Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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LOS ANGELES (JTA)-What can a buck get you on Chanukah? Maybe a gold mesh bag of chocolate coins or a lighter for your menorah. But Jewish continuity? At Chanukah time, when we get so wrapped up in gift giving, I propose that it's a single dollar of gelt (Yiddish for money) that has the power to keep on giving beyond eight nights. Chanukah gelt referred originally in Europe and later America to coins given as gifts to children and adults. Today, gelt brings to mind the chocolate coins wrapped in... Full story
BOSTON (JTA)-Back in 1984, when Eric Kimmel was an up-and-coming children's book author, he tried his hand at a Chanukah story, one featuring goblins. Overly cautious Jewish editors rejected the manuscript, not knowing what to make of it, Kimmel recalled. "It was strange. It didn't look like any other Chanukah books and didn't fit into any neat category. It wasn't a folk tale and it was kind of creepy," he told JTA with his signature sense of humor and tell-it-like-it-is manner. Kimmel tucked... Full story
SAN FRANCISCO (MyJewishLearning.com)—Chanukah is observed with joy and celebration in Jewish communities around the world. There are eight nights of lights and blessings the world over, but there are also many ways that different communities make the holiday uniquely their own. Here are eight customs and ideas to help you make your celebration just a little more global. • In Alsace, a region of France, double-decker Chanukah menorahs were common with space for 16 lights. The two levels, each with spots for eight lights, allowed fathers and son... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-One of my favorite ways to celebrate Chanukah is over brunch. Yes, it's nontraditional-and you can't enjoy the experience of lighting the menorah together or singing. But it's a great way to change up the routine, especially if you have young kids and want to work around nap and bedtime schedules. Serve Dill Potato Latkes with Caper and Lemon Creme Fraiche and a seasonal winter Blood Orange and Goat Cheese Salad, and add tradition with sufganiyot. Sufganiyot are much more popular... Full story
MINNEAPOLIS (Kveller.com)—The Chanukah I see in children’s books demonstrates families playing dreidel and eating latkes while the menorah shines brilliantly in the window. Then there’s the inevitable illustration of the kids’ utter elation when the parents unveil a bag of gelt night after night. The scene sounds delightful, but I can’t imagine it’s realistic in all Jewish homes. Let’s be honest: Starting in October, lots of Jewish kids obsess over the “holiday” (aka Christmas) catalogs that arrive daily in mailboxes across the country. Right o... Full story
It may have been 47 years ago but Yossef Carasso remembers every detail of the night that he was taken to an Egyptian police station from his home in the city of Tanta, near Cairo. It was the first night of the 1967 war. "We were the only Jewish family still left in Tanta and at 10 p.m. there was a knock on the door," Carasso told The Media Line. "The policeman told my father, 'We're looking for your son and son-in-law. They took us to a police station and left us there all night.'" Carasso,... Full story
CHERRY HILL, N.J. (JTA) – As Chanukah nears, let the grousing begin. Too much is made of a holiday that Judaism ranks as a minor festival—one whose rite takes no more than five minutes to complete each night—some American Jews will say. Some will complain about the season’s excessive commercialism or materialism. Yet most Jews will also participate in at least one of the many customs developed by American Jews to augment the holiday’s simple rite and express the enhanced place of Chanukah, which this year falls on Dec. 16, on the American... Full story
MINNEAPOLIS (Kveller.com)—We Jews have two choices in our approach to the Christmas season: resent it or embrace it. I for one vote for a big, sloppy embrace. In the name of love thy neighbor and tolerance, I say we hug it out with Christmas already and teach our kids to do the same. Why? We expect our non-Jewish co-workers, friends and neighbors to show heaps of interest and concern in all things Jewish. During the High Holidays we ask our kids’ teachers not to assign big tests after those long days at shul. We offer unsolicited exp... Full story
Settlements or Jewish communities? West Bank or Judea and Samaria? East Jerusalem or eastern Jerusalem? Those are some of the language choices that journalists covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are faced with each day-and those choices should not be taken lightly, experts say. "It's the terminology that actually defines the conflict and defines what you think about the conflict," says Ari Briggs, director of Regavim, an Israeli NGO that works on legal land use issues. "Whereas... Full story
(JNS.org) The national unity government signed by Hamas and Fatah last spring has ended, according to a Hamas spokesman. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that the six-month unity government has expired and that negotiations between the two Palestinian factions should resume, Ma’an News reported. However, Faisal Abu Shala, a senior Fatah official, disputed Hamas’ claim that the interim government would expire after six months, saying, “If the Hamas movement has retracted the reconciliation agreement and the termination of rivalry that is a... Full story
Syria says Israeli planes hit military sites near Damascus JERUSALEM (JTA)—The Syrian military claimed that Israeli planes attacked military sites near Damascus. The attacks, also reported on Syrian television, took place on Sunday night, the military said, according to a report by the Syrian state news agency, SANA. Israeli planes are reported to have hit several military facilities near Damascus International Airport and in Dimas, located north of Damascus near the border with Lebanon. Syrian state television reports said that there were no c... Full story
