Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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I went to the supermarket last week. Straight to the deli section where I took a number — 18. A very good number because it’s the numerical value of the Hebrew word “chai” which means “life.” I always notice that number and any multiples of 18. Jewish people often give gifts and make donations with “chai” in mind. You might give $180 to buy a plaque in memory of somebody at your synagogue. If you could afford it, you could help build a Jewish museum with a donation of $7,200. You get the ide...
New divine commands haven’t recently come down from heaven. So perhaps someone can ascend a mountain and return with a few words of wisdom. There are a number of serious situations on this planet that need to be addressed. We know about ongoing big problems: war, terrorism, crime in the streets … and volumes are written about them. But how many of us are aware of the insidious developments among our young people? There are two dangerous trends that are imperative for us to discuss. NEWS from the...
Back to our roots! Hello cousins! Maybe not all of you are; but many of us members of the tribe are somehow related. In fact, I must have more than 50 close cousins simply because that is what my mother and father were to each other. That's what motivated me to become the family researcher. I've subscribed to JewishGen and MyHeritage - among other platforms - and have held active membership in local genealogy groups. I have discovered relatives around the globe. Surprises often come along. I've...
Mom: Tell me about your day at school. Little girl: We went outside for a fire drizzle! So goes the first report of a new and strange weather phenomenon. And certainly not the first innocent misunderstanding experienced by a child or even by an adult. This was in 1956. Back then, Art Linkletter’s show had a segment called “Kids say the darndest things” in which he interviewed children. Its popularity led to a bestselling book by the same title. Kids often say funny things because they mishe...
Quick! There’s no time for leavening. No rye bread and no bagels. No time for a lengthy examination about individual empowerment versus group interdependence. Instead, we bring a freestyle assortment of Pesadik (Yiddish for Pesach) stories and macaroon-sized morsels from the contributions of our fellow tribal members. May the bitterness of your horseradish be counteracted by a spoonful of Haroseth! Freedom and Life — A personal revelation Without life there is no freedom. Nu? Did I need to tell...
I’m stumped! Everybody on my Philadelphia row house street seemed to know Yenem. I don’t know what house he lived in, but he surely did live on our block. Or was it on the next street? People went to see him for everything they needed. When I was a little boy, the next-door neighbor knocked on my screen door and said he needed to use our lawnmower. I didn’t have the key to our garage and no one else was home. Later on, I told my mother. She said that Mr. Silverman probably borrowed Mr. Yenem...
Looks like it’s time to brainstorm. Please consider my thoughts and take part in developing a solution. We’ve got to come up with some new ideas in order to combat hateful acts against the Jewish people. Let’s look at the numbers: Antisemitic incidents have increased by nearly 900 percent in the United States over the last decade. In many countries, tombstones have been defaced with swastikas, toppled, or shattered. Synagogues have been targeted with vandalism and shootings. Jews are being...
Looking for a bagel? We can help you with that and hamentashen, too. But for now we're on a roll - bad pun number one, if you're counting. It's the second edition of "Scene around...again" - and we plan to continue providing news about area events, people, and places to go. Rhonda Des Islets, long-time subscriber, earns our appreciation for writing in to express her support for bringing back the column. It's readers such as Rhonda who keep the column going by sharing personal and community annou...
Got your grogger? Here we go! Such a commotion. Naturally! Exactly what you expect from the Jewish noisemaker. But there’s more commotion. Because, just like Chanukah, there are many ways to spell and pronounce the name of the device most notably associated with the holiday of Purim. Maybe you have a favorite Jewish blog you like to read on your computer. If so, you’ll likely have a blogger writing about the grogger — a rhyme you’ll remember. Alternatively, there’s grager, gragger, or gregger. I...
One year — 365 days — to prepare myself mentally for the milestone an identity that does not seem possible. The big eight-zero. Birthday number 80! There is something so different and impactful about that. They do say to be careful what you wish for. And since I aspired to live to 120, I should have understood: On the way to 120 I would become an octogenarian. I never thought about that. Meanwhile, embracing life and its blessings, I revised my longevity prospects. The new goal became 125; tha...
Editor's note: Heritage's beloved Gloria Yousha, who wrote Scene Around for XX years, passed away on Nov. 18, 2022. Since that time, no one has come forward to take on covering the social scene for the paper. Now that may be changing. Steven Cardonick, who writes the "Give a listen..." column is very interested in writing the column. See what you think and hopefully he will be taking on the challenge! Happy New Year! Our gift to you: The renaissance of Gloria Yousha's Scene Around column. May...
“Limited-time membership. A $60 value for only $15.” So read the many emails and postcards over the course of a year. We waited. Then the new BJ’s Wholesale Club opened. We still waited. I decided to see what they had to offer besides a big discount at the gasoline pump. The website mentioned electronics. Bulk purchases of groceries. Household goods and office supplies. Out of curiosity I entered the word “Jewish” in the search box. Up came a list of 10 products in order of relevance. 1. Pastram...
Wandering Jews we are. And with so many choices there’s bound to be a lot of meandering. Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist are the main four branches. Other movements: Humanistic, Chabad, New age… Given the variety of practices presented, we see a smorgasbord of choices. I wonder how many other Jews have been on a circuitous path such as I have traveled. My earliest memories — other than those of eating kosher lamb chops — are riding in a car to Jewish day school in another...
Cobwebs! But a vacuum cleaner won’t help. Neither a Bissell nor a Hoover. Because this is brain fog — cobwebs in the brain. In my case, it’s writer’s block. My Yiddishe Kop (Jewish brain) has nearly shut down. Was it the tryptophan from too much turkey on Thanksgiving? Not likely. That was days ago, and I had no leftovers. I suspect it’s from an accumulation of factors. Last month’s time change. Preparation and planning for multiple holiday events. Trying to decide between pumpkin cheesecake...
October 7th. One day. But the repercussions persist two years later. And so many people are suffering. How many more wars will there be? When will people put grievances aside? When will the world see lasting peace throughout the planet? What about human conflicts in daily life and within families? I recall the Six Day War of June 1967. Israel celebrated victory with joy and songs while her neighbors prepared in anticipation of future conflicts. It was such a dramatic time. So much happened that...
I’m late for work! What? Wait a minute. What day is this? Friday? No; I didn’t put out the trash can for collection. Let’s see, what did I do last night? Oh, yes, I recall. We watched Antiques Roadshow. So, it must be Tuesday. And I don’t have to go to work; I retired many years ago. Such confusion. It only happens once in a while. But thanks to the resetting of clocks back to standard time my brain is malfunctioning. It used to be that I was only affected every spring when the clocks were mo...
The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded 106 times to 143 laureates in its 125-year history. And yet numerous conflicts and wars rage on. Has the award lost its significance and power to truly motivate people to bring about lasting peace for our planet? Or have we overlooked simple but impactful solutions that may bring about peace and prosperity? What if we could avoid difficult situations and remedy serious problems simply by drinking enough water? Not just to eradicate wars between nations and...
I'm sitting and waiting for my wife in the hotel lobby after a wedding and reception. It's October 2013 in Michigan. A group of men enter from outside and they disperse with only one remaining a few feet away from me. I'm thinking I've seen him before. He's tall, thin at the time, and dark complected. I stand up and say "Excuse me, you look familiar. Aren't you...?" He perceives my hesitation, with grace and a look of sophistication extends a hand and replies "JB Smoove. How are you this...
“Guns & Moses.” It sounds like a Jewish movie. Nu? The main character is a rabbi who reluctantly becomes a gunslinger after his community is attacked. Naturally, it piqued our interest, but we were torn. On the one hand, we wanted to show our support for those who worked hard to produce and present a film with Jewish content. But, in a time of much antisemitism, divisiveness, and violence we were hesitant about going to the movie theater. Could some crazed fanatic attack the audience? Things lik...
The sounds of the shofar will be heard very soon. The year 5786 is just around the corner. Millions of Jews will gather in synagogues on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur to offer up prayers. Imagine God having to listen to all those people. What a job! What a divine headache trying to hear all of us and then trying to grant our wishes. No wonder the Greeks invented a pantheon of gods to deal with human beings. Shema Yisrael Adonai Elohaynoo Adonai Echad. Hear, Oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord i...
Oh, give me a home. So I don’t have to roam. Where the Astros, the Mets or Cubs play. Maybe Dodgers or Rays, or Toronto Blue Jays. Just as long as it’s somewhere to stay. The month of July was a momentous one for Major League Baseball. The 95th all-star game was scheduled to be played in Atlanta, Georgia. Fans, players and family members traveled from around the nation. Among the events was the Home Run Derby, which promised a top prize of $1 million to the winning slugger. Truist Park was fil...
“We are honored to announce a transformational $1 MILLION gift from local philanthropist Andy Pargh, a true champion of arts, culture, and community.” So begins an email from the Rosen JCC. “In recognition of his incredible generosity and lasting legacy, our beloved Rosen Event Center will now be known as the Pargh Event Center.” Exciting details are reported in the Heritage (page 1, July 25, 2025). When I finished reflecting on the wonderful gesture by Mr. Pargh, I thought about how good deeds give honor to our names and, also about honorin...
Vehicles are being attacked and not just Teslas. The culprits have damaged cars and trucks of all makes and models. Residents are unsettled by the honking and the shrieking. If they manage to get a night’s sleep their day starts off badly when they are faced with the need to make repairs to their homes. Damages are in the hundreds and even thousands of dollars! The perpetrators tear screen enclosures, wreck gardens, and defecate on the sidewalk. They freely march down the middle of the street a...
A golem has awakened in my bedroom. Rather than clay, this one is made of stone. Like other golems he is unable to speak — for now, that is. Yet, unlike such mythical creatures of the past he was not put here to seek revenge on the oppressors of our people. Nor was he created by a rabbi. Actually, he is the rabbi! So begins another day for a man well past retirement age. I start to move my fingers. One by one I repeat doing so until my hands no longer feel like hardened cement. While my body a...
Readers remember well the beloved writer Gloria Yousha who related thousands of stories in her column “Scene Around.” Nearly three years since her passing, the community greatly misses Gloria and how she shared so many different insights and experiences with us. A wonderful article about Gloria was written by Heritage editor Christine DeSouza and published on Dec. 9, 2022. Christine’s tribute column/obit earned a first-place award from the Florida Press Association! There has been talk of introd...
