HEADLINES | 7
SPECIAL SECTION | 17
STAR POWER
PASSOVER
Jane Fonda speaks at NCJW AZ gala
Delicious desserts for the holiday
MARCH 19, 2021 | NISAN 6, 5781 | VOLUME 73, NUMBER 14
Festival of freedom: Families from around the country share traditions that make Passover special
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elebrated at home, Passover, perhaps more than any other Jewish holiday, provides space for families to create their own customs and rituals. A Moroccan family may pour wine into a bucket to mark the 10 plagues. A Brazilian family might bake Passover dishes with yuca flour. And then, if their descendants immigrate to the United States, they might bring those traditions with them. Families from across the country shared their Passover customs and recipes and the stories behind them.
Brazilian-style baking for Passover SHANNON LEVITT | MANAGING EDITOR
Describing herself as Afro-Latina, Brazilian and Jewish, LT Ladino Bryson of Tempe values her heritage and wants to ensure that her sons do, too. “Continuity is so important,” she said. “You learn from your past and create your own traditions to pass down. But I want them to understand their legacy, and it’s a fight to do that.” Her sons, 6 feet 4 inches tall and Black, “are going to be different no matter where they go,” she said. Anything she can do to help them “stay close to their roots SEE TRADITION, PAGE 2
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Hillel faces dual challenges of COVID-19 and anti-Semitism NICOLE RAZ | STAFF WRITER AND SEAN SAVAGE | JNS.ORG
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ften synonymous with Jewish life on campus, Hillel has been a gathering point for Jewish students across hundreds of campuses in the United States for decades. The past year tested the organization like never before, as it confronted challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic along with a rise in anti-Semitism. CEO of Hillel International, Adam Lehman said the pandemic has forced Hillel to rethink its programming and the services it offers both to adapt to the new reality of remote learning and to provide for the well-being, both physically and mentally, of the young adults it serves. “We have really used the challenges of the pandemic, which were many, to reinvent our work and to rethink what it means to be there for students,” Lehman said. Hillels in Arizona have worked to meet the challenges of the past year. Debbie Yunker Kail, executive director of Hillel at Arizona State University, said the organization had to pivot its mission during the pandemic to focus on social services. “We still tried to have the underlying Jewish education,” she said, but the primary focus has been ensuring students’ SEE HILLEL, PAGE 3 basic needs are met with
Students at Arizona State University grab some food from Hillel at PHOTO COURTESY OF HILLEL AT ASU ASU’s Shabbat Grab n’Go.
Introverted influencer Jennifer Starrett prepares challah dough on Friday, March 12, 2021. She is one of 10 finalists for the Arizona InfluenAZer Awards. To read more, go to p. 9. PHOTO BY JENNIFER STARRETT
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