Matzo Ball Gumbo
Try this winter-time treat with leftovers turkey meat!
Cook the matzo balls separately, then, add towards the end to absorb some of the flavor from the gumbo. (Creole Matzo Balls Use one package of matzo ball mix and prepare by the instructions on the box. Add some chopped parsley and creole seasoning. Continue reading
Take your pick from these online treats that are sure to please even the hardest to buy for this Hanukah. There’s even more to choose on their Web sites, so start your holiday shopping soon. Once you get started it will be very hard to choose! Continue reading
Stefan and Henrietta Diament after the war, 1945
On July 5, 2011 the Memphis City Council recognized Stefan and Hesia (Henrietta) Diament as exemplary citizens of the city of Memphis by adopting a resolution to dedicate North Third Street between A.W. Willis Avenue and Saffarans Street as “Stefan and Hesia Diament Street.”
The story of Stefan and Hesia Diament is an example of an enduring and abiding devotion amid the tumultuous backdrop of World War II and the Nazi invasion Continue reading
2011 Hebrew Academy team from Miami gets ready to hit the court.
Back for its fifth season, the Cooper Yeshiva High School National Invitational takes center stage at the Memphis Jewish Community Center, November 10-13, as 16 Jewish high school teams vie here for the championship trophy.
While basketball action will fill the gym throughout the weekend, developing friendships and learning from others will be part of the agenda, too. “We hope to Continue reading
Basket Stuffers Front: Jane Levine, Jill Bauman, Annie Bauman, Dina Epstein, Helen Benes, Ann Storthz, Ilyssa Fox, Back: Kathy Grundfest, Marilyn Sorrells, Rabbi Gene Levy, Bobbye Levy, Becky Marks, Anna Marks, Phyllis Storthz, Curt Foxx
The Social Action Committee at Temple B’nai Israel in Little Rock, Arkansas, has their hands in quite a few local community projects, “and I feel we are making a difference,” said chairperson Becky Marks, who coordinates the projects and purchases supplies.
The Thanksgiving Basket Project, which kick-started the Social Action Committee’s work in 2007 with about a dozen baskets, provides a holiday meal to needy high school students and their families. With funds solicited from the congregation, Becky buys everything for the annual volunteer Basket Stuffing at the Temple. Continue reading
The Jewish Learning Institute, the adult education program of Chabad-Lubavitch, sponsored a trip to Israel in March of 2010 for 150 participants. The tour included stays at five-star hotels in Jerusalem and Tiberius and tours of Safed, the Golan Heights, Hebron, the archeologic site of Gamla, an army base for new recruits and Jerusalem. Owing to the size and interest of the group, the organizers were able to include lectures by noted rabbinic and secular scholars and government leaders including Natan Sharansky. The Jewish Learning Institute will be offering another tour to Israel from March 11 to 18, 2012, with a similar schedule of touring, learning and opportunities for observance at important sites in Jewish history.
Jim Pfeifer loading the oven (and likely burning himself).
Our House is more than a shelter. On the grounds of the old Veterans Hospital, it is a highly respected part of the Little Rock, Ark., community.
Our House provides the working homeless – individuals and families – with shelter, housing, job training, education, free childcare and summer youth programs, in order to equip them with the skills to be successful.
Temple B’nai Israel of Little Rock and Jewish Federation of Arkansas have long supported Our House through donations, Christmas dinners and special projects. Perhaps the most fun support of Our House has been the Temple Caring and Sharing Committee’s monthly dinner, which the committee plans, buys materials, cooks from scratch at the shelter and serves.
Our House staff contracts with area groups who provide meals for about 100 residents on one regularly assigned night each month. Rita Fagan, director Jewish Federation of Arkansas, and now Becky Marks have been our Chef de Cuisine and lead even the most clueless cooks among the group to produce meals, which bring rave reviews from diners.
Regular cooks, ranging from age 8 to 85, and our menu items have varied from Barbequed Brisket to Trudy Jacobson’s fresh-from-the-garden squash and onions. (We made a bet the latter wouldn’t go over, but diners were coming back for thirds!).
The most fun part of the project is that we don’t have to clean up! That’s the assigned job of the residents. Wouldn’t that be nice if we could avoid that every night in our own kitchens!
Trudy Jacobson cooking her famous fresh squash and onions, the shelter specialty.
Acts of loving kindness and saving the world, tikkun olam, are an integral part of everyday life at Plough Towers in Memphis.
Since this independent senior living facility opened its doors 31 years ago, residents have been volunteering and giving back to others – inside the building and throughout the entire Memphis community. “In fact there are almost 100 Plough Towers’ residents and community volunteers who participate in some type of volunteerism every day,” said Plough Towers executive director Rena Rosenberg. “These volunteers, working on at least 14 different projects, help to make Plough Towers such a special place to live.” Continue reading
Beth Sholom’s Tikkun Olam High is in its second year with 17 involved teens. All Jewish teens, 8th-12th graders, are welcome, even if you are not a synagogue member. The group meets on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month to perform community service work such as: Continue reading
Nearly every week the large blue Mid-South Food Bank bins in Beth Sholom’s lobby entrance are filled with about 300 pounds. That translates to 300 meals for Memphis-area neighbors in need.
“For years the synagogue has been asked to bring cans or packages of non-perishable food every time they come to the synagogue,” said executive director Barbara Newman. “Traditionally, we held two annual food drives – during the High Holidays and the week before Thanksgiving.” Continue reading
