Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Myrtle S. Rutberg (center) celebrated her 106th Hebrew birthday on Sept. 14 with more than 360 women in the community at Chabad's annual Mega Challah Bake. She is shown here with her caretaker, Jessica (l) and longtime friend Karnia. According to Devorah Leah Dubov, it is a double blessing to have someone say the blessing over the Challah on her Hebrew birthday. Rutberg was born Sept. 17, 1911....
NEW YORK (JTA)—This Jewish year was not a quiet one, to say the least. From the tumultuous first eight months of Donald Trump’s presidency, to a wave of bomb threats against Jewish community centers, to a neo-Nazi protest in Charlottesville that turned violent, to the twin weather catastrophes of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, Jews, like so many others, found it hard to take their eyes off the news. As the year 5777 comes to a close, JTA looks back at some of the moments that had the most significance for Jews, sorted below by date. Bob Dylan is...
WASHINGTON (JTA)—A tweet by President Donald Trump on Friday night, with Houston recovering from Hurricane Harvey and his sister Irma set to ravage Florida, is renewing hope among Jewish groups that have long advocated for emergency assistance to houses of worship. “Churches in Texas should be entitled to reimbursement from FEMA Relief Funds for helping victims of Hurricane Harvey (just like others),” Trump said on Twitter, referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Attempts in the past two Congresses to extend FEMA prote...
(JTA)—For nearly 50 years, my father had a best friend named Al. They grew up in the same neighborhood in Brooklyn, and after returning from the service in World War II, they each married and moved to the same Long Island town and opened related businesses. They were closer than brothers. In fact, when my brother and I were growing up, our parents’ wills named Al and his wife, rather than any relatives, as the people who would become our guardians should that become necessary. Even after my parents moved to Nevada, the two couples remained clo...
Sept. 14 was an evening of laughter, music, dance, prayer and unity among women at The Roth Family JCC and the Rosen JCC as each dug their hands into bread dough, braiding magnificent round Challah at Chabad's fourth annual Mega Challah Bake. It was also the largest women's event yet in the community, hosting more than 360 women at The Roth Family JCC and more than 200 at the Rosen JCC, for a combined total of more than 560 participants. Ages ranged from 9 years old to 106 (that's Myrtle Skop...
JFS Orlando is open and ready to assist Central Florida residents who have been impacted by Hurricane Irma through the Pearlman Emergency Food Pantry, counseling, emergency financial assistance. It is JFS Orlando’s objective to address the well-being of all families in need in Central Florida through a comprehensive range of programs and services. Supporting everyone, regardless of religion, race or culture, JFS provides social services and programs to families and children—particularly addressing the areas of hunger and homelessness, cou...
NEW YORK (JTA)-Picture services for the High Holidays: A roomful of congregants sitting with heavy books in their laps listening to a rabbi sermonize or a cantor chant is what likely comes to mind. Baking pizza? Embracing a chicken under a tree? Not so much. But those are some of the things that Jewish clergy, educators and activists want Jews to do during their holiest days of the year. Aside from attending synagogue or dipping apples in honey, the extensive body of High Holidays traditions...
(JTA)-Forty-five years after the murderous PLO attack on Israeli Olympic team members at the 1972 games, a memorial dedicated to the victims opened today in Munich. The memorial-largely realized through the persistent efforts of family members-features the biographies of the 11 Israeli athletes and coaches and a German police officer killed in the attack on panels with texts in German, Hebrew and English. "We wanted to give the victims their identity back in the eyes of the public," Bavarian Minister of Culture Ludwig Spaenle told the media on...
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA)—A team of forensic analysts has determined that Alberto Nisman, the special prosecutor who claimed that the president of Argentina covered up Iran’s role in the deadly bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish center, was murdered and did not commit suicide, the South American nation’s media are reporting. A new toxicology report on Nisman’s body found traces of the drug ketamine, an anesthetic used on animals, and posited that at least one other person forcefully held him down around the time of his death, the Infobae...
Over the past week, two major U.S. institutions have produced studies that discredit their names and reputations as credible organizations. Their actions are important in and of themselves. But they also point to a disturbing trend in the U.S. in which the credibility of important American institutions is being undermined from within by their members who pursue narrow partisan or ideological agendas in the name of their institutions. The political implications of this larger trend were clearly in evidence in the 2016 presidential election. From...
Hurricane Harvey and Irma have been bad news to all in their paths. Lives have sadly been lost, houses demolished and personal items blown or washed away. Such horrific acts of nature remind us that we are all fragile and vulnerable. The right wind and rain can wash everything away including us and people we love so much. We love our stuff. We store it. We hoard it. We want to pass it on to our children and grandchildren. There are storage facilities being built almost everywhere in America because we love our stuff so much. Harvey and Irma rem...
What explains Europe’s self-destructive denial? Europe is committing cultural suicide. More than a decade ago, historian Bernard Lewis warned that by the dawn of the next century, Europe would resemble nothing so much as an extension of the Maghreb. He was being too conservative by decades. By placing out the welcome mat to millions of new Muslim immigrants annually, Europe is accepting into its midst products of foreign cultures who have proven largely unassimilable, and who will only become more so as their communities grow larger. Most of t...
Perhaps you didn’t hear about Israel’s alleged air strike on a Syrian military installation last week, but the incident has significant global ramifications about which you should be aware. In Israel, it’s always reported that incidents like these are “alleged” to be carried out by Israel because in most cases, Israel neither officially confirms nor denies any responsibility. This is part of a culture where all military items go through a censor, so making statements affirming that Israel did something like this is typically not allowed....
Dear Editor: I just finished reading the op-ed Heritage published from Rabbi Zimmerman regarding Israelis’ decision not to let supporters of BDS into Israel (Sept. 8 issue, “Why rabbis like me oppose Israel’s ban on BDS activists”) and this is a copy of the letter that I emailed her synagogue: Dear Rabbi Zimmerman, I just finished reading your piece regarding Israel’s decision to not allow people who support BDS to enter the country and I would like to comment. After reading your article I wanted to see a picture of you to confirm my impressio...
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 Isr...
GIVAT YOAV, Golan Heights (JTA)-Shimon Keinan has a business to run. He doesn't have time to teach you how to blow the shofar. But if you come all the way to his Kol Shofar factory here, Keinan is going to make sure you walk away with the horn that's right for you. "What should I do?" he explained to JTA. "If someone is going to blow one of my shofars on Rosh Hashanah, I have to make sure he doesn't fail." Even now, in the busy weeks ahead of the Jewish New Year, Keinan spends much of his day...
This year, for the first time in 60 years, Harry Lowenstein will be celebrating Rosh Hashanah without his beloved wife Carol. It will be a bittersweet occasion, only a few short weeks after what would have been their sixtieth anniversary. But Harry is a survivor-as well as a mensch-a person with integrity and honor. Harry Lowenstein was born in Fuerstrau, Germany, in 1931, the younger of two children. When he was seven years old, Harry was expelled from school for being a Jew. In 1940, he and...
Before I even start this column, I want to say that I am writing it well in advance of Hurricane Irma and I hope all of you (and your pets) came through safe and sound. A saying that caught my eye... It rings true to me. It's attributed to a lady named HILARY COOPER: "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." Lebanon bans movie... I read this in a recent issue of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) Digest: "Following pressure by...
By Gabe Friedman NEW YORK (JTA)—After weary and ravenous American Jews file out of Yom Kippur services, many return home to a similar meal each year to break the fast: typically bagels, lox and assorted accoutrements. For some, it’s an anticipated and tasty tradition. But for others, it can be an anticlimactic end to a day of repentance and hunger. They can look to Jews in many other countries who shun the same old appetizing platter to break their Day of Atonement fasts. Want to switch things up a little this year? Here are some recipes to...
NEW YORK (JTA)—It’s always difficult to whittle down the list of influential Jews who died in a given year, but this year the task seemed to be especially tough. The number of Jews who left historic marks on their fields—and, more broadly, on Jewish culture—was remarkable. As 5777 draws to a close, here are some members of the tribe—representing areas as diverse as pop culture to politics—we’ve mourned since last Rosh Hashanah. Carrie Fisher, 60 Most know Carrie Fisher because of her iconic role as Princess Leia in the original “Star Wars” f...
JERUSALEM (JTA)—For many Jews, Nazis are public enemy No. 1, and using Nazi imagery to make a political point is strictly verboten. But some young, right-wing Israelis aren’t buying it. Inspired by the so-called alt-right abroad, their online community makes liberal use of anti-Semitic and Nazi imagery to mock and malign what it sees as the real threat: Israeli and Jewish leftists. “We’re fighting back in a new way,” said Guy Levy, 40, the manager of an advertising office in Beersheba and a member of the community. “Our messages aren’t poli...
Chabad House, Center for Jewish Life (Orthodox) Rabbi Yossi Hecht All services take place at 13030 CR 103 Oxford, Fla. 352-330-4466 www.ourchabad.org Services are free of charge. Please RSVP. Fri. Sept. 29, Kol Nidre, 7 p.m. Sat. Sept. 30, Yom Kippur, 10 a.m.; Torah reading, 12:30 p.m.; Yizkor, 1 p.m.; Mincha, 6 p.m.; N’ila, 6:45 p.m. Fast ends, 7:50 p.m. Services followed by light refreshments. Chabad-Lubavitch of North Orlando (Orthodox) Rabbi Yanky Majesky All services held at The Westin, 2974 International Pkwy, Lake Mary, Fla. 4...
Netanyahu praises Trump’s defense of Israel as UN General Assembly convenes WASHINGTON (JTA)—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Donald Trump at the launch of this year’s U.N. General Assembly and praised his “unequivocal” defense of Israel. “I want to say that under President Trump, America’s position towards Israel at the U.N. has been unequivocal, it’s been strong, it’s got both clarity and conviction,” Netanyahu said Monday at a meeting with Trump in New York. “And I want to thank you on behalf of the people...
NEW YORK (JTA)-The United States will return to Iraq next year a trove of Iraqi Jewish artifacts that lawmakers and Jewish groups have lobbied to keep in this country, a State Department official said. A four-year extension to keep the Iraqi Jewish Archive in the U.S. is set to expire in September 2018, as is funding for maintaining and transporting the items. The materials will then be sent back to Iraq, spokesman Pablo Rodriguez said in a statement sent to JTA on Thursday. Rodriguez said the S...
(Kveller via JTA)-As a kid, I didn't live a particularly Jewish life. We were sent to Hebrew school on Tuesdays and Thursdays and got dropped off at Sunday school. We fidgeted through services occasionally-usually because we were attending a bar mitzvah or it was High Holidays season. I went to Saturday morning services pretty regularly the year prior to my own bat mitzvah-only because it was a requirement. My parents were under no such requirements, so their weekends were filled with other...
