Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 151 - 175 of 332
I just came from one of the most inspiring luncheons I have ever attended. Even though this time of year is very busy with luncheons, office parties, and friend or family get-togethers, I am glad I took the time out of my day to be at this one. It was the annual RAISE holiday luncheon. Like other gatherings, people were recognized, thank-you gifts were given, and a fun gift exchange kept everyone laughing (I really wanted that Olive Garden gift card, and I had it for but a brief moment). But there was just something about this particular...
On Wednesday, Dec. 12, supporters of Jewish Family Services Orlando received via email a letter from the executive director-only it wasn't from Executive Director Eric Geboff, it was from the "interim executive director" Mike McKee, the former president of the JFS Board of Directors,-stating that Eric Geboff formally resigned from his position. No explanation was given for the sudden resignation. McKee immediately accepted the executive director position pro bono, while still running his...
Sandra Solomon, formerly of Casselberry, was recently honored at a special meeting of the Casselberry City Hall Board of Commissioners. Solomon served 12 years on the board as a commissioner, filling seat 3, and was retiring after her term limit was completed. Tenacious, passionate, an inspiration, personable, full of vim and vigor, and Casselberry's No. 1 cheerleader were all descriptive words spoken by the board members of Solomon at the ceremony. "What we love about Sandi is that she puts it...
Three minutes. That is all the time it took for an Arab terrorist to stab to death Michal Salomon's husband, Elat, his sister Chaya, and father, Yosef. The story of her family's tragedy was covered by many news sources as the Neve Tzuf massacre worldwide in July 2017. Salomon calmly recounted the events at a gathering held at the Roth Family JCC last Wednesday evening. She lived because she rushed her three children upstairs to a bedroom where her twin babies were sleeping. The terrorist, Omar...
The 20th annual Central Florida Jewish Film Festival brings five special movies and two shorts to the Enzian Theater Nov. 10-12. The opening features, "Wig Shop" and "Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel," will be held at the Orlando Science Center at 8 p.m. on Saturday. Once again, the Heritage was privileged to review the movies to give our readers a synopsis of each presentation. "Wig Shop" (in English and Yiddish with subtitles) and "Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel" (in English)...
While more than 6000 Christians celebrated Sukkot in Israel, Central Florida Christians celebrated the feast with a replica of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, also called the Tent of Meeting, erected in the field behind Fellowship Church. Banners with each tribe's name were displayed around the Tabernacle courtyard, showing where each tribe set up camp during the 40 years the Israelites traveled in the desert. Sukkot is the festival in which the Jewish people are reminded of living in tents...
Since its beginning in 2014, RAISE has grown in many ways. Still keeping the number of employees at seven-RAISE has been able to fine tune the program that greatly benefits not only those who are employed by RAISE, but their families as well. RAISE, an acronym for Recognizing Abilities & Inclusion of Special Employees, is a work and social skills training program that provides paid employment within partnering agencies of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando. With their newly acquired...
Fashion guru Coco Chanel famously said, "Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take at least one thing off." This wasn't anywhere close to what Harriett Lake thought. Her fashion style was "once you get dressed, put on one thing more." In everything from clothing to charitable giving, Lake's philosophy, biography and wardrobe (or a portion of it) are captured in "Too Much is Not Enough: The History of Harriett's Closet," a just released coffee-table book written by Kristina...
Last year, Sami Kuperberg, a student at Oviedo High School, planned a program to address anti-Semitism with the support of JOIN Orlando and StandWithUs, titled "One Day Starts Today," that was held in the Oviedo High School auditorium. The event, which hosted two Holocaust survivors, was an overwhelming success with more than 600 students, faculty and parents in attendance. The purpose of the program was to educate students how to effectively respond to hate. StandWithUs, an international,...
Last week, Heritage ran a story about Kehilat Yonatan, a Reform congregation in Israel, winning a legal battle to build their synagogue. Heritage attempted to contact Lori Stein Erlich for comment. However, because of the High Holidays and the time difference between Israel and the States, a response wasn't received until the Sept. 14 issue went to press (we received her response about 10 minutes after the paper went to the printers). Erlich is a founder of Kehilat Yonatan and an immediate past...
More than 40 years ago a small group of Christians, under the leadership of Pastor Ken Garrison, chose to step away from traditional Baptist practices and began to learn about the biblical feasts found in Leviticus, and to be a support to Israel by following the calling to comfort His people. Over the years, Fellowship Church in Winter Springs, has led Passover seders to teach fellow Christians about how Christian beliefs tie into the celebration that the Jewish people have observed for more...
How would you feel if your child came home from school and said that he/she had to memorize and recite the Apostles Creed? The Apostles Creed is a statement of faith that many Protestant Christians recite in church every Sunday. What if your child was required to make rosary beads for a class art project and recite the Hail Mary prayer, commonly called the Ave Maria or Angelic Salutation, a traditional Catholic prayer asking for the intercession of the “Blessed Virgin Mary”? By refusing to do the art project or recite the creed or prayer in cla...
This article ran in the Nov. 18, 2016 issue of the Heritage shortly before Myrtle turned 106. She passed away on Aug. 18, 2018. As I pulled into Myrtle Rutberg's driveway at the house she has lived in for 30-some years, her son, Gerald, greeted me at the door. "My mother likes visitors to come in through the front door," he said as he led me to the front porch. Myrtle's dear friend Karnine greeted me at the door. Karnine stays with Myrtle and their relationship is like a mother and daughter....
When it comes to choosing judges on a ballot, many voters really don't know much about the people they select. The position is nonpartisan, so being "Democrat" or "Republican" doesn't help; and many folks hope to never see the inside of a courtroom, so what difference does it make which name one chooses? Adam Pollack, who is running for a Circuit Court judge seat in Group 24 of the 18th Judicial Circuit in Brevard and Seminole counties, knows that it makes a big difference who the person is...
“In Judaism, prophets were considered visionary not because they predicted the future, but because they saw possibilities. Roz has always been someone with the ability to both see possibilities and then take that all-important step and make them happen,” said David Bornstein of his cousin Roz Fuchs, this year’s recipient of the Heritage Human Service Award. From an array of multi-colored glass vases arranged neatly on a bookcase to the artwork on the walls and the simple arrangement of chairs and couches all brought together by a 1920...
An icon of the Jewish community has passed away. Harriett Lake, born Harriett Tuck on April 7, 1922, in Lebanon, Pa., died on Tuesday, July 10, 2018. Harriett was a special lady. She was (Hello) Dolly Levi, Cher, Lady Gaga and Elton John all rolled into one. From the top of her hat-covered head to the tips of her designer-shoe-clad toes, she was always impeccably dressed "to a (second) t"-like her name. In fact, the only thing that tops her fashionable wardrobe was her extremely generous...
An icon of the Jewish community has passed away. Harriett Lake, born Harriett Tuck on April 7, 1922, in Lebanon, Pa., died on Tuesday, July 10, 2018. Harriett was a special lady. She was (Hello) Dolly Levi, Cher, Lady Gaga and Elton John all rolled into one. From the top of her hat-covered head to the tips of her designer-shoe-clad toes, she was always impeccably dressed "to a (second) t"-like her name. In fact, the only thing that tops her fashionable wardrobe was her extremely generous...
Cade Resnick is a dreamer and visionary in the classroom and the community. "I see what I think would be amazing. If I can get other people on board with me, then we can do that!" He has spent 16 years as a well-grounded economics and psychology high school teacher and served as a Winter Springs city commissioner. This combination of visionary, community service and teacher has a lot of impact on his students, and he hopes to make this impact on all the students and community in Seminole County...
Is our civilization worth keeping alive? This sounds like a ridiculous question. Of course it is worth saving we would say. In fact, most of us don’t even see the need to protect our civilization. We are nestled in the belief that it will last forever. America is strong, powerful. It is the land of the “free.” In reality, no civilization lasts forever. Where is the Greek or Roman civilization? Actually, the only people who have survived, though they were dispersed from their land for about 2,000 years, are the Jewish people. Once again they...
In the June 2018 issue of Orlando Magazine, 23 women are named as the magazine's 2018 Women of the Year. The magazine asked for nominees of women who are making a positive impact on the community, and readers responded with a plethora of recommendations. Former Jewish Pavilion Marketing Director Julie Dorsey Capps and Pavilion CFO Penny D'Agostino immediately sent in their nomination of Nancy Ludin, executive director of The Jewish Pavilion. Both women told Ludin about the nomination, so she...
Since 2014, Orlando has been excluded from the list of cities that receive federal funding for security protection against terrorism-even after the Pulse Night Club terror attack and the numerous Jewish day school and JCC bomb threats. That has now changed with the Department of Homeland Security's Urban Area Security Initiative grant for the fiscal year 2018. Orlando nonprofits can now apply for security grants through the $50 million program, in addition to $1.5 million in guaranteed funds...
Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, and Andre Dobson, PE coach at Faith Christian Academy in east Orlando, have a lot in common. They both are passionate about football and love Israel. To be able to combine the two is the icing on the cake for both men. And they have their icing: Kraft sponsors the Israel Football League and built the only football stadium in Jerusalem, Israel, and Dobson is going to be training one of the League's coaches this summer. This is where Dobson needs...
Evan Dvorchik, son of Keith and Alison Dvorchik, has committed to the University of Central Florida's Knights football team as a long snapper center. In January 2017, Heritage ran an article about Dvorchik being named a top performer at the Rubio Long Snapping Camp in Georgia. Dvorchik was a junior in high school. His trainer, Chris Rubio, stated at that time that Evan was "snapping with a ton of confidence as his ball hits under .77 consistently." A long snapper is not a large alligator. The te...
Local resident and Congregation of Reform Judaism member Cindy Halpern's family memoir is unlike any other book I have ever read. Not only does Halpern tell her story of being the only "normal child" in her immediate family, her mother's memoir is told "through" Halpern. Both memoirs are brilliantly written in first person. "The Normal Child" begins with Halpern's memoir. She was the third child in a family of four children. The oldest, her sister Anita, had mild retardation and was cruel to...
When Gov. Rick Scott arrived at the Orlando Torah Academy last week, he leaned down and asked every child their name. Scott wasn't there just to meet the children, he came with a two-fold purpose. The school was the backdrop for a legislation signing ceremony of HB 545, the "scrutinized-companies" bill, which prevents companies that boycott Israel from bidding on local or state government contracts. "This bill shows the world that Florida will not do business with those that boycott Israel,"...
