Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation has a new full-time rabbi. Rabbi Melissa Crespy brings more than 30 years of rabbinical experience to this congregation, along with a lifelong love of music, language, and connecting with her community. Rabbi Crespy's journey began in Freehold, New Jersey, where she was raised by a family she describes as "very Jewishly proud, though not so observant." Her father's side of the family are Sephardic Jews from Greece, while her mother's side helped found the...
It’s never been a better time to join the Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation.The Hardoon family, long-time members of SOJC, are offering free religious school tuition for kindergarten to second grade for any new members to SOJC. This generous offer aligns with SOJC’s commitment to Jewish children’s education. The SOJC Religious School has been serving this Conservative Jewish community for over 20 years. Students not only learn to read Hebrew but also grow up chanting Torah and Haftarah. The religious school curriculum focuses on learn...
Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation has a new student rabbi: Rabbi David Chapman, who will soon be entering his final year at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Rabbi Chapman’s journey to SOJC has a surprising starting point. Before he became a “professional Jew,” as he puts it, he had a successful career in theatre. “I worked as an assistant director on and off Broadway,” says Rabbi Chapman. “My first Broadway show was The Addams Family musical with Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. One of my favorite projects was producing PEW-ish, a night of...