Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Palliative care is specialized medical care for people living with a serious illness. This type of care is focused on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of the illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family. Palliative care is provided by a specially-trained team of doctors, nurses and other specialists who work together with a patient's other doctors to provide an extra layer of support. Palliative care is based on the needs of the patient, not on the patient's prognosis. It is appropriate at...
That's what friends are for ... I received a phone call from my dear friend, JUDY, telling me that my all-time favorite movie, "Singin In The Rain" was being featured on television immediately! Although I have seen it dozens of times, I never tire of it and quickly tuned in. True, the stars, Gene Kelly, Donald O'conner and Debbie Reynolds were not Jewish, the two songwriters responsible for the fabulous music, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, were... and yes... they were Jewish (and brilliant, like most Jews)! Basya Cohen, (you knew her as Betty...
(New York Jewish Week) - Every Passover for the last 75 years, Helena Weinstock Weinrauch, a 97-year-old Holocaust survivor, has worn a vibrant blue hand-knit sweater to the first seder, which her neighbor hosts in her Upper West Side apartment building. The sweater is a chic, 1940s number with fluffy angora sleeves, a sparkling metallic blue bodice and a delicate, scalloped V-neck. But this is no ordinary fashion statement. The sweater was knit by Helena's friend, Ann Rothman, who stayed alive during the Holocaust by knitting for Nazi wives wh...
In the early 1980s, while speaking at Oberlin College Hillel (the campus Jewish organization), Susannah Heschel, a well-known Jewish feminist scholar (and daughter of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel), was introduced to an early feminist Haggadah that suggested adding a crust of bread on the seder plate, as a sign of solidarity with Jewish lesbians (which was intended to convey the idea that there's as much room for a lesbian in Judaism as there is for a crust of bread on the seder plate). Heschel felt that to put bread on the seder plate would be...
Last April, as the pandemic raged in my area, I opened my front door to my dear friend Natalie, who literally threw at me from a distance a plastic sandwich bag containing her family's cherished Passover tradition: flädla. Less commonly known than the universally beloved matzah ball, these Passover egg noodles are made from a thin crepe that's coiled and cut into strips, over which steaming broth is poured. Natalie's family recipe was handed down from her mother's tante Ilse, who emigrated from Germany in 1939 post-Kristallnacht. Ask around...
(JNS) - With larger numbers of family and friends expected at Passover seders this year as COVID numbers have gone down, hosts seem to be going all out this year with the homemade cooking, especially since the first night of the eight-day holiday falls over Shabbat. Hosts likely won't be making homemade matzah. But America's gefilte fish experts are offering a workshop they say doesn't require so much work. On April 10, the Gefilteria's Jeffrey Yoskowitz and Liz Alpern will host a virtual workshop on how to make the traditional Ashkenazi dish....
I love it when people taste my pareve desserts and say, "Wow - this is pareve!?" It's the same rule with Passover dishes and desserts. Which is why I am on a never-ending search for the perfect Passover desserts that are good enough to eat all year and just happen to also be Passover-friendly. In one of my searches I came across this recipe for Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies which I realized could easily be made Passover-friendly just by swapping out the peanut butter for almond butter. I adjusted a few ingredients and the result is a super...
There's nothing like Passover to remind us where we come from. In many Jewish homes, Passover traditions are carried down from father to son, establishing the family's customs and setting the standards for their Passover pantry. Growing up, my family's standards were quite stringent. We did not eat any processed ingredients, and we only used produce that could be peeled. My mother prepared simple syrup in place of sugar, and we seasoned our dishes minimally with kosher salt, no spices allowed. Thankfully, I married into a family whose customs...
First, before I begin my column, I want to express my condolences to the family of the late Madeleine Albright as well as to all of us. (She was quite a loss.) Madeleine was the first United States woman Secretary of State under President CLINTON. She immigrated with her family, (Jews who converted to Christianity) to the U.S. from Communist Czechslovakia. Unfortunately, she said, her parents never told her about her Jewish ancestry and heritage. (She learned of this in 1997). May she forever RIP. "High Anxiety". What a sweet Surprise!! ......
Making your own Haggadah is not just a money-saver, but also a great way to educate yourself about the Passover seder, add a unique twist to your seder and have a more meaningful and satisfying holiday. For generations, enterprising seder leaders have been sticking post-it notes in their favorite parts of existing Haggadahs, adding in photocopied readings or even cutting and pasting from multiple Haggadahs and combining it all in a looseleaf binder. The Internet makes the project of creating a personalized Haggadah infinitely easier - and...
Passover requires a lot of preparation, especially if you are making your home kosher for Passover. These 10 tips will help you organize and prioritize, so you can enjoy the holiday. Don’t Wing It, Plan It Planning is imperative. Think of your house as your corporation and you are its CEO. You are in charge. Just like a big company would plan out their functions, so too you want to work on “Project Passover.” When you have a plan in place, things will go much more smoothly. Delegate To Your Team, Including Children As CEO it is your job to de...
Passover has always presented some unique challenges to daily food preparation, but several events during that time of year has given me opportunities to develop new recipes. One son had a Passover bris. My daughter married the day before Passover. It was an afternoon wedding and I felt obligated to serve the out-of-town guests dinner. With a little advanced planning, I made sure to kosher the kitchen early. We used disposable plates and silverware. The simple menu for 24 guests consisted of vegetarian matzana (Matzah Lasagna), Apple-Celery...
Rabbi Steven Engel of Congregration of Reform Judaism joined a group of Reform Rabbis to explore how they could help the situation in Ukraine. They contacted the JCC Director in Krakow Poland, Jonathan Ornstein, and asked what the needs are and what could be done. He shared with the CRJ congregation via email the plans of this trip. Rabbi Engle stated, "without hesitation, [Ornstein] said "as Rabbis you need to come to Poland to counsel and comfort refugees, to let Ukranian Jews know that American Jews are there for them, and to bring some...
(New York, NY) — The American Jewish Congress profoundly mourns the passing of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. The secretary was not only a patriot and public servant in their most accurate forms, but was also a staunch advocate for peace and a lifelong ally of the Jewish Community. From her earliest days in the U.S., Secretary Albright exhibited a remarkable capacity for knowledge and quickly grew into a leading voice on many issues. During her time as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Secretary Albright fought to keep f...
(JTA) - Late last year, months before a Russian missile landed near the Babyn Yar memorial outside of Kyiv, Ukraine, the site's foundation announced plans for a new museum to honor the 33,771 Jews slaughtered there by the Nazis in September 1941. Natan Sharansky, chair of the memorial's supervisory board, described Babyn Yar as a "symbol of attempts to destroy the memory of the Holocaust," and that the new institution would be called the Museum of the History of Oblivion. "The History of Oblivion" would make an appropriate alternative title...
Jewish Super Talents ... William Edward Crystal was born on March 14, 1948. Of course you know him simply has BILLY CRYSTAL! Billy is an actor, comedian, director, producer and writer. (He is also one of my favorite favorites!) It seems every movie he appears in has been a hit! He is also a Broadway star! Like me, Billy is a native New Yorker. He was born in a Manhattan hospital and raised in the Bronx. (I'm a Brooklynite.) As a toddler, he moved with his family to Long Beach, Long Island. He had his bar mitzvah at Temple Emanu-El in Long Beach...
(JTA) - Few Jewish grandfathers are still riding a motorcycle at age 65. Even fewer can boast that they have Alice Cooper's number on speed-dial. Of course, David Fishof is no ordinary zayde. The 65-year-old L.A. sports agent and entertainment producer built a storied career promoting such stars as The Monkees and Ringo Starr and NFL greats Phil Simms and Vince Ferragamo. It's the stuff of any teen fanboy's fantasies, but Fishof insists he's an ordinary guy. "I'm a legend in my own mind," he quipped. He's also an ordinary guy who helps others...
(JNS) - A new street mural in Greece honors two non-Jewish Greek citizens recognized by Yad Vashem as "Righteous Among the Nations" for saving Jews during the Holocaust. The art display in the city of Patras pays tribute to the late Zakynthos Mayor Lucas Carrer and Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Dimitrios Chrysostomos, who together protected Jewish residents on the Greek island of Zakynthos after the Nazis occupied the territory in 1943. The project was an initiative of Artists 4 Israel in partnership with the Combat Antisemitism Movement and was...
My friend and colleague Toliy is a Ukrainian professor, who lives in a small city called Ostroh, in the western part of the country. He, like so many of his compatriots, now suffering under the relentless advance of Vladimir Putin's militant barbarism, is not going anywhere. He and his wife, Larisa, remain in this university town, doing whatever they can to do battle for their nation. Toliy writes: "Our women as well as men are ready to take up arms and fight against the invaders ... This tragedy united people with different political views and...
The tree that was pictured in the original article about Gush Etzion (Jan. 21, 2022) didn’t come with an explanation in the article. In 1948 when the people got word that an Arab invasion by regular Jordanian troops was eminent, the teenagers carried children and others walked with them to Jerusalem to safety and for 19 years between 1948 and 1967 the only thing all of those children could see was the top of that tree from Jerusalem as they longed to go back to Gush Etzion. — Submitted by Jon Klein...
(JTA) - Feeling the sand between her toes was Teva Goldstein's favorite part of her December 2021 bat mitzvah on the island of Maui. She and her family all wore white, accessorized with purple leis. The beach in Hawaii was nearly 4,000 miles from her home in Dallas, another thousand miles from where she had lived for most of her life in Maryland. Yet her family had chosen it to mark her bat mitzvah, the moment when she would symbolically assume adulthood among the Jewish people. The path to the beach was long and winding due to the COVID-19 pan...
(New York Jewish Week) - Uptown bagel and bag lovers rejoice! The Zabar's x Coach collaboration has arrived and it's the ultimate mashup of nosh meets posh. As part of their Spring/Summer 2022 line, luxury fashion brand Coach is drawing inspiration from the iconic Upper West Side gourmet grocery. Specifically, Coach has placed the iconic orange Zabar's logo - accompanied by an image of a bagel with a bite taken out of it - on their classic brown leather Cashin Carry Bag, as well as a gray wool sweater. The bag retails for $550, while the...
A super favorite of mine ... I'm referring to Mel Torme', of course, who I also had the pleasure of meeting. (Remember, I'm a native New Yorker and had the opportunity to meet many celebs!) Melvin Howard Torme', nicknamed "The Velvet Fog," was a wonderful singer, musician, composer, arranger, drummer, actor and even author. He composed and co-wrote lyrics to my favorite of all time Christmas songs, "The Christmas Song" (Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...) Yes, I'm Jewish and so was Mel! Unfortunately, Mel died in 1999 at age 73. But he left...
Marina Furman was born and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine. Her entire family was wiped out years ago in the Ukrainian Holocaust site, Babi Yar, and her mother was the only survivor. Being surrounded by antisemitism was simply part of everyday life. At the age of 19, Furman became a Refusenik — a Soviet citizen (and especially a Jew) who was refused permission to emigrate — and spent 10 years fighting the Soviet dictatorship to allow freedom of immigration and religious expression, nearly losing her life in the battle. On Wednesday, March 9, 2022, Fur...
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — Jewish baseball legend Sandy Koufax will be immortalized with a statue at Dodger Stadium this summer. The Hall of Fame pitcher will join his trailblazing teammate Jackie Robinson, whose bronze statue was unveiled in the centerfield plaza in 2017. Artist Branly Cadet, who made the Robinson statue, also created Koufax’s sculpture. The Los Angeles Dodgers had announced the Koufax statue in 2019, with its unveiling originally planned for the summer of 2020. The new ceremony will be held June 18 prior to a game against the Cle...
