Shavuot: All-night learning, blintzes and the Ten Commandments
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Shavuot, which commemorates the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, starts on Tuesday, June 7.
Shavuot customs include all-night Torah study, the recitation of the Ten Commandments, the reading of the Book of Ruth and eating dairy foods. From all-night study sessions to ice cream parties, here is a sampling of local Shavuot programming. Contact the synagogues for further details.
Tuesday, June 7
Ahavat Torah: 11 p.m.-4:30 a.m. All-Night learning and refreshments.
11 p.m. Rabbi Ariel Shoshan - "Accepting Shabbos: On-time & Early"
12:15 a.m. Rabbi Jordan Brumer
12:15 a.m. Arielle Gorman (for women) - "Spiritual Genetics & the Blessings of Fathers"
1:15 a.m.Rabbi Shmuel Field - "Shavuos: the Holiday with No Name"
2:15 a.m. Rabbi Yudi Moskowitz
3:15 a.m. R' Zvi Calko
11 p.m. Zvi Calko - tTeens & Tweens Group
12:15-4:15 a.m. Rabbi Ariel Shoshan - Talmud Kiddushin 29A
1:15 a.m. Arielle Gorman - women's learning
Contact Ari Parkhurst at ariparkhurst@ahavastorah.org or 480-467-4593.
Chabad of the East Valley: 11 p.m.-5 a.m., Tikun Leil Shavuos (all Night learning). This year become a Sage of Old and share your philosophy, outlook on life and the style of interpretation, as well as providing the crowd with a historical background of the sage. To receive a topic and a sage to talk about or with help preparing please contact rabbi@chabadcenter.com. All classes will be followed by questions and answers and open discussion. All topics will be discussed for 15-25 minutes. Reservations strongly suggested. Click here for more details.
Chabad of Fountain Hills: 11:30 p.m. all-night study program conducted by Rabbi Mendy Lipskier. Click here for more details.
Chabad of Mesa: 9:30-11 p.m. all-night learning with refreshments. Topic: The Book of Ruth, a fascinating look at the unique life of this former princess of Moav (Jordan). Click here for more details.
Chabad of Phoenix: 7:15 p.m. service followed by holiday meal featuring guest speaker Rabbi Levi Slonim form Vestal, N.Y. Topic: “The Baal Shemtov, King David and Moses Connection to Shavuos.” Cost: $30 per person. Click here for more details.
Chabad of Phoenix: 10 p.m.-3 a.m. all-night learning session featuring special guest Rabbi Levi Slonim from Vestal, N.Y. as well as other rabbis. A youth-learning program will be held at the same time. Includes coffee and dessert. Click here for more details. chabadaz.com
Chabad of Scottsdale: 8 p.m. community dinner. Speaker: Rabbi Yossi Paltiel. Click here for more details.
Chabad of Scottsdale: 10:45 p.m. all-night learning. Click here for more details.
Congregation Beth Tefillah: Grand Shavuot celebration, all-night learnathon: 11 p.m.-4:30 p.m. Lectures and learning sessions. Click here for more details.
Congregation Or Chadash and Kehillah of Arizona: 7:30 p.m.-7 a.m. “All-Night Long Shavuot Learning Experience” featuring community leaders and teachers. At Congregation Or Chadash. Includes refreshments. Click here for full schedule:
Temple Emanuel of Tempe: 7 p.m. service featuring Nikki Johnson who will speak out “My Journey to Judaism.” Click here for more details.
The New Shul: 9 p.m. all-night learning ending with morning prayers at sunrise. Click here for more details.
The Phoenix Community Kollel: 11:30 p.m.-4:30 a.m. All-night learning program that includes lectures throughout the evening, women's learning (including a class by Jewish News Account Executive Amy Dubitsky) and separate programs for female teens and boys in grades 5-8. It also includes refreshments and unlimited coffee. Click here for a full schedule.
Wednesday, June 8
Chabad of the East Valley: 11:30 a.m., Ice cream party. Free, reservations suggested. Click here for more details.
Chabad of Fountain Hills: 5 p.m. Short service with reading of the Ten Commandments, followed by a dairy buffet with cheesecake, blintzes and ice cream. Click here for more details.
Chabad of Mesa: 10 a.m., Shavuot service followed by a dairy kiddush and ice cream party. Click here for more details.
Chabad of Phoenix: 9:30 a.m. service followed by Tzipi’s gourmet dairy Kiddush. Click here for more details.
Chabad of Scottsdale: 10:15 a.m. Reading of the Ten Commandments followed by ice cream party. Click here for more details.
Chabad of Scottsdale: 8:30 p.m. dinner. Click here for more details.
Congregation Beth Tefillah: 9:30 a.m.-noon Shavuot service with presentation by children, dairy luncheon catered by Chef Sherri Moore, with cheese cakes, blintzes, ice-cream, fettuccini pasta, knishes and more. Click here for more details.
Temple Solel: 9:30 a.m. service.
Thursday, June 9
Chabad of Phoenix: 9:30 a.m. service and Yizkor followed by a Kiddush. Click here for more details.
Chabad of Scottsdale: 6:45 p.m. end-of-holiday farbrengen. Click here for more details.
Congregation Beth Tefillah: 9:30 a.m.-noon Shavuot service with presentation by children, dairy luncheon catered by Chef Sherri Moore, with cheese cakes, blintzes, ice-cream, fettuccini pasta, knishes and more. Click here for more details.
Congregation Or Chadash: 9:30 a.m. service, 10:45 a.m. Yizkor. Click here for more details.
The New Shul: 9 a.m. service that includes Yizkor. Click here for more details.
02 Jun, 2011 > Comment - 2 -
Never forget
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From 7 a.m. this morning until 7 p.m. tonight, names of Holocaust victims are being read at the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus by volunteers from throughout the community.
It’s chilling to know that each of these names belonged to a person, each with their own families, hopes and dreams. No matter how many films or documentaries one watches, it’s difficult to fathom the horrors that these individuals experienced. Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) and Holocaust Remembrance Week gives us the opportunity to come together as a community and renew our vows never to forget: to hear survivors’ stories and take a moment to remember those whose lives were lost.
This morning, Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane attended the Yom Hashoah commemoration at the campus. “If we choose, we can learn from history,” he told those gathered at the campus entrance.
Rabbi Erica Burech from Pardes Jewish Day School spoke, as well as students from Jess Schwartz Academy, who read “Never Shall I Forget” by Elie Wiesel; “At My Bar Mitzvah and His,” a responsive reading by Rabbi Howard Kahn; and “The Holocaust ‘Haggadah’ ” by Rachel Mandula.
The commemoration ended with the singing of “Hatikvah” led by Sharron Topper-Amitai, the community shlicha of The Israel Center and inside, the names of the victims continued to be read. Afterward, in the social hall, survivor Bronia Bronkesh and her daughter, Sheryl, presented “Three Generations: A Journey of Mother, Daughter & Granddaughter: A trip back to Poland and Ukraine.”
Stop by the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus this week to join in the community commemoration.
Today, the names will be read until 7 p.m., when a community reciting of Yizkor will take place. An exhibit of Holocaust paintings by Helen Weisman, a certified docent at the Holocaust Museum and Educational Center in Illinois, will be on display throughout the week. The daughter of Holocaust survivors, Weisman spent five years creating the images of life in the Warsaw Ghetto, dedicated to the memory of her parents.
According to a sign on display with the exhibit (see photo below), the reason she painted the collection in tones of black and white is because “this was such a dark time in the history of the Jewish people. The color “red” is used to occasionally represent the Jewish blood that was spilled, because of prejudice, ignorance and hatred.”
On Thursday, at 6:30 p.m., Mark Roseman, the Pat M. Glazer Chair in Jewish Studies at Indiana University, will speak about “Surviving Survival: A Life-story.”
The campus is located at 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Visit vosjcc.org.
Below: Part of the exhibit by Helen Weisman, on display at the campus until the end of the week. Photo by Leisah Woldoff
03 May, 2011 > Comment - 1 -
Community Days of Remembrance: Generations After
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The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has joined with several local Jewish organizations to present “Yom HaShoah-Community Days of Remembrance: Generations After,” from May 1 to May 8.
In 1980, the U.S. Congress established the Days of Remembrance as our nation’s annual commemoration of the Holocaust. The annual eight-day period was designated for civic commemorations and special educational programs to help citizens remember and draw lessons from the Holocaust.
All of the events in the local commemoration take place at the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus, except for the communitywide Yom HaShoah commemoration, which will take place 3-4:30 p.m. Sunday, May 1, at Beth El Congregation, 1118 W. Glendale Ave., Phoenix. Rabbi Bonnie Koppell will present a lecture titled, “We Are a People of Memory.”
Here is the rest of the schedule, courtesy of the Valley of the Sun JCC. The campus is located at 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Visit vosjcc.org for additional information.
Monday, May 2
6:30 p.m.
Speaker and Art Exhibit Opening: Artist Helen Weisman
Weisman is an artist and certified docent at the Holocaust Museum and Educational Center in Illinois. Through her artwork and discussions, she tells the story of how the Holocaust affected three generations. Her goal through education is to help conquer hatred and prejudice. The art exhibit will remain on display in the campus promenade throughout the week.
Tuesday, May 3
7 a.m.-7 p.m.
Community Reading of Remembrance
9:30 a.m.: Siren of Silence and Community Torch Lighting
10-11 a.m.: “Three Generations: a Journey of Mother, Daughter and Granddaughter: a trip back to Poland and Ukraine”
Sheryl Bronkesh chronicled on film the journey back to Eastern Europe with her mother, Bronia, a survivor. This is Bronia’s incredible story of her life before and during WWII in the film entitled “Before America.” This film is now part of the resource library at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. Sheryl and Bronia will be present to discuss their experience and answer questions.
7 p.m.: Community reciting of Yizkor
Thursday, May 5
6:30 p.m. “Surviving Survival: A Life-story”
Speaker: Mark Roseman, the Pat M. Glazer Chair in Jewish Studies at Indiana University. He received a Ph.D. in history from the University of Warwick and a bachelor’s degree in history from Christ’s College, Cambridge. For his Ina Levine Invitational Scholar Fellowship, Professor Roseman is conducting research for his project, “Between Utopia and Rescue: The ‘League of Socialist Life’ before, during and after the Third Reich.”
Sunday, May 8
4 p.m. Yom Hazikron: Israel’s Memorial Day Observance
Yom Hazikron is the day in which Israel honors it’s fallen soldiers who gave their lives to protect the State of Israel. The ceremony also honors the memory of victims of terror from the ongoing unrest in Israel. The evening includes: presentations, songs of remembrance, a memorial service, and the sounding of a one-minute siren. Followed by an erev shira (sing-along).
These programs are co-sponsored by:
Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Phoenix
Israel Center
Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix
Phoenix Holocaust Survivors’ Association
Generations After
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center
07 Apr, 2011 > Comment - 0 -
Change of speaker at tonight's Holocaust Remembrance event
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The East Valley JCC is hosting its fourth annual Holocaust Remembrance event tonight at the Chandler Center for the Arts. The scheduled speaker, Dr. Bernd Wollschlaeger, had to cancel tonight’s appearance due to a medical emergency and survivor Samuel Harris will speak instead.
The event starts at 6:30 p.m. and includes the showing of “An Article of Hope,” a documentary about a tiny Torah scroll that survived World War II in a concentration camp and was taken to Israel after the war. It accompanied Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon into space on the 2003 Columbia shuttle, which disintegrated on re-entry into the earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
At tonight’s event, Harris will share his experience during the Holocaust. He splits his residences between Arizona and the Chicago suburbs and is the author of the book, “Sammy: Child Survivor of the Holocaust.” He speaks extensively about his experiences and lessons of the Holocaust and wrote the book in order to help keep alive the memory of what happened to European Jews during the Holocaust, especially in the face of revisionists who claim the Holocaust never happened.
Tonight’s event is presented by the East Valley Jewish Community Center in partnership with the City of Chandler and Chandler Unified School District, and is intended to focus attention on the lessons of the Holocaust to help prevent future acts of hate, intolerance and genocide.
Tickets are $10 adults, $7 seniors and students, and are available at chandlercenter.org or evjcc.org. After 3 p.m., they can be purchased at the Chandler Center for the Arts box office. The center is located at 250 N. Arizona Ave. in Chandler.
For more information, call the EVJCC at 480-897-0588.
05 Apr, 2011 > Comment - 0 -
Purim festivities start this weekend
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Purim isn’t until later this month but one synagogue is starting the festivities early with a Purim carnival this weekend.
Temple Solel’s Purim carnival will be held 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday, March 6, at the synagogue, 6805 E. McDonald Drive, Paradise Valley. Features include carnival games, pony rides, a petting zoo and a pie-eating contest.
Here are other local Purim carnivals that will be held on the holiday, which falls this year on Sunday, March 20:
Beth El Congregation: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Festivities include carnival games, pony rides, a video-game truck and a rock-climbing wall. 1118 W. Glendale Ave., Phoenix. 602-944-3359, ext. 122.
Har Zion Congregation: noon-3 p.m. The free carnival is hosted by the Har Zion’s Men’s Club, with food available to purchase. 6140 E. Thunderbird Road, Scottsdale.
Phoenix Hebrew Academy: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. 515 E. Bethany Home Road. Call 602-277-7479.
Temple Beth Sholom of the East Valley, co-sponsored by the East Valley JCC: 11 a.m.-12:45 p.m. 3400 N. Dobson Road, Chandler. Stacy, rsdirector@templebethsholomaz.org.
Temple Emanuel of Tempe and the East Valley JCC: 12:30-2:30 p.m. The event will include inflatable rides, a petting zoo and a barbecue. 5801 S. Rural Road. Call 480-838-1414.
Other Purim celebrations:
Saturday, March 19
Ahavat Shalom Congregation: 7:30 p.m. Sephardic-style Megillah reading, costume contest.
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Beth Emeth Congregation of the West Valley: 7:30 p.m. Megillah reading, play.
Chabad of Mesa: 7:30 p.m. “Purim in the Shtetl” Megillah reading, live music, petting zoo. 941 S. Maple, Mesa. chabadmesa@aol.com.
Chabad of Phoenix: 8:15 p.m. Megillah reading and masquerade. Costume party, light refreshments. 2110 E. Lincoln Drive, Phoenix.
Congregation Beth Tefillah: 7:15 p.m. Megillah reading, slideshow for children, Purim masquerade and costume contest. 10636 N. 71st Way, Scottsdale. 480-247-2891.
Heichal Baroranim: 7 p.m. Purim party, purimshpiel, Megillah reading. 2609 Patterson Blvd., Flagstaff.
The New Shul: 7:30 p.m. Megillah reading, shpiel and refreshments.
Ruach Hamdibar—Spirit of the Desert: 7 p.m. Purim costume party and Megillah reading. For location, e-mail office@ruach.org.
Sunday, March 20
Ahavat Shalom Congregation: 9:30 a.m. Sephardic-style Megillah reading, costume contest.
Chabad of the East Valley: 4:30 p.m., a royal Purim at Tumbleweed Recreation Center, Chandler. African acrobats.
Chabad of Fountain Hills: "Purim in Africa.” 5-9 p.m., The Eagle Mountain Golf Resort 14915 E Eagle Mountain Parkway, Fountain Hills. African drum circle, gala Purim dinner, jungle animals, African hair braiding and Megillah reading.
Cost: $18 adults, $10 children. Reservations: jewishfountainhills.com or 480-776-4763.
Chabad of North Phoenix: Purim in Africa, Aviano Club House - Desert Ridge, 22500 N. Aviano Way, Phoenix. Interactive drum circle, African dinner, traditional Megillah reading, music, dancing, African hear braiding, Purim masquerade. Cost: $20 adult, $12 children. $60 maximum per family. Reservations: 480-563-4898 or online.
Chabad of Phoenix: 4 p.m. community festive Purim meal. 2110 E. Lincoln Drive, Phoenix. Iranian food. Cost: $18 adults, $15 child. Reservations: 602-944-2753.
Chabad of Scottsdale: 5 p.m. Purim in Japan, with sushi and other Japanese cuisine, a Megillah reading with slide show, a costume contest, a martial arts demonstration and activities for children. There will be an opportunity to donate to a relief fund for tsunami victims in Japan. Cost: $18 adults, $10 children 10 and under, $50 families. Reservations: 480-998-1410.
Congregation Beth Tefillah: An Upside Down Purim BBQ feast 2-5 p.m. at Chaparral Park, 5401 N. Hayden, Scottsdale. Games and sports activities. 480-247-2891.
Jewish Community of Sedona and Verde Valley: 10 a.m., “The Hidden Broadway Musical” for adults and children, followed by bagel brunch and hamantaschen. Rabbi Alicia Magal chants selection of the Megillah while members of the community perform the (slightly adapted) Broadway songs that illustrate the story of Purim. Brunch is $10.
Kehillah of Arizona: "Open Mind, Open Hands: Fulfilling the Mitzvot of Purim." 11 a.m. learning lunch banquet, art projects. $10. Special retelling of the story of Purim at Pueblo Norte Senior Living Community, free. Reservations: 602-369-7667.
03 Mar, 2011 > Comment - 0 -
Lots of new offerings for parents
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Last night I attended the first class of a new Rosh Chodesh program hosted by the Phoenix Community Kollel and Ruach Hadassah, “By the Light of the Moon: Parenting Illuminated by the Wisdom of the Jewish Month.”
As a mother of three young boys, I thought I could use a little inspiration to see beyond the daily challenges of tantrums and sibling rivalry and gain focus for 2011.
As usual, instructor Cindy Landesman, director of the kollel’s women’s programming, didn’t disappoint. The first lesson, “The Waters of Shevat: The Beauty of Giving,” focused on teaching your children helpfulness, kindness and compassion.
“Shevat is a month when we acknowledge where fruit comes from and that it has a source,” she wrote in the class notes. “Even though Tu b’Shevat is only the beginning, we celebrate it with the end product – actual fruit to show gratitude from how it started.”
“The parenting concept that flows from this is that it is a time to focus on our efforts in creating beautiful, whole, sweet fruit – our children. Now is the time that we can create the optimal conditions to nurture the ‘seeds’ and give them all they need to blossom in the best way possible; while still ‘attached’ to our homes.”
She provided several examples of how to do that for the 25 or so mothers who attended – from setting an example to creating an established routine of helpfulness and kindness. I left fully inspired and when I got home, at 10 p.m., I didn’t even mind too much that all three kids were still awake…
Anyway, may the month of Shevat be full of growth and development for our community. And come on out and celebrate the New Year for Trees – Tu b’Shevat – at Jewish National Fund’s Walk for Water on Jan. 23.
By the way, for mothers who could also use some inspiration, click here for information about future sessions in this parenting series.
(In other parenting news, the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center presents the grand opening of its Parenting Place this Sunday during its open house from noon-2 p.m., author Blythe Lipman starts a series of parenting workshops there the following day, and Temple Kol Ami is starting a parenting series on Jan. 26).
Read More > 06 Jan, 2011 > Comment - 1 -
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Although Chabad at ASU holds a Shabbat dinner for students every week, this week in particular, they're asking people to bring more friends to celebrate Shabbat "as one in a symbol of unity and strength."
What's different about this week?
This week, Chabad centers at college campuses throughout the world will commemorate the victims of the Mumbai terrorist attack two years ago, "when six precious souls were taken, leaving a hole at the Chabad House’s Shabbat table," according to an e-mail from Chabad at ASU. "We’re asking you to help us fill those empty seats by inviting your Jewish friends to join you for Shabbat dinner, as our campus joins hundreds of others in an unprecedented display of Jewish pride."
To read more about Shabbat and learn about the tragedy in Mumbai, as well as invite friends to join in tonight's Shabbat commemoration, visit BringaFriendShabbat.com.
12 Nov, 2010 > Comment - 0 -
Farmers market at the VOSJCC
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Rain or shine, the Valley of the Sun JCC is kicking off its farmer's market this weekend: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 24.
The Valley of the Sun Farmers Market, which will be set up in the parking lot, will feature organic produce from local growers, as well as Simply Bread products, fresh jams and jellies, eggs and salmon.
The project is an extension of the VOSJCC's fitness department, according to Lisa Robins, coordinator of the project. (Robins is the VOSJCC's group fitness coordinator and a personal trainer.)
The farmer's market, in association with the Arizona Community Farmers Markets, will be held 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 19 (except for the weekend of Thanksgiving).
The VOSJCC is located at 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Visit vosjcc.org.
20 Oct, 2010 > Comment - 0 -