Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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On Friday, Sept. 10, students at Jewish Academy of Orlando observed Tashlich. While the younger grades attended a service on campus, grades 3-5 observed Tashlich at Lake Lily. The program, attended by students and their families, included a service with inspirational readings from Jewish sources and concluded with the blowing of the shofar. Afterwards, the students symbolically cast their sins into the water to help usher in new beginnings for the New Year. The student event concluded with a...
Jewish Academy of Orlando (JAO) announces Theresa Evans as executive director. Evans completes the leadership team of Amy Polacek, principal and Emily Watson, director of Jewish Life. As executive director, Theresa will have primary responsibility for the business operations of the school. This will include, financial and operations management, marketing, special events, fundraising and development efforts, and maintaining public and community relations. She will work side-by-side with JAO...
Losing a loved one can be very challenging and during the pandemic it has been even worse. Families are often unable to bury their loved ones or get together with friends and family for Shiva. While Zoom funerals and memorial services are better than nothing, they are not the same as in-person gatherings. While the rules have relaxed a bit lately, no one knows for certain what the new normal will be. The Jewish Pavilion is announcing their upcoming free grief support group, which will be held...
Shana Tova! Join Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando (JFS Orlando) in celebrating the Jewish New Year by raising hope through tzedakah (charity). During the Hope Challenge, from September 1st through October 6th, $0.50 of each $1 donated to JFS Orlando will be generously matched by The Pearlman Family, with a total match up to $10,000. Your donation could...provide life-changing counseling to a child, help a family find stability, or drive a senior to a vital medical appointment. On...
The following synagogues provided information about their High Holiday services to the Heritage by press time. For information about services at other local synagogues, contact the individual congregations. For tickets or information, contact the individual synagogue. Chabad of Altamonte (Orthodox) Masks will be required at all services. Masks will be removed during Kiddush lunch. RSVPs are required. Rabbi Mendy Bronstein Chabad of Altamonte 195 S Westmonte Drive #1126 Altamonte Springs, Fl 32701 www.jewishaltamonte.com Wed. Sept. 15, Erev Yom...
Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation has a new student rabbi: Rabbi David Chapman, who will soon be entering his final year at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Rabbi Chapman’s journey to SOJC has a surprising starting point. Before he became a “professional Jew,” as he puts it, he had a successful career in theatre. “I worked as an assistant director on and off Broadway,” says Rabbi Chapman. “My first Broadway show was The Addams Family musical with Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. One of my favorite projects was producing PEW-ish, a night of...
Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando (JFS Orlando) and Central Florida Hillel are proud to announce a new partnership to better meet the needs of UCF students. Hillel is the center for Jewish life on the UCF campus, a home away from home for many students who see the community as their extended family. As such, in the last couple of years, Hillel has seen first-hand a significant increase in students seeking mental health counseling. Although students were referred out to the campus counseling center, Hillel saw a need for more...
Jewish Academy of Orlando has extended recess for all grades back to 45 minutes. In addition to extended recess time, lunch for all grades is 30 minutes, and a mid-morning break of 15 minutes is included in the daily schedule. In recent years, many schools have lessened the amount of time that students spend in free play. In fact, experts find that the decrease may be significantly impacting the social and emotional development of our children. Comparatively speaking, recess only became...
The Maitland Public Library was awarded a $900 grant from the Florida Humanities Council in support of a Florida Talks Speaker Series titled Calling Our Culture. This series will bring three high-quality humanities programs to Maitland in September, including Jews of Florida: Centuries of Stories, with a discussion led by Marcia Jo Zerivitz. These programs will explore our state’s rich heritage, promote civic engagement, and bring the latest academic research to our community. Funding for this program was provided by Florida Humanities and s...
The following synagogues provided information about their High Holiday services to the Heritage by press time. For information about services at other local synagogues, contact the individual congregations. For tickets or information, contact the individual synagogue. Chabad of Altamonte (Orthodox) Masks will be required at all services. Masks will be removed during Kid-dush lunch. RSVPs are required. Rabbi Mendy Bronstein Chabad of Altamonte 195 S Westmonte Drive #1126 Altamonte Springs, Fl 32701 www.jewishaltamonte.com Mon. Sept. 6, Erev...
For the sixth straight year, on average, students at Jewish Academy of Orlando are performing at least two grade levels ahead of their peers nationwide. The test scores, from April 2021, were taken using the nationally recognized Iowa Test of Basic Skills® (ITBS®) – commonly known as the "Iowa Assessments." The Iowa Assessment is a nationally standardized achievement test for K-12 students, allowing schools to compare their students' scores to national norms in Reading, Language Arts, Ma...
Temple Israel is excited to have Cantor Andrés Levy leading us in High Holiday services in September, as well as Shabbat services and special programs between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. On Sunday, September 12 at 1:30 p.m., Cantor Levy will perform a family concert in the Rein Sanctuary. As a world-class cantor originally from Argentina with extensive experience and skills in leading religious services, weddings, and Jewish events in Latin America and the U.S., Cantor Levy has served as Hazzan for High Holidays in congregations throughout...
JFS Orlando is pleased to announce it has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the Heart of Florida United Way. This grant will support JFS Orlando’s FAMILY of services, including their Counseling services, RIDE (Reliable Independent Drivers for the Elderly) Program, Pearlman Emergency Food Pantry, Family Stabilization Program, and Chaplaincy services. In 2020, JFS served an average of 10,000 individuals, provided more than 188,000 meals, and provided more than 4,800 counseling sessions. “This past year has been especially challenging for our cli...
Grief is a noun that means deep sorrow especially caused by someone’s death. Are you coping with the loss of a spouse, parent, child or loved one? Join a free grief support group run by Rabbi Maurice Kaprow who serves on the Board of Directors for the Jewish Pavilion. Be part of an encouraging, supportive network. When you are ready, the Jewish Pavilion can help you with a six-week on-going program to help you cope with grief. Rabbi Kaprow recommends that people wait six months after a death to participate, because the grief is too raw prior t...
Forty-five years ago on Aug. 27, 1976 the lead story in the first issue of the Heritage Central Florida Jewish News was about the land optioned for Kinneret II that the Central Florida Jewish Community Council had secured. The Council accepted a loan for $2,225,000 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Also covered on the front page was that Janet and Ezra Almog, two of the Entebbe hostages, would speak at Congregation Ohev Shalom about their experience being held hostage in the Uganda airport. The paper was 12 pages long,...
Photos in Special Issues Section September 2020 The country was still under COVID-19 mandates and Jewish organizations were getting creative in how to continue some programs. One such program was the Jewish Academy of Orlando’s performance of “Alice in Wonderland.” Originally planned for May, then rescheduled for October, became a video production. The video was filmed in the fall and released later in the year. A few members of the Jewish community ran for offices: Lynn Moira Dictor ran for Seminole County Tax Collector, Tracey Kagan ran f...
The following synagogues provided information about their High Holiday services to the Heritage by press time. For information about services at other local synagogues, contact the individual congregations. For tickets or information, contact the individual synagogue. Chabad of Altamonte (Orthodox) Masks will be required at all services. Masks will be removed during Kid-dush lunch. RSVPs are required. Rabbi Mendy Bronstein Chabad of Altamonte 195 S Westmonte Drive #1126 Altamonte Springs, Fl 32701 www.jewishaltamonte.com Mon. Sept. 6, Erev...
Submitted on behalf of the Holocaust Center's Board Officers The Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center of Florida announced on Aug. 12, 2021, that Executive Director Pam Kancher, who has led the organization since 2006, will be stepping down at year-end. Kancher is credited with building the Center's reputation for innovative programming, convening inspired partnerships and community collaborations, as well as nearly tripling the Holocaust Center's budget, and more than doubling the...
Nathan Velez, 16, received one of the 7,000 backpacks filled with school supplies that were recently provided for economically disadvantaged children by the Jewish Federation of Volusia & Flagler Counties. The Jewish Federation delivered the high-quality backpacks and school supplies in early August to schools across Volusia and Flagler counties. Students returned to school in Volusia County on Aug. 16. In Flagler, schools opened Tuesday, Aug. 10. "I want to thank all the donors who contributed...
Jewish Academy of Orlando welcomed many new "Bees" this school year. Here are a few photos before the start of school. Jewish Academy of Orlando serves central Florida students of all faiths from kindergarten through fifth grade. The school delivers a whole-child education fostering academic excellence and character education rooted in Jewish values. Jewish Academy of Orlando is accredited by the Florida Council of Independent Schools. To learn more about Jewish Academy of Orlando, please...
Rabbi Mendy Bronstein is excited to announce that this October, right after the holidays, Chabad of Altamonte Springs will be opening a new preschool called Jewish Beginnings Early Learning Center. "Judaism teaches that the formative years of early childhood are vitally important. A child is viewed as a seed that we nurture with the utmost care, since the seed's every experience will shape and color the quality of its matured self. We recognize that each child has his or her unique needs,...
Dr. David Bortnick will explore the role of Jews in the U.S. Civil War at a gathering of the St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society to be held at the St. Johns County Library Main Branch, 1960 N. Ponce De Leon Blvd. St. Augustine, Fla., 32084 on Tuesday, Oct. 12 at 2:30 p.m. This event is open to the public, all are welcome, there is no charge and no advance arrangements need be made. Bortnick, who holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Florida State University and holds a doctorate in Marriage and Family Living and a second doctorate in...
When Chabad of Greater Orlando, under the leadership of Rabbi Sholom and Devorahleah Dubov, saw the need for a Chabad House to service the Jewish student community, they asked Rabbi Chaim and Rivkie Lipskier to join them and establish Chabad at UCF. When the Lipskiers moved to Orlando in the fall of 2006, they knew there was an urgent need to service the Jewish students on campus, but couldn't imagine how rapidly they would be moving from one location to the next to accommodate that need. UCF is...
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....
