February 18, 2026 Newsletter
As of today, February 18th, we enter the joyful month of Adar in the Hebrew year of 5786. This means Purim is just around the corner, starting at sundown on Monday, March 2, followed soon by Passover on the evening of April 1st. The USA will celebrate its 250th birthday
Interfaith Relations
Personal Essay
by Corinne Joy Brown Citizens of New Mexico fascinate me. Native Americans, settlers, adventurers, retirees, and transplants. People who arrived by accident and others who came for a reason. Some who thought they were merely passing through, then realized, decades later, they never left. Let’s not leave out the
Community News
By Randall Edmunds In a time when old musical traditions from around the world have seen renewed interest, none has received as much attention and energy as klezmer. Almost lost because of cultural upheaval and assimilation, klezmer today is a dynamic, evolving art form. Nowhere is that evolution more joyfully
Arts Review
By Judith Fein It is very rare that I weep in the dark because I am so moved, hold my breath from the brilliance of a production, or watch an almost three-hour show and immediately want to see it again. And I can’t recall whispering, “How did they do
Arts Feature
by Dianne R. Layden, Ph.D. In her remarkable first book, Melting Point: Family, Memory, and the Search for a Promised Land, Rachel Cockerell presents history and memoir in an experimental format in which original source material, with all its nuances, is presented as historical context – the search in the
Hidden in Plain Sight
Story and Photos by Lena S. Keslin “To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is not to have seen Italy at all, for Sicily is the key to everything.” —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1816 My friend, Judith Zorzy, had been telling me about the beauty and history of Ortigia
Keeping us connected with news, arts, culture and spirituality
In our February issue, we have a number of joyful, artistic, informative and possibly provocative articles from writers both new and familiar, and links to earlier stories you've been meaning to catch up on. Tu B'Shvat begins at sundown on Sunday, February 1, 2026, and ends
Phyllis Wolf, Chief Programs Officer, Jewish Community Center of Greater Albuquerque Editor's Note: When I got Phyllis's note that she would be saying farewell at the end of April I spontaneously wrote this letter to her, one of many that she has received, and she has
By Ellen Marks Visit the Roundhouse during any New Mexico legislative session, and you’ll find the rotunda filled with information tables, musical performances, news conferences and sometimes food — all touting a particular cause or group. For example, during this year’s 30-day session, there are more than 80 such
An excerpt from the forthcoming book Original Love, by Glenn Aparicio Parry In his new book, Original Love, Glenn Aparicio Parry delves into the spiritual origins and deeper universal meaning of LOVE. Original love is love from the origin or Source, and as such transcends any limitations of time or
by Ron Duncan Hart One morning some time ago, I awoke early to the news that a bomb had exploded at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem where our daughter was studying for a year. She was supposed to be at the University that day. Seven were killed, and eighty were
by Frank Morgan Frank Morgan, Diné (Navajo) elder, linguist, and scholar, author of Navajo Terminology for Food and Nutrients: Kindness, Care, and Blessings through our Food. SIGN UP AND SUBSCRIBETIP JARRETURN TO HOME HERE FOR MORE STORIES Community Supporters of the NM Jewish Journal include: Jewish Community Foundation of New
By Rev. Patty Allread Upcoming Dates for Speaker Series: "This Is What I Want People to Know About My Faith." In a world overburdened by misunderstanding, injustice, and violence caused by human rights abuse and religious intolerance, how do people in any society sort out rumors and false
By Andrew Tafoya Leverett This past December I traveled to Rehovot, Israel, on behalf of the Albuquerque Sister Cities Foundation. While in Rehovot I enjoyed its cultural attractions, walked its streets and chatted with many of its residents. And I shared a meaningful dialogue and visit with members of the
by Diane Joy Schmidt We mourn the loss of one of the truly great family-owned newspapers in New Mexico, The Independent, of Gallup, New Mexico. On Saturday January 31st, 2026 their front page headline read "The Truth Well Told: The Independent halts publication after 62 years." The Santa
We have a new feature, Avid Readers Recommend and Letters. Paid subscribers may submit, by email, letters of 250 words or less to comment on articles we have published, and links to other published articles from known credible, trustworthy, publications that they very much want other NMJJ readers to see.
In our January issue, we have brand-new articles from writers both new and familiar, alongside features from December you might have missed during our campaign's peripatetic postings. Scroll down to see all the event flyers from our dedicated Community Supporter advertisers - please do click on them so
By Corinne Joy Brown No One Came to Taos to Be Jewish By Bruce Grossman Nighthawk Press 2022 Amazon.com Op Cit Bookstore Taos Softcover $14.95 For those of us who came of age in the sixties and seventies, you might remember that an entire population known as the