Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation will hold a Meet and Greet for its new part-time interim rabbi, David Shmidt Chapman, on Aug. 22, 2021. Rabbi Chapman has served as rabbinic intern at Sutton Place Synagogue in New York City as well as a chaplaincy Intern for Project ORE for the homeless. In the fall, he will be entering his final year at Jewish Theological Seminary, where he is a Wexner Graduate Fellow. He originally hails from Chicago and received a Bachelor of Arts with the highest...
Amid surging enrollment at Orlando Torah Academy, the school welcomed a new beautiful library. Jean Gould, together with her children Bruce Gould and Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Gould and joined by many friends and community leaders, celebrated the dedication of the brand new Gould Family Library at Orlando Torah Academy. The beautiful new library was dedicated in honor of Jean's late husband, Norman S. Gould, ob'm. For all those that know them, the Gould family and books have long been synonymous....
On the first Shabbat of August, Friday the 6th and Saturday the 7th, Congregation Ohev Shalom welcomes a new rabbi on its Bima. Rabbi Murray Ezring will serve as spiritual leader of COS, guiding the congregation and serving its needs as it continues its search for a long-term rabbi. "I am very excited to work with Rabbi Ezring!" said COS Board of Trustees president Rachel Gebaide. "I look forward to learning from him and hearing his perspectives. It will be a pleasure to welcome Rabbi Ezring...
Eve has always been determined and motivated to find a better situation for herself and her two sons. "You just can't give up," she said. She has always believed that good things are supposed to happen to her and that is why she believes it was not by chance that she found JFS Orlando. Although she was looking for rental assistance when she called JFS Orlando, Eve truly wanted to move her family out of their cramped living situation and into the comfortable home they deserved. "I reached out to...
During a special breakfast meeting, Rabbi David Kay of Congregation Ohev Shalom was surprised when he was told that the City of Maitland was honoring him with Rabbi David Kay Day, which was Saturday, July 31, 2021. Mayor John Lowndes read the proclamation that recognized his 17 years of service to COS and the greater community....
This Saturday, July 31, is Rabbi David Kay Day in Maitland, and especially at Congregation Ohev Shalom. The City of Maitland proclaimed Rabbi David Kay Day in honor of Rabbi Kay's 17 years of dedicated service to COS and the greater community. Maitland Mayor John Lowndes read the official proclamation this week at a breakfast held in Rabbi Kay's honor, on Wednesday, July 28. The proclamation will also be read to the congregation on Saturday, July 31, at Rabbi Kay's final Shabbat as Ohev Shalom's...
(The Algemeiner) - Alan Kornman is a documentarian who records what takes place at anti-Israel rallies in and around the city of Orlando, Florida. He keeps a low profile, and aside from asking a question every once in a while, he doesn't interfere with protesters and gives everyone their space. But that hasn't stopped one rally organizer, Rasha Mubarak, from interfering with Kornman's ability to report on what goes on at the rallies she promotes. In mid-May, she singled Kornman out at an "Open t...
This past year, in bringing gift bags to all Jewish seniors in facilities, occasionally there were a few bags left over. Director Nancy Ludin requested those bags go to Jewish seniors not in these facilities who might like one. One of these seniors was Helene Markovitz. Program Director Cantor Nina Fine would bring a bag to her each holiday, but each time was unable to reach her through the phone intercom system or at her apartment and would just leave the bag with the office or on her door....
According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, only half of American Jews (52 percent) can read Hebrew. To fill this gap in Jewish education, the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute has developed Read it in Hebrew, an innovative Hebrew reading course that is sweeping the Jewish world. Read it in Hebrew combines timeless learning methods with contemporary psychology for a course guaranteed to be effective in only five sessions. Read it in Hebrew was piloted in just five communities in 2016. Since then, it’s been taught at over 600 locations a...
Sunday night, July 11, the Jewish Pavilion had its first Summer Soiree fundraiser at Dillards department store. The night was full of wonderful conversation, food, and shopping, and a great way to help Pavilion seniors. As everyone slowly gets back to normal, that also means that program directors and volunteers at the Jewish Pavilion are getting back to normal. Along with being able to be back in the buildings visiting the seniors, the fundraisers are back in swing. The Summer Soiree at...
JFS Orlando's Pearlman Emergency Food Pantry is excited to share that food pick-ups from Aldi at Aloma Square Shopping Center and The Fresh Market on N Mills Ave have resumed as of late-June 2021. For the majority of last year, food donation pick-ups from all grocery partners were suspended due to safety concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Pearlman Emergency Food Pantry was able to stay stocked by purchasing food from Second Harvest Food Bank. Now, by resuming food pick-ups from grocery...
After being apart, many of us long for reconnection to community. This is exactly what Temple Israel is aiming to achieve this summer with activities for the very young to the young at heart. Senior Schmooze Seniors can get together for the Senior Schmooze program, created by Laurence Morrell, covering topics from old Jewish Jokes and growing up Jewish around the country to financial needs and downsizing. These hour-long, informal social events take place at Temple Israel in the Roth Social...
The Heritage Florida Jewish news took away two awards at the Florida Press Association’s annual weekly newspaper contest. “The temple of Zoom (Video Conferencing) is upon us” by Christine DeSouza won second place for Best Headline. In the Faith and Family Reporting category, writer Marilyn Shapiro took third place for her article titled “Purim — a time to be drunk on happiness....
Central Florida Hillel kicked off its 20th anniversary with a tree planting on Sunday, July 11. The year 2021 marks the 20th year that Central Florida Hillel has been recognized as a Jewish organization by the Greater Orlando Jewish Federation. Central Florida Hillel would not be where it is today without the support of the Orlando Jewish community. UCF Hillel has supported thousands of Jewish knights as well as students from Stetson University, Rollins College, Valencia Community College,...
Reports about the Arabs who live in Judea and Samaria is always covered in the mainstream media - their living conditions, their suffering, their plight, etc. There is not much coverage about Jews who live in Judea and Samaria and are successfully creating community and building businesses through many struggles while living in the midst of constant danger or fears of being evacuated because they live in certain areas. Some call these settled lands Israeli-annexed land, others claim it is...
Once again this fall, Jewish high school students in the North Orlando area will have a unique opportunity to earn college credits while exploring the tenets of Judaism. Over the last year, the stock market came to a crashing halt only to rebound to record highs. Oil prices fell below $0 a barrel and cryptocurrency exploded. Millions lost their source of income and the president of the United States sent checks in the mail. As we experience a time of profound economic flux, CTeenU's newest...
JFS Orlando CARES, the emergency rental assistance program of Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando, provided relief for those impacted financially by COVID-19 since October 2020. With the completion of the program on June 30, 2021, JFS Orlando distributed more than $884,043.39 in rental assistance to help 339 families remain housed, impacting a total of 860 individuals. Dedicated to providing relief to those severely impacted during the pandemic, JFS Orlando CARES was open to Orange County residents and provided up to three months of...
Hunter Gold was selected to be the next executive director of Central Florida Hillel and will be starting on July 28. Originally from Long Island, he moved to Florida for college, and has maintained a love of Florida ever since. He received his MBA from UCF after obtaining his BS in accounting at the University of Florida, where he was a member of AEPi and active in Hillel. Gold is excited about meeting UCF Hillel students and helping prepare them to become the next generation of leaders in the...
Who thought the topic of the Dead Sea Scrolls could be so entertaining? Natural story-teller Kenneth Hanson, Ph.D., as done just that. In addition to being an associate professor of Judaic Studies at the University of Central Florida, he is a brilliant actor who brings to life academic topics such as archeology finds in Israel and the Dead Sea Scrolls through his characters known as Jerusalem Jones and Menachem the Essene, also known as the 2,001-year-old man. He shares insights, mixed with a lo...
The Rosen JCC is known for their Early Childhood Learning Center program. For years their mission has been to guide children in their development of social, emotional, academic, creative, cultural and physical skills so that they embrace a love of learning. They now offer kindergarten classes. This accredited kindergarten offers a low student to teacher ratio to allow for small groups and to tailor instruction to individual needs. This helps to build a solid foundation for reading, writing and...
JFS Orlando is pleased to announce its first-ever Summer Recipe Raffle! Starting July 7 through Aug. 18, JFS will be raffling out a different prize every week with a final Grand Prize at the end of the summer. There are two ways to enter the raffle: submit your own recipe or donate $36 (each $36 donation counts as an entry, i.e. $360:10 entries). Whichever way you choose, you will automatically be entered for that week's prize, future weekly prizes, and the final Grand Prize. So, now is the...
Heritage columnist, Mel Pearlman, won an Honorable Mention Award for Journalistic Excellence in Covering Zionism, Aliyah and Israel from the American Jewish Press Association. Only 110 awards were presented to writers, editors, photographers and graphic designers from Jewish newspapers across the country at the 40th annual Simon Rockower Awards in Jewish Journalism program. Pearlman's winning article was "Two Nights in Aqaba, Parts 1, 2, 3," and ran in the Heritage Feb. 14, 28, and March 13,...
Mahjong for Beginners Interested in learning how to play Mahjong? Then this class is for you. This 6-week series introduces the fundamental principles of the game — perfect if you are a new player or want to brush up on your skills. The class will meet on Tuesday mornings, from July 7 - August 10, 10 a.m.-noon. Taught by Dale Perrault at The Roth Family JCC The cost is $36 for JCC members; nonmembers, $50. To register visit campj.org. Author Series On July 12, Daniel Silva will discuss his book “The Cellist,” from 8 p.m.- 9 p.m. at The Roth...
Many of the seniors visited by staff and volunteers at the Jewish Pavilion transition from one community to another. The Jewish Pavilion follows them wherever they land. Three dear friends met at Brookdale Lake Orienta in Altamonte Springs and today the friendship continues at Cascade Heights in Longwood. The trio are not only buddies at Shabbat services but they also dine together and visit one another in their apartments. The group is very impressive. Elizabeth Taylor (real name) (center in...
On June 14, at 7 p.m., an in-person and zoom meeting was hosted by Keith Dvorchik, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Orlando, and Aaron Weill, CEO of Central Florida Hillel, for a community discussion on "Israel and Antisemitism." In front of a live audience of 10 people and over the Internet, via Zoom and a Facebook link, with 84 viewers, they held a discussion driven by the concern in the tremendous growth of antisemitism over the past two years. "Anti-Semitism world-wide has been increasing...
