Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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There is nothing like a General Assembly of the Jewish Federations for running into long-time friends and colleagues, for unexpected and exciting encounters, and for making new and promising connections. For Rhonda Forest, Loren London, Rabbi Maurice Kaprow, and myself this GA was rich with these experiences. Today, I would like to mention just a few of them. Saying hello and thank you to Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, a former chief rabbi of the UK, and one of the greatest modern spiritual leaders of the Jewish people, is akin to coming close to...
One of the basic duties of Jewish parents is to provide for the instruction of their children. The obligation to teach one’s children is set forth in the first paragraph of the Sh’ma prayer: “Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day. Impress them upon your children (V’shinan’tam l’vanekha)...” (Deut. 6:6-9). Formal Jewish education as a communal activity was instituted in Israel during the Second Temple period. In the Talmud we read “Then Yehoshua ben Gamla (a high priest during the Second Temple period) came an...
As I am out in the community, a recurring theme that comes up in many meetings and conversations is a lack of a unified Jewish community. This problem has been articulated by community members, volunteers, rabbis, and communal professionals. There is also a feeling that this Jewish community used to be united years ago, but that somehow we’ve lost our way and have become polarized and divided. Some of the strife among agencies and synagogues is a symptom of the competition for limited financial and people resources. Some of it is a r...
A few months ago, as I was beginning my tenure at JFGO, a former senior volunteer leader of the United Jewish Communities whom I greatly admire for his wisdom and insight wrote in his blog: “Many of us have watched the JFGO for years, viewing it as a place of unrealized and incredible potential. In the past years, it has struggled with dormant campaigns and huge debts. But, there is clearly a revitalized leadership in Orlando and... there is real hope. But this community represents an incredible challenge.” Today, I can say that he was rig...
This year, the stars aligned! The first day of Chanukah and Thanksgiving fall on the same day! According to many calculations, it is the rarest of occasions that will not be repeated for many, many years. It is fascinating to delve into calculations and assumptions stemming from the differences between the Jewish and the Gregorian calendars, but let’s rather think about the meaning and the message behind this coincidence. Just like everything in Jewish life, the unique convergence makes sense and comes at a very important time when many of u...
Throughout the Jewish communal world, there is no hotter topic this month then the Pew Research Center Study called “A Portrait of Jewish Americans” released in early October. The study confirmed what most of us have been watching over the past several years—a shift in the way Jews see themselves and the way they relate to the Jewish community. While American Jew overwhelmingly say that they are proud to be Jewish and have a strong sense of belonging to the Jewish people, the study shined a light on the changing nature of Jewish identity in th...
A response to David Bornstein’s “Community held hostage” In last week’s issue, Heritage Florida Jewish News published a column by David Bornstein in which he discussed the refinancing of the Maitland campus debt and used it as a proof of a malaise afflicting our Jewish community. David accurately describes the circumstances of the refinancing process. The Jewish Federation was faced with a potential crisis and did its best to save the Maitland campus for the Jewish community. There was some disagreement regarding certain aspects of that pr...
Twenty four years ago a man, a woman, and a child stood in the arrival hall of the Boston Logan airport. Tired and disoriented after a long flight from overseas, their old life in the USSR left resolutely behind, they were hopeful for a better future. In Boston, they were met by a group of people representing an organization whose name the woman didn’t know. Nor did she know that this organization would soon become her life and her passion. In April, the board of directors hired that woman (yes, you guessed right, that woman was me) as an e...
As I was coming to the office the other day in the pouring rain, I saw a young mother with three small children: a baby in a stroller, a toddler in her arms, and a 3-year-old holding on to her hand, all huddling under the awning of the J building. I offered to help, and together, snuggling under my large umbrella, we delivered the little ones to the safety of her car. As we waded through the parking lot, the mother told the 3-year-old “the lady is doing a mitzvah.” My feet were wet and I was slightly late for a meeting, but I felt as if I had...
