Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 126 - 150 of 4270
Adult day-care services can be invaluable for caregivers and their loved ones at any stage, and enrolling seniors in day programs early in their elder journey can benefit everyone involved. Fortunately, finding the right program for you or the seniors in your life is easier than ever as more and more adult day-care providers emerge. Initially, caregivers may face pressure from well-meaning acquaintances to consider day care. It's essential to consider these suggestions but assert boundaries....
A long-time fan of “Jeopardy!,” I have become more interested in recent months watching the popular quiz show’s championship series that pits the best against the best. Watching it with Larry, we enjoy playing along, supplying our own questions to the clues given in numerous categories. As was true for the two of us in our Trivial Pursuit days, I do well in the arts and entertainment areas, especially literature. Larry does well in history, geography, and sports. We don’t do as well in the sciences. I know that I will never be a “Jeopar...
(JTA) - Despite steep backlash including protests from other competitors, Israel's Eden Golan placed fifth in the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night after delivering a rousing final performance of her song "Hurricane." The competition's winner is determined by a complex system in which juries for each participating country allocate half of all votes, while the public contributes the other half. Golan's success - which exceeded expectations set in betting markets before the competition -...
As caregivers, it’s crucial to acknowledge and celebrate even the smallest victories along the journey of caregiving. Each triumph, no matter how minor, represents a step forward in providing compassionate care and support to our loved ones. Reflecting on the caregiving experience, caregivers learn the invaluable lesson of patience and the importance of prioritizing self-care amidst the demands of caregiving. Transitioning to elder-care communities can be a daunting process for most seniors, but Jewish seniors often face unique challenges. B...
(JNS) — Yom Haatzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, is always the best time of year to consider our connection to Israel and the deep connection between Judaism and Zionism. As Olim, we ask ourselves and explain to our children why we moved here. The young generations who have never lived through a war are now confronted with the fact that we cannot take Israel for granted. After 76 years, we are still defending the legitimacy of our presence in our own homeland. Since Oct. 7, anti-Israel protestors and much of the global community have rej...
(JTA) — Last fall, Mo Husseini wrote a series of propositions — what he called “50 Completely True Things” — about the Israel-Hamas war and posted it on the social media site Threads. Identifying himself as “a Palestinian American who is tired of stupid people,” Husseini set out to puncture myths on both sides of the conflict, suggesting that neither Palestinians nor Israelis had a monopoly on truth, justice or the moral high ground. “This isn’t an essay in Foreign Affairs, you know? This is an idiot shit posting on the internet in tryin...
A native of Maitland, Florida, Jackie Ossin Hirsch founded Crowne Atlantic Business Brokers in 2004 after selling companies locally since 1998. Her brother Lee has been her business partner for 20 years. "We typically sell companies with EBIT of $1,000,000+ in Florida, Alabama, and the Carolinas," Hirsch explained. In the past weeks, Crowne Atlantic Business Brokers received two prestigious awards. Crowne Atlantic was honored by the Business Brokers of Florida as one of the Top 50 Business...
By Dor Malul (Israel Hayom via JNS) — Amid a wave of protests by pro-Palestinian students across the United States, Jewish students have decided to launch a counterattack against displays of antisemitism. Liat (not her real name), a doctoral student at Harvard University, together with other students, entered the anti-Israel lion’s den on campus—the protest encampment from which calls against Israel emanated, and where students expressed solidarity with Hamas’ terrorist acts. “Feeling that the administration was abandoning the Jewish and Israe...
(New York Jewish Week) — At a time of rising antisemitism, two shows about Jews caught up in a dangerous climate of hate received multiple nominations yesterday for the 2024 Tony Awards. A brand-new revival of the Kander and Ebb musical “Cabaret,” about the hedonistic antics at a late Weimar-era Berlin nightclub, received a total of nine nominations, while “Prayer for the French Republic,” a three-hour drama about antisemitism in France in 2016, received three. Both productions trail this year’s most-nominated: David Adjmi’s “Stereophonic,” abo...
(JNS) - The United Nations established Jan. 27 as Holocaust Remembrance Day to mark the day in 1945 when Auschwitz was liberated. The German Nazis built Auschwitz and thousands of other concentration and death camps to imprison and kill more than 6 million Jews. Humanity pledged "Never Again." Never again would people be killed for their race or religion. Never again would humanity let this happen. Instead of a relaxing winter break this year, 13 students from Drexel University in Philadelphia...
Ludwig"Lou" Ziemba is a retired successful businessman, a descendent of "Jewish royalty'" and a Holocaust survivor. Lou's story begins in Poland. Rabbi Menachem Ziemba, was the chief rabbi of Warsaw, a renowned holy figure in the Ger sect of the Chassidic movement, and a key player in the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising through his pleas that urged inhabitants to fight against their captors. One of Rabbi Ziemba's nephews was Henoch, son of his brother Moshe. Henoch was a bit of a non-conformist...
(New York Jewish Week) - My son is in town from California for Passover, and on Tuesday night he treated the rest of the family to a Mets game. Before the first pitch, the Mets had a moment of silence for the pitcher Carl Erskine, who died that day at age 97. Erskine was a star of the storied Brooklyn Dodgers teams of the late 1940s and '50s, when they won the National League pennant five times and the 1955 World Series. Erskine was also the last surviving Dodger to have been profiled in Roger...
Caregivers entrusted with lives beyond their own should ideally join the 40 percent of Americans who have crafted a will or other estate-planning document. Yet, even the most meticulously prepared estate plan requires periodic review to ensure alignment with life’s twists and turns. Here are five critical life events necessitating a review of your estate plan: 1) Birth or adoption: Welcoming a new child requires updating your will to designate guardianship. Consider establishing trusts for children or grandchildren to manage assets effectively....
(JTA) — A Holocaust romance, sparked when a prisoner at Auschwitz-Birkenau is forced to tattoo a number on another prisoner’s arm and they fall in love at first sight, sounds almost implausibly uplifting for a story set in a concentration camp. But “The Tattooist of Auschwitz,” a new television series, is based on two Slovakian Jewish prisoners — Lali Sokolov and Gita Furman — who really did meet at Auschwitz, survive, marry and move to Australia together after the war. The six-part drama, which premiered May 2 on Peacock and Sky, draws from...
(JNS) — U.S. President Joe Biden released the following Passover message on Sunday evening ahead of the holiday: Tomorrow night, Jews around the world will celebrate Passover, recounting their miraculous Exodus story from hundreds of years of enslavement in Egypt and their journey to freedom. This holiday reminds us of a profound and powerful truth: that even in the face of persecution, if we hold on to faith, we shall endure and overcome. As Jews mark Passover with storytelling, songs and rituals, they will also read from the Haggadah how, i...
Providing discreet care tailored to the needs of older adults can significantly enhance their ability to participate actively in life and foster growth and engagement in activities that bring them joy and purpose. Here are some of the benefits associated with high-quality senior care options: 1) Promotion of Social Engagement: Assisted-living facilities play a vital role in facilitating social connections and engagement among seniors, which is crucial for their overall well-being. Studies have shown that isolation can adversely affect health...
(New York Jewish Week) — When downtown steakhouse Delmonico’s opened in 1827, it was the first fine dining restaurant in New York City. Famous for its eponymous ribeye steak and Lobster Newburg, Delmonico’s boasted high-profile customers like Abraham Lincoln and Mark Twain. Among them, however, were few Jews. Though New York was home to some 40,000 Jews by the eve of the Civil War, most of them were Spanish, Portuguese or German-speaking immigrants — or their descendants — who strictly adhered to Jewish law. These Jewish New Yorkers kept kosh...
The story of Passover, more than any other Jewish holiday, is all about miracles. A burning bush. A staff that turns into a serpent. Ten plaques, each one worse than the previous one. The parting of the Red Sea. Manna coming down from heaven. Moses receiving the Torah. I have experienced what I consider miracles in my own life. Meeting Larry at a Purim party over 50 years ago. Holding our son and, three years later, our daughter, in our arms. Seeing flashes of ourselves and our children in our three beautiful grandchildren. Just this past...
(JTA) — Those who might have described “Curb Your Enthusiasm” as a kind of “Seinfeld” on steroids got a fitting conclusion on Sunday, as the last episode of Larry David’s landmark 12-season sitcom was essentially a reprise of the much-maligned “Seinfeld” finale 26 years ago. Except one thing. (Spoilers follow.) In the finale, which aired on HBO and Max, Larry stands trial on the charge he was arrested for in the season premiere — handing a bottle of water to a friend waiting to vote, in violation of Georgia law. In the fashion of the “S...
(JNS) - First, the vegetable main course. Then comes the chocolate. The main course is a tasty, room-temperature side dish that you should make in advance so that when you are ready to grill, most of your meal is already prepared. I broil the eggplant slices in the oven, but you also can cook them on the grill before you cook the steak. Roasted Eggplant with Bell-Pepper Vinaigrette (Pareve) Reprinted with permission from "The New Passover Menu" (Sterling 2013). Serves 6-8 Prem time: 10 minutes...
(JNS) - A brand-new Passover Haggadah titled, "Empowering Seder Conversations," published just in time for the holiday, is designed to promote inclusion at the Seder table, making the special evening more accessible for those suffering from aphasia and other neurological challenges. Aphasia is a condition that robs a person of the ability to communicate. It can affect one's ability to speak, write, work with numbers and understand language, both verbal and written. The Haggadah was written by...
There are numerous assistance programs available to veterans who need advanced in-home care. These include: • Aid and Attendance Benefits (A&A) — Available to veterans who receive a VA pension and meet certain other requirements, this program can help to supplement the cost of a family caregiver. • Veteran-Directed Home & Community-Based Services — This supplement to the standard Veterans Health Administration medical benefits program is available in most states (but not all) and provides a flexible monthly budget, which can be used to pay a f...
(JTA) — How might we celebrate Passover differently this year? With so many Israelis brutally murdered on Oct. 7, so many soldiers killed or wounded in battle, so many people — Palestinians and aid workers — dead or suffering in Gaza, we cannot simply celebrate as we did last year. As a community, we need to encourage ritual innovations or special readings to address all these tragic realities. I want to focus on one aspect of a post-Oct. 7 seder: a ritual change meant to call our attention to the more than 130 hostages — men, women and chi...
Local resident Myrna Ossin is the author of 10 books. She has lived in Central Florida for 56 years and has been active in many diverse activities in the area. When one of her friends who planned short day trips for women’s groups mentioned she was running out of ideas, Ossin said she would do some research. She found so many interesting places, she decided to create a book titled “Orlando and Central Florida on and off the Beaten Path.” She also has created a PowerPoint presentation with many...
While hearing aids make sounds louder, cochlear implants make them louder and clearer. They work better in noisy environments than hearing aids. Cochlear hearing implant technology is very reliable and has been around for 40 years. It is not major surgery and can be done on an outpatient basis in a couple of hours. Cochlear implants are often covered by Medicare. There is no age requirement or cut off. While most seniors face major adjustments when transitioning to an elder-care community, Jewish seniors face additional challenges. Not only do...
