.

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | OCTOBER 2017 29

Dr. Hannah Sivak: The science behind skin care

By Mala Blomquist

Dr. Hannah Sivak and her Skin Active Scientifics products.

30 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

W

hen you ask Dr. Hannah Sivak what brought her to Arizona, her answer is as endearing as it is honest.

“My son fell in love with a girl from Arizona. I am a Jewish mother, so I followed. My daughter is a Jewish daughter, so she followed me. So all the family is here.”

She admitted when she came to Arizona; she just assumed she would get a job in academia and stay there. “I was too old (and expensive) to be employed by Arizona State University or a community college, so I had to do something else, so I got a job as an advisor to a skin care company,” says Dr. Sivak.

But she was unhappy working there and her son, Jonatan Funtowicz, convinced her to start her own skin care company. “I was reluctant because I have been an employee at a university since I can remember,” says Dr. Sivak. It was a difficult decision, but she made it and in 2005 launched Skin Active Scientifics.

A native of Argentina, Dr. Sivak earned her Ph.D. at the Institute for Biochemical Research in Buenos Aires.

She was a research fellow at the University of York and the University of Sheffield in England and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Michigan State University before moving to Arizona. Dr. Sivak has authored more than 60 papers in biology, biochemistry molecular biology and biotechnology and has also written a book entitled The Scientific Revolution in Skin Care.

“Everything I learned in my academic life, helps me in my company making skin care products,” admits Dr. Sivak.

“I knew botany, and I knew microbiology, and I knew biochemistry. I knew how to look at the whole picture.”

She also has discovered that most of the skin care business works on the basis of advertising instead of on science.

“Even when they use science it’s mostly for advertising,” she says.

Hannah acknowledges that although there are a few good products out there, some even have the potential of hurting your skin. For example, one ingredient many skin care products contain is benzoyl peroxide. “There are a lot of products out there with benzoyl peroxide, and it ages skin, and we know that,” explains Hannah. “But people keep selling it – and people keep buying it – because it’s what they know.”

Dr. Sivak says that the products they create work because

there is a lot of scientific evidence behind them. “There is so much scientific literature about skin care,” she states. “We use special proteins and anti-oxidant enzymes. We also use common sense.”

Skin Active Scientifics products are also very affordable because they don’t spend any money on advertising. “There is a placebo effect that has to do with pricing. If someone goes and buys an expensive cream in a specialty store, they will say that it works better,” explains Dr. Sivak. “Most companies try to find the latest miracle ingredient, and when they do, quite often they end up cheating you because that miracle chemical is nothing useful for you.”

They started their business selling kits with “actives” – which are chemicals that can help with everything from acne and blemishes to uneven texture – and a base cream. Although some people like to experiment and mix their own formulas, more people are comfortable with the pre-mixed products, so they offer both options. Dr. Sivak says people intimidated by using the kits shouldn’t be, stating, “Anyone who can make a salad, can make the cream.”

They never use any fragrances in their skin care products. They sell tubes with fragrances that people can add if they want to. “It doesn’t make any difference to your skin, and it can make it worse if you are allergic,” Dr. Sivak explains.

Their products are never tested on animals, using their family and neighbors instead. They also ask lots of questions of medical professionals and are constantly updating and changing, providing the best product.

The Skin Actives Scientific website (skinactives.com) has a community forum when you can ask Dr. Sivak questions, videos, a blog and a newsletter you can sign up to receive.

Dr. Sivak spends her days in a lab organized very similarly to the biochemistry lab she started her career in many years ago, with centrifuges and a filtration system. “Every day I look at botany that I learned when I was 18, and it’s lovely to look at it again,” she says. “It’s really beautiful, because I love science.”

Burn baby burn – the fat!

By Mala Blomquist

F

orget that “fat-burning” setting on the treadmill. According to a new study published in Obesity, strength training is better at helping people lose belly fat compared with cardio. While aerobic exercise burns both fat and muscle, weight lifting burns almost exclusively fat. And don’t worry about turning into a bulky, bodybuilding champion if you start weight lifting (unless that is your goal). There are many factors involved to develop a body like that, but you can develop an exercise plan that incorporates weight training without causing massive muscle growth.

According to research from Harvard Medical School, a general 30-minute strength training session burns an average of 90 calories (180 calories per hour) for a 125-pound person, 112 calories (224 calories per hour) for a 155-pound person and 133 calories (266 calories per hour) for a 185-pound person. So, the heavier you are, the more calories you will burn during a weight-training session.

Muscle growth also equals a boost in metabolism. Lifting weights increases the number of calories you burn while you are sitting on the couch or in your office chair. That’s because, after each strength workout, your muscles need energy to repair their fibers. In fact, researchers found that when people did a total-body workout with just three big-muscle moves, their metabolisms were raised for

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39 hours afterward. They also burned a greater percentage of calories from fat compared with those who didn’t lift.

The weightlifting moves that use multiple muscles are the ones that build the most muscle. You can try these five moves with no added weight (using only body weight for resistance). Then start adding weights for a bigger gain: Squats Lunges Deadlifts Pull-ups Push-ups Pumping iron can also reduce your risk of heart disease and was approved as a healthy form of exercise for those at risk from the American Heart Association. A study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning found that those who lift weights are less likely have heart disease risk factors such as a large waist circumference, high triglycerides, elevated blood pressure and elevated glucose levels.

Another study conducted by researchers in Brazil found that although the heart rate increased in patients during heavy bouts of training, their blood pressure and resting heart rate were significantly lower the following morning.

As you age, you are also at risk of losing bone mass.

This factor increases your chances of suffering bone fractures. Postmenopausal women are at a greater risk for osteoporosis because the body no longer secretes estrogen.

Resistance training is an excellent way to combat loss of bone mass, and it decreases the risk of osteoporosis.

Women who had their blood tested after 16 weeks of resistance training showed increased levels of osteocalcin (a marker of bone growth) by 19 percent.

Exercise, in general, is an excellent way to manage stress. You always feel better and sleep better those days that you exercise, right? Research has consistently shown that those who regularly strength train tend to manage stress better and experience fewer adverse reactions to stressful situations compared to those who do not exercise.

An added bonus – weightlifting has also recently been discovered to improve memory and cognitive function in older adults.

Another benefit of a good workout – better sleep.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, as little as 10 minutes of aerobic exercise can dramatically improve the quality of your sleep. What’s more, those who exercise may reduce their risk for developing troublesome sleep disorders such as sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome.

Between the ages of 30 and 50, women are likely to lose 10 percent of their body’s total muscle. Unfortunately, over time, this muscle is likely to be replaced by fat. And that increases your waist size because one pound of fat takes up 18 percent more space than one pound of muscle. So – get moving! It’s never too late to start an exercise program that can help combat the fat! By incorporating weight training, you will be helping your body – both inside and out!

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Momentum turns women into community leaders

By Mala Blomquist

Momentum trip participants in Israel, July 2017

S

ince the creation of the Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project in 2009, more than 10,000 women have participated in the Momentum trip. Momentum connects women to the land of Israel, to their Jewish values and each other through an eightday journey filled with educational lessons and planned activities.

Best described as “Birthright for moms” the fully subsidized program enables moms of children under the age of 17 to travel to Israel with the only expense incurred being their plane ticket and some minimal fees.

The program is hosted by various organizations from around the world. “It was brought to our community four years ago by the Kollel, which later turned into the Jewish Connection of Phoenix,” explains Kim Subrin, COO of the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center. That is where Kim first learned about the program, and she applied to be a participant.

Then Kim started working at the Valley of the Sun JCC, where

34 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

she was approached by a woman who informed her that the Federation, along with the JCC, had been thinking about starting their own “chapter” of the JWRP project and would she like to run it? “So, I went in December 2016 as a participant and in July 2017 as the leader,” says Kim. In exchange for the trip, women must commit to a year of community involvement with the organization who sent them.

“The JCC and Federations’ vision is to help build strong female leaders within our community,” explains Kim. “So, the focus of our year-long curriculum is all about community and how to get involved with your community.”

After the Israel trip is over, Kim provides the participants with a year-long calendar of monthly activities, so they can see what areas interest them and where they would like to get involved.

She also exposes the participants to other influential female leaders to see what is being done right now in the community.

The women who traveled together this summer returned with amazing memories and a new network of friends. Kim says that they have their own private Facebook page and will text each other throughout the day. Kim felt like she was “doing something right” when the women would want to hang out together in Israel even when they had free time in the evening.

Even though being a trip leader is more stressful than being a participant, Kim considers herself lucky, “I had the privilege of watching these women experience it and live it through them,” she explains. “There is nothing like watching someone walk up to the Kotel – the Western Wall – for the first time. It is for many a life changing experience and to be a part of that – it’s a gift.”

Kim also shares another favorite memory from the trip, “After we lit Shabbat candles, as we were walking to Shabbat dinner, myself and a couple of the women sang Jewish camp songs for the whole 25-minute walk,” she chuckles. “When you are in Israel, you feel so at home that you can shout Jewish songs from the top of your lungs and feel comfortable about it. It’s one of those experience that is so much fun, but made even better because you are in Israel.”

JWRP is accepting applications beginning on Dec. 1 and then applicant interviews will be conducted starting in late winter or early spring for the fall 2018 trip. Applicants must have a child age 17 or younger in the home, cannot be shomer Shabbos and must live within a certain distance from the sponsoring organization. For more information, or to apply, visit jwrp.org.

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What women need to know about heart disease

By Dr. Nathan Laufer

U

strokes that can be modified are hypertension, ntil recently, most heart studies high cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, obesity used male subjects and then and inactivity. assumed drugs and other treatments were equally effective in People who are 30 pounds or more women. Over the last 10 years, there has overweight are more likely to develop heart been an increased awareness that heart disease even if they have no other risk factors. disease and treatment outcomes are The risk is greater if the weight is around the different in women than in men. stomach instead of around the hips (“apple” Most women are concerned about the versus “pear” shape). Further, inactivity, obesity development of breast cancer. However, and diabetes are interrelated. Inactivity can cardiovascular disease is the number one lead to obesity and obesity can lead to diabetes. killer of women. It kills more women The number of people with diabetes is than the next seven causes of death growing at a rate of up to 10% per year. combined. It will strike 1 in 3 women.

Diabetes increases the risk of cardiovascular Over half a million American women die disease and heart failure two- to eight-fold. annually from it. Breast cancer strikes Education leads to prevention and 1 in 30 women and kills forty thousand Dr. Nathan Laufer prevention is the best cure. yearly.

Until recently, women have not been Nathan Laufer M.D., FACC, is the founder & medical director of the Heart & educated to suspect heart disease as a cause of their symptoms, Vascular Center of Arizona. He is board certified in internal medicine, cardiwhich are often different than symptoms in men. Due to ology and interventional cardiology and has been in practice since 1984. this lack of awareness, they delay seeking medical attention.

Because women’s symptoms are non-specific, they are more easily overlooked. Women are also often misdiagnosed with flu, acid reflux and anxiety. Because of these delays in diagnosis and

“When women improve their own health, they can improve the health of their children and therefore the health of our country. With the many risk factors for heart disease, a woman’s greatest risk is ignorance.”

-Former First Lady Laura Bush, 2004

treatment, women have poorer outcomes than men. The American Heart Association (AHA) had started the Red Dress program (goredforwomen.org) to increase women’s awareness of heart disease. The AHA has an active campaign during February of each year (American Heart Month) where they try to educate women about modifying their risks and looking for symptoms that could point to a heart problem.Although we can’t change our genetics, men and women can do many things to reduce their risk of heart disease. The classic risk factors for heart attacks and 36 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

TRADITIONAL SYMPTOMS OF HEART DISEASE IN MEN:

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“Danna Schaeffer's performance is extraordinary, at once tragic, smart, and just flat out entertaining."

- Karen Karbo, author of The Stuff of Life

DANNA SCHAEFFER

A MOTHER'S SHOW ABOUT THE ULTIMATE LOSS Directed by Julie Akers

Photo: Owen Carey

Portland actress Rebecca Schaeffer’s blooming Hollywood career was cut tragically short by murder. YOU IN MIDAIR is

www.youinmidair.com

her mother’s show -- intimate, harrowing, sometimes funny and ultimately joyful, it's a story of loss, memory, and hard-won wisdom.

38 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

Mother’s play explores love, loss and carrying on

By Cindy Saltzman TWENT Y-EIGHT YEARS AGO, I had a chance encounter with a talented and beautiful young actress, at an ATM in Los Angeles. Rebecca Schaeffer was just 21 years old, and had already starred in a successful sitcom with Pam Dawber, called “My Sister Sam.” I knew she was from Portland, and as we chatted, I told her that my brother had a huge crush on her. We both went through that mental dance of “Hmm, I wonder if she is Jewish” and during the 20-minute

conversation, it came out that we had gone to the same synagogue and Sunday school and knew several people in common.

Although I felt that she wanted to continue the conversation, I didn’t want to take up any more of her time.

As I walked away, she called out, “Hey, say hello to your brother for me.”

Not long after that chance encounter, Rebecca was murdered. I felt compelled to write a note to her parents, Benson

and Danna Schaeffer. Danna wrote a very heartfelt note in return.

The poignancy of that conversation has stayed with me all of these decades later.

Recently, I had the privilege of interviewing Danna Schaeffer. After our conversation, I realized that the light that was Rebecca Schaeffer shined on everyone she met. And the love of her parents has helped to keep that light shining brightly.

FAMILIES: Rebecca Schaeffer with her parents, above left, Benson and Danna Schaeffer and with her sitcom family, the cast of My Sister Sam, above right.

“You in Midair” has received wonderful reviews. Why did you decide to write the play now?

Right after Rebecca was killed, the anguish was so excruciating. You just can’t imagine that your life won’t be ruled by that forever.

Now it has been 28 years and that initial anguish is softer, but there is also new pain – like (the idea of ) grandchildren. It is very interesting to miss people you have never known, but we do. There is also my own mortality. I wanted people to hear this story from my point of view.

When did you start working on the play?

Two years ago I started writing a memoir about growing up in New York with my parents. At the end of the memoir, I had one “fast forward” chapter that included Rebecca’s story.

The person leading the memoir class told me, “It’s the last chapter that is really interesting.” She said I should start over and focus on the last chapter.

Later that same summer, I met Ann Randolph, a wonderful performance artist.

One day she said, “You have a lot of voices in you that need to ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | OCTOBER 2017 39

come out.” She suggested I write a play and do a solo show. She made it seem doable. So from that idea, I began taking acting lessons too.

You only began studying acting two years ago?

(Laughing) Yes. I’m lucky I had some very good teachers, Michael Mendelson and Chris Harder. And I let it (the story) be very organic. I let come up what needed to come up about the experience of loving Rebecca, and losing Rebecca and then living beyond her. Then I shaped it. I joined PDX Playwrights, which presents staged readings at Portland’s annual Fertile Ground Festival. I also acquired a fabulous director, Julie Akers. I did two performances last January at the festival, and then I decided I needed a fuller production with lights, sound and a set.

Rebecca used to say, “No matter where we are in the world, we are like a three-legged stool.”

Benson and I had each other, and even in our worst moments, we would never break apart that three-legged entity. And we were very lucky to have family and friends.

We were also lucky to have a fabulous prosecutor, Marcia Clark, and two very committed detectives. The murderer was brought to justice and that made it easier for us to go on.

You seem to look at the big picture of death and mourning and how others are affected.

Rebecca looked at the big picture. When Did you always plan to act in the she was 4 or 5, she and REBECCA SCHAEFFER play?

Benson were making There was never a question of cookies and they mixed anyone else acting in it but me. all of the ingredients, and then when they How did you come up with the were eating them, she title? asked, “Daddy, where were the cookies before we mixed the eggs, Coming up with the title was agony. I wanted something from the flour and the butter and eggs?” She was such an existential Shakespeare, but nothing felt right. The title is from a Stephen person.

Sondheim work.

Then going forward two decades, a neighbor of Rebecca’s told us that she ran outside when she heard the gun shot and What do you hope people get out of it? heard Rebecca say, “Why?” Not “Why me?” which would have I didn’t intend it to be a teaching exercise. And I wasn’t doing it been more self-centered, but “Why?” – she was still seeking to as a cathartic thing, but it has turned out to be 50% cathartic and understand the bigger picture.

50% re-traumatizing. But mainly I needed to create a piece of art about Rebecca and living with losing her.

Do you feel a responsibility to carry on for Rebecca?

There is definitely an element of carrying on for her.

What or who got you through in the beginning and the later Sometimes I’ve said that I am her ambassador. But it is a twoyears? edged sword, as she can’t have fun, so can I have fun on her You put one foot in front of the other. I was not raised behalf ? religiously, so I did not have a spiritual framework.

But Benson was a member of one synagogue, and Rebecca When you perform the play, are you removed from it as an had been the president of her youth group at another. So at her actor, or do you have to prepare yourself emotionally just to get funeral, rabbis from both synagogues came and spoke eloquently through it? about Rebecca. So there was a spiritual framework.

In the beginning, I remember asking the director, “Is this me up on stage or is this me recreating me?" When I am doing it, it Where else did your find support? can be enjoyable, but afterward I feel drained. It is also hard on Benson and I having each other. the director. She feels terrible asking me to relive what happened The three of us (Rebecca, Benson and Danna) were such a tight each time she asks me to approach a line differently. triangle. We had just talked to Rebecca the night before she was killed and our last words to each other were, “I love you.”

40 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

Has writing and acting in the play helped the healing process?

I think having to put things into words in a way that people sitting in front of you will understand and feel has helped me with the experience of the loss.

I also wanted to represent the continuity of family and history and the great wheel of suffering. So in the play, I talk about Rebecca’s grandmother arriving in New York in 1924 at the age of 16 as an orphan. And 60 years later, Rebecca arrived in New York also at the age of 16 (to pursue a modeling career).

In the play her grandmother sings a Yiddish song to Rebecca So I sing that and another one. My husband found the songs, and coached me on my accent. Benson is very private and perhaps he felt exposed by the play at first. And then some months into it, he told me that he felt that I was doing it for him too. I was very happy about that.

After Rebecca was murdered, you became an activist for gun control. Are you still involved with gun legislation?

I worked so hard on the gun bills. I delivered three yes votes on the Brady Bill. I loved lobbying. I loved Salem and Washington, DC, and all of that. But today, it seems so fruitless. It really does.

I read somewhere that Benson said, "Getting involved with the gun control issue helped us to focus our anger."

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Temple Solel, Paradise Valley From the beginning I decided that I wasn't going to give the $18/person includes program & dessert reception murderer any extra energy, because I wanted to save all of my 8:00-9:00 p.m. energy to think about Rebecca. $18/person includes program & dessert reception

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And then you would somehow still been connected to him?

Yes, it would have been a passionate bond that I didn’t want.

What do you feel is Rebecca’s legacy?

Some of the impetus for doing this play was to show Rebecca’s depth and caring. She was also ambitious and confident, but that wasn’t the whole person. The truth is, she was cut off too young to finish giving what she had to give.

Is there a story about Rebecca that represents who she was at the core?

When she was 3, I dropped a glass and crouched down to pick up the shards and cut myself. Rebecca came over to me and put her little arm around my shoulders and said, “Did you hurt yourself ?” with this enormous compassion. She came out that way and I really think that is who she was.

What are your plans for the future?

I want to take this play to the Hollywood Fringe and to a theater in Berkeley. I really want to do a show about aging and its amusement.

I may also turn, “You in Midair” into a book. And I do have a mystery that I want to write. I love mysteries.

Taste of

Followed by Dessert Reception

NOVEMBER 16, 2017 special guest 7-9 PM

Rabbi Daniel Cohen

“Creating a Life of Legacy” Temple Solel,

Plus, three special LimmudAZ presentations

Paradise Valley NOVEMBER 16, 2017 | 7-9PM Temple Solel, Paradise Valley $18/person includes program dessert reception $18/person& includes program & dessert reception

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | OCTOBER 2017 41

FALL TRENDS HOT OFF THE

RUNWAY Fa s h i o n w e e k t i p s t h a t w i l l e a r n yo u m a j o r fa s h i o n p o i n t s

BY TO R I ROS E N B LU M

NEW NYLON With Arizona’s mild fall weather, transitional outerwear is a wardrobe essential. This season, choose the must-have silhouette from FW17: the nylon coat. A long nylon trench is comfortable, wearable and effortlessly chic. Wear it open over a mini wrap dress to work or dinner, or button up when it cools down at night. And don’t forget to pack this piece when you take your holiday vacation – this fabric won’t wrinkle.

BUTTONED-UP

CLASSIC COWBOY

Last year was all about the lace-up

In Arizona, it’s only natural to pay homage to the

detail, but this fall we’re throwing

western front. This season, show your desert pride

out the ties, and buttoning-up.

by channeling your inner cowboy (or cowgirl!).

Whether you rock a buttoned-up

Cowhide prints, leather vests and cacti details take the

jacket or long coat, a dress or skirt

Americana style to the next level. And don’t forget to

with slits un-buttoned, or a trouser

dress from head to toe with updated versions of your

with buttons down the legs, you

favorite cowboy staples: high heel steel toe boots and

can’t go wrong with this trendy

a black suede cowboy hat.

fastener.

42 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

RED ON RED It’s no secret that the color of power is red. Well, it’s also the color of fall 2017. This fall, try a modern take on red by choosing this fiery hue in the form of a polished coat, silk blouse, tailored pant and high boot. Last year we saw white on white and nude on nude, but this fall’s resurgence of the monochromatic statement is turning red.

Layer up your reds for a powerful fall look.

RICH CHOCOLATE Milk chocolate and dark chocolate look delicious on this fall’s silhouettes. The 70’s fashion favorite, is back and better than ever. Brown slacks, turtlenecks and jackets bring a richness to autumn styles. Layer your brown pieces for a monochromatic look, or pair them as you would a neutral. This season, brown is the new black.

Embrace autumn’s awesomely chic trends. Play with fashion and don’t be afraid to be bold. With the changing of the season comes a change of style that everyone should look forward to!

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | OCTOBER 2017 43

FRONT & CENTER

Judy Laufer: Our choices make all the difference

By Mala Blomquist

Judy (pen name J.E.) Laufer started writing children’s books to fill a void, both in her life and in the library. She was working as a kindergarten teacher and writing curriculum for the school board in Montreal, Canada when her father passed away. Her niece, who was 5 at the time, was having a difficult time with the transition.

“I thought, ‘I’m a kindergarten teacher, I should be able to help her,’ so I went to the library, and there was nothing for young children in that age group about a person dying,” explains Judy.

Judy had always loved writing, so she took matters into her own hands and wrote a children’s book titled, Where Did Papa Go, sharing the things her niece liked to do with her grandfather, hoping that it would help her through this difficult time. “As a kindergarten teacher, I try to look at the positive side,” says Judy. “As long as we have memories of that person, they Judy Laufer never really die.”

Her next children’s book, Last Night I had a Laughmare also focuses on a difficult situation for children – nightmares – and turns it into a positive one. “Research suggests that kids have nightmares because they saw or heard something scary before they went to bed,” explains Judy. “I thought if this is true, then the opposite should be true too.” She developed a cast of characters with names like Liverlips, Smellyfeet, Purplepudding and Dishes who all reside in Gigglyville.

“Gigglyville had all these fun characters, so kids want to go to bed,” assures Judy of reading this book to your children as a nighttime ritual. “Part of the process of developing a pattern and good experience – also helps to put kids to bed.”

For Judy’s third children’s book, she decided to focus on a subject very essential to young children – their birthday. Since everyone blows out candles on their birthday cake and makes a wish, Judy titled her book, What’s Your Birthday Wish? And since it came out around the 2016 election, she decided to make one of the wishes that everyone has to be nice to one another!

While Judy was working on this last book her mother, Kati Egett, had a milestone birthday, turning 90. At this time, 44 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

her mother started sharing stories and details about how the family left Hungary and arrived in Canada when Judy was almost 2 years old.

She told of how the entire family escaped Hungary during the revolution and ended up in Austria, where a 16-year-old Catholic girl, named Annemarie Just, whom they met on the street, offered them shelter in her home.

“Can you imagine a 16-year-old girl saying to complete strangers, ‘Come live with us,’ and then her family agreeing?” asks Judy incredulously. “They could have helped us in ways that weren’t so personal as taking us into their home. It was a small apartment. My brother and I slept in Annemarie’s room, and my parents slept on a hide-a-bed in the living room. Annemarie slept in a room with her brothers. It was an unbelievable act of human kindness.” The more details her mother shared, the more Judy felt compelled to write a book sharing her family’s experience.

“As I was writing the book, there were so many parts in the story where it would be completely different if not for the choices that were made,” says Judy. At the time of the Hungarian Revolution in 1956, 200,000 people left Hungary for Austria. Many people were placed in displaced persons camps, the thought of which was terrifying to Judy’s parents, who were both Holocaust survivors. “Mom was the only survivor of the Holocaust in her family,” says Judy. “She went on one side of the train tracks, and her parents and three younger siblings went on the other.” They were all killed.

“What happened as a result of circumstances coming together, as a writer, were hard to ignore,” says Judy. “My dad left audio tapes, and my mom had very good recollections.”

Her father, Adolf Egett, had felt that it was very important that these stories be collected and shared. “In those tapes was information about what had happened.” So between those tapes, her mother’s memories and internet research, Judy was able to weave the story together.

She also had help from another key player – Annemarie.

Years earlier, Annemarie had found Kati, and they had been exchanging holiday cards. Judy had discovered that Annemarie was a grandmother, so she had sent her some of her books along with a thankyou card. Judy hoped someone would translate the card because she knew that Annemarie only spoke German. To Judy’s delight, Annemarie responded with an email, and using Google translate, Judy wrote her back in German.

Judy and her husband, Nathan, had been planning a trip down the Danube River and would be going through Vienna. When she told Annemarie of her plans, she said that she had to see them. “She met us at the boat with her husband and granddaughter,” says Judy.

“Her granddaughter was the interpreter. She would translate for us.” Judy told Annemarie about her plans of writing the book, so soon she started sending her information to include.

“My challenge was to write it so that it was true to my mother’s story so that she would feel proud and good about the story,” explains Judy. “Also for Annemarie, to make sure

– remember I am getting information on Google translate – that I am getting the right story, that I am portraying her family as she would have wanted them to be portrayed. It’s a very delicate balance.

The story by itself is an amazing story, but how do you tell it so that you capture that amazing piece of it? There were several times when I put it aside because it was too emotional for me.”

After three years of perseverance, Choices, The True Story of One Family’s Daring Escape to Freedom was published last April, and Judy has been overwhelmed by the positive response. “People who know me, read the book and they obviously know it had a happy ending, but people who don’t know me, read the book and are unsure of what happened to this family,” she explains.

A line in Judy’s introduction in Choices makes you stop and think about how all of these lives became intertwined at precisely the right moments, “It’s a tale of bravery, selflessness and a little bit of luck. Or perhaps it was divine intervention.

You decide.”

All of Judy’s books can be ordered by visiting her company, littleeggpublishing.com.

Get $10 off per ticket!

Use promo code AZJEWISHLIFE *Excludes Tier 3. Offer expires 11/1.

NOVEMBER 15 - DECEMBER 31 AT PHOENIX THEATRE Visit PhoenixTheatre.com or call 602.254.2151 for tickets!

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | OCTOBER 2017 45

FRONT & CENTER

2017 Desert Gathering Jewish Music Fest builds bridges, not walls, in the community TODD HERZOG

CHAVA MIREL

TAIN NEFESH MOUN

SUNBDEARY5

NOVEM

4-8 pismh

w ina levine cjeampus y communit

By Deborah Muller

Todd Herzog has such deep faith in music’s power and ability to build bridges that can span an increasingly divisive world he constructed an entire Valley event around this belief.

The Desert Gathering Jewish Music Fest, will hold its 5th annual festival at the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus in Scottsdale from 4 to 8 pm on Sunday, Nov. 5.

Launched in Nov. 2013, the DGJMF (which Herzog conceived of during his Valley Beit Midrash StartMeUp fellowship) has introduced many of the Valley’s population – Jewish and non-Jewish – to Jewish musicians in the genres of roots rock, soul, Americana, klezmer, acoustic folk, dancehall, electronica, hip hop, classic rock and, of course, traditional Jewish song. The 2017 musical lineup once again spans the musical horizon and includes Nefesh Mountain, Chava Mirel, Josh Niehaus, Herzog and several local cantors and youth groups.

“The outdoor concert event designed to celebrate Jewish music and culture is a vibrant, interactive, family-friendly experience that features the best in contemporary Jewish music,” says Todd. Many aspects of the Fest remain constant each year – top-notch Jewish music acts, tasty food vendors and an emphasis on community togetherness, but this year sees a significant change – relocating the music festival from downtown Phoenix to the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus in North Scottsdale.

46 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

What: 5th Annual Desert Gathering Jewish Music Fest Who: Nefesh Mountain, Chava Mirel, Josh Niehaus, Todd Herzog, Jewish day school and religious school students When: Sunday, Nov. 5, 4-8 pm Where: Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale Cost: $5 general admission ticket (for ages 6 & up); $20 family five-pack of tickets; $75 for VIP ticket, includes catered kosher buffet and bag of souvenirs Contact: call 480-483-7121 or email info@desertgatheringaz.org

The DGJMF, which has seen attendance reach 2,000 people in some years, will have access to a greater number of parking spots and easier access for attendees at the new location. The Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus also gives the music festival a more intimate and contained setting, according to Herzog.

“The more intimate setting promotes greater interaction amongst attendees while still allowing for plenty of room to sit down with friends and family on blankets or get up and dance to the music,” says Todd. “It also reinforces and deepens our partnership with the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix and the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center.”

The festival offers general admission seating on the lawn, near various food and arts vendors. A VIP tent ticket package includes catered kosher buffet, gift bag, preferred parking and opportunities to meet and greet the musicians. For the younger attendees, PJ Library will sponsor an area that includes familyfriendly activities. Pardes Jewish Day School, also located on the campus, will host a private “Preschool Pre-Party” for their students’ families where they will get a chance to meet the musicians appearing later in the day. Families who register for the Preschool Pre-Party will receive one free general admission ticket to the festival with at least one paid admission.

More information, as well as ticket options for the 5th Annual Desert Gathering Jewish Music Fest, can be found at desertgatheringaz.org.

Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford:

A Jewish children’s author with a Mexican heart

By Sheila Wilensky

When Roni Capin was growing up in Nogales, AZ, there was no wall bordering the United States and Mexico.

Her paternal grandmother, Nana Lil, was a Bracker, and grandfather, Papa Sam, was a Capin – both were pioneer Jewish families – who went back and forth from their city of Nogales to Nogales, Sonora, Mexico.

“Fifty years ago, we walked across the border five times a day,” says Roni. “We brought along our stick of butter to enjoy the warm tortillas from the tortilla factory. The border was open for the Cinco de Mayo parade. Today it’s difficult for one person to get across.”

Twenty-nine years ago, she and her husband, Danny Ashford, moved from Nogales to Tucson. They have been married for 44 years, and although their path hasn’t always been easy, it’s been a happy one. Danny, also a Nogales native, is MexicanAmerican. Some of his ancestors descended from African slaves; his last name of Ashford originated from slave masters.

“I feel very blessed because I followed my heart, despite inter-racial, inter-religious and inter-economic strife,” affirms Roni. Although she and her husband knew each other growing up, they reconnected as students attending Arizona State University in 1971. They married a year later.

When Roni became a published author, she asked her mother-in-law if she could incorporate Rivera into her pen name, giving more credence to her Mexican heritage. (Hence, Rivera-Ashford.)

As her Jewish and Mexican cultures melded, and as a bilingual preschool and elementary teacher in Nogales and Tucson for more than 30 years, Roni recognized the necessity for more bilingual children’s books.

Why not write them herself ? So she did. My Nana’s Remedies/Los remedios de mi nana (2002) and Hip, Hip, Hooray, It’s Monsoon Day! /Ajúa, ya llegó el chubasco (2007), were both published by the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Her latest book, My Tata’s Remedies/Los remedios de mi tata, published by Cinco Puntos Press, was the 2016 Great Read for Arizona.

The Many Readers, Many Bridges Arizona State Book Project is seeking funding to supply all fourth graders, as well as every school library in the state, with a copy of the book.

My Tata’s Remedies has won many awards, including First

Place for the International Latino Book Awards as Best Children’s Non-Fiction Picture Book and Best Educational Children’s Picture Book and as a Notable Children’s Book of 2016 by the Association for Library Services to Children.

Roni’s current book project is working with Disney-Pixar/ Random House Kids to publish Spanish-language books for children, one of which – Miguel and the Amazing Alebrijes –she co-wrote with her son, Aaron Rivera-Ashford. Three books will be published on Oct. 10 in conjunction with the Nov. release of the Disney/Pixar children’s fantasy-adventure movie “Coco,” about a 12-year-old Mexican boy who loves music, and the cultural significance of the Day of the Dead.

But her heart resides with Raulito, a compelling children’s biography of Arizona’s only Mexican-American governor, Raúl H. Castro (1975-1977). President Jimmy Carter subsequently appointed Castro to posts as U.S. Ambassador to Argentina, knowing he had been successful as an ambassador under LBJ to El Salvador and Bolivia.

In 2013, Castro died in Tucson at age 97, but not before the author had the opportunity to interview him (the interview can be viewed on You Tube). The former governor recalled the poverty, discrimination and hard work it took for him to succeed.

Roni can imagine Castro as a boy walking to school, carrying his one pair of shoes to keep them clean, to his eventually “filling the governor’s boots.”

And these days, she confides, “I’m totally grateful for the love, the languages, the cultures, the foods, the music that are my life.

I love ‘Hava Negillah.’ I love dancing the corrida (fast dancing as a couple) as much, if not more.”

Her “Mexican heart” comes across “the way I express myself, that I try to get one idea across, in part Spanish, part English, with a Yiddish word thrown in, all in an effort to bring people together, as this is who I am,” she explains.

“You may have noticed,” Roni says, “Two of my books have ‘remedies’ in the title, a very healing word. Sometimes I write to heal from political strife.” As Gov. Castro said, “we must build bridges across cultures and amongst all people, not harbor animosity over our diversity.”

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | OCTOBER 2017 47

CORNER

This year, many of us, myself included, are experiencing a bar or bat mitzvah with one of our children. Our daughter Aviva has been preparing herself for this special day by studying weekly with her teacher (and cousin) Elianna, and going over party preparations!

This past summer, we were fortunate enough to take Aviva and our oldest son, Benzi, to Israel. What an incredible experience! Our children immediately connected to the land of Israel and had a profound awareness of their heritage and Jewishness. I remember going to the Kotel and watching

MAY G-D BLESS YOU WITH TORAH, CHUPPAH AND MA’ASIM TOVIM

By Lucia Schnitzer

Photo by Matthew Strauss

Aviva pray at the Wall. I gave her a blessing and sobbed as I prayed for G-d’s grace and kindness upon her.

I prayed that she continues to carry the torch of our Torah throughout her life; by lighting Shabbat candles to illuminate her home with divine light, fulfilling family purity through the powerful waters of the mikvah, and separating challah as

Lucia Schnitzer and her husband, Ken, own Pomelo (a full-service restaurant), Luci’s at The Orchard and Splurge (a candy and ice cream shop), all at The Orchard Phx, 7100 N 12th Street, Phoenix. They also own Luci’s Healthy Marketplace, 1590 E Bethany Home Road, Phoenix, which they opened in 2009 in Lucia’s honor after her successful battle with breast cancer.

48 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

a declaration that all things are from G-d and through Him we can provide for our family and give tzedakah. I prayed that she should never forget this moment and the closeness we felt to our Creator and each other, but most of all, that she knows she is a treasure for the Jewish people, and she will find her voice and soar to heights yet unknown to her.

We are so proud of you Aviva, and blessed to have been entrusted by G-d to raise and mold you to be a daughter of Israel. Mazel Tov! And to all those becoming a bar/bat mitzvah, may G-d shine His light always on your path and bless you with Torah, chuppah and ma'asim tovim (good deeds).

Pull-Apart Chocolate Challah A nice tradition we started in our home is eating chocolate challah on Shabbat. The kids will get upset and say it doesn't feel like Shabbat without it! This recipe was developed by my dear friend Hadar Eyton, who introduced me to the mitzvah of separating challah. The moment after "challah" (what the piece is called) is removed, is a time of profound spiritual closeness to G-d. It is a conduit between this reality and a level of being far beyond the walls of our kitchens. Many women will take advantage of this moment to pray for their families, for our people and for the restoration of the Temple, or for anyone who is in need of special merit.

Ingredients:

(makes 4 to 5 challahs)

4 packets of active dry yeast 1 1/2 cup sugar 4 cups lukewarm water 1/2 cup honey 1 cup canola oil 1 tablespoon salt 1 5-pound bag of bread flour 2 pounds of Hashahar H’aole L’mehadrin (Israeli cocoa spread, parve found at kosher markets)

Egg wash:

2 eggs 2 tablespoons cold water 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Add the packets of yeast to the water with the sugar. Stir to dissolve.

Add the honey, canola oil and salt. Use a whisk to thoroughly blend the ingredients together.

Begin adding the flour to the bowl, ½ cup at a time, stirring with a large spoon to incorporate the flour after each addition.

When the mixture becomes too thick to stir, use your hands to work in the remainder of the flour.

Continue to knead the dough until it’s smooth, elastic and not sticky. The amount of flour you will need to achieve this texture varies – only add flour until the dough feels pliable and “right.”

Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and wash out the bowl. Lightly grease the bowl with canola oil. Push the dough down into the bottom of the bowl, then flip it over so that both sides are slightly moistened by the oil.

Cover the bowl with a clean, damp kitchen towel. Place the bowl in a warm area and let the dough rise for 30 minutes to one hour.

Now the dough is ready to braid or be filled with chocolate.

If you plan to separate and bless the challah, do it prior to braiding.

To fill with chocolate: separate dough into seven even balls and flatten them out. Drop a spoonful of chocolate in the center and pull the outer corners of the dough together and pinch closed until the chocolate is completely covered.

Continue to do this until all seven balls are filled. Place one ball in the center and then arrange the remaining six around to make a flower shape.

After you’ve braided or filled your challah, place it on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (this will catch any spills from your egg wash and keep your challah from sticking to the cookie sheet).

Prepare your egg wash by beating the eggs, salt and water until smooth. Use a pastry brush to brush a thin layer of the mixture over the surface of the challah. Set aside the remaining egg wash.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. The challah needs to bake for about 30-40 minutes, but to get the best results, the baking should be done in stages. First, set your timer for 20 minutes and put the challah in the oven.

After 20 minutes, take the challah out of the oven and coat the center of the braid with another thin layer of egg wash.

(This area tends to expand during baking, exposing areas that will turn white unless they are coated with egg wash.)

Rotate the cookie sheet, so the opposite side is facing front, and put the tray back into the oven. (Turning the tray helps your challah brown evenly – the back of the oven is usually hotter than the front.)

The challah will need to bake for about 15-20 minutes longer.

For this last part of the baking process, keep an eye on your challah – it may be browning faster than it’s baking. Once the challah is evenly browned, take the challah out of the oven. You can test the bread for doneness by turning it over and tapping on the bottom of the loaf – if it makes a hollow sound, it’s done. Let the challah cool on the baking sheet or transfer to a wire cooling rack before serving.

Note: To freeze the challah first wrap it in parchment paper and then foil before placing in the freezer. To re-heat, just place challah in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 30 minutes.

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | OCTOBER 2017 49

FOOD RESTAURANT REVIEW

taste of

Arizona Wood Fired Wings

It is rare to come across a restaurant that feels right from the moment you arrive. It’s like a neighborhood, a village, with beautiful indoor and outdoor spaces inviting you to explore.

Around each corner, you’ll find a nook for sitting, dining, playing, relaxing, alone or with groups of friends. There’s an ice cream shop, a market, a bar, a restaurant, a splash pad for kids, misted areas, and all of it pays homage to the fact that it was once a historic citrus grove at 12th Street and Glendale Avenue in North Central Phoenix.

Though I did wander around it all with delight, the focus for me is the restaurant, Pomelo.

It is the latest concept from the owners of the wildly popular Luci’s Healthy Marketplace at 16th Street and Bethany Home Rd. Pomelo at The Orchard, is a natural extension, the next step if you will, in their quest to provide neighborhood goodness richened from locallysourced ingredients and with Arizona flare. For example, did you know there is a distillery in Prescott making excellent vodka, bourbon and rye whiskey? I did not, but I do now. During a sampling offered while I awaited dinner, I happily met one of the best ryes I’ve ever tasted – and it’s from Prescott. I know, I couldn’t believe it either!

You can dine inside or out, and even if you choose to dine in, the floor to ceiling windows let in the beauty of the natural setting. The staff is very friendly, and the light aroma of mesquite is present as you walk in. Everything is welcoming. Over the course of a few visits, here is what I had:

THIS MONTH’S RESTAURANT

Pomelo at the Orchard $$$

7100 N. 12th St., Phoenix 602-633-2600 pomelophx.com

French Dip $16

(Thinly sliced prime rib, house aioli on a hoagie roll, served with au jus) The menu description does not list that it comes with a choice of sides and I chose fries. It also doesn’t mention that the roll is lightly grilled over mesquite which adds a marvelous flavor and crunch even when it gets “wet” from dipping in the au jus.

For meat lovers, Pomelo serves French Dip all week long and also offers Prime Rib dinners 50 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

Contact A. Noshman at a.noshman@azjewishlife.com

on Fridays and Saturdays. This is a great sandwich, wonderful flavor, on delicious bread but my favorite part was the au jus.

Most places over salt the au jus, but Pomelo doesn’t need to do that because all the flavor you need is already in the sandwich.

The au jus just adds a little beefy juiciness to an already tasty meal. I like horseradish, and the aioli was a nice replacement.

The fries were great too. You will love this.

Wood Fired Wings $11

(Cooked over Arizona mesquite, choose Pomelo BBQ or Louisiana hot sauce, served with vegetable sticks and choice of dressings for dipping) I didn’t want to choose between house made BBQ or Louisiana hot sauce, and sensing my discomfort, my server offered to bring me half and half, which was an excellent and much-appreciated idea. There was an ample serving of plump wings and a very generous portion of veggies. The wings were smartly cooked, with a nice char but not overdone. Both sauces had a bit of heat to them, and I liked them both, but if I were to be stuck on an island in the middle of Lake Pleasant, I would choose the Pomelo BBQ sauce because it is sticky, sweet and spicy.

Mexican Street Corn (GF) $6

(Grilled corn, feta cheese, spicy aioli) Served on the cob and on a stick as street corn should be.

Pomelo took the extra step of cutting it in half for sharing.

There is lots of flavor here from the mesquite grilling, to the feta and the spicy aioli. There was a little kick to it, and some of the kick was to the wallet. Seemed a little pricey to me, but I can’t argue that they nailed this appetizer. Gone in a minute.

NY Cheesecake $9

There was no menu description, yet there it is before me. A very large slice of cheesecake on an equally large plate, golden and naked but for the drizzle of caramel it sat upon. I asked if they made it at Pomelo and the answer was no, but does it matter? It’s cheesecake, and it was creamy, smooth, delicious and of course, rich. I made it through half of it and this I took home. Would you believe it was breakfast the next day?

Mushroom Pizza $15

(Mozzarella, mushrooms, garlic cream, shallots, arugula, balsamic reduction) All of Pomelo’s pizzas are wood fired, and you can smell that wonderful oven when you step onto the property. If you are like me, the smell of burning mesquite just activates my taste buds and I can’t wait to order.

You have to love mushrooms to have this pizza because there are plenty of them in all their smoked chewy goodness.

The pizza crust has thin, burnt, crispy edges and the whole pie has been piled with arugula. There is a sensual mixture of sweet balsamic reduction and bitter arugula complimenting the melted mozzarella but what I really want to talk about is the pizza dough. It was so good that I chose not to eat the crust and here’s why: Me: Do they use this dough in other items, like to make rolls?

Server: Yes! They make rolls and serve it with the Chef ’s board, it’s like a sourdough, do you like it?

Me: Could I trouble you for some butter? I saved the crusts and want to see what they taste like with butter.

Server: I got you on this.

She returns with a dish of melted garlic butter, “Here you go.” It’s like she knew me. I finished my pizza that would have fed two people, and then dunked my crusts in melted garlic butter and finished that as well. The take home message? You won’t be taking any pizza home.

There were so many menu items I didn’t get to, but I’m not worried. Pomelo at the Orchard is easy to get to and with cooler weather coming; I can see myself taking advantage of the outdoor dining spaces and plan on returning. I didn’t get to the entrees or the salads, and they all look great. There are many gluten-free offerings, but because I am a “gluten” for punishment, tend to skip those but hear they are loved. I only poked my head into the ice cream shop (which appeared actually to be gelato) and briefly toured the marketplace which has its own restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. I wonder if they’ve thought of building apartments, so I wouldn’t have to leave?

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | OCTOBER 2017 51

Home & ifestyle L

Side view of the sukkah inside the lobby atrium at the Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem. Photo by Perry Easy

The Waldorf’s wondrous sukkah

By Mala Blomquist

Right after Yom Kippur is over, Jews throughout Israel and the rest of the world busy themselves building temporary “huts” called sukkot (plural; the singular is sukkah). The sukkah can range from a basic design decorated with posters and paper chains to more elaborate structures adorned with draperies and chandeliers. Most of the requirements for a sukkah revolve around the roof and its materials. The roof must have some exposure to the stars and heavens and be made of a material that grew from the ground but which is not still attached to the ground, so branches, lumber or bamboo are good choices.

Sukkot is usually translated as Feast of Tabernacles, although the word itself is derived from sukkah, the name of the shacks farmers would live in during harvest. Sukkot is said to have two meanings – a harvest-style feast for all and a commemoration of the Jewish Exodus and the Israelites sheltering in the wilderness.

The week-long harvest and thanksgiving festival this year begins at nightfall on Oct. 4 and runs through Oct. 11. Sukkot brings many Israelis and tourists outdoors to dine in the sukkah; some will even spend the night inside the structure, sleeping under the stars.

52 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

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K

Located in the

Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem is possibly the

most elaborate

sukkah in Israel.

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | OCTOBER 2017 53

Located in the Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem is possibly the most elaborate sukkah in Israel. (It has been deemed the world’s largest indoor one!) The sukkah is set up inside the Waldorf ’s lobby atrium under a retracting glass rooftop. The retractable roof allows the sukkah to be temperature controlled and if it starts to rain the roof can be closed so there’s no disruption for the 200-plus diners underneath.

The sukkah-building team gets to work on installation three weeks before the holiday. The Jerusalem-based interior design firm Yarok Yarok is responsible for the décor and comes up with the annual theme months in advance. The design team

also works closely with the hotel’s kosher supervisors to ensure that the building and decorations are in line with all halachic standards. Even though the retractable roof sits several stories high, a traditional schach (bamboo) covering is positioned at a height to make the sukkah kosher. The Waldorf also offers two other large sukkot at the hotel, as well as private sukkot for some of the luxury suites.

So, if you are visiting Jerusalem during Sukkot, drop in to see this incredible sukkah, or better yet, be inspired to create a magnificent sukkah of your own!

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the art of organization

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Experience matters. Let us show you why.

Jewish Family & Children’s Service is offering a new and expanded session of Creative Aging classes for the fall, beginning mid-October.

Creative Aging (creativeaging.org) is a national initiative based on studies showing that older adults live longer and better if they are actively involved in the Arts. The movement is aimed at fostering an understanding of the vital relationship between creative expression and quality of life for older adults.

“JFCS is dedicated to helping to ensure the highest quality of life for people at any age,” says Ellie Schwartzberg, JFCS Vice President of Older Adults and Jewish Community Services. “Our pilot program this past spring went so well; we’re pleased that we could find additional funding to enable JFCS to continue this creative line of services for older adults.”

“According to the US Census Bureau, one in four people in Arizona will be over age 60 by the year 2020,” reports Janet Arnold, JFCS Director of the Creative Aging program. “We need to find innovative ways to keep our older adults actively engaged. Creative Aging is based on an ‘assets approach’ to aging, emphasizing what ‘can’ be done rather than what limitations there might be.”

In the January-May pilot program, 85 people from ages 6394 participated in the classes. “We’ve gotten great feedback,”

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56 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

says Arnold, “from comments like ‘I need this class for my mental health!’ to “I’m having a great time, and my kids are so happy I’m taking this class!’”

Increasing its geographic circle to include Sun City, the program offers Story Telling; an eight-week session at Temple Beth Shalom, 12202 N. 101st Ave. in Sun City on Thursdays, starting Oct. 19, from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm. These classes are taught by Kim Porter, who is an award-winning playwright and performer, and was recently named Best Storyteller by the Phoenix New Times. Kim says, “I've always wanted to run a workshop for seniors as I have a real passion for the organization of personal narrative and the transformation that comes from seeing the events in our lives through the filter of story.” Story telling is a widely-popular artistic discipline which involves both creative writing and performing.

Arnold will teach Readers Theatre at both Temple Beth Shalom for eight weeks on Mondays, starting Oct. 23, as well as an additional session on Tuesdays at the Valley of the Sun JCC, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road in Scottsdale.

Arnold was the founding Producing Director of the Arizona Jewish Theatre Company and has over 30 years’ experience in the theatre community as a producer, director, actor and teacher.

– Ellie Schwartzberg Readers’ Theatre is acting out plays JFCS Vice President of Older Adults and with script in Jewish Community Services. hand. “Readers’ Theatre is great fun,” Arnold says. “It allows you to be any age or background – and there’s no memorization!”

New this year is the formation of a Senior Chorus that will meet on Thursday mornings at Temple Chai, 4645 E. Marilyn Road in Phoenix, starting Oct. 19. “The purpose of the chorus,” Arnold states, “is to spread as much sunshine as possible while giving participants a chance to sing and socialize in a group. The repertoire will include Broadway, American songbook and rock & roll. The chorus will be available to sing at a variety of events.” The chorus will be led

by Dan Kurek, who has 35 years’ experience teaching music and who has been the Temple Chai choir director for eight years.

All classes are open to adults 60 or older. Registration fees vary. Registration is available by calling Janet Arnold at 480599-7198, emailing her at janet.arnold@jfcsaz.org or visiting the JFCS website at jfcsaz.org/creativeaging.

Funding for the classes has been generously donated by the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix.

“JFCS is dedicated to helping to ensure the highest quality of life for people at any age. Our pilot program this past spring went so well; we’re pleased that we could find additional funding to enable JFCS to continue this creative line of services for older adults.”

Mahjong good for the mind and spirit

By Mala Blomquist

Mahjong instructor Vicki Errigo Hunt has been playing the tile game for about 30 years. Six years ago she began teaching at the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center in Scottsdale. She teaches all levels of the game from beginners to intermediates – some people even take the same class twice.

“Back when I learned how to play 30 years ago (in Washington state with some friends) there were no teachers, you were invited to play,” explains Vicki. “It’s like gin rummy with tiles. I won my first game and I was excited and thought this game is easy. Then I didn’t win a game for a year!”

Mahjong came to the United States from China in the 1920s. The game was patented by a gentleman named Joseph Park Babcock. Abercrombie & Fitch put out the first official game with tiles and instructions. “It became popular in the early 1920s and then kind of faded out and became popular again during the war,” explains Vicki. “Groups of women would play because there were not many things you could do and it was an indoor game where you could pass the time while husbands were gone. It became popular in the Catskills, and that’s where the Jewish community became so involved with the game.” In fact, the founders of the National Mahjong League were all Jewish women.

To this day, mostly women play the game although Vicki says a lot of couples will learn mahjong, especially if they’ve been playing bridge. The age range of the player is also changing. “My average age in my classes are usually people in their 60s,” Vicki explains. “But if you stop by The J during the week and see the groups playing downstairs – during open

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play – you will see all ages.”

Playing mahjong is good for your cognitive skills as Vicki explains, “You are multi-tasking with your brain. It’s good for memory and even has math skills because you have to figure out how much money you’ve won, or how many quarters you’ve lost.”

You also learn a new vocabulary when you are playing mahjong. Chinese words like “pongs” and “kongs” are used for three of a kind or four of a kind. Vicki teaches according to National Mahjong League rules with a standardized card. You have to know those Chinese words to convert hands to cards.

Vicki wants people to know that the mahjong game you can play on your smartphone is no where near the mahjong game she is teaching. “Stacking and matching tiles off of a mountain is not what we are doing at all,” says Vicki. “We are playing a close form of gin rummy where you have runs, three of a kind.

You are dealt 13 tiles, and you are arranging them by suit, and you try and get a hand that matches.”

There are at least eight or nine types of mahjong and at least five types of Chinese mahjong. The National Mahjong League and American Mahjong Association are the only two that use a standardized card with hands that are meant to be made.

It is said that the National Mahjong League is one of the hardest to play because the hands are limited to what’s on the standardized card. “Those are the rules and that is how you are going to play,” says Vicki.

There are many ways for those who want to play to find a game. “Classes give people the chance to play with others at their same skill level – some people from my classes years ago

“If you’re a game player, it’s a great opportunity to keep your mind alert. ” – Vicki Errigo Hunt

still play,” explains Vicki. “There are also groups on ‘Meetup’ and different restaurants around the Valley that have games.”

Some people play mahjong every day.

Vicki has advice for anyone who might want to try mahjong, “If you’re a game player, it’s a great opportunity to keep your mind alert. It’s also good for your emotional attitude because you are interacting socially with others – and you get snacks.

What could go wrong? Seems like the perfect thing!”

The Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center in Scottsdale offers beginning mahjong on Wednesdays from 10 am to noon. A new six-week session begins on Oct. 25. There is also an intermediate class offered on the same days from 12:3 to 2:30 pm. Cost for a six-week session is $100 for guests and $75 for members. To register, contact Harriet Colan at 480-481-7033 or email her at harrietc@vosjcc.org.

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KIDS & TEENS TOO!

MANAGE THAT MITZVAH The key to any successful event is planning and organization and this is particularly the case for a bar/ bat mitzvah. Having a schedule to assist with this planning can help keep your simcha on time, within budget and avoid forgetting any important steps.

Use the following timetable as a guide, adjusting and adding other items as you see necessary.

18 MONTHS – 2 YEARS BEFORE EVENT Secure the date with temple/synagogue Start thinking of the type of celebration you want to have Set a budget 12 - 18 MONTHS BEFORE EVENT Prepare a preliminary guest list Meet with a party planner ook venue, caterer, DJ, photographer, videographer and any other B entertainment Choose theme and/or color scheme iscuss with your child their mitzvah project and schedule time to D achieve their project goals

60 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

9 – 12 MONTHS BEFORE EVENT

Send out save-the-date cards (if desired) Book hotel rooms for out-of-town guests Decide on centerpieces, balloon designs/prop designs 6 – 9 MONTHS BEFORE EVENT

utoring begins for Torah portion; check with synagogue T on schedule and timeline for meetings with rabbi and cantor reate guest lists for various weekend events C (if applicable) 6 MONTHS BEFORE EVENT

Order invitations and thank-you notes Finalize guest list Set up spreadsheet to track RSVP’s and gifts Order sign-in board

1 MONTH BEFORE EVENT

reate welcome bags/baskets C for out-of-town guests; include schedule and directions Coordinate transportation for out-of-town guests Reconfirm all services (photographers, entertainers, etc.)

Connect with DJ with music requests Develop a seating plan Schedule rehearsal time with the temple/synagogue Write toasts and speeches ake sure all centerpieces, sign-in board, giveaways M and other decorations are ready Place announcement in synagogue bulletin 1 WEEK BEFORE EVENT

Confirm final guest count, set-up instructions and menu items with caterer Adjust seating plan

Start working on décor (room layout, centerpieces, lighting, etc.)

Drop-off/make arrangements for decorations to arrive at the venue

3 MONTHS BEFORE EVENT

Finalize menu and decor

Take formal pictures

Start clothes shopping

rovide final payments P or make arrangements with vendors

rder kippot for religious O services rder imprinted personalized O accessories and giveaways/party favors Mail out-of-town invitations 2 MONTHS BEFORE EVENT

Mail invitations reate candle-lighting ceremony, C determine who to honor oordinate the entertainers and C caterers, create a timeline for the day of the event

DAY OF EVENT

ake sure you and your child have M a good breakfast eave yourself plenty of time to get L ready emember to bring kippot, tallit, aliyah list, Torah R study note, handouts, speeches, matches/lighter and any other personal items to the service raise the bar/bat mitzvah throughout the day for their P excellent job and incredible effort Relax and enjoy the day!!!

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | OCTOBER 2017 61

BAR/BAT MITZVAH

Bar Mitzvahs as an opportunity for family healing

By Dr. Judith Davis

O

ur child’s bar/bat mitzvah can work therapeutically in many different but complementary ways. Most basically, it works by providing us with a familiar format: a safe, protected structure for making and marking transitions. It makes our journeys public and positive.And it makes us cry. We cry with love and pride as our child soars, and we cry for all of the losses that come with that achievement. Our tears are as traditional as the Torah. And in that moment, surrounded by those who love us, our tears are healing. Whether an ailing grandparent is there in a wheelchair or there only in our words and in our prayers, our sorrow will be understood and shared by all. The people we have brought together for the bar/bat mitzvah ritual become our community, amplifying our happiness and cushioning our grief.

This is what communities have done throughout the ages. This is what communities – and rituals – are for.

The bar/bat mitzvah ritual also has potential for healing in the way it works symbolically to mark boundaries and make connections. Yes, the bar/bat mitzvah is the child’s proclamation of growing maturity and eventual independence, but it is a proclamation being made in the embrace of the family and in the center of its tradition. It is a proclamation of increasing distance, yet paradoxically also one of connection and continuity. “Yes,” the child is saying, “I am growing up and away (and you can’t tell me what to do), but I will always be connected to my family, its culture and its tradition.” In this ceremonial performance, the ties between the generation that came before us and the one that follows us are strengthened.

Through the bar/bat mitzvah, the child enters the pivotal teenage years not only with an act of accomplishment that enhances his or her sense of pride and self-confidence, but with an expression of both separation and connection that is developmentally perfect. It is perfect because it represents exactly the shifting boundaries between closeness and distance that emerging adolescents need to be working on as they evolve their self-stories, their ideas about themselves as young people “getting ready” to become adults. And given that their stories and their parents’ stories are so interwoven, the bar/bat mitzvah’s capacity to help with these shifting stories is developmentally perfect for us too. Just as the experience helps our children develop confidence in themselves, it helps us have confidence in them – and in our own ability to know how much to hold on and how much to let go – not only as parents, but as partners and as children ourselves.

In a highly charged and dramatic way, the bar/bat mitzvah is a kind of story – a story that the family enacts about the child’s growing up. It is in this enactment that the child – the central character – gets to portray his or her unique version of the evolution, and the parents and grandparents – the other members of the cast – get to enact their versions of support. The invited 62 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

family and friends, who have gathered as audience, witness and celebrate the enacted changes.

The bar/bat mitzvah works to promote growth and healing in yet another way as well. This “work” is much more prosaic, almost accidental, and generally unnoticed. It happens during the planning period, the months before the event when we are immersed in the nitty-gritty decisions about whom to invite, where to house them, what to feed them, where to seat them, what kind of party to have, what kind of music to play, etc.

These pragmatic decisions are, of course, about managing the size, shape, and feel of the event, but they are also about much more than that. Whether we consciously notice their potential or not, these decisions and the manner in which we make them often turn out to be opportunities for evolving new ways of relating to each other – new ways that our new life stages demand.

For instance, how we negotiate whose names will be on the invitation when there has been a remarriage can help estranged parents reach a new level of compromise and understanding. Such a shift could begin changing old patterns that have kept our child painfully choosing between us for years.

Allowing the bat mitzvah girl to wear the party dress we’d thought too grown-up could be an important message acknowledging her increasing maturity and our acceptance of it.

Our choice to house both sides of the family in the same hotel, despite the still painful misunderstanding at the last family gathering, becomes an opportunity for reconciliation that would have been impossible with continued distance. At the very least, it is a message about our expectations that such movement is possible.

Our decision to invite Aunt Rosie, who’s been cut off from the family since Uncle Ben died, could begin healing wounds throughout that generation, many of which we aren’t even aware of. Our decisions about everything, from prayers to parties, guest lists to thank-you notes, are really decisions about relationships.

They are the therapeutic opportunities hidden in the ritual’s details, the “work” that occurs as we outgrow old roles and take on new ones.

The above article was excerpted from Whose Bar/Bat Mitzvah Is This, Anyway? A Guide for Parents Through A Family Rite of Passage, by Judith Davis, Ed.D. Dr. Davis is a licensed family therapist, retired from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, and currently teaching at Antioch University, Keene, NH. She has published widely on ritual and family life development, and enjoys traveling to give workshops and presentations on these topics. She has a private therapy practice in Amherst, MA, working with couples and families. She can be reached at judavis@acad.umass.edu.

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Stage performances – Fabulous DJ Dance- Fun Activities – Food – Give-A-Ways Booths are educational and/or interactive for you & your kids Inflatables, Face Painting and Fabulous Food Super Heroes will be joining US

www.ShapeUpUS.org ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | OCTOBER 2017 63

BAR/BAT MITZVAH

Delectable Desserts

By Mala Blomquist

Since bar/bat mitzvahs are all about kids, it’s no surprise that sweet treats hold a prominent place in the festivities.

Some children even choose an entire candy-themed occasion with candy adorning everything from the décor to the dance floor.

Here are some different ideas if you want to add some sweet fun to your simcha!

S’MORES DESSERT BAR Set up a table top marshmallow roasting station with Sterno cans set in terracotta pots or a metal trough filled with rocks. Include graham crackers and assorted candy bars for guests to make the perfect s’more.

DOUGHNUT STATION Who doesn’t love doughnuts? They can be arranged on trays or hung from dowels on a pegboard. You can serve a variety of donuts or serve plain and provide frosting and sprinkles for guests to decorate their own. Another option is to serve doughnut holes in paper cones for a grab-and-go treat.

CUPCAKES AND CAKE POPS Cupcakes and cake pops are also a favorite when it comes to desserts. Offer guests different sprinkles to adorn pre-frosted cakes or place out frosting and have a whole do-it-yourself decorating area.

CANDY WALL Many party vendors offer these setups that include 10 tubes of candy of your choice. You can match your color scheme or just pick some of the kids’ favorites. Custom labels and personalized candy bags are usually included.

CANDY SUSHI Looks like the real thing only it’s made with sweets. Rice Krispie treats 64 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

are an excelent substitute for sticky rice, and other ingredients can include Swedish fish, licorice string, gummy worms and fruit rolls. The sushi can be incorporated into the dessert bar or as a sweet treat for guests to take home.

POPCORN BAR For those who prefer salty with their sweets – a popcorn bar fits the bill. Set out bushels of popcorn with assorted powdered seasonings or have small candies like M&M’s, Reese’s Pieces, Junior Mints or chocolate chips as mix-ins.

ICE CREAM SUNDAE BAR Nothing is better than building your own ice cream sundae! Keep the ice cream options simple with vanilla or chocolate and go wild with topping varieties. Offer a mix of berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries), coconut, granola, candies, chopped up candy bars, nuts (if allergies are not a concern), toffee bits, cereal, sprinkles and of course hot fudge and caramel sauce.

NITRO ICE CREAM If you want ice cream and entertainment go for nitro! This ice cream is made right in front of you using a rapid freezing process which also creates a cold fog. The liquid nitrogen quickly freezes the fat and water particles in an ice cream base, with temps plunging downwards to -321 degrees Fahrenheit. Offer various candies for mix-ins or toppings.

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ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | OCTOBER 2017 65

BAR/BAT MITZVAH

An intimate Israeli bar mitzvah

By Mala Blomquist

P

lanning a bar mitzvah is stressful enough, but what if you had moved to an area where there wasn’t a large Jewish community and no Jewish day school?

Such was the case for Mark Aronauer and his husband, Jack.

They lived in Phoenix when their son, Mason, was in 3rd and 4th grade and he was a student at Pardes Jewish Day School. Then the family moved to Santa Fe, NM. “When we moved, Mason was no longer in a Jewish day school (because there wasn’t one), so we weren’t so involved with the dayto-day Jewish education when Mason was in the 5th and 6th grade,” explains Mark.

That’s when the family started thinking about having Mason’s bar mitzvah in Israel. “Every year we take a big trip,” says Mark.

“We have been to Europe, Dubai, Argentina – the whole idea of having a bar mitzvah in Israel resonated with us.” The family is back in Phoenix now, and Mark admits that they may have gone the more traditional route had they been living here when they were beginning their planning.

Mark and Jack started researching the logistics of the trip.

“Normally, when you go to Israel for a bar mitzvah, you reach out to a tour company who you don’t know, and they get you a rabbi, and it’s a whole business – and not very personal,” explains Mark.

They wanted a more personal approach. Mark had a childhood friend, Cindy Roth, who is a cantor and event planner at a synagogue in California and had performed bar mitzvahs around Mammoth Lakes and Lake Tahoe. What they both liked about Cindy’s approach was that she caters each service to the individual family.

Mark reached out to Cindy, and she agreed to be Mason’s tutor.

“Most of Mason’s practice happened over FaceTime, although there was one time when our family and Cindy were both in Palm Springs and they met to study,” comments Mark. Mark and Jack also asked Cindy to accompany them to Israel.

Their two-week stay in Israel began on June 7 of this past summer. “We spent two weeks traveling with family (there were nine of us total). We traveled through the whole country from Jerusalem to the northern border,” says Mark. Mark’s mother

66 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

was there for the first week of their stay and his father arrived in the second week, so they planned Mason’s bar mitzvah in the middle so both grandparents would be able to attend.

Mark also explained that the extra time, “Gave Mason a chance to have a connection with Israel before his bar mitzvah.”

Their first visit to the Western Wall happened on Friday night. After they went to the Kotel and left their notes in the Wall, they came back out and sat and observed.

“It was a phenomenal feeling to get to the Wall at Shabbat. You see a lot of the religious scholars, dressed in their long black coats and payot,” reflect Mark “Guys on one side singing and girls on the other. There were young adults that had come on their Birthright trip. People were visiting the Wall for the first time. All this stuff was going on around you – it was overwhelming – a really amazing moment.”

On June 13 the family arrived at Robinson’s Arch for the bar mitzvah. Robinson’s Arch is at the southern end of the Western Wall, outside of the security area. The religious activities there are coordinated by the Masorti, or Conservative movement, enabling men and women to be able to pray together. There are four different table stations set up for bar/bat mitzvah ceremonies in this area.

Since the Torah is typically read in Israel on Monday and Thursday, and it was a Tuesday, the family had the entire place to themselves. “Also because it was Tuesday, we didn’t have to make a reservation in advance and were able to choose the table in the area we liked,” explains Mark. They brought the tablecloth, tallit, Torah (all the way from Phoenix), yad and set up the whole service right there. “We wrote the service and there were four portions of the Torah read – Masons’ grandpa, grandma, Jack and I all did an aliyah.”

Even though they knew it would be a remarkable experience, Mark states how it surpassed their expectations. “For Jack and me, and my parents, we all said it was more of a connection and more of a service than an of us even expected.” And Mason gets to say he became a bar mitzvah in Israel.

Driftwood Quintet

Phantom of the Opera film

MITZVAH Sunday, BAR/BAT Dec. 3 at 4 p.m. SHOWCASE DIRECTORY SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Fre

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ASU Kerr Cultural Center

6110 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale 480-596-2660 • asukerr.com ASU Kerr is the elegant, affordable, private event leader in Scottsdale. Rentals include topnotch professional sound and lighting, tables, chairs, parking and the freedom to bring your own insured caterer.

Embassy Suites by Hilton Scottsdale Resort

5001 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale 480-421-5541 scottsdale.embassysuites.com Located 10 minutes from Old Town Scottsdale, the Embassy Suites by Hilton Scottsdale Resort is the preferred destination for bar/bat mitzvahs. With a kosher kitchen, this resort features newly designed indoor and outdoor space including the Chaparral Conference Center accommodating up to 600 guests. Plan your event for lasting memories.

Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus

12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale 480-481-7123 • iljcc.org Offering a variety of open and airy multi-use spaces for events of all kinds, including bar / bat mitzvah services and celebrations, receptions, parties, classes, conferences, fundraisers, weddings, meetings and more!

SU Kerr Cultural Center 110 N. Scottsdale Rd. (off Rose Lane) cottsdale

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | OCTOBER 2017 67

as

BAR/BAT MITZVAH SHOWCASE DIRECTORY SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Musical Instrument Museum (MIM)

4725 E. Mayo Blvd., Phoenix 480-245-6982 • MIM.org As an event destination, the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) offers a variety of options that can harmonize with any occasion. The versatility of the space, combined with its stylish architecture, high level of personal comfort, and distinctive setting, provides the perfect blend of creativity and functionality for events of all types.

Pomelo at the Orchard

7100 N. 12th St., Phoenix 602-633-2600 • pomelophx.com Pomelo at the Orchard is the perfect place to hold a bar/ bat mitzvah, corporate event, baby shower, wedding or any celebration where you want a one-of-a-kind setting for your private party. The private dining rooms inside Pomelo as well as the beautiful Orchard Lawn and Barn can accommodate an intimate gathering of 12 up to a large group of 300.

Tucson Jewish Community Center

3800 E. River Road, Phoenix 520-299-3000 • tucsonjcc.org The Tucson J is the most versatile location in Tucson! We can accommodate your special themed party to make it a life-long memorable event. Our venue has multiple indoor and outdoor spaces, including a gorgeous sculpture garden, fine art gallery, gymnasium and much more, all in a kosher (dairy) environment.

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JKIDS

& TEENS TOO!

Sharon and Stewart Levine: Helping kids put their best foot forward

living in Highland Park, IL. When they gazed outside Amelia Earhart once their community gate, they said, “A single act of would frequently observe kindness throws roots out children walking to school in all directions – and the in snowy weather, in gym roots spring up and make shoes that were torn. That new trees.” Scottsdale was when they decided residents and Temple to be part of the solution.

Solel members Sharon “We were so moved,” says Levine and her husband Sharon, “we decided to Stewart, are living donate clothes and shoes. examples of this inspiring Soon afterward, we found sentiment. By providing out about the original free athletic shoes to California chapter of Shoes needy children, they are That Fit. We loved the making an indelible mark concept, and thought it on the philanthropic sounded like a great way to Sharon and Stewart Levine landscape of Arizona. boost kid’s self-esteem and The couple changes lives, have them perform better in by bringing hope, dignity school.” The couple was so and joy to thousands of needy children – one shoe at a time. deeply inspired by the concept; they decided to open a branch Sharon and Stewart spearheaded the local Shoes That Fit in Chicago, giving away hundreds of coats, gym shoes and chapter (called the FATE Group in memory of the couple’s boots. Upon moving to Scottsdale in 2016, the couple brought fathers, Frank and Nate). The recipient of the 12 Who Care their sense of social responsibility with them, opening up a local Award from KPNX Channel 12 in Phoenix, the chapter’s STF chapter. motto is “sturdy and stylish, not expensive and trendy.” “The A compelling story Sharon loves to tell involves a woman children we serve often wear flip-flops or ill-fitting, worn or who was determined to “pay it forward” despite her financial torn shoes to school which can make it difficult for them to situation. “Noticing our two carts with about 100 pairs of shoes participate in recreational activities,” explains Sharon. “Most of in Walmart, one day, a mother approached us, asking what they these kids never had a brand new pair of shoes, let alone any were for. When we told her, (the Creighton School District), shoes at all. We want them to be thrilled with their gift of new she excitedly told us her kids got shoes last year from FATE. shoes. It makes such a difference to them on a daily basis.”

She was proud of the fact she had a better year after that, Since its inception in 2006, FATE has been quite a and was able to buy the kids’ shoes herself. She reached into philanthropic tour-de-force. The couple has provided more her pocket, gave us 70 cents. and insisted we take it to ‘pay it than 9,000 pairs of new athletic shoes, and hundreds of pairs forward.’ She modeled the most wonderful thing in front of her of socks to children enrolled in schools in the Paradise Valley, kids. That is the best donation we ever got.”

Creighton, Mesa, Tempe, Pendergast, Sun City West, Madison, Frequently social workers are the front line in schools and Glendale, Balsz, Kyrene and Scottsdale Unified School can make important decisions. “We got a phone call from a Districts. school social worker, one day,” explains Sharon, who told us A grassroots organization, FATE strives to be streamlined, about a child who came in with just socks. There were four and free of overhead and bureaucracy. “We pride ourselves children in the family, but only three shoes; so one day each kid on zero administrative costs and want all the shoes going on wears socks. We took care of him, but this story illuminates the the kids as soon as possible,” says Sharon. “We pay for any fact of what goes on inside the schools.” administrative costs ourselves; we want everything going back To find out how you can help, or to make a donation, to the kids.” contact Sharon and Stewart Levine at 480-907-7960 or visit The concept for the much-needed organization was shoesthatfit.org. conceived from a sobering observation the couple made while

By Melissa Hirschl

ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | OCTOBER 2017 69

JKIDS

Ongoing:

Club J at the Valley of the Sun JCC Provides after-school programming ranging from sports to cooking and crafts to Israeli culture and more for those in K-8. Transportation from nearby schools available. Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, 12701 N Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. 480634-4949 or youth@vosjcc.org, vosjcc.org.

& TEENS TOO!

J Care at the East Valley JCC Parent drop-off or bus transportation from area schools for grades K-7.

Includes homework club, cooking, Israeli culture, dance, sports, gymnastics and more. Early pick-ups from Kyrene schools on Wednesday early dismissals. East Valley Jewish Community Center, 908 N Alma School Road, Chandler. Contact Jeff at 480-897-0588 or hastj@evjcc.org, evjcc.org.

J-Care After-School Program at the Tucson JCC Includes a variety of activities, Homework Hangout program (help from education specialists), arts, sports or teens can hang in the Youth Lounge.

Bus transportation from schools available for K-12. Tucson Jewish Community Center, 3800 E River Road, Tucson. Contact Scott at 520-2993000 ext. 192 or szorn@tucsonjcc.org, tucsonjcc.org.

Oct. 1 Tropical Tea with Moana at Girly Girlz, 15425 N. Scottsdale Road #240, Scottsdale from 11:30 am-12:30 pm. Girls will make a craft, take photos with Moana and more. $29.95/girl; reservation required. 480-998-4832 or girly-girlz.com.

Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29 Tots Program in the Northwest by Congregation Or Chadash at the Jewish Federation Northwesy, 190 W. Magee Road, Tucson at 10 am. What is Jewish about butterflies? Tots program in the northwest will help you answer this and so much more. Jewish storytelling, music, crafts and more for 3-5-year-olds. 520-900-7030.

the 8th Grade Class for their Jewish LA trip to include: spaghetti, salad and garlic bread. Donations of $8 for adults 13+; $5 for 6-12 years old, and $3 for children 5 and under. Call (520)327-4501 to register in advance for the dinner. Please bring donations of nonperishable and canned goods for the Community Food Bank.

Tot Shabbat at 5:45-8 pm at Congregation Anshei Israel, 5550 E 5th St., Tucson. Special Kabbalat Shabbat Service for young families to welcome the Sabbath with stories and songs, followed by kid-friendly Shabbat dinner. $25 per family (2 adults & up to 4 children). Additional adults $10 per person. RSVP to Kim, 520-745-5550 ext. 224 or edasst@caiaz.org.

Oct. 6, 13, 20 & 27 Mommy & Me Rock Shabbat at Temple Kol Ami Early Childhood Center, 15030 N 64th St., Scottsdale from 9-10:30 am. Teacher-led class for moms and their children ages infant to 2 years. Moms connect and share experiences while their children learn and grow. Classes are just $5 per class (or $35 for a 10-class pass) for Temple Kol Ami members. Nonmembers pay $10 per class (or $75 for a 10- class pass). For registration or information contact 480-951-5825 or tkaecc@templekolami.org.

Oct. 8 Simply Sukkot and Simchat Torah at the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale from 9-11 am.

There will be fun activities, crafts, stories and more. ECC families: Free; Guests: $5 per child. Information and registration: 480-659-7769 or earlychildhood@vosjcc.org.

Sing & Dance with Billy Jonas at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, 3800 E. River Road, Tucson from 4-6 pm in the Sculpture Garden. Event includes a concert, story from PJ Library and a breakfast-themed dinner.

Tickets are $18 per immediate family if you register by Wednesday, Oct. 4, $25 per immediate family after. Tickets may be purchased at tucsonjcc.org/ billyjonas, or by calling 520-299-3000.

Oct. 21 Oct. 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30 Parent-Tot Class for ages up to 24 months and their parent(s). Participants sign songs, make art projects, read stories, have a snack and share parenting advice. Free. 9-11 am at Congregation Anshei Israel, 5550 E 5th St., Tucson. 520-745-5550 ext. 229 or lynne@caiaz.org.

Oct. 4 Storytime in the Northwest with PJ Library at 10 am at the Jewish Federation Northwest, 190 W Magee Road #162, Oro Valley. Storytime featuring PJ Library books followed by snacks. We have guest readers and guitar players, seasonal crafts, outdoor play and more! Meet other Jewish parents, grandparents and caretakers. For newborn through age 5, but all ages and abilities are welcome. 520-577-9393 ext. 138 or pjlibrary@jfsa. org.

Day of Play at Midwestern University, 19555 N. 59th Ave., Glendale from 9 am-2 pm. Stage performances, DJ, activities, giveaways, education booths, inflatables, face painting, food and more. ShapeUpUS.org.

It’s a Scooby Doo Mystery Kids Night Out at the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale from 6-10 pm.

Calling all lovers of magic and mystery! Follow the clues for an evening full of surprises and a whodunit dinner!

Dinner and Scooby snacks provided. Movie: “Scooby Doo.” Members: $10; Guests: $20. Price per child. Information and registration: 480.634.4949 or youth@vosjcc.org.

Oct. 22

Oct. 6

This is Tucson School & Camp Fair 2017 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, 3800 E. River Road, Tucson from 11 am- 3 pm. Tucson’s first big event for families navigating school choice! One day, one place…for the chance to talk with local schools and clubs about their programs and what they have to offer your child. 520-299-3000 or tucsonjcc.org.

Shabbat Sukkot Rocks! Service & Family Shabbat Dinner at Temple EmanuEl, 225 N Country Club Road, Tucson from 5:30-8 pm. Shabbat Rocks Shabbat Service will be preceded by Spaghetti Under the Sukkah (dinner in the Biblical Garden) at 5:30 pm. This dinner benefit for and prepared by

Schmooze Young Families Zoo Outing at the Phoenix Zoo, 455 N. Galvin Pkwy., Phoenix at 9 am. For additional details and to RSVP, visit Facebook. com/azschmooze.

Girly-Girlz Afterschool Program. See page 80.

70 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

ISRAEL

My daughter Ruthie helps chained women

By Teddy Weinberger

Toward the end of her law studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, my younger daughter, Ruthie, 27, worked on legal matters for Mavoi Satum (mavoisatum.org). This organization tries to resolve the “dead end” faced by agunot (women whose husbands cannot be located) and mesoravot get (women denied a get, the Jewish writ of divorce).

The problem is more widespread than one might imagine, and it starts with the fact that there is no civil divorce in Israel.

Mavoi Satum estimates that one in five Jewish women seeking a divorce in Israel is unable to exit her marriage freely; this amounts to 3,400 women joining the ranks of agunot and mesoravot get each year. The problem extends beyond Israel because civil divorce does not end a Jewish marriage, and women in observant communities remain chained to husbands who cannot or will not grant a get.

In addition to helping thousands of mesoravot get through their own specific ordeals, Mavoi Satum has chalked up some significant systemic changes. For example, the organization has been successful in setting two legal precedents: civil courts now enable mesoravot get to sue for compensation before receiving a get from the rabbinic court, and relatives (such as the parents) of the husband can now be held responsible for damages against the woman if they have incited the husband to deny giving the get.

Here’s what Ruthie has to say about her work with Mavoi Satum: As a third-year law student, I was looking for a legal job to get my head out of the books and get a feeling of “the real world.” So when I saw a post that Mavoi Satum was looking for a law student for its legal department, I applied immediately. A legal job with a very good cause sounded perfect.

You might be thinking at this point, as I did, is it really worth having an entire organization solely for this minor problem of mesoravot get? How hard could it be to pressure a husband to give his wife a get? I hate to say it, but in “modern” Israel the answers to these questions are worse than I could have imagined.

Walking into my first staff meeting at Mavoi Satum, things began to clear up. The meeting started with plans for Shira’s mesibat get (a party for a woman who finally receives a get).

Shira’s husband had been sitting in jail for several years, standing firm on his decision not to give Shira a get, but he finally agreed. Hurray! Now that’s a reason to celebrate, I thought.

The staff meeting proceeded to another woman who had been accused of rejecting her get agreement, because she would not consent to the astronomical amount of money that was demanded by her husband (with the rabbinical court’s approval). Hearing the details of this "agreement," we couldn't help but laugh.

Next at the meeting, they talked about a mesoravet get who was, unfortunately, also brutally and violently abused. The most fascinating thing to me at the meeting was just to be in the presence of the three women around the table. Three passionate, powerful, determined women.

Mavoi Satum is about more than just representing women against their husbands; it is trying to change an unequal, depressing system. I feel lucky and eager to be a part of this important cause.

To try to effect change in Israeli marriage and divorce, Mavoi Satum writes law proposals to the Knesset. That was my job. I wrote several law proposals and with every one that I wrote I was struck with surprise: No one had ever thought of such an obvious law until this day? How could a whole country, with high divorce rates, allow women who file for divorce to be manipulated by their husbands in such an easy and exploitative way?

The answer is that most of the laws I wrote had been proposed in the past, but they were opposed by the ultraorthodox parties or were pushed aside by more pressing issues – of those our country has many. So I rewrote the proposals for resubmission to the Knesset. I admit it was a little discouraging.

But change takes time and determination. If those women from Mavoi Satum are willing to devote most of their lives to it, I'm willing to do my fair share, too.

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Jewish Geography is more than a game

By Amy Hirshberg Lederman

We all know how to play the game. You go to a party and the woman next to you mentions that she just moved from Detroit and for the next few minutes, the conversation goes something like this.

“Really? I have a cousin in Detroit, or maybe it’s West Bloomfield,” you say with an immediate sense of connection. “Do you know David Greenberg? He used to be the president of Congregation Beth Israel.”

She smiles and responds that her best friend from high school is a member of Beth Israel and that she goes to a gynecologist named Greenberg, so he’s probably the same guy.

The banter goes back and forth as you establish that there is only one degree of separation between you and someone’s closest friend, physician or high school sweetheart.

And there’s something comforting about feeling connected to other Jews – even those

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you’ve never met – simply because we are members of the same tribe.

At the heart of this seemingly innocuous game however, lies a question whose answer has become quite contentious and often hurtful to Jews and non-Jews alike. The question of who is a “member of the tribe” has serious and diverse religious, legal and political ramifications that did not exist in Biblical times when simply being a member of one of the 12 tribes determined the answer.

The original name for Jews was Hebrews (Ivri in Hebrew) and was first mentioned in Genesis to describe Abraham. Tradition teaches that the word means "from the other side," referring to both the fact that Abraham came from across the Euphrates and that he was different from his contemporaries both morally and spiritually because he understood that there was only one true God. Later, the Hebrews are called the Children of Israel or Israelites, referring to the fact that

Jews are descendants of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel when he wrestled with God and received His blessing.

The word "Jew" itself (in Hebrew, Yehudi) comes from the name Judah, the only one of Jacob's sons who offered his own life up to protect his younger brother Benjamin.

When the Children of Israel came together at the foot of Mt. Sinai to receive the Torah, there was no distinction as to who was a Jew. Everyone who stood before God that day – from the heads of tribes to the wood choppers, from the elderly to the women and small children – came together as one people, the Jewish people, to receive the Torah.

The question of who is a Jew has taken on new meaning since the founding of the state of Israel in1948. Israel is a Jewish democracy, but unlike American democracy, there is no separation between the domain of religion and the state. Jews in Israel are subject to state-run religious institutions which are regulated by the Orthodox Rabbinate. Unlike American Jewry, which prides itself on pluralism and diversity, Orthodox Jewish law is the only recognized Jewish law in Israel and permeates many aspects of Israeli life – from the prohibition of public transportation on the Sabbath to who may marry whom to where a person can be buried.

According to Halacha (Orthodox Jewish law), a Jew is anyone born to a Jewish mother or who has been converted according to Halacha. But for many Israeli citizens who fully consider themselves Jewish but do not follow Halacha, this definition is problematic and controversial.

When Israel was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, one of its first acts as a government was to abolish all restrictions on Jewish immigration. In 1950, The Knesset passed the Law of Return, which gave every Jew the right to immigrate to Israel and become a citizen. The initial law deliberately avoided using any religious definition of Jewish identity but conflicts arose between the state and the rabbinate, with many issues ending up in the courts.

The Law of Return was amended in 1970 which both expanded and limited the definition of “who is a Jew.” For purposes of immigration and Israeli citizenship, anyone with one Jewish grandparent is considered Jewish. But for purposes of national and civil law (including marriage, adoption, conversion and divorce) only a person with a Jewish mother or who has legitimately converted is considered Jewish. To add to the confusion, legitimate conversion is not specified in the Law of Return, giving rise to new questions such as “who is a rabbi?” and “who is a convert?”

As American Jews we are privileged because our disagreements remain within our synagogues and religious institutions and will not be determined by the state. We must understand, however, that Israel faces problems which are unique and perhaps even necessary to the only country in the world that calls itself a Jewish democracy.

Clothes make the man, and the man reads...

WANDER NO MORE

azjewishlife.com

Amy Hirshberg Lederman has written than 300 columns and essays more that have been published nationwide. amyhirshberglederman.com

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Celebration of Heritage Concert Series

A celebration of the multicultural mosaic of our heritage featuring the music of Jewish-American composers and others

The Tucson Jewish Community Center at 3800 E. River Road in Tucson is pleased to announce the fall Celebration of Heritage Concert Series. The series, hosted by Roza Simkhovich, includes performances by Anna Gendler and Alexander Tentser from the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, classical guitarist Michael Lich, lyricist Richard Fuchs, and mezzo-soprano Korby Myrick and pianist composer Richard Hereld.

Tickets for each performance are $10. Tickets can be purchased for all four concerts for $40 for non-members and $36 for members of The J. Tickets are available at tucsonjcc.org

Celebrating Felix Mendelssohn and Fanny Mendelssohn Tuesday, October 10 at 7 pm

Join us for an unforgettable program featuring Anna Gendler and Alexander Tentser from the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, in a violin and piano duo. The program is dedicated to the music of the great German Romantic composer of Jewish origin Felix Mendelssohn and his sister Fanny Mendelssohn.

Anna Gendler, a graduate of the Moscow Conservatory in

Alexander Tentser and Anna Gendler

or by calling 520-299-3000.

Roza Simkhovich holds a MS from Kaliningrad State Technical University, Russia and MEd from University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ. She is an educator with more than 30 years of experience, formerly a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Russian and Slavic Studies at University of Arizona and with OASIS. A former board member of the Tucson J, in the 1980s she started “The Celebration of Heritage Concert Series” in the spring of 2017 which was a resounding success.

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Russia, has been a member of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra since 1991. Tentser is one of the organizers and presenters in the 2013 and 2015 Shaol Pozez Memorial Fine Arts Symposiums on Jewish Music.

Celebrating Spanish, Latin and Baroque Contemporary Music Sunday, November 19 at 2 pm

Classical guitarist Michael Lich will perform a concert of exciting Spanish and Latin music and Baroque-Contemporary.

The performance will include works by Albéniz, Brouwer, Lich, Rodrigo and Scarlatti. Michael Lich (classical guitarist, banjoplayer, arranger and composer) is an eclectic musician who performs a wide variety of musical styles including classical, jazz and bluegrass. Michael's classical guitar career has taken him from Skagway, Alaska to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Busan, South Korea to Frankfurt, Germany. Michael currently is on faculty at the Academy of Music and Dance of Tucson/Oro Valley, Quest for the Arts and Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona.

Celebrating America’s History!

Thursday, November 30 at 7 pm

Richard Fuchs is a native of Long Island, New York and has been involved in music & lyric writing for more than 50 years. His coral setting of "GETTYSBURG" was published and had its premiere performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC on November 19, 1983. His "REQUIEM GEMINI" about the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center and his "CIVIL WAR CANTATA -

150" commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War have been performed many times throughout the country.

Additionally, Mr. Fuchs composed the musical score for the off-Broadway play "1999" as well as his signature song "LONG ISLAND." Richard and Carol, his wife of 53 years, spend their fall and winter months here in Tucson and the summer and spring seasons back in New York.

Celebrating Italian Melodies; Operatic Arias, Art Songs and Folk Music

Sunday, December 17 at 2 pm Come join Tucson's beloved mezzo-soprano, Korby Myrick, and her husband, pianist and composer Richard Hereld for an afternoon of beautiful Italian melody. The program will be drawn from operatic arias, art songs and folk songs and will feature masterpieces by such composers as Bellini, Rossini, Donezetti, Tosti, Mozart and Verdi. You're sure to leave humming. Viva Italia!

Call for Participants!

The Celebration of Heritage Concert Series features the talented groups and individuals in the variety of genres of the performing arts, while celebrating the multicultural mosaic of our heritage. If you would like to participate as a performer in our concerts, please contact Roza Simkhovich at rozas@cox.net or call 520-298-6599.

Federation matters to me because it supports EVJCC programs that promote human dignity, teach respect and understanding of Judaism, and create lifetime relationships.

YOUR GIFT MATTERS.

Strengthening Jewish life and identity while providing for Jews in need

George Goffman

480.481.7031 | jewishphoenix.org/donate

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Millions still available for corporate tax credit The Jewish Tuition Organization wants corporations to know that they have a rare opportunity to get the same tax credit from the State of Arizona as private individuals do – and make a difference by supporting need-based scholarships for Jewish day school students.

Similar to the individual private school tax credit, anyone filing taxes as an S corporation or C corporation can get the same dollar-for-dollar tax credit from the state of Arizona as an individual can. The reason is that this year, the cap on the corporate private school tax credit of $74 million that the state has set has not been met yet. Last year the cap was $62 million, and it was met within a few hours of when the program began on July 1. At press time, there was more than $4 million left of tax credit available to corporations.

There is a minimum for S corporations of $5,000, and there is no maximum for anyone at this point. There is also no deadline; the program will continue until the cap is met.

The process is different for corporations than for individuals who can send the money in themselves. “Corporations need to contact the JTO, and we will fill out an application on their behalf with the Arizona Department of Revenue,” says Linda Zell, executive director of the Jewish Tuition Organization.

“The Department of Revenue will not accept applications directly from a corporation; it has to go through a student 76 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

tuition organization.”

Linda explains that once they apply on behalf of the corporation, the JTO will be notified within 48 hours if the state has accepted or declined the application. If approved, the corporation has 20 calendar days to pay the money to the JTO. “We can provide need-based scholarships for low-income families,” says Linda. “Any corporate tax credit money must, by law, go to need-based families.” The JTO does not accept any recommendations on how the money should be allocated.

The Jewish Tuition Organization is the only student tax organization that supports six Jewish day schools including Desert Jewish Academy, Pardes Jewish Day School, Phoenix Hebrew Academy, Shearim Torah High School for Girls, Torah Day School of Phoenix and Yeshiva High School of Arizona.

“Last year the state’s funds were exhausted within hours; this is a wonderful opportunity to support need-based scholarships for Jewish day school students. We really don’t know how long the money will be available, so there is a sense of urgency,” explains Linda.

To take advantage of the corporate tax credit and help children in the community attend Jewish day schools contact the JTO office at 480-634-4926 or visit jtophoenix.org.

FEDERATION NOTES New Year’s Reflections on Forgiveness

By Marty Haberer As we begin the year 5778, I am reminded how grateful I am for our traditions and rituals and that we, as the Jewish people, have been gathering together to keep our traditions alive over millennia.

I was fortunate to spend the High Holidays with many friends and with family.

During that time, it was the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and the Yom Kippur fast, Yomim Norim (Days of Awe), that struck me most. For Jews around the world, it is a time of introspection, reconciliation and forgiveness. We are instructed to ask the pardon of those we have wronged. When we do, we give them the gift of the opportunity to forgive while we are given the gift of their

Stroll down the streets of New York!

Grab a bite at the local deli or hot dog stand. Be entertained by street performers and card sharks before enjoying a Broadway-style show that will knock your socks off.

forgiveness.

The Days of Awe has empowered me to make apologies over the years that I likely wouldn’t have if not for this difficult, but beautiful Jewish tradition. I have done so, even with people I may have wronged as far back as elementary school. It is very

Saturday, Dec. 2 | 6:30pm at the Valley of the Sun JCC

freeing to apologize and be granted forgiveness for things we feel badly about, even for things we did many years ago.

One of the most meaningful rituals during the Days of Awe is the Tashlikh (casting away of sins). Each year, my family takes bread and finds a serene location with running water.

Honoring Jennifer & Steven Schwarz

Individually, we reflect on the sins we have committed during the year, then cast a crumb we have broken from the bread into the water, symbolically casting away our sins. For me, it is an unburdening of my soul, a way for me to start the new

Chaired by Tiffani & Dan Bachus and Michelle & Bryan Kort

year fresh. If you have never participated in a Tashlikh ritual, I strongly encourage it.

So, as we enter into the new year, I ask that if I have sinned against any of you, knowingly or unknowingly, I hope you will find it in your hearts to forgive me. I wish you and those you

register at

vosjcc.org/newyork

love a happy, healthy and sweet 5778.

Shana Tova U’mituka!

Proceeds benefit the

Marty Haberer is the executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix.

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FAC&EPLSACES

AWARD FOR AJHS - On Sept. 7, The City of Phoenix presented a plaque to the Arizona Jewish Historical Society at the Cutler Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center in recognition for their part in facilitating the City of Phoenix Incident Command team’s action headquarters for the week following the Burton Barr Library catastrophic storm damage. Photo from left, Timothy Martin, Karl Kendall, J.J. Jefferson, Jeffrey Schesnol, Lawrence Bell and Scott Krushak.

AJHS HONOREES - Above, Michael Orlikoff, right, congratulates honorees Bob Segelbaum and Elaine Waxman at the 2017 annual meeting of the Arizona Jewish Historical Society on Sunday, May 21. Several hundred guests attended the event at the Cutler Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center where the couple was presented with the Beryl Morton Jewish Heritage Award. Among the crowd were AJHS board members (top) Jerry Lewkowitz, left, and Harvey Dietrich. Photos by Leni Reiss

BASSEM EID LECTURES - On May 23, Valley Beit Midrash hosted two lectures with Bassem Eid, an analyst for Israeli TV and radio and Palestinian human rights activist. The first lecture, “Palestinians’ Internal Politics and Conflicts” was hosted at Temple Solel and the second lecture, “How Does the BDS Movement Harass the Palestinian People?” was hosted at Temple Chai (photo).

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CARDOZO COMMITTEE - Jewish Federation Cardozo committee members and presenter Jordan Kroop were all smiles at the legal society's CLE event on June 22. More than 30 legal professionals attended the ethic-related event about emerging vocal trends among younger women and the potential for resulting gender bias. From left: Raphael Avraham (Cardozo chair), Justin Feinberg, Andrew Westle, Jordan Kroop, Eliot Kaplan, Geoff Balon and Erica Stutman.

BIRTHDAY BASH - More than 300 people attended the Valley of the Sun JCC’s birthday bash on Aug. 20 to celebrate its 15th year in Scottsdale and to launch its fall programming season. The fun included fitness demonstrations, activities for all ages and, of course, birthday cake.

Middle, Amelia Friedson, Parker Subrin and Sophia Menghini took advantage of the many fun activities for children, including face painting.

Their moms signed them up for The J’s Club J afterschool program and Kids Night Out

Left, The J’s Membership Team, including Neil Elrich, Nancy Ottman and Mila Altman, were on hand to welcome members and guests

Right, J member Joe Barnett tries one of The J’s new Pilates reformers with the help of J Pilates Instructor Kim Marston

PANCAKES AND APPRECIATION - Anna, Aiden, Erez and Evan Kessler enjoyed a top-your-own pancake bar during the Valley of the Sun JCC’s membership appreciation breakfast on July 16.

MEET THE PRESS - Jewish Life Contributing Editor Leni Reiss and CNN political analyst David Gregory bonded at The Conversation: Jewish in America, an annual conference held at the Pearlstone Retreat Center in Reisterstown, MD.

DINOS INVADE JCC - Campers had an up-close encounter as Dino Crew dinosaurs invaded the Valley of the Sun JCC for an adventurous final day of Shemesh Summer Day Camp.

INFLUENTIAL WOMEN - AZ Business Magazine honored The Most Influential Women in Arizona Business on Aug. 23 at Chateau Luxe in Phoenix. Two recipients were Jennifer Kaplan (left), owner of Evolve Public Relations and Marketing and Fran Mallace, vice president of Cox Media.

Photo by Barbara Kaplan ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | OCTOBER 2017 79

PREVIEWS

GHOSTS & GOBLINS & WITCHES, OH MY! Just in time for Halloween, Center Dance Ensemble performs a spooky, haunting program, Ghosts & Goblins & Witches, Oh My! October 19-21 at 7:30 pm and Oct 22 at 2 pm at the Herberger Theater Center, Stage West at 222 E. Monroe St. in Phoenix.

Tickets are $28 adults/$23 seniors/$14 students and are on sale at herbergertheater.org or by calling 602-252-8497.

The centerpiece of the performance! is Artistic Director Frances Cohen's

GIRLY-GIRLZ AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM

ballet, “A Department Store Murder Mystery,” based on John Collier's

The Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center at 12701 N. Scottsdale

short story Evening Primrose. The mystery surrounds a young man

Road in Scottsdale has partnered with Girly Girlz Scottsdale to add a little

trapped in a department store who encounters strange mannequins that

glam to its afterschool programming.

come alive at night.

“We are thrilled to be working with Girly Girlz and partnering on this fun

The program also features Cohen's new work, “Sweet Hauntings,” which

program! What woman doesn’t remember the fun of dressing up, feeling

explores how we are haunted by our memories from people who have

glamorous and having fun with their girlfriends,” said Kim Subrin, COO of

passed. Rounding out the program are two works from Assistant Director

The J.

Diane McNeal Hunt, “Spellbound” and “Possessed,” as well as two pieces

The 4-week program begins Wednesday, Oct. 4 and explores fashion,

from guest artists Instinct Dancecorps, directed by Angela Rosencrans

grooming, etiquette and jewelry making while developing self-esteem in

and independent dancer, Nicole Olson.

girls (and boys) grades K-3. who want to be princesses and mermaids, or rock stars or fashionistas.

FEDERATION ACCEPTING BELLE LATCHMAN COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD APPLICATIONS

Now, Girly Girlz is bringing its well-loved activities - glam sessions, themed

The Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix is now accepting applications

activities and tea parties – to The J. It's one of the first times kids can

for its 2017 Belle Latchman Community Service Award.

experience the fun of Girly Girlz outside of our Scottsdale location," said

This award is given in memory of Belle Latchman, who was deeply

Melissa Fink, owner of Girly Girlz.

involved in many important causes in both the Jewish and general

The new program is just part of an array of enriching afterschool

communities. She was the first woman president of the Federation and

opportunities offered by The J, which includes cooking, karate and soccer.

chair of its Women’s Campaign. She was the recipient of many honors,

The J’s afterschool programs are open to everyone.

including the Federation’s Medal of Honor.

For more information and to register, contact 480-634-4949 or youth@

The award is presented in recognition of an outstanding contribution to

vosjcc.org.

the enhancement of the quality of life in the Greater Phoenix area by a

"For nearly 14 years, Girly Girlz in Scottsdale has been the place for girls

local non-profit Jewish organization, agency, institution, or committee.

Contributions should involve innovative, constructive forms of service which perpetuate Jewish values. Programs of any size, including those done within an organization, as well as those which involve the community at large, are considered.

The award will be presented at the Federation’s donor appreciation and awards brunch on Dec. 10.

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PREVIEWS Applications are due by Friday, October 20. Application form and

athletes, including legendary golfer Gary Player, over the course of

information are available jewishphoenix.org/bellelatchman. For further

three years. The final result illustrates not only what it means to be a

information, email awards@jewishphoenix.org.

champion, but what it means to truly live.

“I made ‘Impossible Dreamers’ because I wanted to make a positive, and

ANNUAL WOMEN FOR ISRAEL LUNCHEON

hopefully inspirational movie, that at its best could change people’s lives.

This year’s Jewish National Fund’s Women for Israel Luncheon,

Today, the world is filled with so much negativity, I wanted to counter it

“Finding Empowerment Through Perseverance, Strength, and Energy,”

with something that delivers a different kind of message,” says Eric. “The

celebrates powerful Jewish women who tirelessly advocate for the State

senior athletes in the film and across the world embody hope, strength

of Israel. The dynamic panel features Doreet Freedman (Vice President

and a desire not to let the challenges in life defeat them.”

of Partnerships & Development, Nefesh B’Nefesh) and Linda Cohn

The event is open to everyone. Cost to attend is $10 for J members and

(Sportscaster, ESPN’s SportsCenter).

$15 for guests. Register by Wednesday, Nov. 1 at vosjcc.org/dreamers.

The luncheon will be held on Nov. 1 from 11 am-1:30 pm at Chateau Luxe, 1175 E. Lone Cactus Dr. in Phoenix. Covert is $54, and advanced registration is required. Attendees are expected to make a minimum

The Wisdom of Not Knowing: Jewish Spiritual Teachings on the Unknown Valley Beit Midrash will present a workshop at Temple Solel at 6805 E. McDonald Dr., contribution of $180 to the annual campaign.

Paradise Valley on Nov. 6 at 7 pm. The

For more information, contact

featured speaker is author Estelle Frankel.

Senior Campaign Executive Audrey Lewis at

Estelle Frankel is a practicing psychotherapist,

alewis@jnf.org or 480-447-8100 ext. 981.

author, spiritual director, and popular public speaker. In her private practice in Albany,

“IMPOSSIBLE DREAMERS” FILM AND DISCUSSION WITH THE FILMMAKER

CA. she works with individuals and couples providing brief and long-term psychotherapy and spiritual mentoring.

The Valley of the Sun Jewish Community

The cost of the workshop is $18 (suggested

Center at 12701 N. Scottsdale Road in

donation). To register, visit valleybeitmidrash.org.

Scottsdale welcomes three-time Emmywinning television editor and filmmaker Eric Goldfarb for a special screening of his

film “Impossible Dreamers” with discussion following the movie. The event takes place on Sunday, Nov. 5, from 4 to 5:30 pm.

Goldfarb documented the lives of senior ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE | OCTOBER 2017 81

OCTOBER CALENDAR Through Oct. 15

Mamma Mia! at the Phoenix Theatre, 100 E. McDowell Road, Phoenix at 7:30 pm Wed-Sun with 2 pm matinees on Sat & Sun. A mother, a daughter, three possible dads, and a trip down the aisle you’ll never forget! Cleverly told through the songs of ABBA. phoenixtheatre.com.

Through Nov. 11 Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Phoenix Theatre, 100 E. McDowell Road, Phoenix at 8 pm Wed-Sun with 3 pm matinees on Sat & Sun. A modern masterpiece with an electrifying glamrock score and high-voltage performances, this show is thrillingly progressive and thoroughly entertaining! phoenixtheatre.com.

Oct. 3 Want a Healthy Brain? It’s All in the Lifestyle!

Jewish Family & Children’s Service presents Dr. Paul Bendheim in a fascinating and practical workshop on creating and maintaining a healthy brain, from 2-5 pm at the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Participants may also gain up to three Continuing Education Credits. Cost to attend is $25. Registration is available on line at jfcsaz. org/brain or by contacting Jayne Plotkin at 602567-8334 or Jayne.plotkin@jfcsaz.org

Oct. 6 Connections of Hope: An Evening to Celebrate Arizona’s Youth. See page 15

Oct. 7 Bar Crawl with Schmooze. Join Schmooze Singles & Couples (30s & 40s) for a bar crawl across Old Town Scottsdale. Meet at 8 pm at Bevvy, 4420 N. Saddlebag Trail #100, Scottsdale. For additional details including route, live updates, and to RSVP, visit Facebook.com/azschmooze.

Oct. 9 Sukkah in the Sculpture Garden at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, 3800 E. River Road, Tucson from noon-1 pm. All are invited to join Jennifer Selco in a discussion about the value of hachnasat orchim (welcoming guests) and the ushpizin, special guests we invite into our sukkah each day of the holiday. Bring your own dairy/vegetarian lunch or purchase lunch from the Café at The J. 520-299-3000 ext. 106 or tucsonjcc.org.

Oct. 10

Oct. 22

Celebrating Felix Mendelssohn and Fanny Mendelssohn. See page 74

Movie Screening. The National Council of Jewish Women Arizona Section is inviting the community to a special screening of a powerful new documentary: “Birthright: A War Story” on at 2:10 pm at Harkins Shea 14 Theater, 7354 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale. Tickets are on sale now at harkinstheater.com. For more information, contact president1893@ncjwaz.org.

Oct. 15 Putting Your Best Foot Forward Performance with Ballet Tucson at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, 3800 E. River Road, Tucson from 2-3 pm.

Experience creative movement, basic ballet and life skills in a fun afternoon with Ballet Tucson’s Professional Dancers and Staff. Great for the whole family – Ballet Tucson Artists will lead and inspire young and old alike to create their own “Art That Moves” in the Tucson J’s Sculpture Garden. $7-$12. 520-299-3000 or tucsonjcc.org.

Oct. 16 Brandeis National Committee-Arizona Speaker Series at the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale from 12:30-2 pm. Meet an author who is either from Arizona, resides in Arizona, or uses Arizona as a locale for their books. Register with Merrill Kalman at 480-296-3355 or visit vosjcc.org.

Oct. 18 Chai Tech – Start-Up Stars & Networking at the US Bank Bldg. 31st Floor at 101 N. First Ave., Phoenix at 5:30 pm. Join the Chai Tech of the Jewish Federation’s Business & Professionals Group for an informative panel discussion on start-ups featuring Networking Phoenix Founder Gelie Akhenblit, Gift Card Zen Founder Aaron Dragushan and Trusona & 41st Parameter Founder Ori Eisen. Moderated by Scott Weiss of Weiss Brown. $18 professionals, $10 students.

Includes appetizers and cocktails. Register by Oct. 16 at jewishphoenix.org/startup.

Oct. 19 The Power of You: Personal Empowerment as a Patient at Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale from 7-9 pm. Dr. Linda Benaderet and two guests share information and inspiration about breast cancer awareness. The evening continues with laughter, togetherness and gratitude. $18 includes dessert - dietary laws observed. Register at jewishphoenix.org/thepowerofyou.

Oct. 19-22 Ghosts & Goblins & Witches, Oh My! See page 80.

Oct. 20 Belle Latchman Community Service Award Application Deadline. See page 80.

82 OCTOBER 2017 | ARIZONA JEWISH LIFE

Gesher Disability Resources Matinee Movie at the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale from 2:30-4:30 pm. Join Gesher Disability Resources (formerly Council for Jews With Special Needs) for an indoor movie on the BIG screen! Join us for snacks, fun, a family friendly matinee movie and to meet new friends! Open to the whole community! 480-629-5343 or cjsn.org

Oct. 24 J Nutrition Shopping Tour at Whole Foods Paradise Valley, 10810 N. Tatum Blvd., Phoenix from 4-5 pm. Join Valley of the Sun JCC clinical nutritionist Christi Christiaens for a shopping tour of Whole Foods and learn the advantages of eating organic, whole foods. In each department, she will explain how to pick the best choices and the health benefits of each food, sweetener, herb and more! Recipe sampling included. Free and open to everyone, but space is limited. Register at vosjcc.org/healthyeating.

Oct. 25 Mahjong. See page 56.

Oct. 26 Great AZ Challah Bake at the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale at 6:45 pm. Shabbat preparation Challah bake at The J. Free. For more information and to register call 602-469-1606 or visit shabbatprojectaz.com.

Oct. 29 Fall Festival Block Party at the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale from 1-4 pm. Free.

Pumpkin spice and everything nice. Fall inspired beverages, bobbing for apples, s’mores and more! Everyone welcome! 480-481-7030 or vosjcc.org.

Nov. 1 Annual Women for Israel Luncheon.

See page 81.

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