Hanuka art by Yasha Hoffman, winner of the 2009/5770 AJW Hanuka Cover Contest.
Hoffman’s artwork appears on the cover of the Dec. 11 edition. Continue reading for more about Yasha and art from the runners-up.

A kibbutz in Israel’s southern desert pioneers sustainable environmental practices

By MORDECAI SPECKTOR

Everyone can do something to conserve energy resources, according to Alex Cicelsky, a founder of Kibbutz Lotan in Israel’s Arava Desert.
You can carpool to reduce “miles per gallon per person,” he suggests. You can insulate your house by adding plastic film over [...]

Soul to Soul: A Guide by Judy J. Weinberger will be published in February by Two Harbors Press
By ERIN ELLIOTT BRYAN / Community News Editor
Local artist and writer Judy J. Weinberger began by asking questions, much like an “angry, cynical man” in the book of Ecclesiastes: What is the point to life? Why do we need [...]

The Hanuka story we tell the kids is about the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem and the miracle-of-the-oil. However, the Maccabee revolt against the Hellenist Syrian regime was essentially a Jewish civil war, which brought to power a ruling clique, the Hasmoneans, which became as brutal and corrupt as the one they overthrew.
During the [...]