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RHYTHM ‘N’ RUACH

THE TORAH BROKER

Sarah Koussevitzky is connecting children and their caregivers to Judaism through music

Sanford Burstyn hosts a podcast where guest rabbis share the wisdom of the Torah

SEPTEMBER 4, 2026 | ELUL 22, 5786 | VOLUME 78, NUMBER 25

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Valley rabbis emphasize reflection, purpose and new beginnings in this year’s High Holiday sermons JOSH BOOTZIN | STAFF WRITER

ith the High Holidays quickly approaching, Jewish communities across Arizona, with the help of their rabbis, are preparing to come together to bid farewell and reflect on the past year and usher in the new one. For many Jewish congregations in the Valley and beyond, this holiday season marks an exciting moment of transition for their clergy. Rabbi Lev Ettelson, spiritual leader at Beth Emeth Congregation of the West Valley in Sun City, is preparing to lead his first High Holiday services since receiving his rabbinical ordination this summer. After a nine-year stint in Florida, Rabbi Rony Keller returned to the Valley and will lead his first High Holidays at Temple Solel in Scottsdale. In honor of Temple Chai’s first High Holiday services at its new synagogue in Scottsdale, which opened just a few months ago, Rabbi Bonnie Koppell plans to speak about truth, motivated by the word emet (truth) displayed proudly as the centerpiece in the new building’s sanctuary. On the second day of Rosh

Clockwise from upper left, Rabbi Emily E. Segal, Rabbi Lev Ettelson, Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan, Rabbi Bonnie Koppell, Rabbi Shneur Wolfman, Rabbi Jeremy Schneider, Rabbi Alicia Magal and Rabbi Rony Keller. COMPILATION COURTESY OF JEWISH NEWS

Hashanah, Koppell and Rabbi Emily E. Segal, senior rabbi at Temple Chai, will both talk about the various quotes chosen to adorn their new sanctuary. When entering the room, a quote on the left wall reads, “V’asu li Mikdash.” This phrase, taken from Exodus 25:8, is part of a longer verse that translates to, “Let them build Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.” On the opposite wall is a quote from Leviticus 19:2 that reads, “You shall be holy, as I, God, am holy.” Koppell also plans to touch on what we each believe to be our most

sacred values. The prophet Micah offers a three-part answer in Micah 6:8, involving justice, kindness and humility. “Justice asks us to care about a world larger than ourselves. Kindness asks us to care about the person standing in front of us. And humility asks us to look honestly at ourselves — to recognize where we have fallen short and to have the courage to change,” Koppell said. At the Kol Nidre service, Koppell plans to share lessons she learned from turning 70 this year. While various SEE SERMONS, PAGE 3

High Holiday Services Jewish News has compiled a listing of this year’s services, study sessions and more. See page 11. PHOTO COURTESY OF ACTIONGP - STOCK.ADOBE.COM PHOTO COURTESY OF DARWIN VECTORIAN - STOCK.ADOBE.COM

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about her Judaism with her fellow council members and speaking out for her rights and beliefs. about her Judaism with her fellow council SOPHIE said JonSTERN Meyers, director of ADDPC. She already has some practice at CONTINUED FROM 1 members and speaking out for her rights “Our hope is PAGE to create and promote advocating for herself. beliefs. opportunities for people to be embraced, and “One time, I was in class and someone said Jon Meyers, director of ADDPC. She already has some practice at become part of the community and find called me the R-word “Our hope is to create and promote advocating for herself.and I told him not equitable opportunities wherever they to. The teacher was in the hallway and JOSH BOOTZIN | STAFF WRITER opportunities for people to be embraced, “One time, I was in class and someone might live,” he said. another student repeated the word,” she become part of the community and find called me the R-word and I told him not Meyers first came to know Stern said. Rather than letting the situation go, abbi Yisroel Isaacs, rabbi of Young equitable opportunities wherever they to. The teacher was in the hallway and through her mother, Amy Silverman, who she told her theater teacher, who was able Israel of Phoenix and director of might live,” he said. another student repeated the word,” she read her personal essays about raising a to intervene. the Greater Phoenix Vaad Hakashrus, Meyers first came to know Stern Rather than letting the situation go, daughter with Down syndrome on KJZZ, said. “If someone has a disability, saying together with his wife, Rebbetzin through her mother, Amy Silverman, who she told her theater teacher, who was able National Public Radio’s Phoenix affiliate R-word is like saying the F-word,” Rachel Isaacs, and five other local Jewish read her personal essays about raising a the to intervene. station. Stern said. community members recently visited daughter with Down syndrome on KJZZ, “If someone has a disability, saying Meyers was so captivated by the essays While performing in the musical Washington, D.C., as part of Arizona’s National Public Radio’s Phoenix affiliate the R-word is like saying the F-word,” that he reached out to Silverman, and the “Hairspray,” she had another occasion delegation for the Orthodox Union (OU) station. Stern said. two became friends. to tangle with the offensive word, which Advocacy Center’s annual “Mission to Meyers was so captivated by the essays While performing in the musical That’s how Stern first learned of the appears in the script. Washington” to combat antisemitism. in 2022 that he reached out to Silverman, and the she had another occasion Sophie Stern at her high school graduation open council seat, but there’s no doubt “Hairspray,” COURTESY OF SOPHIE STERN really badALEMAÑY/OU and my friend said OU Advocacy’s annual lobbying day Rabbi and twoRebbetzin becameIsaacs’ friends. group with Rep. Abe Hamadeh.to“That’s COURTESY OF CATALINA ADVOCACY CENTER tangle with the offensive word, which she earned her position, Meyers said. on stage. I was not OK with that, so I Heart Can’t Even Believe It: A Story of brings members of America’s Orthodox That’s how Stern first learned of the itappears in the script. Sophie Stern at her high school graduation in 2022 To become a council member, Stern went to theEstablishments director and toldfrom her it was Science, Jewish communities to the capital to school, and Religious when he participated in Panim open council seat, but there’s no doubt COURTESY OF SOPHIE STERN Love and Down Syndrome,” “That’s really bad and my friend said had toanapply andproject demonstrate that she a bad word for people disabilities, Silverman’s book about her daughter. lobby directly to members of Congress El Panim, Disruption (SACRED) Act,with a federal AIPAC that made a had she earned her position, Meyers said. it on stage. I was not OK with that, so I Heart Can’t Even Believe It: A Story of valuable to contribute, he said. she bill wouldn’t take it out,” Stern and administration officials for legislation lastingsomething bufferbut zone that protects houses of said. impression. To become a council member, Stern Gesher’s speakers’ bureau, Damon went to the director and told her it was When “She’s on the council because she She let her mother know about the Science, Love and Down Syndrome,” to address the biggest challenges facing worship from targeted harassment and He had has also had positive experiences to apply and demonstrate that she had a bad word for people with disabilities, Brooks & Associates, was asked to find deserves to supporting be on the council,” he said. conflict and they were able to convince Silverman’s book about her daughter. Jewish communities. intimidation. attending rallies Israel since something valuable to contribute, he said. but she wouldn’t take it out,” Stern said. a speaker about Down syndrome for an Stern is creating a life and career as a“Wethe director theplaces needoftoworship remove the When Gesher’s speakers’ bureau, Damon “As a rabbinic couple, we are driven by Oct. 7. witness dailyofhow “She’s on the council because she She let her mother know about the event this spring, Hummell first asked member of her community, which makes Brooks & Associates, was asked to find word from the script. the desire to make a meaningful difference. enrich our members’ lives, providing a “I have appreciated many of OU’s other deserves to be on the council,” he said. conflict and they were able to convince Silverman to speak, thinking Stern might her and a great addition. a speaker about Down syndrome for an “My friend Al was next to me when We are deeply grateful to OU Advocacy projects, foundation for happiness and purpose,” this was my first opportunity Stern is creating a life and career as a the director of the need to remove the be too young. Stern ingraduated from McClintock I told the director and he gave me the event this spring, Hummell first asked Center for providing us with the platform to participate said Rebbetzin Isaacs. “Being part of an their advocacy program,” member of her community, which makes word from the script. They decided instead that Stern should High School in Tempe last year and now biggest hugdedicated ever and to said that he loved Silverman to unite our community and use our he said. advocacy group protecting to speak, thinking Stern might her a great addition. “My friend Al was next to me when tell her own story; it’s a real bonus that Glendale Community College, me so much,” Stern said. Sadly, Al died collective voice to lobby for the safety and Theattends morning after the welcome dinner, these sacred spaces and ensuring student be too young. Stern graduated from McClintock I told the director and he gave me the she is not afraid of public speaking. with a divided focus on dance. She is a to regular a carcampus crash on was Oct. 24, 2021. interests of the Jewish community,” said participants smalllast groups safetyin on profoundly They decided instead that Stern should High School ininto Tempe year and now biggest hug ever and said that he loved “It’s not the same when someone performer at Detourand Company Theatre, “That was hard; it’s very hard to get Rebbetzin Isaacs. discuss pending legislation prepare for meaningful. These issues remain close to tell own story; it’s a real bonus that attends Glendale Community College, me so much,” Stern said. Sadly, Al died tries her to tell a person’s story for them,” a Scottsdale theatre company for adults emotions out and I was very, very upset,” This year’s 30th annual lobbying advocacy meetings with policymakers and our hearts, and the genuine interest we she is not afraid of public speaking. with a focus on dance. She is a regular in a car crash on Oct. 24, 2021. Hummell said. with intellectual, developmental and she said. day kicked off with a welcome dinner their staff. encountered is incredibly promising.” “It’s not the same when someone performer at Detour Company Theatre, “That was hard; it’s very hard to get Additionally, helping people with physical disabilities. On they the recent anniversary of his death, tries featuring Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda lobbied for the Student They were then treated a luncheon to tell a person’s story for them,” a Scottsdale theatre to company for adultsSecond, emotions out and I was very, very upset,” disabilities jobs was one of the reasons In fact, when Stern attended her first Stern and made a cake Accountability and took it to the Hummell find Kaploun, the Trump administration’s in thewith Protection University historic Russell Senate Office said. intellectual, developmental and she said. for acquiring the bureau. Unemployment council meeting January, she couldn’t crash site. Act, which creates an official process for Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Building, during whichinfive U.S. senators helping people with physical disabilities. On the recent anniversary of his death, in Additionally, the disability community is upwards to tell people ofCollins her involvement with “I don’t I did based it without disabilities Antisemitism, attended by more than 120 visitedwait them: Sen. SusanStern (R-ME), investigating civilknow rightshow violations find jobs one of the reasons In fact, when attended her first Stern made a cake and took it to the of 75% and of that was percentage, 75% are DetourCramer and share information about on its race, crying. so proud of myself,” she said. for acquiring the bureau. participants from 11 states. Sen. Kevin (R-ND), Sen.she Andy colorI’m or national origin (although Unemployment council meeting in January, couldn’t crash site. *Bestwith of Magazine willing and able to work — but upcoming shows. Amy Hummell, director The Isaacs attended along five Kim (D-NJ), Sen. JackyofRosen (D-NV) with it was initially introducedexecutive in response to of ready, in the disability community is upwards wait to tell people her involvement *AnnualtheDirectory “I don’t know how I did it without haven’t been given opportunity, “There’s no question that she is going Disability Resources, Elissa Slotkin (D-MI). a rise Gesher in campus antisemitism) thatagreed may that members of their community. **Annual Directoryand Sen. Detour and share information about its crying. I’m so proud of myself,” she said. of 75% and of that percentage, 75% are to the thrive,” Meyers said. “She’s is a good fit federal for ADDPC because Hummell said. **Best of Magazine When time came for participants to very causeStern universities to lose funding. “We were surprised to discover our *Bestthat of Magazine upcoming shows. Amy Hummell, executive director of ready, willing and able to work — but “People have it in them to speak up but and passionate about theAdvocating of her ability to self-advocate. with congressional representatives, to protect Jewish students group of seven was the largest community meet gregarious “There’s no question that she is going Gesher Disability Resources, agreed that haven’t been given the opportunity, **Annual Directorythey primarily don’t know how, and often they’re not things that matter to her.” Hummell co-hosted a book event from campus antisemitism became Rabbi lobbied for three pieces of group that participated in the program,” WWW.JEWISHAZ.COM to thrive,” Meyers said. “She’s very Stern is a good fit for ADDPC because Hummell said. Meyers a few ago for “My cheered on. Sophie has family support Stern looks forward to sharing insights Isaacs’with priority during the years mission. legislation. said Rabbi Isaacs. “People have it in them to speak up but gregarious and passionate about the of her ability to self-advocate. “It is so disturbing to me that the First, they lobbied in favor of the Rabbi Isaacs recalled being introduced don’t know how, and often they’re not things that matter to her.” Hummell co-hosted a book event WWW.JEWISHAZ.COM WWW.JEWISHAZ.COM to political advocacy for Israel in high Safeguarding Access to Congregations institutions that purport to represent OFFICE HOURS has family support Stern looks forward to sharing insights with Meyers a few years ago for “My cheered on. Sophie HEADLINES ...........................................2 SOPHIE STERN

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Seven Arizonans advocate for legislation combating antisemitism in Washington, D.C. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

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congregations are celebrating new beginnings, Rabbi Alicia Magal is preparing to lead her final High Holiday services as a full-time rabbi at the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley before continuing in a smaller role as an emerita. Having served as spiritual leader in Sedona for more than 20 years, Magal plans to celebrate this transition by speaking about endings and beginnings: “How every ending has within it the seeds of new growth. We finish reading the Torah and roll back to Bereshit knowing we will have new insights and learning in the next year.” Magal also plans to weave in an interpretation of the letters that mark this year: Tav (400), Shin (300), Peh (80) and Zayin (7). Rabbi Jeremy Schneider of Temple Kol Ami in Scottsdale made the distinction that the High Holidays are not just about reflecting on the past year and promising to do better, but they are about how to implement ancient Jewish teachings in our modern lives, relationships, communities and personal choices. Schneider’s overall goal, for the holidays and throughout the year, is “not simply to talk about being Jewish, but to help us do Jewish.” “This High Holiday season, I will be asking some of the questions that many of us wrestle with in our own lives,” Schneider said. “What does it really mean to change? Why is it so hard to admit when we are wrong? What are we still carrying that we might be ready to let go of? And how often do we put off the things that really matter because we assume there will always be more time?” Schneider said he hopes to explore how Judaism guides us to answer these questions.

At Chabad of Moon Valley, Rabbi Shneur Wolfman will examine how we find our purpose in life, even as our place in the universe shrinks with our expanding knowledge of it. Wolfman said we often think that we need to search for our purpose in some unknown place beyond our reach, but rather our purpose is not something that we must strive to discover. “Your purpose is found in your unique circumstances,” Wolfman said. “You do not need to search somewhere else to find it. Your current situation, the people around you and the abilities you have all come together at a particular moment. That moment is orchestrated by God so you can use your talents and innate goodness to influence your circumstances. That is your purpose.” According to Wolfman, the moment that sparks our purpose can be any good deed that affects another person, in turn affecting someone else, and so on. “The world may look like a tiny, pale blue dot, but your actions can spread like wildfire,” Wolfman said. Rather than concentrating on current political events, Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan at Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley in Sun City is choosing to address how those events raise deeper questions for the Jewish people. “This year, my High Holiday sermons will focus primarily on the challenge of finding spiritual and moral direction in a time when many of the old certainties no longer seem adequate,” Kaplan said. On Rosh Hashanah, Kaplan plans to cover how people can find their way in the world without a clear map. “Judaism gives us an extraordinary inheritance of texts, traditions and accumulated wisdom, but for liberal Jews there is rarely a

our country’s best values have failed us by empowering and platforming people hostile to America and full of the most violent hatred of Jews that we have seen in our lifetime,” he said. “This failure affects us all but especially the students, and they deserve our support.” Lastly, the OU Advocacy group lobbied for the Jewish American Security Act (JASA) as well as funding increases for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP), which helps schools, synagogues and other at-risk educational and religious institutions pay for security upgrades. OU Advocacy supported the NSGP’s creation in 2005, and it reached $300 million in federal funding in 2026, but demand continues as Jewish institutions face increasing security challenges. The Isaacs’ group was scheduled to meet with Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ) and Rep. Aaron Bean (R-FL). “Both were receptive to our causes and devoted time to hearing about them,” Rabbi Isaacs said. Although not originally part of the itinerary, the group met with Rep. Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ) thanks to a close friend from Phoenix who now works as one of

Hamadeh’s advisors. “The congressman, whose family is from Syria, spoke to us about the domestic issues we brought up and about the challenges Israel faces, and he showed strong interest in the Jewish community,” said Rabbi Isaacs. “We concluded our meetings with a firm conviction that our message resonated and achieved a tangible impact,” said Rebbetzin Isaacs. “Several representatives and their staff appeared unfamiliar with the specific issues we raised, expressing gratitude for our initiative in bringing these matters to their attention. The Arizona representatives and their staff were exceptionally receptive, fostering a welcoming atmosphere that felt akin to meeting old friends.” “By participating in this mission, we felt like we made a difference, both in our private meetings and as part of the larger group that we joined,” Rabbi Isaacs concluded. “We showed lawmakers that some Jews in Arizona care about causes relevant to both our community and other Americans, and that we are willing to invest in making our voices heard — quietly, respectfully, but assertively.” JN

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simple set of turn-by-turn instructions telling us precisely what to believe or how to live,” he said. Kaplan also plans to explore the biblical image of the “still, small voice.” “Elijah discovers that God is not necessarily encountered in the wind, earthquake or fire, but in something much quieter,” Kaplan explained. “In a world filled with noise and constant stimulation, Rosh Hashanah can be an opportunity to become quiet enough to hear what our conscience, our tradition and perhaps God are trying to tell us. The shofar itself can be understood as a call to wake up and pay attention.” On Yom Kippur, Kaplan plans to focus on the regrets, resentments and disappointments that people carry to help them release some of the familiar burdens they carry year after year. “The common thread running through these sermons is that the High Holidays are not primarily about arriving at perfect answers,” he said. “They are about stopping long enough to examine the direction of our lives, listening more carefully, making repairs where we can and beginning the new year with greater intentionality.” While many rabbis are facing the challenge of leading their congregants’ spiritual journeys through a transitional period amid worldwide political unrest, Valley rabbis are not shying away from their roles in guiding the Arizona Jewish community to ask questions, seek deeper spiritual meaning and practice tikkun olam whenever possible. JN

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Rhythm ‘N’ Ruach early childhood music classes are coming to Phoenix JOSH BOOTZIN | STAFF WRITER

arents and guardians who believe they have to wait until their young children reach a certain age to expose them to Judaism can now begin their child’s Jewish education at any age with the help of a data-proven musical curriculum coming to Phoenix this September. Sarah Koussevitzky, director of 613 Music Academy and the mother of a young child, recently completed the training to become a Rhythm ‘N’ Ruach facilitator, allowing her to host community classes that connect children and their caregivers to Judaism through music. Koussevitzky has been writing and teaching music for more than 15 years. She is especially passionate about Jewish music, and she recently began pursuing a master’s degree in jazz at Arizona State University. Though she is an Arizona native — born in Scottsdale and raised in Sierra Vista — Koussevitzky started building a music studio in 2021 in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. She and her family moved back to the Phoenix area in August 2024. She rebranded her studio, which is currently operating out of a dedicated room in her home, as 613 Music Academy. True to her Jewish roots, 613 refers to the number of commandments in the Torah, and true to her love for jazz, the logo also represents a jazz chord. “It just embodies the true essence of what I’m trying to accomplish, which is teaching music that I’m passionate about,” Koussevitzky said. Koussevitzky continues to teach various instruments to her students during afterschool tutoring sessions, and she launched the online version of her studio in January. “A lot of music teachers are switching to online teaching because it’s convenient for the families and you can reach more stu-

Children and guardians take part in a Rhythm ‘N’ Ruach class.

dents,” she said. “I have students in Israel, Barbados, Texas, California, Washington, North Carolina, New York and Chicago.” Through her years of teaching Jewish music, and especially when she became a mother, Koussevitzky sought the right curriculum for a well-rounded early childhood Jewish music education. Still, she could not find a proven method backed by scientific evidence and music education professionals. With a 2-year-old at home, Koussevitzky and her husband found that they were missing out on the social events for young adults that helped make Jewish holidays meaningful to them. They also struggled to find ways for their child to connect to Jewish holidays. “One of my goals for my music academy was to add an early childhood education program, because not only does it fill a gap, but it also fills a gap for me — something that I really want as a mother to be able to give to my own family,” Koussevitzky said.

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Sarah Koussevitzky, director of 613 Music Academy. COURTESY OF SARAH KOUSSEVITZKY

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She felt the weight of needing to build a curriculum for an early childhood music program that was data-proven, aligned with her strengths and would eventually help children learn how to play instruments. She had no prior knowledge of Rhythm ‘N’ Ruach when a community member sent her a flyer for the facilitator training. “I fell in love,” she said. “This is exactly what I want for my studio and my family, and I know after speaking to so many moms over the past two years that this is what we all want for our kids — something weekly where we can go to immerse ourselves in Judaism, expose our kids to music in a Jewish way and connect our kids to Judaism from a really young age.” Facilitators go through the training to then lead one or more of the dozen unique Rhythm ‘N’ Ruach curricula at their synagogues, schools or studios around the world. The training took place over Zoom for a week. Koussevitzky learned how to present the songs and instruments, set up the space, involve the parents and make the class flow properly to adhere to the short attention spans of young children. One of the key visual elements of the curriculum is a circular, rainbow blanket placed on the floor in the center of the room. The different colors represent different groups of people, reminding everyone that all are welcome, no matter their religious affiliation. “This program is meant to be accessible,” Koussevitzky said. “I’m not going to turn anybody away because finances are difficult. I want to make sure that I can work out payment plans or scholarships for anybody who really wants to come but might not be able to right now.”

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Each class is structured to meet weekly for 10 weeks, and each individual curriculum includes an assortment of music education, real instruments, singing, yoga, Hebrew learning and more. “Once I started learning the curriculum, I fell in love with it more and more every single day,” Koussevitzky said. “I’m so excited to be able to offer this as part of my studio.” Koussevitzky is launching Rhythm ‘N’ Ruach opportunities at her in-home studio with three initial four-week, High Holiday and Shabbat-themed classes in September. These classes are designed for children from birth to age 6 and a mother, father, grandmother, nanny or other guardian. Parent-child classes are designed to help strengthen the bond between parent and child, and they equip parents with the tools to energize Shabbat and Jewish holidays at home, connecting children to Judaism from an early age. Koussevitzky plans to expand classes to include Rhythm ‘N’ Ruach’s “Shabbat Family Jam,” which provides a Shabbatfocused curriculum for both guardians and children rather than families having to split up at the synagogue for a children’s program and hours-long adult services. She also hopes to offer holiday-specific classes for Hanukkah, Passover and more, and she is open to birthday parties and popup events at synagogues, with a few already interested in partnering and hosting classes. “I just want all Jewish people to experience this amazing program and for it to be something we can all look forward to every week,” Koussevitzky said. JN For more information, visit 613musicacademy.com/ rhythmnruach or email sarahk@613musicacademy. com. JEWISHAZ.COM

Largest Orthodox Synagogue in the Southwest! Congregation Beth Tefillah is a welcoming, vibrant synagogue where you are sure to feel at home. Our name is an expression of our primary objective: to serve as a “house of prayer” and a spiritual lighthouse to every Jewish man, woman and child, regardless of background, affiliation or level of observance.

Congregation Beth Tefillah wishes that the year ahead will be filled with peace, happiness and health!

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CONGREGATION BETH TEFILLAH Rabbi Pinchas Allouche • 6529 East Shea Blvd, Scottsdale • 480-223-9343 • www.bethtefillahaz.org 24 SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 JEWISHAZ.COM

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Tel Aviv-based play, “Seeing Maya,” coming to Phoenix for a staged reading JOSH BOOTZIN | STAFF WRITER

“S

eeing Maya,” a drama-comedy play based on an unusual love story in Tel Aviv during the First Gulf War, will be coming to The Theatre Artists Studio in Scottsdale on Oct. 26 for a staged reading to help fund the full production in both Phoenix and Washington, D.C. Developed by Scottsdale resident Joseph Bardin, “Seeing Maya” has previously been read at The Theatre Artists Studio in 2018; Ratner Museum in Bethesda, Mar yland, in 2024; Spooky Action Theater in Washington, D.C., in 2025; and most recently, in March, at the Atlas INTERSECTIONS Festival in Washington, D.C. Bardin’s works have been featured across the world, from the Queens Short Play Festival and Rogue Theater Festival in New York to KMC Onstage Theater in Kaiserslautern, Germany. While the play is ready for production, Bardin realized at the Atlas Intersections Festival that due to anti-Israel sentiment in the arts industry, he would have to

produce it himself. “There’s a lot going on with works about Israel in the American arts community and a lot of bias against telling stories about Israel and Israelis,” Bardin said. The reading in October will serve as a fundraiser for the play’s eventual production in both Phoenix and Washington, D.C. The plan is to then adapt the story to an English-language screenplay in Tel Aviv. Bardin described Israeli stories as a “hot potato that people are afraid to touch.” One Jewish theaters have declined to produce his play due to its setting in Israel. “The problem isn’t the audience,” he said. “There’s an audience for this play. People are very interested in Israel, both Jews and non-Jews. That’s why I’ve taken up the fundraising myself.” Bardin lived in Jerusalem as a child, then Tel Aviv after college during the First Gulf War, and he has fond memories of that time in his life. “Seeing Maya” is a love story, but Bardin said it also serves as a

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“Seeing Maya” poster.

personal love letter to the city. The story begins during an air raid in Tel Aviv during the First Gulf War. One of the protagonists is a 26-year-old American man named Danny who lived in Israel in his youth, similar to Bardin. His overbearing parents want him to go to law school, but he escapes to Israel seeking the connection he remembers feeling as a kid. He finds what he was looking for in Maya, a 52-year-old Israeli woman. “They’re brought together by the war, as people often are, and they make this deep connection, then obviously they have to face the fear and the questions that come up when you love outside the lines,” Bardin said. Bardin recognized that due to social media, everything from culture to politics to social issues are ever-present, right in people’s faces, forcing everyone to be overly reactive. “In-your-face theater was for more genteel times,” he said. “The power of a story about people is that we can step back from the in-your-face stuff, to reflect and gain new insight, where we’re not fighting the same old battles and taking the same old stands that produce the same old conflicts.” In Bardin’s experience living in Tel Aviv, Israelis did not enjoy talking about politics. Instead, they tried to enjoy lives that weren’t inundated by political anxiety. “When I thought about writing a story about Israel, I didn’t want it to be overtly political,” he said. “I was interested in writing about real people in real-life situations. They’re of course touched by the war and politics, and that’s always haunting them in the background, but the focus is on people.” “It’s so important to show Israelis, Palestinians and everybody involved in these conflicts in the Middle East as human beings, not just as political symbols,” he

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COURTESY OF JOSEPH BARDIN

Headshot of playwright and essayist Joseph Bardin. COURTESY OF JOSEPH BARDIN

continued. “This is a story about people, not the policies of the Israeli government, and it’s more important than ever to tell these kinds of stories now.” “Seeing Maya” is an unconventional story in more ways than one. Bardin developed it in a “cross-border” partnership with theater maker Raghad Makhlouf, a Syrian expatriate, originally from Damascus. “We can say how outraged we are and how upset we are about it, but the IsraeliPalestinian conflict is the norm there. To get past it, we’re going to have to do something abnormal. A love story between a 52-year-old woman and a 26-year-old guy is out of the ordinary, and it’s going to take something out of the ordinary for these sides to come to terms with each other.” Bardin is putting together his cast for the staged reading in October, but he has already brought on Jewish, local residents Jodie Weiss to direct and Debra Rich Gettleman to play Maya. JN For more information, visit givebutter.com/ seeing-maya-production-jp3ptd.

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Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Prescott announces $150,000 in regional CTE grants JOSH BOOTZIN | STAFF WRITER

he Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Prescott (JCFGP) has suppor ted Jewish and non-Jewish organizations and educational initiatives throughout Northern Arizona, as well as the rest of the state, for more than three decades. Over the summer, JCFGP announced two new educational grants to expand Career Technical Education (CTE) training opportunities in Northern Arizona, reaffirming the foundation’s commitment to expanding access to education and strengthening Northern Arizona communities. “Our Foundation believes it is vital to champion the trades with the same level of commitment as our other educational paths,” said JCFGP President Peter Tibi. “We want to ensure students in these vocational careers have the resources they need to succeed in these essential occupations, which in turn support the well-being of the community.” The first grant, a $100,000 investment for the new academic year, is the largest annual scholarship of its kind in Northern Arizona and aims to fund CTE scholarships at Coconino Community College (CCC) in Flagstaff. CCC was recently featured along with two other schools in Georgia and North Carolina in a three-part docuseries, “Building Back America’s Trades,” that follows individuals participating in innovative training programs for skilled trades. Produced by the Lowe’s Foundation in partnership with Blue Chalk Media, the series highlights the real-world challenges and personal stories of two CCC students and three faculty members, and it’s available to stream on HBO Max. Despite gaining national attention from the docuseries, CCC leadership was “overwhelmed” by the new JCFGP grant, according to a JCFGP press release. “The $100,000 grant provided by the Jewish Foundation for the next academic year will literally transform the lives of hundreds of students,” said CCC President Dr. Eric Heiser. “We are deeply grateful for their commitment to providing access to education and removing the financial barriers that may prevent students from successfully completing their skilled trades education.” The second grant, totaling $50,000, was awarded to the Chino Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) in Chino Valley, 25 miles north of Prescott. JEWISHAZ.COM

Coconino Community College President Dr. Eric Heiser, left, and Dianna Sanchez, Coconino Community College vice president of advancement and strategic initiatives, right, accept a $100,000 check from Michelle Sexton, executive director of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Prescott. COURTESY OF JEWISH COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER PRESCOTT

The grant will help purchase necessary technology to launch Chino Valley High School’s (CVHS) new digital media program, providing students with the opportunity to learn to write, edit, film and direct digital news in a new studio facility on the CVHS campus. Digital media becomes the latest CTE program to be offered at CVHS, joining agriculture, culinary arts, digital animation, forensics and biotechnologies, sports medicine and welding. These courses are offered both on campus and off campus via the Mountain Institute Career and Technical Education District in Prescott. “The Jewish Foundation has always been ver y suppor tive of our K-12

programs and we are delighted they will provide the necessar y funding to outfit the three new digital media career technical classrooms,” said Cindy Daniels, CVUSD superintendent. “This new program, coupled with our other technical offerings, will ensure that students are prepared to meet the challenges of tomorrow’s world and workforce.” Students interested in the CTE scholarship opportunities may apply through CCC’s financial aid office or online at coconino.edu/applyforfinancial-aid. JN

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For more information on the CTE opportunities available at Yavapai College, visit yc.edu/v6/ campuses-and-sites/ctec/.

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Scottsdale Boys & Girls Club advisor receives national honor JOSH BOOTZIN | STAFF WRITER

effrey Warner, 25, an administrator for Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale (BGCS), was recently honored as the National Keystone Advisor of the Year for his dedication to teen development at Boys & Girls Clubs around the Scottsdale area. Warner is also a student at Arizona State University (ASU) and described himself as a “proud Jew,” having spent the last three years on the student board of Chabad at ASU. As a teen development specialist at BGCS’ Vestar Branch, serving the Desert Ridge and North Phoenix communities, Warner implemented and oversaw teen programming for up to 130 participants at a time. This included spearheading the club’s Keystone group, a character, leadership and community service program for teens ages 14 to 18. Warner described Keystone as a “club within a club.” Most BGCS branches administer a Keystone element, but a selective application process and minimum GPA requirement limit each group to just 20 spots. According to the BGCS website,

Keystone activities are focused on “service to club and community, character and leadership development, education and career exploration, unity, free enterprise and social recreation.” As the advisor, Warner connects with nonprofit organizations in the community and finds ways for teens to contribute to causes that are important to them. “I’m the advisor, so I’m motivating them, helping them, giving them all the resources they need,” he said. This year, 16 Keystone members collectively completed more than 3,000 hours of community service under Warner’s direction and guidance. One of the projects the Keystone members completed this year included visiting Hospice of the Valley on Valentine’s Day, where they sat with patients, sang to them and delivered handwritten letters and roses. Keystone members also went to a rescue ranch in Cave Creek, where they groomed horses that were previously abused, as well as the Durango Courthouse in Phoenix, which houses the juvenile court system, where they provided a fun experience on National Adoption Day with face paint-

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Jeffrey Warner takes to the stage to accept his National Keystone Advisor of the Year Award with some BGCS Keystone teens. COURTESY OF JEFFREY WARNER

ing, music and dancing as adopted children began their lives with new families. One of the teens nominated Warner for the National Keystone Advisor of the Year, and he was chosen by Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) staff and last year’s awardee, among hundreds of nominees from around the world. Warner listed caring and showing up for the teens, elevating their voices and advising, guiding and empowering them to make decisions for their own benefit and the benefit of others, as a few of the reasons he may have stood out from the pool of advisors. Warner received the award while chaperoning nine Keystone teen members at the National Keystone Conference in Orlando, Florida. Multiple awards are distributed at the national conference every year, but the two highest honors are Club of the Year and Advisor of the Year. Club of the Year went to a club in Germany, while Warner, who started as a member of Boys & Girls Clubs when he was 5 years old, took home Advisor of the Year. Warner brought the teens on stage with him as he accepted the award, and he described the moment as “full circle,”

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considering how much BGCA has shaped his life. The organization offered Warner his first job, provided scholarship opportunities for college and, most recently, promoted him to the position of life and workforce readiness manager at BGCS’ administrative offices. “In my current role, I oversee all teen internship opportunities,” Warner said. “I prepare our teens for the workforce, and I line them up with internships, certifications and career exploration opportunities.” In addition to helping shape the next generation of leaders at BGCS, Warner graduates this December with a degree in history, focused on World War II from the Japanese perspective in the Western Pacific. Because of his heritage, he dedicated some of his World War II research to the Holocaust, having visited concentration camps and ghettos in Poland on a Chabad trip called LivingLinks. Warner shared his favorite slogan to use with the teens he supervises: “A life of giving is a life worth living,” and he strives to embody this slogan with everyone he meets and in everything he does. JN

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Scottsdale naturopathic physician launches kosher lozenge for children’s oral health JOSH BOOTZIN | STAFF WRITER

r. Jamie Oskin, ND, a Jewish community member, father and founder of kosher-certified children’s supplement brand Little Koala, has launched his debut product — an oral probiotic lozenge formulated by doctors to support a healthy oral microbiome. “Little Koala was created with a focus on research-informed ingredient selection, transparent dosing and kid-friendly formats that fit real family routines,” Oskin said. Little Koala’s debut product, Kids Throat Armor with BLIS K12™ probiotic, is designed to support healthy immune function for children ages 4 and up as part of a consistent bedtime routine. Drawing from his experience as a father and a physician, Oskin founded Little Koala in Scottsdale in 2024 to fill a gap in the children’s oral health industry and to reach a wider audience than his own patients. “As a naturopathic physician with over 18 years of pediatric-focused clinical practice, I wanted to be able to help a broader range of children on their health journey than I am able to do in my one-on-one clinical practice,” Oskin said. He consistently fielded questions from parents about probiotics for their kids, but he came across the issue that most products on the market were formulated for gut health rather than the mouth and throat. “The mouth and the gut are different ecosystems, and probiotics are typically formulated to be used in specific areas,” Oskin explained. “That’s what drove the idea to create something formulated specifically for the oral cavity.” After many months of research — it took nearly two years to develop the product from concept to launch — Oskin chose a chewable and slow-dissolving tablet designed to be taken after brushing teeth to maximize exposure to the mouth and throat. “Kids Throat Armor is designed to support oral and throat wellness in children by helping maintain a healthy balance of beneficial bacteria in the mouth — an environment that’s closely connected to everyday immune function,” he said. The product features a blend of four probiotic strains, including BLIS K12™ (Streptococcus salivarius) and three companion strains (Lactobacillus rhamnosus, L. reuteri, and Lacticaseibacillus paracasei). While it aims to support children’s oral and immune health, the product is

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not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any particular disease, and parents should consult their pediatrician before starting any new supplement. Manufactured in the U.S. in GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices)-certified facilities, the product comes in bottles of 60 lozenges, providing 5 billion CFU per lozenge (at the time of manufacture). The lozenges are sugar-free, vegan, non-GMO (genetically modified organism) and made without artificial colors or flavors, preservatives, dairy, gluten, soy or nuts. Additionally, Oskin ensured that the product received an Orthodox Union kosher certification. “Pursuing OU kosher certification was a deliberate choice from day one, built into the foundation of the brand rather than added on later,” Oskin said. “Little Koala’s mission is to bring researchinformed, clinically relevant formulations to children’s wellness, made with the same rigor I’d want for my own kids and for any family in our community.” Oskin sought an OU kosher certification so that Kids Throat Armor could be a trusted addition to all children’s bedtime routines, including observant families that have fewer choices than others when it comes to mass-produced vitamins and supplements. “OU kosher certification isn’t something you get by accident,” he said. “It requires added oversight, documentation and quality controls. For many supplement brands, it’s an extra step they don’t take. For me, it matters, because I want families who rely on kosher products to have access to the same high-quality options without compromise.” In the supplement industry, Oskin said most products are manufactured in a GMP facility, but the facilities might not always have extra, third-party quality controls. “Most parents look at the OU symbol and think about religious dietary requirements,” Oskin said. “For families who keep kosher, it’s essential. And for many other families, the idea that ingredients and manufacturing processes are reviewed as part of maintaining kosher certification can be a meaningful added layer of transparency.” As a former Hillel president and founding member of the AEPi fraternity chapter at William & Mary in Virginia, Oskin and his family continue to prioritize their involvement in Jewish community programs and service to kosher-observant

Naturopathic physician, Dr. Jamie Oskin.

A bottle of Little Koala Kids Throat Armor.

COURTESY OF DR. JAMIE OSKIN

families. Oskin looks forward to launching additional health products that Jewish families can feel comfortable adding to their daily health routines. “Now that Kids Throat Armor is on the market, we plan to begin the research and development process for additional Little Koala products, introducing them gradu-

ally over the next one to three years,” he said. “Future products will continue to reflect my background in naturopathic pediatrics and my perspective as a parent — focusing on kid-friendly supplements that prioritize quality, taste and ease of use.” JN For more information, visit getlittlekoala.com.

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RELIGIOUS LIFE TORAH STUDY

How do you know where you’re going? RABBI MOSHE LEVERTOV

PARSHAH NITZAVIM-VAYELECH: DEUTERONOMY 29:9-31:30

baby all alone. In a local NICU, there’s a preemie all alone. He was born preRabbi Moshe Levertov maturely while his COURTESY OF RABBI MOSHE LEVERTOV family was traveling throughout the Western States. With school starting, most of the family flew home while the baby’s mother stayed behind with him. Last week, I called to see if she needed anything. She had gone home for the weekend, and a friend had flown to Phoenix to stay with the baby. She shared the friend’s number so I could make sure she was set. Of course, I called the friend. She told me how amazing it was that everyone in our community was offering to help. “Everyone here wants to help. There are so many people who want the opportunity to do chesed, kindness,” she said. “It’s no wonder G-d decided this baby should be born while they were in Phoenix!”

What a beautiful compliment! Still, my reaction was, “G-d forbid!” G-d forbid that a baby should suffer and a family should be separated because you and I want the opportunity to be kind. I don’t need someone else to suffer to give my life meaning. In fact, my need for meaning shouldn’t be the reason for my kindness at all. We all want lives filled with meaning and purpose. But when goodness centers around what it does for me, even something noble can get distorted. Here, the baby suffers so that I get to feel useful. Jews have spent generations trying to bring kindness, justice and compassion into the world around us. We have built, given, volunteered and stood up for others. And today, many of us wonder what happened to all that goodwill. People we thought stood with us pulled away. Institutions we supported went silent when Jews needed them. If our goodness was supposed to earn appreciation or acceptance, we can end up asking: What was all that good for? But that was never supposed to be the reason. Just a few weeks ago, we read in the Torah that G-d asks us to “walk in His ways.” Maimonides explains: Just as G-d

is compassionate, we should be compassionate. Just as G-d is gracious, we should be gracious. He isn’t simply telling us to be good people according to our own ideas of what goodness should look like. He is asking us to model ourselves after Him. To look at G-d’s compassion and try to make our compassion look like His. I’m not compassionate because it makes me feel useful, because others appreciate it or because I’ve decided what compassion should look like. I’m trying to walk in G-d’s path and mirror His ways. Walking in G-d’s ways doesn’t stop with compassion, either. It means allowing G-d to show us how to live, turning to Torah and mitzvot rather than only our own hearts for direction. When we walk our own path, we walk alone. Even our most idealistic path is limited by our intellect, emotions and fears. Walking in G-d’s ways connects our limited selves to the infinite and allows us to move beyond the boundaries we would have set for ourselves. With the world feeling crazier by the day, and so much beyond our control, Rosh Hashanah comes at a perfect time. We step

SHABBAT CANDLE LIGHTING SEPTEMBER 4 - 6:31 P.M. SHABBAT ENDS SEPTEMBER 5 - 7:25 P.M. ROSH HASHANAH CANDLE LIGHTING SEPTEMBER 11 - 6:22 P.M. SEPTEMBER 12 - AFTER 7:15 P.M. HOLIDAY ENDS SEPTEMBER 13- 7:14 P.M. Find area congregations at JewishAZ.com, where you can also find our 2026 Community Directory.

back and recalibrate. We hear the shofar, pray, sit with family and friends and ask G-d for a year of life, health, peace and blessing. We ask for things we can’t guarantee and outcomes we can’t create on our own. But Rosh Hashanah isn’t only about asking G-d to reach beyond our limitations. It’s also about allowing G-d into the way we live. Instead of always asking what feels right to us, what makes sense to us, or how we fit in, we can ask what G-d wants from us. Torah and mitzvot can take us beyond where we would have gone on our own. When the world around us feels confusing, we don’t have to figure out the path ourselves. When we walk in G-d’s ways, we never have to walk alone. JN Rabbi Moshe Levertov directs the Jewish Care Network in Phoenix.

OPINION

Commentary

This historian’s classic ideas about memory fuel a new drama about Oct. 7 and Jewish identity PAMELA S. NADELL | JTA

n a lifetime of theatergoing, I have never heard the word “historiography” on stage. But that is exactly what the Tony Awardwinning playwright Jonathan Spector served up in his astonishing new play “Birthright.” In its first act, set in 2006, we join six friends just back from a Birthright Israel trip. Lev, the seeker of “meaning,” introduces “historiography.” For historians like me, that is the craft of writing history. Lev drops it into a speech about Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi’s masterwork “Zakhor: Jewish History and Jewish Memory.” I was stunned. “Zakhor” was published in 1982. Every historian of my generation has read it. My notes on it are so old that they were typed. But it is not a book that many people outside the academy — or even many of my graduate students — have read. Its author, Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi (1932-2009), was a professor of Jewish history at Columbia University and a

giant in the field. In just a hundred pages, “Zakhor” lays out the tension between the Jewish people’s collective memory and the disruption the modern scholarly study of the Jewish past raised for the Jewish faith. To give an example: In 2001, the prominent Los Angeles Rabbi David Wolpe preached at Passover that scholars agree “that the way the Bible describes the Exodus is not the way it happened, if it happened at all.” By giving voice to the modern historical approach, Wolpe’s sermon caused a firestorm. A few weeks after Oct. 7, 2023, Spector was invited by Miami New Drama’s artistic director, Michel Hausmann, to write a play about this moment in American Jewish life. The play, which premiered in Miami in 2025 and recently completed an extended off-Broadway run at MCC Theater, follows six American Jews over 18 years, exploring how their friendships, Jewish identities and

relationships to Israel evolve in the years before and after Oct. 7. Early in his research, Spector stumbled on a single quotation from “Zakhor” in the playwright Tony Kushner’s edited collection of essays “Wrestling with Zion.” That led Spector to Yerushalmi’s meditation on memory and Jewish history. He considers its analysis so significant that in an earlier draft, Lev’s discourse about Zakhor went on for 10 pages. Lev wrestles, as does the play, with the Jewish past and the fractures of the Jewish present. The Bible commands Jews to remember — “zakhor” — this past “like 200 times,” Lev tells us. (Yerushalmi actually counted 169 times.) “Zakhor” shows, Lev explains, just which parts of Jewish history claim a unique place within Jewish tradition. The narrative that extends from Abraham to the destruction of

the Second Temple became a central pillar of the Jewish faith, embodied in holidays, prayer and ritual, enacted and reenacted by the community across the millennia. But for medieval rabbis, once the Second Temple was destroyed, history became unimportant. Historiography disappeared from Jewish writing until the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. With that rupture, and stunned by this trauma, some 16th-century Jews took up their pens to write histories of Jewish suffering since the fall of the Second Temple. Then history writing once again vanished from Jewish literature until it was again sparked by trauma. JN This article has been edited for space. To read it in its entirety, visit jewishaz.com. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.

A NOTE ON OPINION

We are a diverse community. The views expressed in these opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the views of the officers and boards of the Jewish Community Foundation, Center for Jewish Philanthropy, Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix, Cleveland Jewish Publication Company or the staff of Jewish News. Letters must respond to content published by Jewish News and should be a maximum of 200 words. They may be edited for space and clarity. Unsigned letters will not be published. Letters and op-ed submissions should be sent to editor@jewishaz.com 10

SEPTEMBER 4, 2026

JEWISH NEWS

JEWISHAZ.COM

SPECIAL SECTION HIGH HOLIDAYS

High Holiday services around the Valley and Northern Arizona

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MALA BLOMQUIST | MANAGING EDITOR

osh Hashanah begins the evening of Friday, Sept. 11, and Jewish News wants to share a few of the options available for High Holiday services this year. While this is not a complete list, here’s a roundup of this year’s services, study sessions and more. Before you go, visit the synagogue’s website for more complete information. Also, visit JewishPhoenix.com for additional High Holiday resources.

EAST VALLEY CHABAD AT ASU

High Holiday ser vices are open to all, but reservations are required. For more information and to make your reservations, visit jewishasu.com. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 6:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Evening Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 7:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 10 a.m. Shofar Sounding: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 12 p.m. Tashlich: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 6 p.m. at Tempe Town Lake. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6:15 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 10 a.m. Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 12 p.m. Mincha: Monday, Sept. 21 at 4:40 p.m. Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 5:40 p.m. Break the Fast: Monday, Sept. 21 at 7:10 p.m.

JEWISHAZ.COM

CHABAD JEWISH CENTER OF GILBERT

High Holiday services are open to all, but reservations are required. Services will be held at the SanTan Elegante DoubleTree by Hilton in Gilbert. For more information and to RSVP, visit jewishgilbert.com. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 9:30 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 9:30 a.m. Shofar Sounding: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 10:45 a.m. Tashlich in the Park: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 5:45 p.m. at Cosmo Park in Gilbert. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6:15 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 9:30 a.m. Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 12 p.m. Mincha and Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 5:15 p.m. Break the Fast: Monday, Sept. 21 at 7:02 p.m., followed by a buffet.

CHABAD JEWISH CENTER OF MESA, GOLD CANYON AND APACHE JUNCTION

Rosh Hashanah services will be held at Chabad of Mesa. Yom Kippur services will be held at the Holiday Inn in Mesa. High Holiday ser vices are open to all, but reservations are required. For more information and to RSVP, visit chabadmesa.com. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 6:15 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 9:30 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 9:30 a.m. Shofar Sounding: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 10:45 a.m.

Tashlich: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 5 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 14 at 9:30 a.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 9:30 a.m. Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 11:30 a.m. Mincha and Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 5 p.m. Break the Fast: Monday, Sept. 21 at 7:02 p.m., followed by a buffet.

CHABAD OF THE EAST VALLEY

High Holiday ser vices are open to all, but reservations are required. For more information and to RSVP, visit chabadcenter.com. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 6:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 9:30 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Evening Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 9:30 a.m. Shofar Sounding: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 11:30 a.m. Tashlich and Shofar in the Park: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 5:30 p.m. at Desert Breeze Park in Chandler. Rosh Hashanah Day II Evening Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6:15 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 9:30 a.m. Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 12 p.m. Mincha and Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 4:30 p.m. Break the Fast: Monday, Sept. 21 at 7:10 p.m., followed by a buffet.

JEWISH NEWS

SEE SERVICES, PAGE 12 SEPTEMBER 4, 2026

SPECIAL SECTION HIGH HOLIDAYS

TEMPLE BETH SHOLOM OF THE EAST VALLEY

SERVICES

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

HILLEL JEWISH STUDENT CENTER ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

High Holiday services are open to all, but reservations are strongly encouraged. For more information, visit hillelasu.org. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 5:45 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6:30 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 10 a.m. Break the Fast: Monday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m.

SUN LAKES JEWISH CONGREGATION

All High Holiday services will be held at The Sun Lakes Chapel. For more information, visit sljc.org. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 10 a.m. Mincha: Monday, Sept. 21 at 3 p.m. Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 4 p.m. Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 5 p.m. Break the Fast: Monday, Sept. 21 at 5 p.m. at Oakwood Countr y Club. Reservations required.

High Holiday services will take place in person. For more information or to buy tickets, visit tbsev.org. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 9 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 9 a.m. Tashlich/Mincha: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 6 p.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 9 a.m. Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 11 a.m. Mincha: Monday, Sept. 21 at 4:30 p.m. Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 6 p.m. Havdalah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m.

TEMPLE EMANUEL OF TEMPE

High Holiday services will be in person and live streamed. Some will take place at Temple Emanuel and others at King of Glory Lutheran Church in Tempe. For more information, visit emanueloftempe.org. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. at King of Glory Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 10:30 a.m. at King of Glory Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 10:30 a.m. at Temple Emanuel

Tashlich: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. at ASU Research Park in Tempe. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. at King of Glory. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 10:30 a.m. at King of Glory. Mincha: Monday, Sept. 21 at 3:15 p.m. at King of Glory. Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 4:45 p.m. at King of Glory. Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 5:45 p.m. at King of Glory.

PHOENIX BETH AMI TEMPLE

All High Holiday services will be in person at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Phoenix. For more information, visit bethamitemple.org. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 10 a.m. Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 4 p.m.

BETH EL PHOENIX

For more information, visit bethelphoenix. com/holidays. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 5:45 p.m.

Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 8:30 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 8:30 a.m. Tashlich and Shofar: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 5 p.m. at the canal by Sunnyslope High School in Phoenix Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 9 a.m. Mincha and Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 4:15 p.m. Ma’ariv, Havdalah and Shofar: Monday, Sept. 21 at 6:45 p.m. Break the Fast: Monday, Sept. 21 at 7:15 p.m.

CHABAD BUKHARIAN CENTER

For more information, visit chabadbukhariancenter.org. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 6:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 9 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Evening Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 6:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 9 a.m. Shofar Sounding: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 10:30 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Evening Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 6:30 p.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6:15 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 9 a.m.

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SPECIAL SECTION HIGH HOLIDAYS Mincha and Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 4:45 p.m. Break the Fast: Monday, Sept. 21 at 7:03 p.m.

CHABAD OF AHWATUKEE

Services will be held at M.A.S. Events in Phoenix. For more information and to RSVP, visit chabadahwatukee.com. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 10 a.m. Shofar Sounding: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 11:30 a.m. Shofar in the Park: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 5 p.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 10 a.m. Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 11:30 a.m. Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 6 p.m. Break the Fast: Monday, Sept. 21 at 6:48 p.m.

CHABAD OF DOWNTOWN PHOENIX

Ser vices will be held at Chabad of Downtown, Sheraton Phoenix Downtown and Encanto Clubhouse in Phoenix. For more information, visit jewishdowntownphoenix.com. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. at Chabad. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. at Chabad. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 10 a.m. at Encanto Clubhouse in Phoenix. Shofar Sounding: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 12 p.m. Tashlich and Shofar in the Park: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 3 p.m. at Encanto Park in Phoenix. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6:15 p.m. at the Sheraton. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 10 a.m. at the Sheraton. Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 12 p.m. at the Sheraton. Mincha and Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 5 p.m. at the Sheraton. Break the Fast: Monday, Sept. 21 at 7:03 p.m.

CHABAD OF MOON VALLEY

Services will be held at a Moon Valley location; address provided upon RSVP. All are welcome. For more information, visit jewishmoonvalley.com/holidays. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 10 a.m. Shofar Sounding: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 11:30 a.m. at Moon Valley Country Club and 4 p.m. at Lookout Mountain Park in Phoenix. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 10 a.m. Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 11:30 a.m. Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 6 p.m. Break the Fast: Monday, Sept. 21 at 7:03 p.m. JEWISHAZ.COM

CHABAD OF NORTH PHOENIX

All are welcome, no reser vations required. For more information, visit ourjewishcenter.com. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 6:15 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 9:30 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Evening Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 6:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 9:30 a.m. Shofar Sounding: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 11:30 a.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6:15 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 9:30 a.m. Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 12 p.m. Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 5 p.m. Break the Fast: Monday, Sept. 21 at 7:03 p.m.

CHABAD OF PHOENIX

All are welcome, no reservations required. For more information, visit chabadaz.com. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 6:15 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 9:30 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Evening Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 6:15 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 9:30 a.m. Shofar Sounding: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 11 a.m.

Tashlich in the Park: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 5:45 p.m. at Granada Park in Phoenix. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6:25 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 9:30 a.m. Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 11:30 a.m. Break the Fast: Monday, Sept. 21 at 7:03 p.m.

SCOTTSDALE/NORTHEAST VALLEY CHABAD OF FOUNTAIN HILLS

High Holiday ser vices are open to all. For more information, visit jewishfountainhills.com. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 6:15 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 9:30 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Evening Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 9:30 a.m. Shofar Sounding: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 11:30 a.m. Tashlich and Shofar in the Park: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 5:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Evening Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6:15 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 9:30 a.m. Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 12 p.m. SEE SERVICES, PAGE 14

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Mincha and Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 4:30 p.m. Break the Fast: Monday, Sept. 21 at 7:10 p.m.

CHABAD OF PARADISE VALLEY & ARCADIA

Services will be held at Andaz Scottsdale Resort. High Holiday services are open to all, but reservations are required. For more information and to RSVP, visit jewishparadisevalley.com. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 6:15 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 9:30 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 9:30 a.m. Shofar Sounding: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 11:30 a.m. Tashlich: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 5:40 p.m. at the canal on McDonald Drive in Scottsdale. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6:15 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 9:30 a.m. Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 11:30 a.m. Mincha and Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 5 p.m. Break the Fast: Monday, Sept. 21 at 7:03 p.m.

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High Holiday services are open to all, but reservations are appreciated. For more information and to RSVP, visit chabadofscottsdale.org. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 6:15 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 9:30 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Evening Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 6:15 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 9:30 a.m. Shofar Sounding: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 12 p.m. Tashlich: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 5:45 p.m., contact office for location. Rosh Hashanah Day II Evening Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 7:15 p.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 9:30 a.m. Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 12:30 p.m. Mincha and Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 4:30 p.m. Break the Fast: Monday, Sept. 21 at 7:02 p.m.

CONGREGATION BETH ISRAEL

Shanah Tova! For more information visit templesolel.org 14

SEPTEMBER 4, 2026

Services all held at Congregation Beth Israel. For tickets, reservations and more information, visit cbiaz.org. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 11:30 a.m. Tashlich: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 4:30 p.m. at Roadrunner Park in Phoenix. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 10:15 a.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 8:15 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, JEWISH NEWS

Sept. 21 at 11:30 a.m. Yom Kippur Afternoon Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 1:30 p.m. Healing: Monday, Sept. 21 at 3:30 p.m. Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 4:45 p.m. Neilah and Havdalah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 5:30 p.m.

CONGREGATION KEHILLAH

For more information and to RSVP, visit congregationkehillah.org/high-holydays. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 6:45 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 10:45 a.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6:45 p.m. Yom Kippur Services: Monday, Sept. 21 at 10:45 a.m. and 3 p.m.

CONGREGATION OR TZION

High Holiday in-person and virtual services. Participants must complete a registration form online and make a Gift of the Heart commitment. For more detailed information, visit otaz.org/5787 and view the digital guidebook. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Services: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 8:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service with Shofar: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 8:30 a.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Services: Monday, Sept. 21 at 8:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Mincha and Avodah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 4 p.m. Neilah and Final Shofar Blowing: Monday, Sept. 21 at 5:15 p.m.

CONGREGATION SHOMREI TORAH

All services at a Scottsdale hotel venue. Name and address will be given via email (high security being implemented) to all members and High Holiday ticket holders. For more information, contact 602-376-4392 or visit cstaz.org. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 9 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 9 a.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6:30 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 9 a.m. Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 1 p.m. Mincha and Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 5 p.m.

OR ADAM CONGREGATION FOR HUMANISTIC JUDAISM

High Holiday in-person and virtual services. For more detailed information, visit oradamaz.org/high-holidays. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 4 p.m. Break the Fast: Monday, Sept. 21, following Yizkor service.

SHABBAT STOP&GO

High Holiday services led by Rabbi Erica Burech and Emily Kaye. For more JEWISHAZ.COM

SPECIAL SECTION HIGH HOLIDAYS information, visit shabbatstopandgo.com. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 10 a.m.

TEMPLE CHAI

Registration and tickets are required for all services. For more information, visit templechai.com. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 11 a.m. Tashlich: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 4:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 10 a.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 8 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 11 a.m. Healing Service, Yizkor and Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 3:30 p.m.

TEMPLE KOL AMI

High Holiday services will be held at Chaparral Church in Scottsdale. For more information, visit templekolami.org. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 7:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 10 a.m. Yizkor and Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 4:15 p.m. Break the Fast: Monday, Sept. 21, following services.

WEST VALLEY BETH EMETH CONGREGATION OF THE WEST VALLEY

Tickets are required and available for pickup weekdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. For pricing and more information, visit bethemethaz.org. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 9 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 9 a.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 9 a.m. Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 11 a.m. Mincha: Monday, Sept. 21 at 4:45 p.m. Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 5:45 p.m. Havdalah, Break the Fast: Monday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m.

CHABAD JEWISH CENTER OF GOODYEAR

High Holiday services will be held at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Goodyear. For more information and to RSVP, visit jewishgoodyear.com. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 9:30 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 9:30 a.m.

Shofar Sounding: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 11:30 a.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6:30 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 9:30 a.m. Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 12 p.m. Mincha and Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 5 p.m. Break the Fast: Monday, Sept. 21 at 7:04 p.m.

CHABAD OF THE WEST VALLEY

High Holiday services are open to all, but reservations are required. For more information and to RSVP, visit ichabad.org. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 6:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 9:30 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Evening Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 6:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service and Shofar Sounding: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 9:30 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Evening Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 6:30 p.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6:15 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service and Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 9:30 a.m. Yom Kippur Afternoon and Closing Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 5 p.m.

and the service location will be provided upon RSVP. For more information and to RSVP, visit jewishsurprise.com. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 10:30 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Evening Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 6:30 p.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. Mussaf and Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 10:30 a.m. Neilah and Break the Fast: Monday, Sept. 21 at 6 p.m.

TEMPLE BETH SHALOM OF THE WEST VALLEY

High Holiday ser vices are open to all, but tickets are required. For more information, visit tbsaz.org. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. Tashlich: Friday, Sept. 18 at 5:30 p.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 10 a.m. Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21, immediately following morning service. Yom Kippur Afternoon Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 4 p.m. Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21, immediately following afternoon service.

JEWISH SURPRISE

High Holiday services are open to all,

SEE SERVICES, PAGE 16

TEMPLE SOLEL

Registration is required. For more information, visit templesolel.org. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 6:15 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 12 p.m. Tashlich: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 4:30 p.m. at Roadrunner Park in Phoenix. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6:15 p.m. Yom Kippur Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 12 p.m. Mincha, Yizkor and Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 4:15 p.m.

THE NEW SHUL

All are welcome and no reservations necessary. In lieu of tickets, the synagogue asks for a donation. For more detailed information, visit thenewshul.org/daysof-awe. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 8:15 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Evening Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 7:15 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 8:15 a.m. Tashlich: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 5:45 p.m. Yom Kippur Services: Monday, Sept. 21 at 8:15 a.m. and 4 p.m. Break the Fast: Monday, Sept. 21 following services. JEWISHAZ.COM

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JEWISH NEWS

SEPTEMBER 4, 2026

SPECIAL SECTION HIGH HOLIDAYS SERVICES

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

FLAGSTAFF CHABAD OF FLAGSTAFF

High Holiday services will be held at the Molly Blank Jewish Community Center in Flagstaff. For more information, visit jewishflagstaff.com. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Evening Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 6:45 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 10 a.m. Tashlich: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 5 p.m. at Frances Short Pond. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6:15 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 10 a.m. Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 11:30 a.m. Mincha: Monday, Sept. 21 at 5 p.m. Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 6 p.m. Break the Fast: Monday, Sept. 21 at 7:02 p.m.

CONGREGATION LEV SHALOM

Reservations are required. For more detailed information, visit levshalomaz.org. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m.

Rosh Hashanah Retreat with the Flagstaff Kehilah at O’Leary Campground: Saturday, Sept. 12, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service and Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 10 a.m. Neilah and Break the Fast: Monday, Sept. 21 at 5:30 p.m.

PRESCOTT CHABAD OF PRESCOTT

All are welcome. For more information, visit jewishprescott.org/highholidays. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 6:15 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 10 a.m. Shofar Sounding: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 11:30 a.m. Shofar Sounding and Tashlich: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 4:30 p.m. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 10 a.m. Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 12 p.m. Mincha and Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 5 p.m. Break the Fast: Monday, Sept. 21 at 7:05 p.m.

Complimentary High Holiday Tickets

TEMPLE B’RITH SHALOM

High Holiday services are open to all, but tickets are required. Services will be held at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Prescott. For more information, visit brithshalom-az.org. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. Tashlich: Saturday, Sept. 12, immediately following service. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 10 a.m. Mincha, Yizkor and Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 4 p.m.

SEDONA CHABAD OF SEDONA

All are welcome. For more information, visit jewishsedona.com. Erev Rosh Hashanah Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 5:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 9:30 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 9:30 a.m. Shofar Sounding: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 11 a.m. Tashlich: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 5:30 p.m. at Whole Foods Pond.

Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6:15 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 9:30 a.m. Yizkor: Monday, Sept. 21 at 11:30 a.m. Mincha and Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 5:30 p.m.

JEWISH COMMUNITY OF SEDONA AND THE VERDE VALLEY

High Holiday ser vices available in person and online (Zoom). For more information, visit jcsvv.org. Erev Rosh Hashanah Evening Service: Friday, Sept. 11 at 5:30 p.m. Rosh Hashanah Day I Morning Service: Saturday, Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. Rosh Hashanah Day II Morning Service: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 11 a.m. Tashlich: Sunday, Sept. 13 at 4 p.m. at Los Abrigados at the Creek. Kol Nidre: Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6:30 p.m. Yom Kippur Morning Service: Monday, Sept. 21 at 10 a.m. Yom Kippur Afternoon Program: Monday, Sept. 21 at 1:30 p.m. Yizkor and Neilah: Monday, Sept. 21 at 5 p.m. Break the Fast: Monday, Sept. 21 at 6:40 p.m. JN

RO S H HAS HAN AH 5787

MAKE IT A MEANINGFUL NEW YEAR! From the places that you love, to the traditions that we all treasure.

Our members are sponsoring a limited number of High Holiday Tickets as a way of introducing our warm and friendly active adult congregation to the community. Please call

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SEPTEMBER 4, 2026

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SPECIAL SECTION HIGH HOLIDAYS

The unusual way my family celebrates Yom Kippur MARK ROTHSCHILD | KVELLER

hen the Jewish Day of Atonement rolls around, my kids moan, “Do we have to go on a hike today?” The answer in my house is obvious. “Of course we do. It’s Yom Kippur.” This makes perfect sense to me. It may not make sense to anyone else. And that’s OK. Yom Kippur is the Jewish High Holiday when we’re supposed to fast all day and go to synagogue services and pray about becoming a better person. It is known as the holiest day of the Jewish year. In our house, our stint at synagogue rarely goes beyond the 45-minute morning family service, and fasting rarely lasts past 3 p.m. But we do take long hikes — religiously. As a kid, I sat hungry and cranky in synagogue, counting the minutes until we could go home and break the fast. I swore I wouldn’t do that to my own children. Yom Kippur should hurt a little, but I always thought it shouldn’t feel like a meaningless punishment. I wanted my kids to feel the weight of the day, not the weight of being bored in a language they didn’t understand. I wanted them to feel what I didn’t as a child: that even in the hard parts, Judaism can bring joy, connection and love. My wife, Trish, and I don’t want the day

to seem “normal” though. We don’t want to come home after family services and have the kids turn on screens, or do anything they might do on a “regular” day. So we decided to make hiking our thing. Every year on Yom Kippur, we pack a picnic and go for a hike — a long hike — before breaking the fast together as a family in the woods. We started the tradition when we lived in Jerusalem, when our boys were 3 and 5. The city fell silent on Yom Kippur: no cars, no noise, just the sound of our sneakers on ancient stone. When we moved to Cincinnati, we learned about glaciers and how long three miles feels. In Chicago, when the boys were joined by their new baby sister, we disappeared for hours into forests that somehow exist between highways and strip malls. One year we tried biking instead of hiking, and ended up sweaty, starving and sitting at a crowded restaurant. As waiters carried out grilled cheeses for the kids, I ordered soup and whispered an apology to my ancestors. The kids loved it. I didn’t. Nothing about it tasted like Yom Kippur, not even the shame. We went back to family hikes and picnics after that. By the second or third mile in the woods,

COURTESY OF CANVA VIA KVELLER

the kids usually start bargaining: “Can we call this enough and eat?” I’ll say, “Not yet.” Later, when one of them mumbles, “I guess I could’ve been nicer this year,” I know the day has worked its quiet magic and we’ll spread out the battered tablecloth. When my kids have families of their own, they may choose to spend all day in synagogue or they may invent their own weird traditions. Or maybe they’ll decide they want to continue our family tradition of hiking. No matter what they choose, I hope they’ll remember our annual outings — how

hungry we were, how tired, yes, but more than anything, how together we were, how connected. We celebrated the holiest day of the Jewish year uniquely, not because I wanted to skip tradition, but because I wanted to build something new, for them, and for us as a family. Because traditions aren’t always about the rules we follow. They’re about the stories we carry with us, mile after mile. JN This story originally appeared on Kveller.

Best Wishes for Good Health & Happiness in the New Year

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SEPTEMBER 4, 2026

SPECIAL SECTION HIGH HOLIDAYS

The Jewish greeting cheat sheet JOSHUA KAIL | SPECIAL TO JEWISH NEWS

ith the High Holy Days upon us, many of you are probably facing the same question as you walk through the doors of your temple, shul, synagogue, shtiebel or rented-out church basement. That question is, “What the hell am I supposed to say to these people?” This is not because you haven’t seen many of them since this time last year or because you saw their recent X post and are in shock, but rather because there are simply too many ways to greet people in Judaism. This isn’t just a Rosh Hashanah problem; it’s for every holiday! I’ve counted, and we Jews have 128 different ways to greet each other over the holidays. It is out of control. Do you know how many ways Christians greet each other on their holidays? Two! They either say “happy” or they say “merry.” They took the word merry and limited it to a single viable use case. In fact, back in the 1800s, if you were to say the word “merry” and it wasn’t in the context of Christmas, you would be put in the back of a carriage along with the uppity children and menopausal women and sent to the

"I’VE COUNTED, AND WE JEWS HAVE 128 DIFFERENT WAYS TO GREET EACH OTHER OVER THE HOLIDAYS. IT IS OUT OF CONTROL." mental asylum. This is why Christianity spread so widely around the world; it wasn’t because of forced conversions; it was because they eliminated the social anxiety of greeting someone at a religious event. I can only imagine how simple and carefree life would be if, regardless of the holiday, I simply had to put the word “happy” in front of its name and knew with confidence I was using the right phrase. Unfortunately, “happy Tisha B’Av” doesn’t quite work. Now, before you get your tzitzit in a twist, I am not suggesting we toss out the old complicated system of 128 different greetings. That would be crazy, and to be honest, it wouldn’t work. Can you imagine calling together a multi-denominational congress of rabbis to come to a global agreement on what we

‫שנה טובה‬ ‫ומתוקה‬ Shanah Tovah u-metukah from the Board of Rabbis of Greater Phoenix, providing leadership to the community. Andy Green President

Nitzan Stein-Kokin Vice President

Sara Mason Barkin Secretary

should say to each other on Yom Kippur? It would be chaos! The Orthodox rabbis would insist we say “Shanah Tovah um’tukah, Tizku l’shanim rabot, like Itzak ben Avraham did once when the angel of the Lord provided the ram to Abraham on Mount Moria, allowing the Jewish people to continue, Baruch Hashem, may such blessing befall your family on such a joyous day, and may Hashem bless you and keep you, Mah tovu ohaleicha ya’akov mishkenoteicha Yisrael!” Their goal is to have the greeting go so long that it becomes a service in and of itself, so that not a moment for prayer goes unwasted. If you have ever been on an El Al flight, it is easy to imagine how this would work. The Conservative rabbis would argue that the greeting must be short and fast and stern to both express the joy of the holiday while keeping the auspices of being very serious Jews. They would insist that “gut yontif” would not be gut enough and it should be made into “gutyonzeit!” This way, you not only wish a happy Holy Day but also fold in the appropriate saying if the person you are speaking with sneezes. After all, services are about to begin, and you need to get to your assigned seat! The Reform rabbis would be more open to things, but probably insist on the use of the word “howdy.” This is so that we can be more inclusive with people who like saying howdy. The Reconstructionist rabbis will not see this as a problem, since they already just hug people as a response to … well, pretty much everything.

Mark Bisman and Jeremy Schneider Mindie Snyder Immediate Co-Treasurers Past President

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COURTESY OF ED BATRES

So, what is the solution? Simple, know your Jewish greetings with the “Quick and easy Jewish greeting cheat sheet!” Rosh Hashanah: “Shanah Tovah,” “gut yontif,” “anyada bueno, dulse, i alegre,” or “Yoni? I thought you died in April!” Shabbat: “Good Shabbos,” “gud Shoybas!,” “Shabbat Shalom” or “Shobado fotyfo.” Sukkot: “Chag Sameach,” “Moadim L’Simcha,” or “Nice shack, wanna shake my lulav?” Chanukah: “The dreidel spins at sundown (followed by a wink),” and “A very good oil unto you!” (with the appropriate response being) “May your sufganiyot only drip a little bit!” Purim: “Schnaps?” “Schnaps!” Pesach: “May the maror exit easier than it entered.” Havdallah: The sun, it fades, and yet I cannot help but be overcome by a sense of ennui, for as the Sabbath leaves us, it takes with us that sense of peace, much like we take from it the remembrance of that peace. We carry the burden of the week through the waning of Shabbat, all so that we may see it again in a week’s time. So, as I look upon you in this threshold to the house of prayer, I see your joy and your sadness and know that both are good, for that is the struggle of existence. JN Joshua Kail is a Jewish humor writer and America’s Rebbitzman. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his rabbi wife and two children. More of his writing can be found on his Medium page, “Ask The Rebbitzman.”

Celebrate Rosh Hashanah with a delicious dinner! O pe

Joshua Kail

JEWISH NEWS

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Enjoy a traditional menu featuring brisket, roasted chicken, fresh challah, and more. Gather with loved ones and welcome the new year with a meal Village Plaza Total Wine Plaza Skysong 4722 E Cactus Rd 10320 N Scottsdale Rd 1455 N Scottsdale Rd 602-358-7199 480-991-3034 480-664-4200

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Saucy Seitan Brisket

LEAH KOENIG | THE NOSHER

ike many Ashkenazi Jews, I grew up believing that my mother made the best brisket in the world. (I still believe that today.) Fragrant, savory and unbelievably tender, it was and continues to be the stuff of holiday memories — and of sneaking back to the fridge at midnight, long after the guests had gone home. When I decided to become a vegetarian at age 17, I did so with the acute and sorrowful understanding that I was saying goodbye to one of my favorite Jewish dishes. Brisket was such a sacred food to me, I never even considered trying to recreate it for my meatfree lifestyle, until a friend mentioned that he was trying to “perfect his vegetarian brisket.” Intrigued, I began fiddling with my own version, combining recipes I found online with the tastes I recalled from childhood. While the resulting dish is by no means an exact replica of my mother’s (and I am no longer a vegetarian), it definitely holds its own on the Rosh Hashanah table or at a Purim feast. Of course, vegetarian brisket is a rather blatant misnomer, because the word brisket specifically refers to a cut of meat (the “flat, boneless, flavorful cut taken from the breast

Instructions:

Serves: 6 Total time: 1 hour 20 minutes (20 minutes of prep)

Ingredients:

A vegetarian version of brisket captures the slow-braised flavors of the Jewish holiday classic without the meat. COURTESY OF LEAH KOENIG

of a steer,” according to Matthew Goodman’s “Jewish Food: The World at Table”). However, over time, the concept of brisket — at least “Jewish brisket” — has become almost interchangeable with its preparation: the searing over high heat and slow braise necessary to soften this tough kosher cut into a steamy pile of juice and meat. In that sense, “brisket” refers not to a particular ingredient, but rather to a method of cooking, and to the noble search for gastro-Jewish nirvana. Seitan, a meat substitute made from wheat, is inherently chewy and tender, so it does not need to stew for as long as traditional brisket. But since your taste buds will quickly become intoxicated by the smell of onions, garlic and tomato wafting from the oven, the quicker cooking time is a blessing.

YOMKippur Kippur SEPTEMBER 20TH

• ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons sunflower oil (or other neutral vegetable oil), divided • 3 (8-ounce) packages unflavored seitan chunks, drained and cut into bite-size pieces, if necessary • 1 large yellow onion, peeled and cut into 12 wedges through the root • 2 medium carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise if thick and cut into ½-inch pieces • 2 celery stalks, halved lengthwise if thick and cut into ½-inch pieces • 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced • 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes • 1½ cups vegetable broth • 2 tablespoons tomato paste • 2 tablespoons brown sugar • 1 tablespoon balsamic or red wine vinegar • 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika • 1 teaspoon Diamond kosher salt, plus more as needed • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

TO-GO

Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Heat ¼ cup of the oil in a Dutch oven or other large, wide-bottomed pot set over medium-high heat. Add the seitan chunks and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and crisp, 8-10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the seitan to a bowl. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the Dutch oven. Add the onion, carrots and celery, lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and beginning to soften, 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the crushed tomatoes, broth, tomato paste, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, onion powder, paprika, salt and black pepper and stir to combine. Stir in the browned seitan. Bring to a bubble, then cover and transfer to the oven. Roast, stirring once or twice, until the vegetables are fully tender and the sauce has thickened, 45-60 minutes. Remove from the oven, taste and add more salt if needed. Let sit for 10 minutes, then transfer the seitan and veggies to a serving platter. Spoon the sauce over top and serve hot. Note: Store the brisket, covered, in the fridge for up to 5 days. JN This story originally appeared on The Nosher.

From Hillel at ASU to you, Happy New Year! Our High Holidays services are not just for students! Scan the QR code to join us!

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L’Shana Tova! Wishing you a Sweet and Happy New Year

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SEPTEMBER 4, 2026

Wishing you a sweet new year! The Chanen Family

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Phoenix-produced Torah study podcast helps Jews understand and enact Torah teachings in the 21st century JOSH BOOTZIN | STAFF WRITER

reated by Phoenix resident and real estate broker Sanford Burstyn, “The Torah Broker” podcast launched its second season on Aug. 3, producing weekly episodes that highlight the widespread expertise of Arizona’s Jewish community and share the wisdom of the Torah in an easily digestible format for Jews of all denominations. The show covers a wide range of topics through conversations with local and visiting rabbis, including Rabbi Pinchas Allouche (Congregation Beth Tefillah), Rabbi Yakov Bronsteyn (Star-K Kosher Certification), Rabbi Rafael Marlowe (Torah educator), Rabbi Shafir Roizman (Congregation Ohr HaTorah) and Rabbi Yehuda Weiss (Olami), among others. “ We ’ v e g o t s o m u c h m a t e r i a l throughout the world; it’s about finding it and mining it down to something simple that we can utilize for ourselves,” Burstyn said. “That’s the beauty of having

access to rabbis. It’s such an honor to spend time with them and to help extract their wisdom and put it in a vehicle that can be distributed to so many people.” In the early 2000s, Burstyn partnered with the Phoenix Community Kollel, an organization dedicated to learning and spreading Torah knowledge, to help create a group called Torah for Real Estate Tycoons. The group included around 135 Jewish men associated with the real estate industry across Greater Phoenix, who convened at monthly meetings for networking, conversation and lectures by visiting rabbis. “The rabbis would come and give a 30-minute piece of Torah study on something having to do with real estate, money lending, disclosures, leases, water rights or loans,” Burstyn explained. “The men were excited about the events, and they liked being around each other. I think there is an intrinsic curiosity or

Sanford Burstyn, host of "The Torah Broker" podcast.

nutritional requirement for spirituality, and we saw that at a lot of the events.” Unfortunately, the Torah for Real Estate Tycoons group did not survive

COURTESY OF SANFORD BURSTYN

COVID-19, and Burstyn faced many hurdles in trying to bring it back. Despite this, he continued his efforts to connect SEE PODCAST, PAGE 24

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How to choose the right medical alert device DARLENE MOYER, M.D. | SPECIAL TO JEWISH NEWS

ne question I hear often from patients and families is, “Which medical alert device should we get?” My answer is usually the same: the best device is the one that the patient will actually wear. There isn’t one right choice for everyone. What works well for one person may not be the best fit for someone else. That’s why I encourage patients to be part of the decision whenever possible. If they help choose the device, they’re much more likely to use it. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one in four adults 65 and older falls each year. Falls are one of the leading causes of injury for older adults. A medical alert device can’t prevent a fall, but it can help someone get assistance quickly if one happens. One of the first things I think about is whether the device fits the person’s abilities and daily routine. Some patients are very comfortable with technology and like the features a smartwatch offers. Others are much better off with a simple button on a pendant or on a device worn around the wrist.

I also encourage families to think beyond the device itself. Does your loved one have a history of falls? Do they have arthritis or another condition that might make it difficult to press a button? Do they have memory problems or dementia that could put them at risk of wandering? Those answers can help determine whether features like automatic fall detection or GPS tracking are worth having. Sometimes the hardest part isn’t choosing a device; it’s convincing someone they need one. Many patients tell me they don’t want to wear something that makes them feel old, or they worry about privacy. Rather than focusing on the device, I try to focus on what’s important to them. If staying in their own home is their goal, we talk about how a medical alert device may help make that possible. It’s supporting what matters most to them in a way that aligns with their goals. Unfortunately, many people don’t think about a medical alert device until after they’ve had a fall or another emergency. If that’s the situation, it’s worth reflecting on what happened and if an alert device might

help in the future. Sometimes, patients are more willing to consider their options after an event like that. I also remind families that choosing a device isn’t a one-time decision. As someone’s health changes, their needs may change too. It’s worth revisiting whether the device they’re using is still the right fit. If you’re helping a loved one choose a medical alert device, here are a few questions I’d start with: • Will they wear it every day? • Can they use it comfortably and confidently? • Are they at higher risk for falls? • Would automatic fall detection provide added peace of mind? • Would GPS tracking be helpful? • Does their insurance plan offer coverage or discounts?

choose the one that fits their life. When patients, families and healthcare providers make that decision together, they’re much more likely to find a solution that supports both safety and independence in alignment with patient goals. JN

Some Medicare Advantage plans include coverage or discounts for medical alert devices, so it’s worth checking your benefits before making a purchase. At the end of the day, I don’t tell patients which device to buy. I encourage them to

Dr. Darlene Moyer is board-certified in both family and geriatric medicine. She has more than 20 years of experience caring for older adults and teaching the next generation of physicians. She serves as the program director for the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship and associate director of the HonorHealth Family Medicine Residency Program in Scottsdale.

Dr. Darlene Moyer

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A new season of life: L’dor v’dor Call us at 623.900.1029 to schedule a tour!

BOB ROTH | COLUMNIST

ife has seasons. Some arrive quietly, almost without our noticing. Others announce themselves in ways that make us look differently at everything that came before and everything that may still lie ahead. As I write this, my wife, Susie, and I are preparing to enter one of those seasons. G-d willing, by the time you read this column, we will have two new titles: Bubby and Zayde. Our oldest daughter Sami-Jo and her husband, Doug, are expecting their first child, a baby boy and our first grandchild. To say we are excited is an understatement. And I have to admit, there is something pretty special about this lifelong girl dad getting ready for a grandson. I have spent much of my professional life thinking, speaking and writing about aging. I have cared for older adults, advocated for them and learned from them. But my understanding of aging did not begin in my work; it began at home. I cared for my mother for 18 years and my father during the last year and a half of his life. Those experiences shaped me and the work I was called to do. The lessons my parents gave me, their stories, their values and their love are still very much alive in me. And now, some of those lessons will make their way to another generation. L’dor v’dor. From generation to generation. Preparing to become a grandfather has me thinking about aging differently. Aging is not simply about getting older. It is about continuing to become. I was reminded of that recently when Susie and I took a spontaneous trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico. We explored a new place, tried new things and had the kind of experience that reminds you how much there still is to discover, no matter your age. That idea of continuing to embrace life as we grow older reminds me of a remarkable man I had the privilege of knowing and caring for, Dr. Avery Weisman. He was a psychiatrist, a professor at Harvard Medical School and a leader in psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. His expertise included thanatology, the study of death and dying. Yet what struck me most about him was not his understanding of death. It was his enthusiasm for life. Just before his 103rd birthday, I had Weisman as a guest on my radio show, now the “Health Futures” podcast. As we were wrapping up, I asked him the question everyone wants to ask someone who has lived for more than a century: What is the secret to a long life? His answer has stayed with me ever since. He told me he was not afraid to die. Too often, he believed, people become so JEWISHAZ.COM

consumed with death and dying that they forget about living. The essence of what he told me was simple: “I’m not afraid to die. I want to live.” I understand that sentiment more with each passing year. There is a difference between simply wanting more years and wanting to fill the years you have. Becoming a grandfather has only sharpened that feeling for me. So here is where I am in this season of my life: I do not want to run out of life before I run out of years. I want more adventures with Susie, more unexpected detours like Santa Fe, more visits with our daughters and sons-in-law who all live out of state, more dinners with friends, more opportunities to serve my community and more chances to make a difference through the work that still matters deeply to me. And now, I want to hold my grandson. I want to watch Sami-Jo and Doug become parents. I want to tell that little boy stories

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Bob Roth

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about the people who came before him, about his great-grandparents, about the values they passed down and about the lessons that helped shape who I am. My father taught me something simple that I have tried to carry throughout my life: Treat people the way you would want to SEE SEASON, PAGE 24

AS WE APPROACH THE HIGH HOLIDAYS, A TIME OF REFLECTION AND RENEWAL, I FIND MYSELF THINKING ABOUT HOW WE MEASURE OUR LIVES.

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people to the Torah, finding inspiration in Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi and the many other rabbis he’s come to know. “I do it because I feel passionate about it,” he said. “I feel like it’s a responsibility of mine.” Once, when he was expressing his frustration about the group’s struggles to some friends, one suggested that he utilize social media to reach more people, and he eventually decided to host a podcast. After multiple attempts at different recording studios, he finally found the right partners: Rabbi Shragi Yankelewitz and podcast engineer/producer Kyle Decker. Decker handles the production of sound, lighting and cameras, as well as editing. “Kyle creates the harmony within the space,” Burstyn said. “We’re really lucky to have him.” Burstyn finds all the guests and interviews them himself in his home librar y, while Yankelewitz ensures the library studio has the right books displayed and helps with the behind-thescenes editing. “The show has become a great

“THAT’S THE BEAUTY OF HAVING ACCESS TO RABBIS. IT’S SUCH AN HONOR TO SPEND TIME WITH THEM AND TO HELP EXTRACT THEIR WISDOM AND PUT IT IN A VEHICLE THAT CAN BE DISTRIBUTED TO SO MANY PEOPLE.” SANFORD BURSTYN

platform for sharing Torah while also highlighting Arizona’s outstanding rabbinic community,” said Yankelewitz. When asked how he decides the topic for each episode, Burstyn said, “We try to make it about the guest. We offer them the ability to pick a subject.” He continued, “Anybody who brokers is really promoting a product or a service, and the Torah is the most special product, if not an operating manual for human beings: how to be a father, an employer, an employee, a neighbor, how to view work, money, how to eat, sleep, dress, speak. It contains everything.” Season two topics include evidence for God’s existence, the Torah’s perspective on Satan, the roots of antisemitism, wealth and success, parenting and building exceptional character. Though the podcast covers a variety of topics, Burstyn explained there is an

More than hospice care

overall emphasis on mental health. “If there’s any reason for anybody to feel the need to connect to the Torah, it would be to be happy,” he said. Season two features Rabbi Ariel Shoshan (Ahavas Torah), Rabbi Mendy Deitsch (Chabad of the East Valley), Rabbi Raphael Landesman (Shearim Torah High School for Girls), Rabbi Zvi Holland (Star-K Kosher Certification) and Bronsteyn. “This is an access point,” Burstyn said. “Whether a man or woman or a younger or older person watches it and sees something that excites them, they simply need to Google a rabbi near them, make a phone call and see if there’s an alignment there to get with the rabbi and ask their questions.” JN New episodes of the podcast are released on Mondays. For more information, visit torahbroker. com.

be treated. Respect people. Show kindness. It has a way of coming back around. That is one of many lessons I hope finds its way to the next generation. As we approach the High Holidays, a time of reflection and renewal, I find myself thinking about how we measure our lives. Not simply in years, but in presence. In curiosity, in love, in the relationships we nurture, the people we serve and our willingness to keep showing up for one another. Becoming a grandparent does not feel like an ending. It feels like an opening, a fresh reminder that life keeps giving us new seasons, new roles and new reasons to look forward. Weisman’s words feel especially meaningful to me today: I am not afraid to die. I want to live. And there is still so much living to do. Soon, G-d willing, some of that living will include a little boy who will know the stories of the people who came before him and, one day, carry some of those stories forward himself. L’dor v’dor. From generation to generation. JN Bob Roth is the managing partner of Cypress HomeCare Solutions.

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Partners with PJ

Working together Members of the Board of Rabbis of Greater Phoenix gathered to prepare for the High Holidays at Temple Chai in Scottsdale with visiting scholar, Rabbi Dan Medwin, fourth from left. COURTESYOFRABBIANDYGREEN

Rachel Rapoport, director of community partnerships at PJ Library, spoke at the PJ Library Partner Day at the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus on Aug. 27. The event gathered Jewish professionals in the community who work with children. COURTESY OF JEWISH NEWS

Secrets of the stage Participants in the Brandeis Phoenix Adult Summer Camp were treated to a behind-the-scenes tour at the Peoria Center for the Performing Arts. COURTESY OF BRANDEIS NATIONAL COMMITTEE PHOENIX CHAPTER

Nailed it! Rabbi Gavriel Goetz, far left, and Yeshiva High School of Arizona students use extra materials from the construction going on at the high school to build a tree house. COURTESY OF YESHIVA HIGH SCHOOL OF ARIZONA

Game night From left to right, Helene Finke, David Finke, Ettie Zilber, Norm Karson and Marc Staman joined the Phoenix Holocaust Association for a members-only game night in July. COURTESY OF PHOENIX HOLOCAUST ASSOCIATION JEWISHAZ.COM

This COMMUNITY page features photos of community members around the Valley and the world. Submit photos and details each week to editor@jewishaz.com by 10 a.m. Monday.

JEWISH NEWS

SEPTEMBER 4, 2026

CALENDAR

SUNDAY, SEPT. 6 Celebrate Through Art: Jewish Holiday Symbols Workshop! 9:30 a.m.-12 p.m. Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Join VOSJ for a hands-on art workshop creating meaningful holidaythemed artwork. $25 VOSJ members, $36 nonmembers. For more information, visit valleyofthesunj.org. Events SATURDAY, SEPT. 5 L’eil Selichot Concert: 7:30 p.m. Beth El Phoenix, 1118 W. Glendale Ave., Phoenix. Join Beth El for an elevated musical prayer service featuring melodies led by Cantor Sarah Bollt and poetic contributions by Rabbi Nitzan Stein-Kokin. For more information, visit bethelphoenix.com/event/selichot.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 16 Stolen Legacies: The Human Stories Behind the Fight for Nazi-Looted Art: 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. Online and in person at the East Valley Jewish Community Center, 908 N. Alma School Road, Chandler. Join the EVJCC for a Generations After talk, Q&A and book signing with author Adena J. Bernstein. Cost: Free; RSVP required. For more information, visit evjcc.org/events/generations-after.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 6 Café Europa: 1 p.m. Congregation Beth Israel, 10460 N. 56th St., Scottsdale. Join the Phoenix Holocaust Association for an afternoon of socializing for Holocaust survivors, their families and friends. For more information, visit phxha.com/events-2.

High Holiday Bootcamp: Yom Kippur 101: 7 p.m. Location provided upon registration. Join Chabad of Moon Valley and explore the process of teshuvah, the meaning behind the fast and how Yom Kippur offers us the opportunity to repair and move forward. For more information, visit jewishmoonvalley.com/events.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 8 Desert Rock Stars: Art in Ancient Arizona and the Southwest: 10-11:30 a.m. East Valley Jewish Community Center, 908 N. Alma School Road, Chandler. Join EVJCC for a presentation and conversation about the art and architecture of Arizona and the Southwest’s early advanced civilizations by Phoenix Art Museum Master Docent Patrick Ventura. For more information, visit evjcc.org.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 17 Stolen Legacies: A Conversation on Nazi Looted Art and its Restitution: 7 p.m. Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Join the Arizona Jewish Historical Society for a discussion by Assistant Attorney General Adena Bernstein and Ambassador Edward O’Donnell on Nazilooted art and restitution. For more information, visit azjhs.org/ajhs-events-list.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 10 What does the mishna teach us about the people who wrote it?: 10-11 a.m. Online via Zoom. Join Valley Beit Midrash with cosponsor Temple Emanuel of Tempe for a virtual presentation by Rabbi Aliza Libman Baronofsky, host of the podcast “Mishna Accomplished.” For more information, visit valleybeitmidrash.org.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 20 Kever Avot Memorial Service: 8 a.m. Green Acres Mortuary & Cemetery, 401 N. Hayden Road, Scottsdale. Join Temple Emanuel of Tempe for a time of remembrance, reflection and community. For more information, visit emanueloftempe.org.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 11 High Holiday Services: For a listing of High Holiday services around the Valley and Northern Arizona, see page 11. Rosh Hashanah Brisket Dinner: 6:15-9 p.m. Chabad of Paradise Valley, 7150 E. Rose Lane, Paradise Valley. Join Chabad in ushering in the new year with a meal of symbolic foods. Cost: $36 adults, $25 children; RSVP before Sept. 6. For more information, visit jewishparadisevalley.com/highholidays. Rosh Hashanah Shabbat Dinner: 7-10 p.m. Congregation Beth Tefillah, 6529 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale. Join CBT for a dinner including chicken soup, brisket, potatoes, carrots, jeweled rice, quinoa salad and more. Cost: $75 adults, $25 children. For more information, visit bethtefillahaz.org/event/ rosh-hashanah-shabbat-dinner. TUESDAY, SEPT. 15 Interfaith talk: Bahá’i Perspective on the Nature of the Soul: 10-11:30 a.m. East Valley Jewish Community Center, 908 N. Alma School Road, Chandler. Have you ever considered why we are here and the purpose of life? Join EVJCC for a presentation by David and Peggy Schlesinger that will address these questions from a Bahá’i perspective. For more information, visit evjcc.org. 26

SEPTEMBER 4, 2026

Beth El Cemetery Memorial Service: 9 a.m. Beth El Cemetery, 2300 W. Van Buren St., Phoenix. Join Beth El for a graveside memorial service officiated by Rabbi Nitzan Stein-Kokin. For more information, visit bethelphoenix.com/holidays. Kever Avot Memorial Service: 10 a.m. Mt. Sinai Cemetery, 24210 N. 68th St., Phoenix. Join Mt. Sinai to remember and honor your loved ones. Please RSVP with the number of people attending to info@mtsinaicemetery. com or contact 480-585-6060. SUNDAY, SEPT. 27 Rainbows in the Sukkah: 2-4 p.m. Location provided upon registration. Join AZ Jews for Pride to tie-dye T-shirts in the sukkah in preparation for the Phoenix Pride Parade on Oct. 11. For more information, visit phoenixcjp.regfox.com/az-jews-for-pride-2026. MONDAY, SEPT. 28 Sukkah Party for Seniors: 11 a.m. Smile On Seniors, 2110 E. Lincoln Drive, Phoenix. Join SOS in the sukkah and enjoy pizza from Brad’s Kitchen’s mobile pizza truck. For more information, visit sosaz.org/sukkah.

Meetings, Lectures & Classes SUNDAYS Chassidus Class: 9 a.m. Online. Learn about the Chasidic movement with Rabbi Yossi Friedman. Use this link: ChabadAZ.com/

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LiveClass. Cost: Free. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

information or to register, visit bjephoenix. org/family-university.

Jewish War Veterans Post 210: 10 a.m. on the first Sunday of the month in Central Phoenix. Any veterans, friends of veterans or if you just want to meet a vet, all are welcome. For more information, contact Michael at c365michael@yahoo.com.

TUESDAYS Let’s Knit: 1:30 p.m. Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Share the pleasure of knitting, crocheting, etc. outside the social hall in the campus. Can’t knit? They will teach you! All levels welcome. Cost: Free. For more information, visit vosjcc.org.

Anxiety in the Modern World: 6 p.m. Online. Learn the secrets of the Torah for living stress-free in the current environment with Rabbi Boruch of Chabad of Oro Valley. Cost: Free. Use this link: zoom.us/j/736434666. For more information, visit chabadaz.com. MONDAYS Pomegranate Guild of Judaic Needlework, Desert Cactus Chapter: 10 a.m. The Oasis at Sagewood, 4555 E. Mayo Blvd., Phoenix. The guild meets on the third Monday of the month, adjusted when necessary to accommodate Jewish holidays. For more information, visit pomegranateguild.org. Mahjong: 1:30-3:30 p.m. East Valley Jewish Community Center, 908 N. Alma School Road, Chandler. Come play mahjong each week. For all levels. Cost: Free; registration required at evjcc.org/mahjong. Living Through Loss: 4:30-6 p.m. the first and third Monday of each month. Online via Zoom. Join the Deutsch Family Shalom Center at Temple Chai for a Jewish bereavement support group. For more information, contact shalomcenter@templechai.com or 602-971-1234, ext. 253. Ethics of Our Fathers: 7 p.m. Online. Learn with Rabbi Zalman Levertov. Use this link: bit.ly/2Y0wdgv. Cost: Free. For more information, visit chabadaz.com. Quotable Quotes by our Sages: 7 p.m. Online. Learn with Rabbi Shlomy Levertov. Use this link: JewishParadiseValley.com/ class. Cost: Free. For more information, visit chabadaz.com. Partners in Torah: 7:30 p.m. Online. Join a growing group of inspired learners with Project Inspire. Cost: Free. Use this link: us04web. zoom.us/j/3940479736#success, password is 613. For more information, email Robin Meyerson at robin@projectinspireaz.com. Learning to Trust in God: 7:30 p.m. Online. Learn with Rabbi Yossi Friedman. Use this link: ChabadAZ.com/LiveClass. Cost: Free. For more information, visit chabadaz.com. Torah & Tea: 7:30 p.m. Online. Learn with Rabbi Yossie Shemtov. Cost: Free. For more information, visit Facebook.com/ ChabadTucson. Single Parent Zoom: 8 p.m. First and third Monday of every month. Join The Bureau of Jewish Education’s Family University single parents’ group for those looking to form friendships and build their support system with like-minded people. For more

JEWISH NEWS

Grief Support Group: 4 p.m. Beth Emeth Congregation of the West Valley, 13702 W. Meeker Blvd., Sun City West. All are welcome to this support group for anyone experiencing grief or any kind of loss. Cost: Free. For more information, call 623-5847210 weekdays 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Maintaining an Upbeat Attitude: 7 p.m. Online. A class exclusively for people in their 20s and 30s, learn how Jewish Mysticism can help with your attitude with Rabbi Shlomy Levertov. Use this link: JewishParadiseValley.com/YJPclass. Cost: Free. For more information, visit chabadaz.com. Torah Studies: 7:30 p.m. Online. Learn with Rabbi Mendy Levertov. Use this link: ourjewishcenter.com/virtual. Cost: Free. For more information, visit chabadaz.com. WEDNESDAYS My Baby and Me: 9-10 a.m. Temple Chai Early Childhood Center, 4645 E. Marilyn Road, Phoenix. Join Temple Chai ECC for a weekly gathering for families with babies up to 12 months. Cost: Free. For more information, visit tcaz.shulcloud.com/event/ my-baby-and-me-playgroup.html. Torah Study with Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley: 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Online. Weekly study group explores that week’s portion and studies different perspectives and debates the merits of various arguments. Intended for adults, Torah study is open to students of all levels. For more information, contact the TBS office at 623-977-3240. Happiness Hour: 11:30 a.m. Online. Class taught by Rabbi Pinchas Allouche that delves into texts and references culled from our traditions to address a relevant topic. For more information, visit BethTefillahAZ.org. Lunch & Learn: 12 p.m. Online. Grab some food and learn with Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin. Use this link: Facebook.com/ChabadTucson. Cost: Free. For more information, visit chabadtucson.com. Torah Study with Chabad: 12 p.m. Online. Take a weekly journey of Torah with Rabbi Yossi Levertov. Cost: Free. For more information, visit chabadaz.com. The Thirteen Petalled Rose: 1 p.m. Online. Kabbalah class that studies “The Thirteen Petalled Rose” by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz, focusing on the many concepts of JEWISHAZ.COM

CALENDAR Kabbalah and Jewish Mysticism and applying them to everyday life. For more information, visit BethTefillahAZ.org. Grief Support Group: 5-6 p.m. Online via Zoom. Therapist Susan Charney MSW, LCSW, leads a grief support group every first and third Wednesday of the month virtually for individuals experiencing the loss of an adult child or sibling. In lieu of any fees for these sessions, donations to Temple Solel are appreciated. For more information, contact susancharneycounseling@gmail.com. History of the Jews: 7 p.m. Online. Learn the Jewish journey from Genesis to Moshiach with Rabbi Ephraim Zimmerman. Use this link: zoom.us/j/736434666. Cost: Free. For more information, visit chabadaz.com. JACS: 7:30-8:30 p.m. Online. Zoom support group for Jewish alcoholics, addicts and their friends and family on the first and third Wednesdays of the month. Cost: Free. For more information, email jacsarizona@gmail. com or call 602-692-1004. THURSDAYS Contemporary American Judaism: 10-11:30 a.m. Sept. 17, 24 and Oct. 1. Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley, 12202 N. 101st Ave., Sun City. Join TBSWV Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan for this discussion on how American Judaism has changed over the past half a century and where it is headed next. Cost: $20 for members; $35 for nonmembers. Registration deadline is Sept. 1. For more information, visit tbsaz.org. Ladies Torah & Tea: 10:30 a.m. Online. Learn about the women of the Torah with Mrs. Leah Levertov. Use this link: ourjewishcenter. com/virtual. Cost: Free. For more information, visit chabadaz.com. Talmud - Makkos: 11 a.m. Online. Learn with Rabbi Shlomy Levertov. Cost: Free. Use this link: JewishParadiseValley.com/YJPclass. For more information, visit chabadaz.com. The Science of Everything: 11 a.m. Online. Explore the most fundamental work of Chassidut: the Tanya, with Rabbi Boruch. Use this link: zoom.us/j/736434666. Cost: Free. For more information, visit chabadaz.com. Torah Study with Rabbi Lev Ettelson: 11 a.m. Beth Emeth Congregation of the West Valley, 13702 W. Meeker Blvd., Sun City West. Join Rabbi Ettelson for a discussion of the weekly Torah portion. For more information, call 623584-7210 weekdays 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Mindfulness Gatherings: 12 p.m. Online. Hosted by Hospice of the Valley via Zoom. Cost: Free. To join by phone, dial 1-253-2158782, meeting ID 486 920 2119#, to get the Zoom link or for further questions contact Gill Hamilton at ghamilton@hov.org or 602-748-3692. Weekly Mahjong: 1-3 p.m. Temple Solel, 6805 E. McDonald Drive, Paradise Valley. Join Temple Solel each Thursday afternoon for mahjong. Lessons available for beginners. Cost: Free. RSVP via email to dottiebefore@gmail.com so they know how many tables to set up. Torah Portion Class: 7 p.m. Online or in person. Chabad Lubavitch of Fountain Hills, 16830 E. Avenue of the Fountains, Fountain Hills. Join Rabbi Mendy Lipskier for a discussion of the weekly parshah and gain new insights to the Torah. For more information, visit jewishfountainhills.com.

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Teen Discussions: 7-8:30 p.m. Online. Learn with Rabbi Tzvi Rimler. Use this link: cteen. clickmeeting.com/east-valley. Cost: Free. For more information, visit chabadaz.com. SATURDAYS Saturday Mindfulness Gatherings: 9:30 a.m. Online. Hosted by Hospice of the Valley. To join by phone, dial 1-253-215-8782, meeting ID 486 920 2119#. To get the Zoom link or for more information, contact Gill Hamilton at ghamilton@hov.org or 602-748-3692. Book Discussion: 1:30-2:30 p.m. Online. Join Or Adam Congregation for Humanistic Judaism on the third Saturday of every month for a book discussion. For more information and to register, contact oradaminfo@gmail.com.

Shabbat FRIDAYS Tot Shabbat: 9:30 a.m. Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Join the Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Phoenix monthly for music, parachute play, crafts and a family Shabbat experience. For more information, visit bjephoenix.org. Shabbat Morning Service: 10 a.m. Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Join Congregation Shomrei Torah for a traditional/egalitarian service led by Hazzan Bernard Savitz with kiddush following service. Zoom available. For more information, visit cstaz.org or contact 602-376-4392. Welcome Shabbat: 11-11:30 a.m. Online. Celebrate Shabbat with the JFCS Virtual Center for Senior Enrichment. Each week a different guest host will lead the program with song and celebration. Cost: Free. For more information, visit jfcsaz.org/cse. Shabbat at Beth El: 5:45 p.m. on Zoom; 9:30 a.m. at Beth El Phoenix, 1118 W. Glendale Ave., Phoenix or livestreaming at tinyurl. com/bec-livestream. Celebrate Shabbat with songs, blessings and teachings with Rabbi Stein-Kokin and Cantor Sarah Bollt. For more information or to join, visit bethelphoenix.com. Erev Shabbat Service: 5:30 p.m. Online. Rabbi Alicia Magal will lead a service livestreamed for members of the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley. Cost: Free. For more information and to obtain the Zoom link, visit jcsvv.org/contact. Shabbat Service: 5:30-6:30 p.m.; Oneg at 5 p.m. Temple B’rith Shalom, 2077 Brohner Way, Prescott. Join Temple B’rith Shalom for a musical and spiritual Shabbat service. For more information, visit brithshalom-az.org. Shabbat Services: 5:30 p.m. nosh, 6:15 p.m. service; morning service has varying dates and times. Temple Chai, 4645 E. Marilyn Road, Phoenix. For more information, contact Joan Neer at jneer@templechai.com.

Shabbat Services: 6 p.m.; 9:30 a.m. Congregation Or Tzion, 16415 N. 90th St., Scottsdale. Services are also livestreamed at otaz. org/livestream. For more information about services, events and membership, visit congregationortzion.org or call 480-342-8858. First Friday Shabbat Services: 6:15 p.m.; Oneg at 7:15 p.m. Valley Unitarian Universalist, 6400 W. Del Rio St., Chandler. Join Congregation NefeshSoul for Friday night services the first Friday of each month in the sanctuary building of Valley Unitarian Universalist. For more information, contact Jim Hoffman at 480-329-3316. Shabbat Services: 6:15 p.m.; 10 a.m. Congregation Beth Israel, 10460 N. 56th St., Scottsdale. Services held in the Goldsmith Sanctuary. Participants must pre-register by Thursday at 5 p.m. Priority will be given to members first and then guests. If there are more requests than available seats, a lottery system will be used. For more information or to make a reservation, visit cbiaz.org/ shabbat-services. Kabbalat Shabbat and/or Shabbat morning service: 6:30 p.m.; 10 a.m.; dates vary. Congregation Kehillah, 5858 E. Dynamite Blvd., Cave Creek. Join Rabbi Bonnie Sharfman and cantorial soloists Erica Erman and Scott Leader either in person or via Zoom. For safety reasons, please register ahead of time. For dates, visit congregationkehillah. org/event/. Register by emailing info@congregationkehillah.org. Shabbat Services: 7 p.m. Temple Beth Shalom of the West Valley, 12202 N. 101st Ave., Sun City. Services are followed by an Oneg. Services are live-streamed on YouTube. For more information and to get the YouTube link, visit tbsaz.org or call 623-977-3240. Shabbat Services in Sun Lakes: 7-9 p.m. Sun Lakes Chapel, 9240 E. Sun Lakes Blvd. North, Sun Lakes. Sun Lakes Jewish Congregation conducts Reform Shabbat services on the second Friday of each month. New members welcome. For more information, call 480-612-4413 or 480-580-1592. Shabbat Services with Beth Ami Temple: 7 p.m. Services held at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Phoenix, 4027 E. Lincoln Drive, Paradise Valley. Join Beth Ami Temple Rabbi Alison Lawton and Cantorial Soloist Michael Robbins as they lead Shabbat services twice a month. For more information, visit bethamitemple.org.

Seniors MONDAYS Fitness Xpress Series with Zoe: 11-11:30 a.m. Online. Presented by JFCS Center for Senior Enrichment. Workout features weight and band exercises as well as yoga poses. Exercises will be demonstrated standing, but can also be done sitting in a chair. Cost: Free. For more information, visit jfcsaz.org/cse.

Pre-Shabbat Kiddush Club: 6 p.m. Online. Say Kiddush with Rabbi Mendy Levertov. Cost: Free. Use this link: ourjewishcenter. com/virtual. For more information, visit chabadaz.com.

Sip & Schmooze: 11 a.m. milk + honey, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. Sip on kosher coffee or tea, enjoy a pastry and schmooze every second Monday of the month. RSVP appreciated to chani@sosaz. org or 602-492-7670. For more information, visit sosaz.org.

Shabbat Services: 6 p.m.; 9:30 a.m.; followed by a light Kiddush lunch. Beth Emeth Congregation of the West Valley, 13702 W. Meeker Blvd., Sun City West. For more information, call 623-584-7210 or visit bethemethaz.org.

Featured Presentation: 12:30 p.m. Online. Join Smile On Seniors Mondays and Wednesdays to learn from a variety of presenters about topical issues, like Q&As with medical professionals, entertainers and lectures. Cost: Free. For more information, visit

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sosaz.org/virtual or email Rabbi Levi Levertov at levi@sosaz.org. TUESDAYS Movie Discussion Group: 11 a.m. Online. Join Smile On Seniors on the third Tuesday of every month hosted by Issy Lifshitz. Cost: Free. For full details and the movie of the month, visit sosaz.org/virtual or email Rabbi Levi Levertov at levi@sosaz.org. WEDNESDAYS Fitness Fun with Zoe: 10-10:45 a.m. Online. Presented by JFCS Center for Senior Enrichment. Workout features light chair exercises with optional weights. Cost: Free. For more information, visit jfcsaz.org/cse. Chair Yoga with Zoe: 11-11:45 a.m. Online. Presented by JFCS Center for Senior Enrichment. 45-minute chair yoga class. No prior yoga experience required. Cost: Free. For more information, visit jfcsaz.org/cse. THURSDAYS Memory Cafe: 10-11 a.m. first Thursday; 1-2 p.m. third Thursday. Online. Presented by Jewish Family & Children’s Service. Program for those with changes in their thinking or memory, mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease or a related disorder, along with their care partners. For more information, visit jfcsaz.org/our-services/ older-adult-services/memory-cafe/. In the Kitchen with Benita: 12:30 p.m. Join Smile on Seniors on the fourth Thursday of every month for some delicious cooking or baking fun! Cost: Free. For full details, visit sosaz.org/virtual or email Rabbi Levi Levertov at levi@sosaz.org. FRIDAYS Welcome Shabbat: 11-11:30 a.m. Online. Celebrate Shabbat with the JFCS Center for Senior Enrichment. Each week a different guest host will lead the program with song and celebration. Cost: Free. For more information, visit jfcsaz.org/cse. Sit or Stand Ballet Class: 12-12:45 p.m. Online. Presented by JFCS Center for Senior Enrichment. Jennifer Cafarella Betts and Friends from Ballet Theatre of Phoenix teach this class. Grab a chair or you can stand next to a chair or counter. Cost: Free. For more information, visit jfcsaz.org/cse. Musical Friday: 12:30 p.m. Online. Join Smile On Seniors on the first Friday of every month for a musical presentation. Cost: Free. For full details visit sosaz.org/virtual or email Rabbi Levi Levertov at levi@sosaz. org. JN

Two Adjacent Plots in the Jewish Section at Green Acres. Significantly discounted from current sales prices. Owner will share transfer costs with the buyer. Contact Glenn Lippman either at 602-885-2069 or lipberry2@gmail.com SEPTEMBER 4, 2026

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