Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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L'shana Tova! The Jewish Family Services' High Holiday Food Drive is here once again (Sept. 15-Oct. 31, 2019). This new year, better your community and celebrate your tzedakah by feeding the hungry in Central Florida through JFS Orlando's Pearlman Emergency Food Pantry. Last year, the High Holiday Food Drive collected more than 6,300 lbs. of food and $4,000. That's enough donations to provide almost 3,000 meals to the hungry. To participate, simply pick-up some of the non-perishable food items b...
On Monday evening, Sept. 30, Susan Bernstein, Jewish Pavilion program director, will conduct the Oakmonte Village seder. The Passover seder is widely known among many, both Jewish and non-Jewish alike. The Tu B’shvat seder, in recent time, has become popular with environmentalist minded Jews. However, the seder for Rosh Hashanah remains a well-kept mystery within our community. Where did it originate and what does it encompass? The roots of the Rosh Hashanah seder can be found in the Babylonian Talmud circa 300 CE. It was built around s...
Congregation Sinai of Central Florida will soon observe the Jewish High Holidays with two special services that are being open to the entire community. Join Sinai For Rosh Hashanah and the High Holidays 2019/5780. Day Two of Rosh Hashanah will be celebrated on Tuesday, Oct. 1 from 10 a.m. to noon. A morning service will begin at 10 a.m. After that, there will be a special ‘Torah Study & Brunch’ program. This Rosh Hashanah congregation event is open to the entire community at no charge with pre-registration. Phone 352-243-5353 or email inf...
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and the Blue and White were again locked in a virtual dead heat at the close of voting in Israel, exit polls on Tuesday showed. Both Blue and White, which is led by Benny Gantz, a former military chief of staff, and Likud took 32 seats in the upcoming Knesset, or parliament, according to polling by the Kan national broadcaster. Channel 12 reported that Blue and White had 34 seats and Likud 33, while Channel 13 had Blue and White with a 33-31 edge. The two parties had tied in Apr...
(Chabad.org)—As Hurricane Dorian was unleashing its unimaginable devastation on the Bahamas earlier this week, Rabbi Sholom and Sheera Bluming, co-directors of Chabad of the Bahamas, hunkered down in the capital city of Nassau, making phone calls to residents, galvanizing the community, coordinating with government aid officials and rallying volunteers during their country’s time of need. After pummeling the islands for two days with winds in excess of 180 miles per hour and rain pouring down by the inches, Dorian moved on. At least 30 people h...
JERUSALEM (JTA)-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that if he is re-elected, he will immediately annex the Jordan Valley. Netanyahu also promised to annex West Bank Jewish settlements in what he termed a "dramatic announcement" exactly one week before Israelis go to the polls for national elections on Sept. 17. The announcement was a plea for votes. "This is a democracy. I won't do anything without a clear mandate. So I'm asking for a mandate, to do this thing that enjoys a...
By Jewish News Service Reflecting on his announcement on Tuesday regarding annexation of the Jordan Valley, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had notified the White House prior to making the announcement, and that “someone in the White House” had said off the record that “Netanyahu’s plan does not impinge on Trump’s.” “That’s saying a lot,” said Netanyahu in comments to Israel National News. He expressed optimism with regard to the Trump administration, noting the difference between it and the Obama administration. ...
(JNS)—On the 18th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, government officials and institutions throughout America commemorated the horror of that day. But after all these years, there is a sense that—other than for those who lost family members or close friends—the ceremonies are increasingly becoming more a matter of going through the motions than of national grief. Much like the way the memory of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941—a comparable tragedy that altered the life of the nation—became routine and then ultimatel...
WASHINGTON (JTA)—With the new election in Israel, it is worth reflecting on the last Likud leader, Ariel Sharon, and the decisions he made on the Palestinian issue. Sharon, the 11th prime minister of Israel, was a large man who did not think small. As Nir Hefez and Gadi Bloom noted in “Ariel Sharon: A Life,” Sharon in the early 1950s commanded Israel Defense Forces Unit 101, which sought to deter terror in Israel by carrying out controversial attacks into Arab states. Shimon Kananer, who served in the 101, said, “When I first came to the uni...
A few months ago, there was a slew of hopeful chatter in Israel that Eli Cohen would finally be coming home. This followed the return of remains of an Israeli soldier killed in battle in Lebanon in 1982 with help from Russia. The country couldn’t restrain its excitement at the repatriation of Zachary Baumol’s remains. Prayers were that Eli Cohen would be next. For as long as I can remember, Eli Cohen was a larger than life hero. Had his story ended differently we might never have known how much Israel is indebted to him. As one of Israel’s most...
Dear Editor: 1. A Jewish Democrat—you are Jewish and vote Democrat regardless of the democratic party’s discriminations against you. 2. A democratic Jew—you are a dedicated Democrat. Being a Jew doesn’t matter. By these two definitions, being a Jew doesn’t matter. You are adding fuel to wiping out the remaining Jews that were not wiped out during the last century. Sounds harsh, doesn’t it? But is being a Democrat more important than being a part of 5780 years of being Jewish? Jewish Democrat or democratic Jew means leaving the words Jewis...
For you Heritage Florida Jewish News readers who have been following my heart saga that began some 16 months ago, I wanted to give an update. As you might recall, I am the one who had a heart attack while playing chess, and ended up having quintuple bypass open-heart surgery. When I left the hospital five days later, I had the expectancy of recovery, but rather than getting better, things got worse. Not long after I got home from the hospital, my health began to decline and I was diagnosed to have “heart failure,” and told that I was a “ca...
Shalom, I wish you a sweet New Year 5780 on behalf of the JFed Alliance, a collaborative partnership between The Roth Family Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando and the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando. A new year brings with it a new sense of possibility and a renewed commitment to pursuing and fulfilling our dreams, both as individuals and as a community. That pursuit of our dreams as a community is what will fuel the JFed Alliance in the year ahead. When we entered into this...
An alarming story was recently in the news about a Palm Beach County parent who wrote her child's principal asking if the Holocaust was being taught at the high school. She was stunned by his response. He said that while the school had a "variety of activities" for Holocaust education, it was not specifically being taught because "not everyone believes the Holocaust happened" and that he "can't say the Holocaust is a factual, historical event." In response to this shocking statement, Florida's...
This year, Jewish Academy of Orlando has embarked on a new initiative that focuses on Positive Education, an approach to education that draws on positive psychology's emphasis on individual strengths and personal motivation to promote learning. What drew our school to positive education is how similar this approach to learning is to so many Jewish teachings, particularly the teachings of Rabbi Israel Salanter and the Musar movement. The Musar movement is the Jewish science of character that...
As the new executive director serving Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando it is with great joy that I offer l'shana tova tikateyvu to our Central Florida community. A new year, a potentially good year, to continue tikkun olam-the work of repairing the world. JFS Orlando's identity and mission is grounded in this by addressing the mental and emotional stability, hunger relief, and elder service needs of our Central Florida Community. Regardless of race, religion, culture or national...
The IAC Family thanks the Orlando community for your friendship and support of our events and programs for the Jewish community. Thanks to you, we can continue to lead, engage and build community for our next generation. May the new year bring the Jewish People fulfillment and health, peace and prosperity. Wishing you and your family a Happy Sweet New Year. Shanah Tova, The IAC Orlando staff. Idit Lotringer IAC Orlando Regional Manager Israeli-American Council...
MORNING AND EVENING MINYANS (Call synagogue to confirm time.) Chabad of South Orlando—Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. and 10 minutes before sunset; Saturday, 9:30 a.m.; Sunday, 8:15 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 I...
Three cheers for Israel... Actually, Israel has earned more than three cheers, especially with all the breakthroughs in cancer research and Alzheimers... and so much more that Israel has achieved! But this article is about something else... caring and compassion. And someone I consider very caring and compassionate, NANCY LUDIN, sent me this article: “As Hurricane Dorian finally moved away from the Bahamas, and the full extent of the destruction is revealed, Israeli humanitarian aid agency I...
The Jewish New Year will soon be here and we will wave "goodbye" to 5779 and welcome in 5780. For many of us, there will be plenty of reasons to close out the year and eagerly anticipate 5780 because after all, it comes with a clean slate. It is one of the most powerful traditions in the Jewish canon, the belief that a) we are empowered to take control of our own lives and b) that every year we get another chance to wipe the slate clean and begin anew. This annual Jewish tradition of casting...
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are almost here. All across our community the High Holiday momentum is building, with treasured family recipes pulled from bookshelves and thought given to building new traditions to celebrate the Jewish New Year and the subsequent Days of Awe. These simple traditions that we find so comforting, may be just memories for the seniors in our Central Florida community. With family members living far away and the challenge of living alone, the holiday season is...
Sylvia Stein has celebrated the high holidays for the past 80 years at synagogue. After services, she joined her adult children and grandchildren for a traditional meal. When Sylvia fell this year and needed rehabilitation, she became concerned that a lifetime of Jewish continuity might be disrupted. Fortunately, she can count on the Jewish Pavilion to bring her companionship along with shofar blowing, a meaningful service, and a festive holiday meal. At the Jewish Pavilion, we are there to...
The Jewish month of Elul is a time for personal reflection and spiritual preparation. We are called to use Elul to take a cheshbon hanefesh-an accounting of the soul, at the end of which we will be prepared for Rosh HaShanah and the Days of Atonement. It's kind of a lot. At the same time it's essential. We as Jews take a moment to pause, reflect, draw the line in the sand, and decide if we are standing where we want to be... and I find it incredibly poetic that it coincides with the start of...
The High Holidays are a special time, but it is even more special when family—and a little romance—are part of the season. In 1951, Larry’s father, Ernie, a World War II veteran, was called back into the U.S. Army. Larry’s mother, Doris, along with Larry and Larry’s older sister, Anita, moved from Schuylerville, New York, to Syracuse, her hometown, to live with her mother, Rose, and brother, Asher, during Ernie’s deployment. Larry, who turned three shortly after their move, remembers riding the family coal truck with Asher and tagging along wit...
Join the Jewish Pavilion program directors and volunteers for a High Holiday service at any of these locations. The serves are open to all. If you are looking for an address, please visit the Jewish Pavilion website, www.jewishpavilion.org and click on facilities. Because of scheduling, several services have already taken place. Sept. 20 1:30 p.m. Wayman Place Sept. 23 3:30 p.m. Serenades by Sonata Sept. 24 10:30 a.m. Gardens @DePugh Sept. 24 1 p.m. Westchester/Regents Sept. 25 10:30 a.m. Lake Mary Healthcare Sept. 25 1 p.m. Savannah Court &...
