Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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The first line of the Hebrew quote is from Genesis 49:9 — “Judah is a lion’s whelp; On prey, my son, have you grown. He crouches, lies down like a lion, Like the king of beasts — who dare rouse him?” It is understood that Jacob refers to his son Judah as a lion. First as a cub, then a lion, and finally a lioness. The picture is of a lion who has taken down his prey and now crouches over it, defying anyone to take it from him. Judah will be mighty and victorious and dangerous to his enemies....
Throughout history, whenever the Jewish people faced danger, in addition to protecting themselves physically, they turned their eyes to their father in heaven and prayed for salvation. Nate’s Shul and Chabad of North Orlando has gotten together to help assist those who take upon themselves Mitzvos for the merit of victory and peace in the Holy Land. TEFILLIN: Jewish men or boys over Bar Mitzvah who commit to putting on Tefillin every weekday will be given their own pair of Tefilin if they don’t already have their own. MEZUZAH: Any Jewish hou...
The American Jewish community is under assault. A war has been declared against us. Jews and our friends must mobilize to fight back. Jewish leaders must declare a state of emergency now. Pro-Hamas rallies directly threaten the safety of America’s Jews. Thousands of Americans, including students in universities and high schools, are marching in the streets calling for the destruction of the Jewish state. The new face of Jew-hatred is “pro-Palestinianism” embraced by intersectionalist mobs, academia, and radical members of the Democratic Party...
(New York Jewish Week) - In front of a long U-shaped table in Times Square, set for 224 people, a crowd began to sing "Happy Birthday" for a 12-year-old boy named Erez. Thursday was Erez's birthday, but the gathering was no celebration. Erez, along with his sister, Sahar, and father, Ofer Calderon, are three of the more than 200 hostages taken by Hamas in the terror group's Oct. 7 invasion of Israel. Erez's grandmother and cousin were killed. The song was led by Omer Lubaton-Granot, an Israeli...
“Why I Love Israel” is a new course for teens and it includes a cash reward for attending. “Did Israel steal its land? Why does it seem that Israel has so many enemies? How important is Israel to me, anyway?” These are some of the questions that will be discussed in “Why I Love Israel” a six-lesson course from JLI Teens. The students will take a journey where they will virtually travel through the Holy Land, learn of the history, meaning and holiness of this ancient country. They will see how this faraway place is their home, and how their Jewi...
Chabad of South Orlando is offering a course on Kabbalah which began Oct. 31 and continues for six Tuesdays. The instructor is Rabbi Yosef Konikov and is from 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. Course Overview Join the new course from the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute for a comprehensive overview of the core mystical and spiritual teachings of kabbalah. Plus, see how these teachings offer powerful insights into everyday life, self-understanding, and personal growth. Gain literacy in Judaism’s mystical tradition. Get to know Kabbalah’s core ideas and termi...
Local residents, Neal and Genie Blaher’s son, Noah, is in northern Israel in a combat support position. The following is a request concerning needed equipment in Israel. Greetings friends, Noah has been called up to the reserves in the IDF, specifically on the Northern front facing Lebanon and Hezbollah. He remains in a combat support position. This means that although he will not be engaged directly in combat, he will be providing “support.” This can include approaching the front lines to replenish artillery and other needs of his fellow soldi...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Biden administration convened a meeting with Jewish leaders on Monday on what it says is an “alarming” rise in reports of antisemitism on college campuses in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. Doug Emhoff, the Jewish Second Gentleman who launched a task force on antisemitism last year along with the Biden administration’s plan to counter anti-Jewish bigotry, will convene the meeting, which will take place at the Department of Education. “The Biden-Harris Administration is taking multiple actions to address the alarming...
(JNS) — Israel must “immediately and significantly” increase the amount of humanitarian aid entering the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, U.S. President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call on Sunday. “The President reiterated that Israel has every right and responsibility to defend its citizens from terrorism and underscored the need to do so in a manner consistent with international humanitarian law that prioritizes the protection of civilians,” according to a White House readout of the call. Biden and...
Florida’s state university system, in consultation with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, directed colleges to “deactivate” chapters of the national group Students for Justice in Palestine for defending Hamas following the Palestinian terrorist group’s invasion of Israel and massacre of civilians earlier this month. Ray Rodrigues, chancellor of the State University System of Florida, issued the order on Tuesday in a written memo to school presidents within the system. About 1,400 people were killed in Hamas’ terror onslaught against Israel on...
The government of Qatar is pressuring the Hamas terrorist organization to release additional captives being held in the Gaza Strip, Reuters reported Wednesday. According to the report Qatar, a key patron of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, is demanding the terror organization speed up the release of captives, even without concessions from Israel, ahead of Israel’s planned ground operation into the coastal enclave. Following the Oct. 7 invasion, Qatar has brokered talks between the Biden administration and Hamas for the release of captives held in G...
(JNS) — Since these false claims that Israel created Hamas or that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supported Hamas are circulating across social media, let’s address them. Hamas is an arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization founded in Egypt in the 1920s, before the rebirth of the State of Israel, but which now has a presence in Israel and in much of the world. In its early days it coordinated with the Nazis and received support from Nazi Germany. The Gaza Strip used to be ruled by Egypt, which helps explain the strength of Ham...
(JNS) — A few days ago, I was finally able to speak to my friend Akiva. Like so many other reservists, he was called into active duty on Simchat Torah when the war broke out. “I need the things in my car,” he told me. Prior to our conversation, his battalion was transferred from Netanya to outside of Beersheva. Due to the rush, he was unable to collect his belongings before they left. “I’ll get it for you,” I replied, unsure how it would become a reality. In addition to the contents of his car, Akiva sent me a list of things his platoon nee...
(JNS) — Elie Wiesel famously wrote, “We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” For many years, when it came to Israel, too many were silent. Part of it was fear, part of it might have been economic, part of it might have been simple ignorance. What happened on Oct. 7 should lay all that to rest. The bloody pogrom unleashed by Hamas tortured and then killed members of families in front of each other, beheaded and burned babies, raped and kidnapped women, child...
(JNS) — Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Friday outlined the IDF’s three-step plan for the war in Gaza. The plan calls for the complete destruction of Hamas’s terror infrastructure and ultimately a transition of power to a Palestinian group—likely the Palestinian Authority—with the backing of the United States. This plan, propped up by the United States during visits by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and President Joe Biden, aligns with the regional goals of the United States and in many ways is essentially a much larger, costlier...
This article initially appeared in My Jewish Learning’s Shabbat newsletter Recharge. (JTA) — Abraham saw a world that was burning. A vivid midrash on last week’s Torah portion, Lech Lecha (Genesis 12:1 – 17:27) recounts the story of how the Jewish patriarch first encountered God. Abraham saw the world as a bira doleket, a flaming tower, and demanded indignantly, “Is there no one in charge?!” At this, God shows his face and admits, “I am the one in charge.” Thus begins Abraham’s relationship with the divine. Like Abraham before us, we too...
MORNING MINYANS 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 Israel — Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-647-3...
(JNS) — Hundreds of Hollywood celebrities have called on President Joe Biden to “not rest” until all the Israeli hostages held by the Hamas terrorist organization are free. The signatories include Madonna, Chris Rock, Gwyneth Paltrow, Gal Gadot, Jack Black, Isla Fisher, Jerry Seinfeld, Bradley Cooper, Tyler Perry, Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry, Courtney Cox, Jessica Biel, Orlando Bloom, Tiffany Haddish, Will Ferrell, Brooke Shields and Chelsea Handler. In an open letter, the stars praised Biden for his “unshakable moral conviction, leaders...
(JNS, KIBBUTZ BE'ERI) - Israel and a significant portion of the international community have been deeply affected by the events of Saturday, Oct. 7, when Hamas carried out a coordinated land, air and sea attack on multiple communities on the Israeli side of the Gaza border. This heinous act resulted in the loss of more than 1,400 lives, with thousands sustaining injuries and at least 222 persons, including women, children, the elderly and soldiers, being taken captive. Disturbing footage of the...
(JTA) — Police at Cornell University were called to the school’s kosher dining hall, and the campus Hillel warned students to stay away from it, after anonymous antisemitic posts on a Greek life website that included threats to “shoot up” the building and kill and rape Jewish students. The posts, whose text has circulated widely on social media, were published Saturday and Sunday under pseudonyms including “hamas,” “jew evil,” “jew jenocide,” “hamas warrior” and “kill jews.” The posts have titles such as “jewish people need to be killed,” “e...
LAS VEGAS (JTA) - Mike Pence chose a Jewish gathering to announce his exit from the presidential race, with a veiled warning that his onetime boss, Donald Trump, posed a threat to a robust American foreign policy that he said was vital to Israel's interests. Pence, the former vice president, elicited gasps and cries of "We love you!" when he addressed a presidential forum at the annual Republican Jewish Coalition conference in Las Vegas. "I came here to say it's become clear to me this is not...
Eating healthy food is one key to reducing the risk of developing eye diseases. Leafy Greens: Leafy greens are a good source of zeaxanthin and lutein, which are related to beta carotene and vitamin A, which may help protect eye tissues from sunlight damage and reduce the risk of aging. Dark leafy vegetables include kale, turnip greens, spinach, collard greens, or broccoli. Strawberries: Strawberries are good for your eyes and contain plenty of vitamin C. This antioxidant may help lower your risk of developing cataracts and slow the progression...
(JNS) - The United States is preparing for possible mass evacuations of its citizens from Israel and Lebanon should the war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza spark a regional conflagration. Four U.S. officials familiar with the government's contingency planning told The Washington Post that Americans living in the two neighboring countries were of particular concern. According to State Department estimates, around 600,000 U.S. citizens resided in Israel and another 86,000 were believed to be in...
(JNS) — A resolution “calling for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Israel and occupied Palestine” has drawn 18 House Democrats signatories, led by Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.). Bush’s fellow “Squad” members Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) were among the original co-signers of H.Res. 786. Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) and Greg Casar (D-Texas) were also signatories. Bowman and Lee signed on at the beginning, on Oct. 16, and Casar a...
(JTA) -After the deadly attack by Hamas, the Jewish world has joined to share in the grief of the mourners and lament the lives cut brutally short. Below are just a fraction of the men and women who were killed on and since Oct. 7 - some are soldiers, most are civilians, and all helped make up the rich tapestry of the Jewish state. Omer Balva, 22, graduate of a Jewish day school in Maryland Omer Balva was on vacation in Maryland, where he was born and lived until graduating from high school, on...
