Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Hundreds of Israeli flags are in place; the Air Force has been rehearsing its formation fly-by routine for days; platforms and sound systems stand ready in the main squares in town; groups of tourists mill about and there’s a discernible festive air. But before Yom Ha’atzmaut celebrations of the nation’s 65th birthday take place on April 16, Israel has to pay tribute to those who fell in battles and terror attacks that continue to claim lives even until today. Officially known as Fallen Soldi... Full story
Rabbi Steven Engel of Congregation of Reform Judaism was presented an honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion at the Cincinnati campus this past March. CRJ will be hosting a celebration Shabbat dinner and service in honor of Engel on Friday, April 19. Engel was one of only eight alumni who received the honorary degree, which is presented to alumni who have taught the faith, culture and ethics of Reform Judaism for 25 years. He earned his Master... Full story
The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando announces that Olga Yorish has joined the organization to be its executive director. Yorish has more than 20 years of experience within the Jewish Federation system. “Our search for an extraordinary leader to direct JFGO has been thorough and extensive,” says Michael Soll, co-chairman of the board of directors. “The search committee has worked extensively to ensure the chosen candidate will lead Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando in its renewed visio... Full story
Cantor Jacki Rawiszer, cantor of Congregation of Reform Judaism in Orlando, has been elected secretary of the American Conference of Cantors for a three-year term beginning July 2013. “Cantor Rawiszer brings her current experience as an active and current board member, having chaired and championed an important initiative for cantors to raise funds toward scholarships for our congregational youth to attend the Union for Reform Judaism’s summer camps,” said Cantor Susan Caro, president of the A... Full story
LOS ANGELES (JTA)—Some 65 years after a band of foreign volunteers took to the skies to ensure Israel’s birth and survival, filmmakers are racing to bring their exploits to the screen before the last of the breed passes away. Among the competing producers and their financial backers are such famous names as Spielberg and Lansky. And though their budgets fall well short of Hollywood blockbuster standards, their competitive spirits are just as intense. Nancy Spielberg, the youngest of Steven Spielberg’s three sisters, is the producer of “Abov... Full story
Ben, an Israel Defense Forces reservist, recalls when his unit took up a position to sleep inside a beat-up old Volkswagen van outside a Palestinian village. Hearing a knock on their van’s door, and preparing for the worst, the soldiers jumped up with their guns ready—only to discover it was a “little old Palestinian grandma.” Telling personal stories such as that one, which Ben recently recounted at Boston University (BU), helps put a human face on Israeli soldiers who are often condemn... Full story
The Sunday Connection at Congregation Beth Am presents “Laughter in the Wings—Great Jewish Celebrities,” starring Arnold N. Bremen, an author, retired impresario and arts administrator. Bremen will be speaking at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, May 5 at the synagogue in Longwood. After nearly half a century directing four major American Performing Arts Centers, including Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater and The Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, and presenting more than 2,000 artists and attractions, Brema... Full story
The Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Orlando (JGSGO) is presenting a roundtable discussion featuring genealogy brick-wall problems and solutions. Many genealogists encounter one or more brick walls when researching their family history. The paper trail seems to vanish. Their ancestors may have changed their names. All sources seem to have been exhausted. The trail has run dry. They may have run out of ideas on where to look next. Bring your brick-wall genealogy problem to the JGSGO’s mavens. In advance of the April 30 meeting, submit a r... Full story
“What an adorable baby.” “Kinehora!” “So I hear you got the promotion.” “Kinehora!” “Did the doctor say your blood pressure was OK?” “Kinehora!” There was a time not too long ago when making any positive statement in a room full of Jews elicited a chorus of voices saying, “Kinehora!”—a Yiddishized contraction of a phrase meaning “no evil eye.” The belief that focusing on the positive invites misfortune is understandable, given the history of the Jews. But does Judaism really believe in the evil... Full story
Many, many years ago a dear friend sent me a story in the mail. This was before the advent of email or text messages. It was old style, hard copy, stapled and folded and sent in an envelope. She worked in New York City at the Atlantic Monthly. My wife and I had moved to Orlando, so the gap was great, and where we had once carpooled together into work in Detroit, now we talked occasionally and saw one another less and less frequently. Today we are barely in touch at all, but for some reason I... Full story
A major reason for observing Holocaust Remembrance Day is to recognize when a Holocaust is in the making. With the drastic escalation of anti-Semitism in the world, history could be repeating itself. Many Jews fought in the German army during the First World War. And doing so they felt a strong allegiance to Germany. However, once in power, Hitler moved quickly to end German democracy and was permitted to suspend freedoms of the press, speech and assembly. Presently in many countries throughout Europe, in Canada and, particularly, in the... Full story
The news reminds me of a Kingston Trio ballad that begins with They’re rioting in Africa, They’re starving in Spain. There’s hurricanes in Florida, And Texas needs rain The whole world is festering With unhappy souls. Take your pick for what is most festering this week: The North Korean threat to bombard the United States, and maybe South Korea and Japan with nuclear weapons. Pundits are doubting the reality, but worrying about a repeat of what Barbara Tuchman described in The Guns of August, i.e., a move toward catastrophe that none of the p... Full story
Is Nate Silver destroying our ability to argue? When I was a kid, my parents would have what I would call “encyclopedia” arguments. Say, did FDR die on April 12 or April 13? They would marshal personal history (“My cousin’s birthday was April 12”), dubious logic (“If I remember our anniversary, how would I forget a date like Roosevelt’s yahrtzeit?”), and ad hominem attacks (“Oh, you can never admit when you’re wrong….”). This could go on for an entire evening, while I was thinking, “Just look it up in the World Book, for God’s sake.” Of course,... Full story
During a recent interview in my office with Mark Borovitz and Harriet Rossetto, the guiding lights of Beit T’Shuvah: The House of Return, a unique coåmmunity in Los Angeles that combines spiritual and psychotherapeutic approaches to addiction recovery, I became increasingly impressed with their work and their own life stories. But that was just the start. Rossetto, a handsome, forthright woman in her 70s, was a social worker and self-described misfit, adrift and at a low point when she found her calling in the mid-1980s, helping recently re... Full story
Dear Editor: Islam is a religion like no other. It is both political and religious. It aims to take over the whole world. It is already doing that all across Europe and Africa. Islam has no tolerance for any other religion. In fact, Muslims are killing Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Jainists, Hindus, and all other religions everywhere. Unfortunately, very little appears in the press or on TV about persecution of other religions by Muslims because many media outlets are owned by Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia also funds many colleges across the world... Full story
MORNING AND EVENING MINYANS (Call synagogue to confirm time.) Chabad of South Orlando—Monday and Thursday, 8 a.m. 407-354-3660. Congregation Ahavas Yisrael—Monday - Friday, 7 a.m.; Sunday, 8 a.m., 407-644-2500. Congregation Chabad Lubavitch of Greater Daytona—Monday, 8 a.m.; Thursday, 8 a.m., 904-672-9300. Congregation Ohev Shalom—Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-298-4650. GOBOR Community Minyan at Jewish Academy of Orlando—Monday – Friday, 7:45 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Temple Israel—Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-647-3055. FRIDAY, APRIL 12 Light Shabbat candles at 7:31... Full story
The Central Florida community is invited to participate in the program, Aging and the Loss of Independence: Adult Children and Their Aging Parents to be held at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, April 14 at Congregation Ohev Shalom, 613 Concourse Parkway S., Maitland. The program is co-sponsored by Congregation Ohev Shalom Men’s Club, Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando and Kinneret Council on Aging. More than ever before, baby boomers are confronted with the care of their aging parents. The purpose of the program is to help adult children of aging p... Full story
According to the dictionary, the word illuminate means “to enlighten someone intellectually or spiritually.” This can be done in a variety of ways. For example, Debra Band uses illustrations (which she calls illuminations) to offer commentary and insights into the biblical text. In her third book, “Arise! Arise! Deborah, Ruth and Hannah” (Honeybee in the Garden), Band focuses on three biblical stories featuring women as main characters. Although additional literary commentary is offered by Arnold J. Band, her father-in-law, a professor of Hebre... Full story
Florence Altchiler of Miami died on Monday, April 1, 2013. She was 89 years old. A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., she was born on Dec. 20, 1923, to the late Julius and Sarah Hummel Rapoport. She grew up in New York attending local area schools. While in the workforce, Mrs. Altchiler was a secretary for legal and accounting firms. In 1945, she married the late Sidney Salkin, to whom she was married for 28 years before he passed away in 1973. They raised three children and moved to the Orlando area from Bridgeport, Conn., in 1956. In 1977, she... Full story
Shirley Makaron of Lake Mary, Fla., died on Monday, April 1, 2013. She was 86 years old. A New York native, she was born on Jan. 18, 1927, to the late Samuel and Bertha Baum Snyder. She married the late David Makaron in 1948 and they were married for nearly 48 years when he passed away in 1996. Mrs. Makaron moved to Boca Raton and ultimately relocated to Central Florida in 2008 to be closer to family. Mrs. Makaron is survived by her daughter, Laurie (John) Feenburg of Lake Mary; her son, Leslie (Jill) Makaron of Trumbull, Conn.; five... Full story
Sharansky: Women saying Kaddish at Western Wall won’t be arrested JERUSALEM (JTA)—Women who recite the Mourner’s Kaddish at the Western Wall will not be arrested, Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky said he has been assured, despite a police vow to enforce a ban. Jerusalem police Commissioner Yossi Pariente in a letter sent April 4 to Women of the Wall Chairwoman Anat Hoffman said he would enforce the Justice Ministry’s strict interpretation of a Supreme Court ruling prohibiting women f... Full story
Maxwell Benjamin Ihns, son of Joe and Barbara Ihns of Winter Springs, Fla., will be called to the Torah as a bar mitzvah on Saturday, April 13, 2013 at Temple Israel in Winter Springs. Max is a seventh-grade student in the Pre-International Baccalaureate program and engineering magnet program at Milwee Middle School. Max participates in SECME (engineering), student government, First Lego League (robotics), cross country, track and field, and flag football, as well as Kadima. Among Max’s p... Full story
Wow! Talk about your good ideas… Have any of you seen the latest Febreze commercials? (You know… the ones where people are blind-folded and asked to sit in a room or in a car.) They don’t know that there is either garbage, dirty underwear, or some other fowl-smelling items placed near them. And the reason they don’t know, you ask? The air-effects-product Febreze is placed near them to disguise the odors. Comments the blind-folded people make sound something like this: “It smells like a garden.... Full story
At midnight, most people who worked all day at an office job would be in bed. But then Gal Sharon, a superintendent with the Israel Police, has never been a cookie-cutter sort of person. At this witching hour, it wouldn’t be uncommon to find Sharon on a run along Tel Aviv’s beachfront. The 50-year-old mother of three boys is a sports nut. And she has used her love of physical fitness to create bonds of friendship across nations. While acknowledged among peers and family for many successful for... Full story
THESSALONIKI, Greece (JTA)—It was spring in northern Greece, 1943. Efthymios Kontopoulos, 13, had come to Thessaloniki for the day when he saw Nazis rounding up the city’s Jews. “My father brought me into town,” Kontopoulos, who is not Jewish, said. “We saw them being taken away. They were with their [yellow] badges.” On March 15, 1943, the Nazis began deporting the Jews of Thessaloniki. Some 4,000 people were loaded onto cattle cars and shipped off to Auschwitz. Eighteen more convoys fol... Full story
