Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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The First and Second Books of Maccabees contain the most detailed accounts of the battles of Judah Maccabee and his brothers for the liberation of Judea from foreign domination. These books include within them the earliest references to the story of Chanukah and the rededication of the Temple, in addition to the famous story of the mother and her seven sons. And yet, these two books are missing from the Hebrew Bible. In order to begin addressing the question of this omission, it is important to...
After iconic roles in television shows like Blossom and The Big Bang Theory, actress Mayim Bialik is now the host of Jeopardy. Here are six incredible things you never knew about her. What do you think has been your greatest kiddush Hashem – a moment you really excelled in representing the Jewish people? That's a funny question. I don't usually identify them myself. I think that typically it should be something other people say or see. I think it's hard to answer for myself without sounding l...
Cognitive performance is not fixed. There are small changes people can make in their daily lives that should sustain higher cognitive functioning in old age. Keep the mind active through work, volunteering, hobbies or playing games. Learning new skills can be a real brain boost. Learning new skills or dance steps can be very beneficial. Using the opposite hand to do a task like brushing your teeth can also be helpful. Engagin in social activities, with family, friends, peers etc., and staying physically active with exercise, or household...
(J. The Jewish News of Northern California via JTA) — The year was 1968. Young people from around the country were descending on San Francisco looking for ways to express themselves, making efforts — sometimes heroic, sometimes tragic — to free themselves from the bonds of American society. At the same time, a group of Jews came together in the city to create something new. “After painfully realizing that the Jewish leaders and especially, in San Francisco, are only interested in lecture...
(JTA) – At one point in John Boyne's new novel "All The Broken Places," a 91-year-old German woman recalls, for the first time, her encounter with a young Jewish boy in the Auschwitz death camp 80 years prior. "I found him in the warehouse one day. Where they kept all the striped pajamas," she said. The woman, Gretel, quickly realized her mistake: that "this was a phrase peculiar to my brother and me." She clarifies that she is referring to "the uniforms. ... You know the ones I mean." Boyne's r...
Latkes are far more popular during Hanukkah than donuts here in the U.S. While you can find latkes in the freezer section of almost every major supermarket, good quality sufganiyot are much harder to come by, and lots of people I know have a fear of using yeast to make doughs like donut dough. But there is an easier way to make sufganiyot, and it comes in a can: biscuit dough. What can these doughy babies not do?! Using canned biscuits, you can either make full-sized sufganiyot, or smaller,...
This story was originally published on The Nosher. There's no question that the most delicious, comforting recipes are the simplest, especially if they come with a bushel of history and soul. My Jewish husband Miki's grandmother (Grandma Esta) made the best brisket I've ever tasted. I know that these might be fighting words, but hear me out. It was complex, sweet and tender - everything that Grandma Esta embodied. I was honored that she passed down her recipe to me, but also surprised that the...
These beet pancakes are also great for using up a variety of other root vegetables. Using a food processor will make quick work of the shredding aspect of the preparation. With a nice browned crust, the latkes are delicious served with applesauce or sour cream and chives, and offer a good alternative to hash browns at breakfast or brunch. Ingredients 1/4 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts (about 2 large) 1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme 1 tsp kosher salt, or more to taste 2 cups peeled and...
This story was originally published on the Nosher. I know that sufganiyot — jelly donuts — are traditional and beloved for Chanukah. But I feel confident that once you try these easy and incredibly delicious ricotta fritters, you will be converted to these sweet fried treats. And if I’m making a confession, I have actually never loved traditional sufganiyot. Sometimes our family made our own, or bought from local bakeries, but were usually left feeling kind of “meh.” They were always a bit too bread-y and heavy. Around 10 years ago my sister...
Local author Lenore Richman Roland has just finished writing a book of poems for children, titled "Under Granna's Poetry Tree, Birthday Poems for her Grands." Her inspiration for this book has been her children and grandchildren. Since 2003, when her oldest grandchild was born, she has been writing original poems to celebrate each grandchild's birthday from the first to the present. In January 2022, she wrote a poem for her granddaughter, Francesca, to celebrate her 10th birthday. As she always...
What a dichotomy. Life in Israel vs. life in the U.S. Being a Jew has its challenges and rewards in both places...but being an American Jew vs. being an Israeli Jew is vastly different. I was just in the U.S. for about 10 days including Parsha Chaya Sara and I stayed in a modern orthodox community. What was the talk around the Shabbat Table? To us, it's Parshat Chaya Sara which covers Sarah's death and Abraham's purchase of the famous Ma'arah h'Machpelah where she is buried. The parshah also...
Many of the most well-known Chanukah traditions are universal. Whether you're in Argentina or Zimbabwe, Jews will mark the eight-day festival by lighting a menorah, eating fried foods and recounting the victorious story of the Maccabees and the restoration of the Temple in Jerusalem. But Jews around the world have also developed Chanukah customs that are unique to their local community. For example, while jelly-filled donuts (sufganiyot) are a mainstay among Ashkenazi Jews, Chanukah in southern...
This story was originally published on HeyAlma. Most of the women in the Bible fall into a few distinct categories. There are the wise wives and mothers like Sarah, Rebecca and Yocheved, required to make hard decisions to protect their children. Then there are the tragic romantic damsels, the ready-for-soap-opera players: Rachel, Leah and Bathsheba. Silent sufferers who survive humiliation, poverty and assault with grace - like Tamar, Ruth and Esther - are credited with saving Jewish continuity...
For children, the days leading up to Chanukah are always filled with anticipation. Here is a small children’s bedtime book that teaches little ones about Chanukah during the 10 days before the holiday. “Dreaming of Hanukkah,” by Amy Shoenthal and illustrated by Kate Durkin, tells the story of Chanukah as children count down from 10 to 1 and discover the traditions and customs of the holiday — from Maccabee soldiers to crispy latkes to blessings over the hanukkiah. Amy Shoenthal is a Jewish...
This Scene Around is dedicated to "Yours Truly" Gloria Yousha, who passed away Nov. 18, 2022. Gloria Yousha started working at the Heritage in April 1980. That was 15 years before I became her editor. Her first column on April 4, 1980, began: "How do you spell kvelling? (quevelling? kuvelling?) Whichever way it's spelled, it most certainly applies to proud parents SHARON and GEORGE BERGER, whose son EMERY, age 12,spelled his way correctly all the way to Seminole County Finals of the National Spe...
(JTA) - A crochet museum in Joshua Tree, California, features countless crochet animals that appear in airport ads worldwide. The National Mustard Museum in Wisconsin was founded by a Jewish condiment aficionado. In February 2019, another niche museum opened around 90 miles east of the mustard mecca: the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, located in Milwaukee. Co-founded by Phil Sklar, a Jewish Illinois native, and his friend Brad Novak, the institution is the world's only museum...
The Dictators are back. We're not talking about the nefarious, autocratic ones that rule too many of the world's countries - though they're back, too. But here, in the land of pop culture, we're talking about the New York rock band that childhood friends Andy Shernoff and Ross Friedman started in 1972. In the mid- '70s, when punk hit, the young Dictators became one of the key bands to play the CBGB scene on the Bowery. They didn't exist through most of the 1980s and '90s, and a 2020 return to...
According to the American Geriatrics Society, more than 80 percent of older adults are living with multiple health conditions. With each new health problem, things may become exponentially more complicated! A senior may see multiple doctors. There are many appointments to coordinate, and a confusing array of recommendations to follow. Medication management is quite a challenge. Many seniors take 10 or more medications. This is super complicated, because a drug prescribed for one health problem could worsen another. Friends and loved ones are...
One of the ongoing events at Oakmonte Village, hosted by the Jewish Pavilion, is a Lunch and Learn presentation. There have been a wide variety of topics covered in the past which have included history, holidays, current events and the arts. The sessions are led by Susan Bernstein, Jewish Pavilion senior program rirector. This month, Talli Dippold, CEO of the Orlando Holocaust Museum, was invited to present a talk about her road that led to her present position and a most interesting story...
Share your gratitude with others. We often assume people already know we're grateful, but are you sure? Sometimes it might be helpful for them to hear you say it out loud. Using words that express how thankful you are can make a bigger impact than you think. You could also show your gratitude in a more tangible manner by writing a note or text, or even a simple smile or hug. Research has found that expressing gratitude can strengthen relationships. So the next time someone does something you...
(JTA) - Qatar may have caused an uproar by banning alcohol at the World Cup soccer tournament in Doha this month, but for religious Jewish fans, some kosher offerings will be available, thanks to two rabbis. Rabbi Marc Schneier, from New York, and Rabbi Mendy Chitrik, the Hasidic Chabad-Lubavitch movement's emissary to Istanbul, worked with Qatari officials to create a kosher catering program to provide for observant Jews who may attend the games. And despite a report that has echoed around the...
(JTA) - When the New York Times journalist Jodi Kantor was reporting the 2017 Harvey Weinstein sexual assault story that earned her a Pulitzer prize, the powerful Hollywood producer and his team tried to influence her by using something they had in common: They are both Jewish. "Weinstein put [Jewishness] on the table and seemed to expect that I was going to have some sort of tribal loyalty to him," Kantor told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on a video call from the New York Times newsroom. "And...
(JNS) - Robert Clary, a Holocaust survivor best known as the French actor who starred in the CBS-TV series "Hogan's Heroes," died at his home in Los Angeles on Nov. 15 at age 96. Family members did not provide a cause of death. Cleary, who played Corporal LeBeau on the World War II-era sitcom from 1965 to 1971, was the last surviving member of the show's original principal cast. Born Robert Max Widerman in Paris on March 1, 1926, Clary was the youngest of 14 kids born to Orthodox Jewish parents....
(JNS) — The Start-Up Nation is returning to its agricultural roots. The country once famed for Jaffa oranges and Jordan Valley dates, and later cherry tomatoes, is coming full circle, with century-old agricultural know-how meeting 21st-century high-tech. That, at least, is the impression one gets at the pristine offices of the Kinneret Innovation Center, which is emerging as a leading Israeli tech hub for agriculture, water and sustainability. Situated in an area known more for Christian tourism and date trees, this off-grid location is the l...
(JTA) - It's a World Cup like no other in recent memory - starting in late November. That's because it'll take place in Qatar, where temperatures won't usually fall under 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The headlines going in are focused on the country's widely-criticized human rights record. The preparations for the first World Cup hosted in the Arab world have taken years to complete, have cost more than $200 billion and, according to human rights organizations, have led to the deaths of thousands of...
