Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Two rabbis located in Judea are spreading words of Torah to the nations, preparing the world for the Sukkot feast described by the prophet Zechariah in which all the nations will make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The month of Elul began on Friday night (Aug. 21), ringing the alarm that one month remained to prepare for the intense holiday period of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. There is much to learn in order to observe the feasts in a meaningful manner. In recent years, many people from other...
The challenges that Coronavirus has brought us over the past six months make it easy to forget there are good things around us. One of these stories involves The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando and Kiryat Motzkin, a small, middle class city north of Haifa in Israel, where the Federation has had an ongoing partnership since 2006. This partnership has been made possible through the generosity of Federation donors. Through this partnership, the Federation supports two important programs that m...
NEW YORK (JTA) — After an initial first wave that devastated New York City’s Orthodox Jewish communities, the coronavirus is on the rise again. Meanwhile, Israelis are back under lockdown after new infections there reached crisis levels. As we did this spring, we’re tracking the news flowing in from across Jewish communities here. And as always, we want to hear from you. Have questions, tips or insights about how your community is responding to the pandemic more than six months in? Get in touch. Tuesday, Sept. 29 10:34 a.m. Israel’s per cap...
The Kinneret Council on Aging is continuing with its tradition to honor eight remarkable people in our community, over the age of 80 who have made significant contributions to the Jewish and Central Florida community at the virtual 8 Over 80, on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2021. This coveted honor is one of the most prestigious awards for older adults in our community. Do you know of an active and passionate senior over 80 who volunteers countless hours and lends their leadership skills to help organizations in our community? Please consider nominating...
From biblical archaeology to religion and politics in Israel, Temple Israel has adult education opportunities covering a variety of interests this fall. On Tuesday, Oct. 6, Dr. Ken Hanson will give a Zoom presentation called "Whose Holy Land? Archaeology Meets Geopolitics in Today's Middle East." Dr. Hanson is a scholar of Jewish history and Hebrew language and literature, as well as the coordinator of Judaic Studies at UCF. His talk will reveal the stories behind ancient artifacts and the...
Even though the current pandemic has forced the Jewish Pavilion to curtail many of its services and programs that have been scheduled for the senior living facilities in the Orlando area, the dedicated program directors and volunteers have not given up their effort to connect with and support our Jewish seniors. Holiday gift bags have been delivered to over 400 residents for the High Holidays, in addition to providing Rosh Hashanah services that have been viewed via in-house TV channels,...
On Friday, Sept. 25, 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...
(JNS) — In the wake of a reported U.S.-UAE deal in the works for the sale of F-35 fighter jets, Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz departed for the United States on a brief 24-hour visit on Monday night, where he is scheduled to meet with U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and other senior members of the Trump administration. According to a Reuters report, the United States and the UAE “hope to have an initial agreement on the sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets to the Gulf state in place by December, as the Trump administration studi...
(JTA) — Parents of students attending Jewish schools in New York City are being encouraged not to have their children tested for COVID-19 to prevent the schools from being shut down. On Thursday, this message made the rounds on WhatsApp, a popular messaging platform in Orthodox communities: a “DO NOT test your child for covid,” the message began. “The city has released new guidelines that mandate CLOSURE of an ENTIRE SCHOOL if there are two positive tests in the school.” It went on to encourage parents to obscure suspected COVID-19 infection...
(JNS) — The United States has reimposed United Nations sanctions on Iran, in addition to imposing “new sanctions and export control measures on 27 entities and individuals connected to Iran’s proliferation networks,” according to a statement released by the White House on Monday. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the reimposition a step towards “international peace and security.” The United States activated the mechanism last month to enact U.N. snapback sanctions on the regime under U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, which endor...
(JNS) — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on Sept. 18, the eve of Rosh Hashanah, at the age of 87 was a symbol of female empowerment, as well as a renowned scholar and jurist. Though not religious, she was a proud Jew, and her achievements as an attorney in an era where women were not fully accepted in the legal profession and then as a principled judge justify the many laudatory eulogies about her. But Ginsburg’s status as a pop-culture icon and idol of liberals, feminists and others, who nicknamed her the “Notorious RBG...
(JNS) — Conventional wisdom took one on the chin last week when the Trump administration did what the establishment said couldn’t be done. No chin took a harder hit than former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s, when one clever social media user unearthed and isolated 44 seconds of him assuring the world that no Middle East peace deal will be possible without the Palestinians. “There will be no separate peace between Israel and the Arab world. I want to make that very clear to all of you,” he stated. The clip was from Dec. 4, 2016, whe...
(JNS) — Progressives claim to represent the forces of change, reform and social justice. They say they care for the well-being of the voters. They allege that those who believe in the Constitution and Bill of Rights are cruel, and call them dangerous racists. Yet they forget some of the most important words in the Declaration of Independence that framed our national mission: “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Lif...
(JNS) — Following the signing of the peace deals between Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, American Jewish leaders from prominent organizations such as the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, the American Jewish Committee and the World Jewish Congress have come forward to discuss how they have played a quiet, behind-the-scenes role over the past 25 years to encourage the Gulf nations to seek peaceful relations with Israel. Now that Israel has established a “warm peace” with Bahrain and the UAE, perhaps it is th...
(JTA) — Less than 100 years after Israel’s founding as the homeland for the Jewish people in 1948, the “Arab-Israeli conflict” appears to be winding down. The Sept. 15 White House ceremony celebrating a peace treaty between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, and a peace declaration between Israel and Bahrain, marks another advance in Israel’s regional integration. It also delinks resolution of Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians and the creation of an independent Palestinian state from the broader question of its acceptance by the rest of...
I will never forget where I was when I heard of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing. Within hours of the announcement of her death Friday night, an outpouring of affection for the first Jewish woman appointed to the country’s highest court had already begun. People spontaneously gathered on the front steps of the Supreme Court building, where she had served as a judge for 27 years, bearing candles and singing Amazing Grace. In other places in the country, crowds gathered to say Kaddish, to remember. As Jews and non-Jews cel...
MORNING MINYANS (Please note, because of the coronavirus, all minyans have been canceled or held virtually.) 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.; Saturday, 9:30 a.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-644-2500. Congregation Chabad Lubavitch of Greater Daytona — Monday, 8 a.m.; Thursday, 8 a.m., 904-672-9300. Congregation Ohev Shalom — Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-298-4650. GOBOR Community Minyan at Jewish Academy...
(JTA) — An exchange Wednesday on a Fox News show struck many as remarkable: Newt Gingrich, the former Republican House speaker, blamed “George Soros’ money” for violence in American cities before being shut down by two other panelists on “Outnumbered.” The next day saw an apology — from the show for not letting Gingrich finish. Depicting Soros — the Jewish American Holocaust survivor, financier and liberal megadonor — as President Donald Trump’s chief opponent and the source of America’s ills has become increasingly common among Republicans. He...
(JNS) - Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the first Jewish woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, died on Sept. 18 at the age of 87 at her home in Washington, D.C. Ginsburg, a heralded liberal judicial, feminist and Jewish icon who was the second woman to serve on the nation's highest court, died from "complications of metastatic pancreas cancer," according to a statement from the Supreme Court shortly after her death. Her passing came on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year 5781, and just six...
(JTA) - As Jews in the United States prepared to light candles to welcome Rosh Hashanah, they were hit with the last terrible news of a terrible year: the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. At 87, and with a lifetime of accomplishments that few can match, she has earned her rest. But the exquisite, agonizing time of her passing underscored one of the great lessons of her own life and of Rosh Hashanah: how we make use of the time God grants us matters. On the second day of Rosh...
A government-ordered nationwide lockdown was set to go into effect Friday as Health Ministry statistics showed that Israel’s coronavirus numbers had reached record levels. The education system and most non-essential businesses will be closed for at least two weeks with Israelis restricted to remaining within one kilometer (0.6 miles) of their homes except to get food and medical care. Health Ministry statistics released Friday showed 7,755 Israelis tested positive for coronavirus in the past day, bringing the total number of confirmed active in...
She was special ... And she will go down in history, for sure. I refer to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who recently passed away. She was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ginsburg was nominated by President BILL CLINTON on June 14, 1993 (my birthday!) and has served since Aug. 10, 1993. until just last week. She was born in Brooklyn (like me) and was generally viewed as belonging to the liberal wing of the court. Of course, she should be buried at Arlington National...
UCF's new President's Student Advisory Council has been selected, according to records obtained by Knight News, and one of the members is Emily Budin, president of Hillel. UCF President Alexander Cartwright first announced the formation of an advisory group in August, made up of students and student leaders, with the goal of building a more inclusive culture at UCF. While Cartwright mentioned there would be 12 total students within the council, 20 students were chosen - Knight News is working...
The Jewish Pavilion's Cantor Nina Fine and volunteer Sandi Trainor deliver Rosh Hashanah bags to Jewish residents at Lutheran Towers, Westminster, and Kinneret. The bags were lovingly assembled by the Jewish Pavilion's dedicated volunteers and contained an individual round raisin challah, grape juice, honey, a calendar, a holiday service guide and more. Cantor Fine added a special holiday card made by Jewish children she works with and she was able to distribute 40 cards to the seniors. The...
