Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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The holiday which starts the evening of May 4, and ends the evening of May 5, (on the Hebrew calendar it is the 18th of Iyar) celebrates the life of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and celebrates Jewish unity. It is on the 33rd day of the Omer. The holiday marks the end of the barley harvest and the beginning of the wheat harvest. Three year-old-boys often get their first haircut on that day. It is celebrated as a break from semi-mourning when people have bonfires, parades, and picnics. Weddings are allowed and picnic foods are often eaten. Hot dogs...
Last month, The Chaim Society invited several members of Magen David Adom to speak at a small gathering about the work MDA is doing in Israel and around the world. Among the speakers was Andie Temkin Gerszuny, director of Major Gifts for American Friends of Magen David Adom. Guest speaker, Aryeh Myers, senior MDA paramedic, was unable to attend the meeting because he was grounded in Israel while Ben Gurion Airport was shut down. However, he did speak with the group about the ongoing work of...
(JNS) - A week before he was killed in a terrorist attack at the Allenby Crossing with Jordan in September 2025, IDF Sgt. Oran Hershko, 20, was traveling in Greece with his father. He created an AI image of a golden retriever puppy sitting in his room and wrote to his family, "Is it too much to ask for a golden?" A few months after his death, a dog named Goldie, of the exact breed and color he loved, arrived at the family home in Tel Mond in central Israel. "It was like a kind of legacy he...
Many women notice something puzzling during menopause and postmenopause: feelings of anxiety or inner restlessness seem to reappear, but without a clear cause. There’s no particular worry to dwell on, no story behind it. Just an uneasy feeling, a sense of urgency, or internal “nervous energy.” It can feel confusing or even discouraging — but it’s important to know that this experience is real, and it’s not a personal failure. What’s really happening in the body Anxiety isn’t always “in the mind.” Sometimes, it begins in the body — especially wh...
Of the great debates in film history, a few dominate. How much of Citizen Kane did Orson Welles really write? Is the auteur a film’s true author? And the one that will never be resolved, can we separate the art from the artist? In 1980, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert devoted an episode of their PBS review series “Sneak Previews” to the following question: Who’s funnier, Mel Brooks or Woody Allen? The camps fall out as one might expect. Ebert, the Pulitzer Prize-winning critic for the Chicago Sun Times, whose work spoke to the everyman, preferr...
I have never lived alone. I've never even lived with only my partner, at least not for all that long. We've always had roommates. And that means we've always had roommates' stuff. Honestly, I've loved this. I mean, I've had my issues with individual roommates, ranging from minor nits to major clashes. But generally, I have liked the benefits of living with people, which I'd summarize as: friendship, finances and furniture. This time in my life is drawing to a close soon, however, as my partner...
By Judy Lash Balint (JNS) - In the Eshkol region, tucked between Beersheva and the Gaza-Egypt border, life is measured in seconds - the time it takes to reach a shelter, the pause between sirens and the fragile quiet that never lasts. But since Oct. 7, 2023, alongside the trauma, there is a determined insistence on rebuilding both the physical structures and emotional support that sustain a community. At the center of that effort is the new JNF-USA Eshkol Resilience Center that is expected to...
Harpo Marx’s wife, Susan Fleming, once remarked that, when you got him talking, you couldn’t shut him up. The proof was there for those who chanced to see him on tour with his brothers in the 1930s and ‘40s, performing material they would later commit to film. If a crowd was good, he’d deliver what was known as “Red’s Speech,” a reference to the red wig he wore on stage. The speech grew more verbose with each recitation, with input by Harpo’s friend, the critic Alexander Woollcott, a fount of $5 dollar words. It got so long, in fact, that Harpo...
Back in 2012, while on assignment as the Chicago Tribune’s longtime music critic, I received a phone call from my editor that would change my life. Elie Wiesel had just accepted the newspaper’s annual Literary Prize. Would I be interested in interviewing him for the paper? Would I?! There was only one minor problem: I had never read a word Wiesel had written, not even his revered Holocaust memoir “Night.” Holocaust education was not required in the 1950s and ’60s when I was growing up — not even in Skokie, a nexus of Holocaust survivors w...
Israel’s Independence Day was April 22 (5 Iyar). Here are 100 facts about Israel. 1. Israel is the only Jewish State in the World. 2. The State of Israel is the youngest on the planet. 3. Israel is the only liberal democracy in the Middle East. 4. Israel is about 290 mile (470 km) in length and 85 miles (135 km) in width. 5. Israel spends more money on security than any other country. 6. Israel is the only country with a net gain in trees upon entering the 21st century. 7. The Dead Sea in Israel is the lowest point on earth. 8. The Sea of G...
(JNS) - Three-time Super Bowl champion Julian Edelman, longtime broadcaster Al Michaels-known for his call of the 1980 "Miracle on Ice"-and basketball Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman headline the 2026 class of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. The 20-member class, announced on Wednesday, also includes former NBA player Omri Casspi, Argentine world champion boxer Carolina Duer and Israeli Paralympian Zipora Rubin-Rosenbaum, a 31-time medalist. Founded in 1981 as the successor to the...
It's not often that I hear a lecture which could be appreciated by an audience ages 10 to 100, but this past week I was treated to such an opportunity. And while it may sound strange to call a speech on the Holocaust a treat, hearing from Mrs. Judith Rapp Hara about her parents' miraculous escape from Vienna, Austria, was just that. On Thursday, in honor of the recent commemoration of Yom HaShoah, Meoros Girls High School hosted Mrs. Hara for an educational talk about the antisemitism of World...
In 2025, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) awarded $77 million in grants to support the development and expansion of 20 veteran cemeteries across the country. These grants represent an important investment in honoring those who served our nation while ensuring that veterans and their families have increased access to dignified burial options. The funding will allow for the creation of the first state veterans cemeteries in Alaska and the expansion of 19 existing cemeteries located in...
Fried Battered Fish serves 4 This dish, served with Torn Potatoes, will rival any fish and chips recipe. 2 pounds skinless cod, haddock or halibut cut in 8 pieces 3/4 cup cornstarch 3/4 cup flour 3/4 tsp. baking powder 1 cup light Lager beer (Don’t use dark lager. It is too much flavor.) I used Key Lime La Croix carbonated water. 3/4 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. pepper Mix out all lumps in batter. It will be consistency of heavy cream. Cover batter with plastic. Allow it to rest in refrigerator 20 minutes. Paper towel dry fillets. Salt and pepper both s...
(JNS) - For one lone soldier identified for security reasons as O, the dream began years ago while watching Israel's Independence Day ceremony from abroad, where her diplomat parents were posted. "I always watched the ceremony even when I lived abroad," said O, who now serves in the IDF's Behavioral Sciences Unit. "I would sit with my grandparents. It was their favorite part of the year. I said, I'm going to be there one day, and my grandparents will be in the audience to watch me." This year,...
(JNS) — The National Library of Israel has uncovered a rare handwritten Passover Haggadah published in the 1880s containing a Judeo-Persian poem dedicated to Lady Judith Montefiore (1784-1862), highlighting the far-reaching influence of the Montefiore family across the Jewish world, according to a press release published on Thursday. Discovered within the library’s collections ahead of Passover, the manuscript includes instructions in Judeo-Persian for conducting the Seder and was bound tog...
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...
Throughout Jewish history, the genizah and the ghetto, two very different institutions, served as powerful means of preserving Jewish thought and Jewish life. One preserved what was written while the other preserved those who were learning. Let’s look at how both preserved Jewish thinking. The Genizah: A refusal to discard The practice grew out of Jewish law rooted in Deuteronomy and developed in rabbinic tradition, which forbade destroying writings containing the name of G-d. Such materials were set aside in a genizah rather than casually d...
(JNS) — “It’s important that people don’t lose motivation and that they trust the Israel Defense Forces, as we work to create a better future—not just for us, but for generations to come. We cannot lose motivation, whether it relates to antisemitism worldwide or the situation in Israel,” 21-year-old Sgt. I, a combat medic in the IDF’s 769th Brigade, told JNS on Sunday. Sgt. I, originally from Jerusalem, has been serving in northern Israel for the past two years and described the situation there as highly complex. “My role as an active combat m...
One hundred and fourteen years ago, April 15, 1914, the Titanic, the luxury White Star Passenger liner, on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York, struck an iceberg and sank. Of the 2,224 people on board, 1500 died in the freezing waters of the Atlantic Ocean. There were not enough lifeboats... Passengers Isidore Straus, the Jewish chairman of New York's Macy's Department store, former congressman, philanthropist, and his wife, Ida, were last seen near the stern of the ship. Sur...
When someone living with dementia loses a spouse, families often face a heartbreaking dilemma: Should they repeatedly tell their loved one that their partner has died, even if the person may forget and ask again later? Professionals experienced in grief counseling and dementia care generally recommend that the person be told the truth at least once. Individuals with dementia or other neurological impairments still have the right to know when someone they love has died. Sharing the news respectfully acknowledges their relationship and their...
(JNS) - Ricky Mason remembers his first introduction to what was then known as the Boy Scouts. His mother told him when he was 7 years old that he would join scouting four years later and become an Eagle Scout. "My mother told me I was gonna do it, and so that was sort of enough for me," Mason told JNS. He's embarking on another scouting adventure 60 years later. Next month, Mason will become chair of Scouting America's national executive board, the first Jew to hold the volunteer post in around...
Portuguese Meatballs Serves 4. These meatballs will freeze well for a quick dinner. 2 large eggs 1 lb. lean ground beef or chicken 1/4 cup panko or matzo meal 1 tsp. lemon zest or 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice 1/2 tsp. black pepper 1 tsp. ground nutmeg 1 T. minced garlic, divided 1 tsp. Kosher salt 2 T. olive oil or avocado oil 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion, fried in 1 T. oil until translucent. 1 T. tomato paste 1 tsp. sweet paprika 3/4 cup dry white wine 1 lb. plum tomatoes, finely chopped or 16 oz. canned tomatoes Dubai Simple Brownies Makes...
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...
On Shabbat March 14th an Iranian missile hit our house...a fragment...a big heavy metal thing shaped like a belt-that-fits-around-a-rocket. It hit our roof after a siren, after the booms we hear in the sky. We heard the warning, then upon the siren went to the hallway downstairs, which is our safest part of the house. Then after the siren ended, we heard the "boom - boom - boom" in the sky like always. Then, one or two minutes later, Jordan went upstairs to his office, Tzachi went to the salon t...
