Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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At the end of April, Chabad centers throughout metro Orlando will offer "This Can Happen," a new six-session course, running from April 27-June 1, by the acclaimed Rohr Jewish Learning Institute that will address a pressing question on many minds: Is the current situation going to get any better? "Many people nurse this idea that matters are getting progressively worse, and, fostered by much hysterical media and general dialogue, an environment of fear and despair is all too rampant," Rabbi...
The next Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Orlando Zoom meeting will be held May 4 at 7 p.m. The guest speaker will be Adam Brown, founder and director of the Avotaynu DNA Project, an academic multi-disciplinary study of the origins and migrations of the Jewish people with over 8,000 participants. DNA testing is now a well-established tool in the genealogist’s toolbox, and success stories appear almost daily announcing the reunion of long lost relatives and the solution to cold cases. Among Ashkenazi Jews, it also leads to challenges to u...
Losing a loved one can be very challenging and during the pandemic it was even worse. Families were 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. The Jewish Pavilion is excited to announce that a free grief support group will be held outside at Cascade Heights in Longwood beginning the first week in May at 10:30 a.m. The dates are: May 5, May 12,...
Now is the time to register for Camp J this summer at the Rosen JCC, It runs June 7 to Aug. 6. Camp J offers a variety of summer camp options including Early Childhood, Basketball, Dance, Sports, Art and Rock N’ Roll sessions. To learn more about the best options for your kids check out https://camp.rosenjcc.org/ or camp@rosenjcc.org. The Rosen JCC is a non-profit operating in the Dr. Phillips area in southwest Orlando....
Shortly after the liberating feeling of celebration during the Passover holiday, the Jewish community is reminded, once again, that liberation can carry with it many scars that never go away. The Jewish community takes time out four days after the joyful Passover week to stand in silence, prayer and reflection to remember all those who lost their lives during the Holocaust in Europe. Several displays have been set up in senior living facilities by the Jewish Pavilion to help keep this solemn...
By Pamela Ruben Put away your tired old sweats, on Thursday, April 29, the Jewish Pavilion will be holding its annual fashion show. Live and in-person at Dillard’s Department Store (Altamonte Mall), the annual fashion show will raise funds for the Pavilion’s senior programs. For a dozen years, the annual ‘Spring into Fashion” show was a celebration of fashion, food and fun. According to Jewish Pavilion executive director, Nancy Ludin, “This year the fashion show means so much more. After a year of the pandemic shutting down the world for our s...
(JTA) — Matt Gaetz, the Florida congressman known for his firebomb rhetoric, is in big trouble — in part because of the alleged foibles of a Jewish buddy, Joel Greenberg, who has earned criticism previously from his local Jewish community. The U.S. Justice Department reportedly is investigating Gaetz’s alleged sexual relationship with a girl who was 17 years old when the affair took place about two years ago. The investigation, anonymous officials told The New York Times, stemmed from a feder...
Businesses, caterers and volunteer groups were among the many who geared up for a busy Pesach in Orlando, with as many as 100,000 people who made their way to Central Florida for Passover. With few formal hotel programs operating and an ideal Chol Hamoed for day tripping, this year’s Pesach created the perfect storm, with Orlando at its epicenter. “Every caterer without a job has shown up on the market to offer full catering,” Miami resident Dovid Goldwasser, who has been actively involved in large scale planning for Pesach in Orlando, told Yes...
“Congregation Beth Am has been in existence since 1975 and we are still here!” said Co-President Joanie Mayer. The synagogue has gone through some major changes this year. The most significant one is that they sold their building in Longwood and are in the process of finding a new home. They are also searching for a new rabbi who will bring a fresh vibrancy to the synagogue. If all goes well, they expect to have both by the summer of 2021. Weekly services have been ongoing during the pandemic. Using Zoom, Friday night and Saturday morning servi...
Jewish Academy of Orlando fifth grade students partnered with Muslim peers from Leadership Preparatory School and Christian peers from Geneva School in "Trees for Peace," a multi-faith tree planting service held at Mead Gardens. The tree planting is part of the schools' Multi-faith Education Program that has been in place for almost 20 years. The students typically meet at each school to learn about each other's cultures and religions. Because of COVID-19 safety precautions, the students met...
Temple Israel is proud to host a Zoom talk from scholar and educator Zvi Hirschfield, titled "Where Was G-d During the Holocaust?" on Sunday, April 11 at 10 a.m. Hirschfield teaches Talmud, Halakha, and Jewish thought at Pardes and is a faculty member of the Pardes Center for Jewish Educators. He has been training and mentoring Jewish educators for more than 10 years in Tefilah in educational settings, critical issues in modern Jewish thought, and Israel education. Hirschfield also serves as a...
On Thursday, March 18, Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando hosted its 2021 State of the Agency meeting. The first time going virtual, the meeting was led by JFS Orlando's executive director, Philip Flynn. Flynn reviewed the work and accomplishments of the agency last year, including how its programs and services remained open, it began a new rental assistance program, and it helped more people in 2020 than in the last five years. With a look into the ongoing year, he listed some of JFS...
The mission of the Jewish Pavilion is "enriching the lives of residents in elder-care communities." This has been especially challenging during the pandemic when we cannot visit regularly and provide the hugs, companionship and holiday festivities needed. In an effort to connect, the Jewish Pavilion staff, leadership and volunteers have instituted new programs to enhance their lives such as phone calls, cards and gift bags. "The gift bags have brought so much joy to our elders said Nancy Ludin,...
Now that most seniors have received their two doses of the Covid vaccine, a majority of facilities have relaxed their restrictions on gatherings and activities. The Jewish Pavilion has recently started to offer Shabbat and holiday services and programs to the delight of the residents. Happy faces and joyful voices welcome the Pavilion Program directors and volunteers as they once again provide much needed social and spiritual nourishment. - Susan Bernstein...
Cantor Nina Fine, a program director at The Jewish Pavilion and a professional vocalist, performed a Passover concert for the residents. Journeying through the Haggadah with beautiful music sung by Cantor Fine and accompanied on piano by her 13-year-old son, Dylan Caio, the residents got to sing, clap and move as they came closer to their own freedom, much like their ancestors did in Egypt. Volunteers Steven Henry and his mom and dad, Barbara and David Henry, added a wonderful introductory set...
Thursday, March 11 was out-of-this world for Jewish Academy of Orlando students as when astronaut John Daniel “Danny” Olivas visited the school. The live visit was conducted remotely using the school’s Google Meet platform so that all students whether in person or at home could participate. Astronaut Olivas shared his story of becoming an astronaut beginning with his inspiration when visiting Johnson Space Center as a child and leading on to his first space mission. He shared his story of continuously improving himself to achieve his goal,...
Introducing the "Passover Playbook," brought to the Jewish community by Orlando Jewish Parent. OJP, for short, is a comprehensive program, embraced by the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando and The Roth Family JCC that will be coming to you in the months and years ahead. It started already with a program called "Passover Madness." The tagline, "Which Passover Food Will Win It All?" (See the ongoing contest at orlandojewishfed.org.) Its newest project is The Passover Playbook. "Welcome to our...
JFS Orlando welcomes their newest board member, Kimberly K. Harris. Originally from Richmond, Va., Harris grew up in a large blended family. “I really grew up accustomed to the idea of ‘family’ being what you make it,” she explained. When her father and stepmother moved to the Tampa area, she decided to stay in Richmond for college, attending the VCU-MCV School of Allied Health and later working for Virginia’s state public health laboratory in the Immunology & Virology department. But both her p...
Yom HaShoah or Holocaust Remembrance Day, is observed on April 8 as a day of commemoration for the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust as a result of the actions carried out by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. The date to commemorate Yom HaShoah was chosen because it marks the anniversary of the uprising at the Warsaw Ghetto. This was the largest, symbolically most important Jewish uprising, and the first urban rebellion, in German-occupied Europe. This resistance in Warsaw inspired other revolts in ghettos including Bia...
A ceremonial Yom HaShoah service will be held by Congregation Sinai on Holocaust Remembrance Day to remember and honor all of those who perished. This memorial service will be open to the entire community. Never Again! While the traditional international Holocaust Day of Remembrance is April 7 this year, everyone here is being asked to join together on Friday night, April 9 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. for a combined virtual Kabbalat Shabbat and Yom HaShoah Service. Congregation Sinai Spiritual Leader Joe Goldovitz notes, “We must all remain v...
Rollins College will be holding a Yom HaShoah memorial, titled Never Again: A Commemoration of the Holocaust (Yom HaShoah). It will be on April 8 from 12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m. The event will include student speakers, a reading by a published poet, the lighting of yahrzeit candles, a recitation of the Kaddish and another Jewish prayer, the reading of children’s names who were in Auschwitz-Birkenau, and a moment of silence. The event is being sponsored by Rollins Hillel, the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, the Education Department, and the J...
The pandemic forces charities to rethink and refashion their events. Normally, the Jewish Pavilion has two annual breakfasts for their sponsors so they can come together and network. In the past, they have been held in senior communities. Currently, senior communities are not open for public events, so the Jewish Pavilion leadership redesigned their semi-annual breakfast into something that was safe and socially distanced. "Stop by for a smile or stay a while" was the theme. Sponsors could...
Jewish Academy of Orlando second-graders raised funds in the grade's annual Fun Run to benefit a Habitat for Humanity house. The students later visited the house and presented the check to the organization. The annual program at JAO begins with a cross-curricular study of economics. Students learn about the three basic human needs: food, clothing, and shelter, while also learning the differences between a want and a need. They also conduct a Fun Run to raise money to support Habitat for...
The Jewish Pavilion's program director, Cantor Nina Fine, entertained the residents at The Westminster Orlando on Feb. 26 with Shabbat music, a Purim play, songs, dancing and treats outside. Cantor Fine's son Dylan Caio, 13, accompanied her on keyboard. Pavilion volunteers Sandi and Dick Trainor and their friend Mary McEntegart volunteered their time to help out and make the event and the Purim play a success. Dick was a strong King Ahasuerus, Sandi played the brave and beautiful Esther and...
Author, genealogist and award-winning educator Genie Milgrom will help the St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society understand the possible Jewish roots of the founder of Palm Valley, Florida, Don Diego Espinosa during a Zoom gathering Wednesday, March 31 at 7 pm. This program, titled "Crypto-Jewish Genealogy: An Overview" will also help Society members grasp the intricacies of tracing the Jewish roots of residents of the Colonial St. Augustine area. The Zoom link is available upon request...
