Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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At the end of this month, a delegation of members from Temple Israel will accompany Temple Israel's "Goold Torah" to Berkach, Germany, for the 160th anniversary of the opening of the building that housed the then-newly-built Berkacher Synagogue (1854). This Torah had been written especially for the synagogue's opening by Hirsch Hessberg, an ancestor of Lothar Goldschmidt who eventually saved the Torah from destruction by bringing it to Temple Israel after fleeing the Nazis. Thus, the scroll...
For the past 60 years or so, the question of how to create and sustain a vibrant Jewish community in America has remained relatively the same, but the players continue to change. And the question on everybody's agenda today is how to reach the Millennials, with 80 million Americans falling into this demographic category. Here in Central Florida, this has been part of the Federation's focus over the last year and a half and the results are very encouraging. In 2003, spearheaded by local philanthr...
Sonya Baumstein is only 29 years old, but in her short life this second-generation Orlandoan-daughter of Darryl and Debbie Baumstein and granddaughter of Jack and Roz Baumstein-has sailed more seas, peddled more pavement, paddle-boarded more straits and rowed more oceans than any other American. And she is not finished yet. Baumstein has an impressive goal: To solo row the North Pacific Ocean from Japan to San Francisco. And not just row for the conquest, but to collect oceanographic data that...
Brooke Deratany Goldfarb knows she can make a difference as a circuit judge in the justice systems of Brevard and Seminole counties. In the world of law, Goldfarb has been around the block. Graduating from Harvard Law School in 1996, the Brevard County native has practiced in multiple areas of law, beginning as an international business, corporate and immigration attorney. Two years later, she facilitated mergers and acquisitions at a national law firm in Washington, D.C. When the economic...
(Israel Today)-Israeli security forces have arrived in Nigeria to aid in the search for up to 200 young Christian girls recently abducted by the radical Islamist group Boko Haram. On Monday, May 12, international media was abuzz after the publication of a video showing many of the captive girls dressed in Muslim garb and reciting passages from the Koran. In the video, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau says the girls will be held and continued to be forcibly converted to Islam until jailed...
By Deputy Knesset Chairman MK Moshe Feiglin (Likud) outlined his national plan while in Toronto for Israeli Independence Day, speaking at an event sponsored by the Jewish Defense League and Toronto Zionist Council. Feiglin called for reconnecting the young generation with the knowledge that it is part of a long historical chain from the days of the Patriarch Abraham, and that it is a “light unto the nations” not just in the field of hi-tech, but rather in terms of the values and spiritual message it has for humanity, reports Shalom Tor...
(JNS.org) A new national poll reveals that two-thirds of Americans side with the Israeli perspective over the Palestinian perspective in assessing blame for the recent collapse of the U.S.-brokered peace talks. In a poll of 1,595 likely voters that was commissioned by The Israel Project, when presented with a statement that each side in the peace talks blamed the other for the negotiations’ failure, 67 percent of respondents said they agreed more with Israel’s point of view and 33 percent sided with the Palestinian Authority (PA). Reg...
He's quite a character. And we know a lot of his characters: Shrek, The Smurfs, The Rugrats, and Boy Genius, to name a few. But Wednesday, May 7, at the Longwood Community Center, Jewish Orlando, courtesy of Chabad of Lake Mary, got the chance to meet one of Hollywood's most acclaimed and sought after living screenwriters: Oscar nominee and box office success David N. Weiss, whose films worldwide have grossed more than two billion dollars. What comes to mind when thinking of the Hollywood and...
Over 20 Jewish National Fund (JNF) Women for Israel (WFI) supporters gathered for a fun-filled evening of instructed painting at The Scarlet Easel on Thursday, May 8. WFI Chair Debbie Meitin spoke about JNF's important work in Israel and highlighted a few of their partners and projects including Lotem - Making Nature Accessible, a national organization in Israel that offers nature activities to people with special needs, and the Sderot Indoor Recreation Center, a 21,000-square-foot secure...
Temple L’Chayim is making its permanent home in Clermont and will have a Torah Walk tonight, May 23, at 6:45 p.m. The procession will start on Route 27 about 2 blocks south of Walgreens and end at our new location 4420 Route 27 South. A Torah Walk is a joyous ceremony to place the Holy Scriptures into their new home. All members of the community are invited to mark this momentous occasion. Sabbath services will begin at 7:30 p.m....
On Shabbat mornings, when I go outside to pick up the newspaper from the front stoop of my house, I am aware of a deep sense of responsibility. I know that where and how I open the paper to check the scores during the baseball season determines whether my beloved Baltimore Orioles won or lost the previous night’s game. I know, I know. Some might think it illogical—after all, the game has been over for hours and the players are home, asleep, no longer on the field. But over the years I’ve learned that if I check the scores before I bring the pap...
When Hassan Rouhani was elected as Iran’s president in June 2013, you could hear the sighs of relief in Washington, in Brussels, at U.N. Headquarters, and across key European capitals. Finally, we were told, the terrorism-supporting, human rights-abusing, Holocaust-denying Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had left the political stage. Finally, a moderate, rational leader with whom we could conduct business was in power. Finally, there was a real chance of securing an enduring deal to thwart Iran’s dangerous nuclear ambitions. Almost a year later, we...
John Kerry regrets his use of the word apartheid in connection with Israel, but his half-hearted apology, which included a reiteration of his accusation against Israel’s leadership as well as that of the Palestinians for not having the courage to do what he thought was right, put him squarely with the Jewish and international left that thinks Israel has no choice but to cave in to Palestinians or to absorb them. Apartheid will come, in Kerry’s view like that of Jimmy Carter, when Israel has to protect itself from the Palestinians who have bec...
This week, the Hollywood left finally discovered something it had apparently been missing for the last few decades: Countries that impose Islamic law, known as Sharia, brutally violate human rights. This shocking realization came after the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, who owns the Beverly Hills Hotel, announced on May 1 that Brunei, a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia, will implement Sharia, which dictates that homosexuality and extramarital sex be punished with penalties including...
I was in one of those big boxes in another city, waiting for a prescription. After wandering around for a few minutes, I sat down across the aisle from the pharmacy on one of the benches kindly provided by the store. I was wearing my cassock and vest and skufia (a priest’s cap). I had attended the New Mexico Orthodoxy clergy April meeting, and stopped on my way home to fill a prescription, because it was significantly less expensive than at our home pharmacy. Several people wheeled their carts past me and said hello or made various comments. I...
Dear Editor: On behalf of the many food banks in this area, I want to commend the Postal workers who volunteered for the Annual Post Office food drive. The food was of excellent quality and in date. During the holidays, donations are plentiful but around this time of year, people forget that hunger is a year around event. There are still many people who are not employed because they are sick, and disabled and even if they were successful in finding employment, it was at a much lower salary. The need of food banks is still a necessity. The Post...
Dear Editor: I am responding to Richard Ries’ May 9 Viewpoint, “Beware the ides and tides of Jewish racism.” In Mr. Ries’ conclusion he states, “It is well past time for Islam to usher in Reform movements of their own with equality for women and gays.” I agree with Mr. Ries’ conclusion however, non-Muslims need to understand the Islamic concept of ‘Ijtihad’ or innovations in Islamic doctrine. Ijtihad is a technical term of Islamic Law that describes the process of making a legal decision by independent interpretation of the legal sources, th...
Dear Editor: I was so disappointed to read the letter to the editor in the May 9th edition that was so pointedly critical of Temple Israel. I felt compelled to share my experience, which has been completely opposite to hers. While I am happy to know that she had good experiences at the other synagogues, I actually had to read the letter twice to make sure she was talking about Temple Israel in Winter Springs! I have found this congregation to be very warm, friendly, and extremely welcoming. I can only wonder what “function” she attended tha...
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, 7:30 a.m.; Saturday, 9:30 a.m.; Sunday, 9 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, MAY 23 Light Shabbat can...
Congregation Beth Sholom invites the public to join us as Rabbi Allen leads a special Shavuot Shabbat service on Saturday, May 24 at 10 a.m. Shavuot celebrates the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people. It is customary to stay up studying scripture on the night before Shavuot, as spiritual preparation to receive the Torah personally. The Torah Roundtable will be the preparatory study for the holiday. It provides a unique opportunity to talk with the rabbi as she leads an informal and interactive discussion. It is held at the Sumter County...
Florence “Flo” Berk of Longwood, passed away on Tuesday, April 29, 2014, at Village on the Green in Longwood. She was 100 years old. Mrs. Berk was born on March 20, 1914, in Philadelphia to the late Max and Jennie Rubin Jacobs. At a time when very few women even earned a college degree, Mrs. Berk earned her master’s in education and became a teacher. On Aug. 16, 1936, in Philadelphia, she married Albert Berk. They were married for 64 years when he passed away in 2000. A wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, she regaled each gener...
Carol Ann Peisner of Orlando, passed away on Monday, May 5, 2014, at her residence. She was 56 years old. A native of Grand Rapids, Mich., she was born on Nov. 15, 1957. Mrs. Peisner moved to the Orlando area in 1990, and was a homemaker. She is survived by her daughters, Jennifer Peisner and Sarah Peisner; and was predeceased by her son, Michael Peisner. The family requests memorial contributions be made to Pet Rescue. Arrangements were entrusted to Beth Shalom Memorial Chapel, 640 Lee Road, Orlando....
Beatrice Rozen, of Maitland, Florida, passed away on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 11, 2014. She was 85 years old. She was born December 26, 1928 in Montreal, Canada, the daughter of Herman and Polly Leibovitch. She is survived by her daughter Sharyn (Joe) Bleau of Montreal, her sister, Ruth (Issie) Zabitsky of Toronto and her grandson, Mark (Erica) Davis of Orlando and three great grandchildren who were the light of her life. She was predeceased by her husband, Jack, and her daughter Marlene...
Richard C. Schulman of Sunny Isles Beach Fla., passed away on Sunday, May 4, 2014, at Baptist Hospital in Miami. He was 80 years old. Mr. Schulman was born on March 21, 1934, to the late Harry and Lillian Pallot Schulman and grew up in Miami. As a youngster, he was made an honorary serviceman because of his trumpet playing skills and entertaining the troops in the Miami area. He earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees and was a financial planner for many years. Mr. Schulman was a Renaissance man in the truest sense of the wor...
Jules Slansky of Orlando, passed away on Wednesday, May 7, 2014, at the Miami Jewish Health System Senior Home. He was 92 years old. Mr. Slansky was born in New York City on April 28, 1922, to the late Nathan and Helen Slansky. One of three children, he lived above his family’s candy store. While working as a waiter at Tamarac Lodge in the Catskills, he met the love of his life, Joanne, who was a guest at the hotel. They were married in 1950 and moved to Miami Beach where Jules began his notable hotel career. He became the owner of the Crown H...
