Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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In columns recently published by The Heritage, Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream was excoriated for deciding not to sell ice cream in what the company calls “the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” Mel Pearlman equates the decision with antisemitism, stating “This action is part of the BDS effort to delegitimize the existence of the Jewish State, and to deny the indigenous right of the Jewish people to their homeland.” And Jim Shipley titles his column, “Anti-Israel equals antisemitism.” Whether you a...
I recently read with dismay two opinion pieces in the Heritage, both of which dealt with the “Uprooting Prejudice” exhibit at the Holocaust Memorial Research and Education Center. Pardon the pun, but the exhibit obviously got under their skin, in Rabbi Bernard Rosenberg’s case because it didn’t deal specifically with the Holocaust, and in Alan Kornman’s because, supposedly, the Black Lives Matter movement is anti-Semitic. Let’s peel these back one at a time. The mission statement of the HMREC i...
I recently read with dismay two opinion pieces in the Heritage, both of which dealt with the “Uprooting Prejudice” exhibit at the Holocaust Memorial Research and Education Center. Pardon the pun, but the exhibit obviously got under their skin, in Rabbi Bernard Rosenberg’s case because it didn’t deal specifically with the Holocaust, and in Alan Kornman’s because, supposedly, the Black Lives Matter movement is anti-Semitic. Let’s peel these back one at a time. The mission statement of the HMREC i...
There’s a whole long list anyone can come up with that marks, for them, the clock of their lives ticking away. Leaves change color in the fall (at least some do further north). Crow’s feet appear at the corner of eyes. A step somehow gets lost, and we notice it when we play tennis or basketball or simply walk around the block, even though we have no idea where it went. An accounting begins of all the things that have come and gone, all the people of blessed memory, all the friends with whom we...
I don’t know why I’m still surprised, after 3+ years and countless lies, that Trump’s followers have done more than swallow the poisonous stew he spews. They have become the stew. And nothing could be a better example of this than the recent article in the Heritage, “Time For Trump To Be Trump,” written by columnist Caroline Glick. Here’s a few of the falsehoods and exaggerations Glick stated so vehemently in her article: “America had become the laughingstock of its enemies and the worst nig...
I don’t know how many times I’ve told my children (or tried to tell them) how their mom and dad met, how we sent each other signals from a distance for months until the opportunity arose for us to introduce ourselves to each other. I was working in the back of the original Border’s Book Store in Ann Arbor and saw her and thought she was really cute, but before I could make my way up to her she was gone, and then all the students left for winter break and I had to wait weeks before another sighti...
By David Bornstein It’s been a long time since the last Good Word column, but I find myself driven — compelled — to write something during these painful, difficult days. I don’t want this to be another “jump on the bandwagon” proof of conscience statement, or another in the long litany of “we are not racist but can do better” epiphanies of the moment. And the truth is, I wouldn’t be writing were it not for a confluence of incidents that swirled around me recently that provoked me and forced me...
For months now, through the course of the recently completed elections, I have been asking myself one basic question. Not who’s right or wrong. Not who’s better or worse. Not who will I support or fight. We all have our personal, predetermined answers to those. My question is this: what is a good word? I’ve written column after column calling attention to that very phrase. I’ve tried to use “good words,” and sometimes the words I’ve chosen have been what people might consider “bad words”—c...
Our youngest, now midway through his first semester of college, has made a rapid and positive transition to his new life. Friends, classes, study time and party time all seem to have fallen into place. And we find ourselves adjusting as well to our quieter space and a slower pace, and as much as I still don’t like the emptiness, and infinitely prefer his presence to his absence, there is also the inevitability of the situation—the growth into adulthood and separation and individuation we all...
Every year my wife and I are invited to our cousin’s house for a second day of Rosh Hashanah lunch. It’s something we enjoy and count on—the good food, the camaraderie, the interesting commentary on services. Over the past two years friends have made comments to me that stuck, though not for the intended reasons. Last year, as our synagogue took the first steps into a new era, a friend told me that he would view the changes as a success based on the response and membership of young famil...
Eighteen and a half years ago, when our third and last child was born, I remember thinking, “I’m going to be 62 when he goes to college. That’s so old!” Now that time has come, as has Rosh Hashanah, a new year, a pause, a moment to look back and evaluate who we are and where we’ve been. Our youngest child has left the nest for college, and we new empty nesters are moving into the inevitable next phase of life, not the last phase but a very different one, an older one, one that has long been...
While Jews have been interwoven in a myriad of ways into the fabric of life in Central Florida-from law to medicine, art to amusement parks, social change to social glitz-no single field has felt the impact of Jewish involvement more than the humble and all-encompassing retail shop. In the first half of the 20th century, more Jewish families in Central Florida were in retail than any other field. And during the Kehillah: A History of Jewish Life in Central Florida exhibition, visitors will get...
Of all the interesting facts and statistics you will learn at Kehillah: A History of Jewish Life in Greater Orlando exhibition, perhaps the most fascinating will be the people you will meet-their stories, their accomplishments, and their role in building the Central Florida community. Did you know... A Jew helped write the charter of the village of Orlando? After opening Florida stores in Bartow, Fort Meade and Fort Ogden in the 1860s, Jacob Raphael Cohen settled in Orlando in 1873. He bought...
An historical exhibition recounting more than 100 years of Jewish community life in Central Florida couldn't take place without honoring the machers and mensches of the community. The heavy hitters. The movers and shakers. The deep pockets. Or, in other words, the successful individuals who have made it a priority to give back as much, if not far more than they have received. The criteria used to select these generous philanthropists was simple and straightforward. Gifts to local agencies and...
From the tiny seed of an idea, an enormous community event has grown. In February of 2015, Sara Stern assembled a committee for Congregation Ohev Shalom to begin planning its centennial celebration. COS was the first chartered congregation in Central Florida, and thus, in both concrete and symbolic ways, represents the formalization of Jewish life in the area. The idea to create an exhibit exploring the 100-year history of the congregation intrigued the group, but rather than limit it to one...
An elderly woman approached her rabbi one year during services. “Rabbi!” she exclaimed, throwing her frail, skinny arms open wide. Given the fact that she stood barely five feet tall, the rabbi bent down to accommodate her. Maybe it was her height, or her age, or just a moment of awkwardness, but she missed planting a kiss on his cheek completely, and instead laid a big red smooch on his pristine white tallit, his beautiful prayer shawl that he wore only for special occasions. Flustered and emb...
For the first time in my life, on the morning after Donald Trump was elected to be the next president of the United States, I had a glimmering—the faintest of ideas—of what it must have felt like for Jews in 1930s Germany. I woke up asking myself questions I couldn’t answer, questions I’m sure were constantly on the minds of our ancestors. What do I do? How do I protect my family? Do we have to move to another country to be safe? Do we abandon our family, friends, our lives—and move halfway a...
For years during the High Holidays my family sat with my mother (of blessed memory) near the front of our synagogue. If you knew her you knew her generosity, and she cut no corners with either her family or shul. She was always a “dues plus” member, someone who gave more than the required dues for membership, and so she had cushy reserved seats near the front on the left hand side. The view was great. We were surrounded by our friends, and close to the bimah. It was immersive, and won...
Ten years ago my life started to unravel. Not completely. I always had love and support—my wife, my children. But a corner of it frayed, and the loose strands couldn’t easily be fixed, and holes that couldn’t be patched appeared. When my younger brother Ray died, I lost more than a family member. I lost a best friend who couldn’t be replaced. I lost faith in the order of things. The youngest in the family isn’t supposed to go first. I lost visions of the future, which had always included...
For the past 10 years I have been living in a state of constant denial. “I’m still cool,” I’d tell myself. “I can go to rock concerts and fit right in.” “I haven’t lost a step on the tennis court.” “I’m still as good looking as I ever was.” All of these thoughts, as they raced through my mind, were meant to be affirming, but they were much closer to delusional. And while it can, at times, be healthy to delude oneself, to see someone else staring back at you in the mirror, to imagine your...
With the public announcement that David Wayne, executive director of the Jewish Community Center, is moving on to a new phase in his life, and the JCC is conducting a nationwide search for a new director, questions inevitably arise regarding the change. While I am not privy to the inner workings of the agency, or any behind-the-scenes reasons for his departure, a few points can easily be made. First, there are no questions or doubts about the integrity or decency of Mr. Wayne. He has always...
Some words are laced with extra meaning, built on levels of nuance and implied messages. Words like turning. If you’re “turning a corner” in your life you’ve gotten around some obstacle and are heading towards something better. If you’re “turning over a new leaf” you’ve gotten rid of an old habit or promised to be better on a going forward basis. If you know someone who’s “turning over in their grave” they’re so upset at something someone close to them has done they can’t keep still...even...
I recently attended the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando’s women’s fundraising event – CHOICES – at the behest of the honoree, Ina Porth. It was a well-run program, and Ina is as deserving of the special attention as anyone could be. But that’s not what I’m writing about. While there were a number of excellent examples of positive programs run by the local Federation (teen trips to Israel, RAISE – Recognizing Abilities and Inclusion of Special Employees), I was moved most by the call to acti...
Let me state this up front. I am not a big fan of Benjamin Netanyahu. I believe his hard line approach to continuing the development of settlements and building in East Jerusalem is counterproductive. I think his recent visit to the United States to speak to and influence Congress damaged Israel’s relationship with its most important ally, and was completely devoid of any constructive ideas. His re-election tactics, including announcing the day before elections that he was opposed to a 2...
You say ISIL I say ISIS... There’s only one thing I can say I believe about ISIL, but before I do, listen to the litany of their accomplishments. They have captured land in two dysfunctional countries by force, murdering thousands of locals along the way. They have beheaded innocent foreigners from a wide range of countries—reporters, good Samaritans and health care workers. They have destroyed ancient artifacts and irreplaceable historical monuments. They have disseminated a video of a chi...
