Heritage Florida Jewish News - Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

In its second year, the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando’s Jewish Teen Education Network (JTEN) has awarded more than $10,000 in grants to eight synagogues for formal Jewish teen educational programming. For the 2015-2016 year, eight Central F...

The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando (JFGO) has awarded $50,000 in Collaborative Community Grants to 11 Central Florida programs and services for the 2015-2016 program year. The grant recipients were announced at the Federation’s Annual M...

You won’t read about it in the New York Times or the Washington Post. But this week’s arrest of four Palestinian terrorists who were plotting to attack a Jewish holy site tells you everything you need to know about the Israeli-Palestinian con...

On Aug. 16, the Israeli Army revealed that Iran has been directing terrorist attacks from Syria against Israelis in the Golan Heights region. Nobody paid attention. Four days later, Iranian-sponsored rockets from Syria struck Israel’s Upper G...

It’s time for another round of that hoary folk song about disaster just about everywhere, i.e., “They’re rioting in Africa, they’re starving in Spain...” The ugliest story concerns more than 70 bodies, decomposed to a smelly lump making counts di...

(My Jewish Learning via JTA)—We live with a practical tradition. We begin the Jewish New Year with 10 days devoted to introspection. Between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur we are asked to review our past failures and victories, to evaluate our r...

Is it over? On Wednesday morning, during a KPCC radio talk show about the Iran deal, the host, Patt Morrison, asked me whether, now that President Barack Obama has the 34 votes he needs to support the Iran nuclear agreement, the rancor and vitriol...

(Kveller via JTA)—Growing up as the only Jewish family in town meant that we missed out on a lot of things. We didn’t go to Hebrew school, we barely acknowledged Shabbat and we had very little connection to the Jewish community. My Israeli mot...

MORNING AND EVENING MINYANS (Call synagogue to confirm time.) Chabad of South Orlando—Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. and 10 minutes before sunset; Saturday, 9:30 a.m.; Sunday, 8:15 a.m., 407-354-3660. Congregation Ahavas Yisrael—Monday - Friday, 7:30 a.m...

Geraldine “Geri” Halperin Harris, age 88, of Northport, Alabama, passed away at the Huntercreek Nursing and Rehab Center in Northport on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015. Mrs. Harris was born in Dublin, Georgia, on Oct. 24, 1926, to the late Philip and Cel...

Myrna Lighterman, age 85, of Sanford, passed away at her residence on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015. A native of New York City, she was born on May 11, 1930, to the late Harold and Eve Merzon Winniman. A high school graduate, she was self-taught and...

Ruby Gloria Steinfeld (Nee Eisner)of Orlando, passed away on Sept. 4th, 2015, following a courageous battle with Alzheimer’s at the Hunters Creek Nursing Home. She was born on Jan. 7, 1936 in Brooklyn, New York, to the late Louis and Rose Eisner. 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. Most synagogues require tickets for...

As the once and sometimes Jewish philosopher Bob Dylan was fond of saying, “the times, they are a changin,” and the same can be said for Central Florida Hillel. Since the calendar switched from 5774 to 5775 a lot has changed at the little house tha...