Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Nancy Ludin, CEO of the Jewish Pavilion, is deeply concerned about the loneliness the residents of assisted-living facilities are feeling during this time of quarantine because of COVID-19. She suggested to the program directors that they write short notes to the senior citizens to brighten their day. She also shared the card sending idea in the article "What's in a card?" (March 27, 2020 Heritage issue) and encouraged Heritage readers to do the same. The results have been incredible as the... Full story
"What JFS Orlando does is the essence of being Jewish," said Dick Weiner of the agency he strongly supports and firmly believes is one of the most important agencies in the community. "The essence of being Jewish is helping anyone in need-Jew or non-Jew." Through this pandemic, the JFS Orlando staff has been working long hours to meet the needs of this community-no matter who is in need. What was on average 18 to 20 families in need of food has become 68 to 70 families daily coming to JFS... Full story
(JNS)—Israel must take a series of immediate steps that would enable it to end its nationwide closure and enter a new “corona routine” that would revive the economy and that could begin immediately after Passover, Interim Defense Minister Naftali Bennett stated on Sunday. In a new national response plan that he published, Bennett wrote that “the State of Israel saw the danger early and took a series of correct decisions that revolved around ‘closing Israel.’ On one hand, this bought us precious time, but on the other, it had a terrible ec... Full story
The Deep Knowledge group put Israel in first place among countries around the world when it comes to promoting safety amid the coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s media adviser announced Tuesday. The Deep Knowledge Group is “an investment fund focused on AI and DeepTech, which values knowledge above profit,” its website says. Netanyahu announced severe new restrictions Monday night in an effort to curtail the spread of the virus. To date, 17 Israelis have succumbed to the disease. During the announcement, Prime Minis... Full story
For the past several months, I have been working on "RecycleJ," a new recycling program for The Roth Family Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando. I was prepared to introduce RecycleJ to the preschool students at the Richard S. Adler Early Childhood Learning Center during their Shabbat assembly on Friday morning, March 13. But suddenly, COVID-19 uprooted our lives, and by late Thursday afternoon, the Shabbat assembly was canceled, and then the classrooms were restricted, and then all local... Full story
At the Jewish Pavilion we love our seniors, and we so appreciate all that the staff who work in elder-communities are doing to keep their residents safe and happy. Thanks to a generous donor, the Jewish Pavilion brought free lunches to the entire staff at Brookdale Lake Orienta in Altamonte Springs on Wednesday, April 1st. The Jewish Pavilion will continue to offer lunch semi-weekly to health-care workers. The following schedule has been established thus far: Wednesdays on April 8 - Cascade... Full story
The Roth Family JCC is announcing even more ways to stay connected and CEO Keith Dvorchik is helping the Jewish community stick together via his e-mail newsletters, which Heritage also posts for those who aren’t members of the JCC. As we come to the end of March, COVID-19 remains foremost in our minds. With the passage of the Paycheck Protection Act on March 27, there is a lot to learn and share with our agencies, organizations and synagogues. And as the Federation continues to work on a remote basis for the community, there are many exciting t... Full story
NEW YORK CITY—UJA-Federation of New York announced an additional $11 million in assistance to help those most affected by Covid-19 including single parents, low-income college students, and families struggling to provide dignified Jewish burials. In addition, a combination of loans and grants will be distributed to 22 regional Jewish Community Centers that provide human services and Jewish engagement opportunities to New Yorkers. “Ten days ago, we allocated over $23 million in our first wave of emergency funding for essential food programs and... Full story
By Maytal Yasur Beit-Or, Assaf Golan (Israel Hayom via JNS)—There has been a consistent decline in the rate of coronavirus infections in Israel since the last week in March, with infections now doubling at a rate of once every eight days compared to once every three. Professor Gabi Barabash, former director of the Israeli Health Ministry and of the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, told Channel 12 News that as this decline has been observed over a three-day period, it could, hopefully, indicate a trend. “If the numbers continue looking lik... Full story
(JTA)—Among the mysteries of the coronavirus is that some patients suffer and ultimately die from the disease while others experience the symptoms as akin to a mild cold. Rabbi Daniel Nevins is in the latter category. The dean of the rabbinical school at the Jewish Theological Seminary, Nevins was laid up for a few days earlier this month with a fever and some aches, and then recovered. Nevins was tested for the coronavirus on March 12 and a week later got back a positive result. A week after that, he was tested again. Friday morning, he got t... Full story
(JNS)—Israelis have been accustomed to national emergencies and tend to accommodate well to stressful changes in their daily routines. However, in contrast to past crises, the current predicament is exceptional. People across the world are experiencing an identical threat and creating a sense of shared global destiny. This sustained worldwide threat generates unprecedented situations that are of interest to psychologists. The prolonged involuntary home confinement offers opportunities to many, stress and risks to some, and a relief to o... Full story
No group in America is more sensitive about religious freedom than the Jewish community. Although we have many differences of opinion concerning public policy issues I think it is fair to say we speak with one voice when it comes to defending religious freedom. Government’s non-interference in how, when or with whom a person prays or otherwise expresses his religious beliefs and convictions is a cornerstone of American pluralism. The 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is clear and unambiguous; the very first words of the 1st Amendment a... Full story
(JNS)—The carry-on about the dangerous spread of COVID-19 within the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community in Israel is understandable. While the rest of us are cooped up at home, with increasingly severe limitations on our freedom of movement, certain ultra-Orthodox towns and neighborhoods have been conducting business as usual. Indeed, the contrast between Jerusalem’s Mea Shearim neighborhood and the city of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv with the shuttered shops and empty playgrounds of cities from Metula to Eilat naturally causes rage on the part of a... Full story
Two Fridays ago, on a final grocery store run before officially locking myself alone inside my Brooklyn studio apartment, I purchased a box of 72 “Standard Shabbos Candles” for the first time in my life. I had recently reclaimed the candlestick holders I got for my bat mitzvah from a family storage unit outside Chicago, so as I stood in line at the grocery store looking into my basket—essentials for this pandemic programming—I felt grateful I’d somehow decided that Shabbat needed to be part of what will help me live through these unprecede... Full story
(JNS)—A Palestinian activist’s harsh response to the first Israeli fatality from the coronavirus has sparked some controversy. It’s a tempest in a teapot, but it also contains an important lesson or two. The activist, Ms. Leen Dweik, was president of the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter at New York University in 2018-19. In response to the news that 88-year-old Holocaust survivor Arye Even died from the virus in Israel, Dweik tweeted a contemptuous message referencing the painting of her fingernails. Her sneering comment was so ugly... Full story
Dear teachers and Staff of the ECLC: For those who don’t know me, my name is Jeff Greenwald. I am the vice president of the Roth Family JCC Board, a parent of a 4-year-old in Room 3 (and 2 other boys that have since graduated), and the husband of one of your co-workers (my beautiful Michelle). I was with my 9-year-old today and he said to me that “he will never forget his third-grade year.” When I asked him why, he said it was because the “Rona” as he calls it has “made it different than any other year so far.” I sat for a bit and thought about... Full story
(JNS)—April 1 is no laughing matter. Because back in 1992, the joke was on me. I was graduate student in New York City, almost done with my dual-degree master’s program in journalism and Near Eastern Studies. In fact, in my briefcase at the time was a recommendation letter for a job I was applying to—my first real writing job—at the Homer News in Alaska (which just yesterday reported the first case of coronavirus in the city of Kenai. I note this because that’s what got me started writing these daily pieces in the first place.) I was also in th... Full story
Jill Goldsmith is a home seamstress who learned to sew as a girl and continues to sew items that bring her joy and comfort. She has a small home-based business making one-of-a-kind handbags. When the virus first appeared Goldsmith looked at her fabric stash and realized she could make washable, home-sewn masks for friends and family. (These are not masks a frontline caregiver would use, and Goldsmith said the masks must be washed in hot water first. "I did wash all the fabric before any sewing... Full story
The prevalent thinking in 1972 was that the seventh Chabad Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, on his 70th birthday, was going to reveal his retirement plans. Rather, he laid down a challenge. He was offering his birthday wish to the community to establish, by his 71st birthday, 71 new Chabad institutions throughout the world. Rabbi Sholom B. Dubov, Chabad chief rabbi of the Greater Orlando area was with him at that public gathering. Within a few hours, 71 rabbis were to go forth and establish... Full story
Ode to the Coronavirus by Yours Truly... I'm going crazy in my house, I sleep each night with Mickey Mouse, One son moved home to keep me safe, I wash my hands until they chafe, Coronavirus has me bored, I pray it goes away, dear Lord, This has to end on a closer date, There's one good thing, I'm losing weight! (Actually, losing weight is easy...every store is out of chocolate!) Let me explain about sleeping with Mickey Mouse: I own three big Mickey Mouse dolls and one tiny one and also two... Full story
Jewish Academy of Orlando held is first-ever remote model Passover seder with a 1960s-theme for its students, parents and guests using Google Meet. The students told the story of Passover in a traditional way with the four questions, traditional meal (at home), and songs. The 1960s-themed costumes, and songs added to the excitement Students dressed in groovy 1960s gear with tie dye and more; even the faculty and staff participated. From the Beatles to Simon and Garfunkle and Neil Diamond, the... Full story
This recipe originally appeared on The Nosher. When it comes to Passover cooking and baking, my favorite flour is not the dreaded matzah cake meal, which can make baked goods dense and heavy. It's teff flour. An ancient grain native to eastern Africa, teff is most familiar to Americans as the basis for injera, the spongy, fermented flatbread served at Ethiopian restaurants. But most of us know very little about teff beyond that. Teff is a tiny seed native to East Africa that functions much like... Full story
Main ingredients 6 large Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks 4 eggs, divided 3 tablespoons potato starch 3 tablespoons Gefen Mayonnaise 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1 tablespoon salt pinch of white pepper 2 hot dogs, cut into 1/2-inch slices Start Cooking Prepararation Add potatoes and water to cover to a medium pot. Bring to a boil; cook until fork tender. Drain well. Mash the potatoes well in a large bowl. Add three eggs, potato starch, mayonnaise, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, mixing well to combine. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 de... Full story
All of creation seems oblivious to the virus running rampant through all the countries of the world. Here is a "thumbs up" from a strawberry, encouraging us to stay positive!... Full story
Applications for the Kobrin Family Scholarship are still available and due by April 30. The Kobrin family created the Kobrin Family Scholarship in 1990 to be awarded to a qualified, full-time student of the Jewish faith from Orange, Osceola or Seminole County who will be attending the University of Central Florida. The scholarship is available in the amount of $2,500 per year for a maximum of four (4) years. The student must maintain a 3.1 GPA (based on a 4.0 scale) each year in order to remain qualified for the scholarship. Visit... Full story
