Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 2051 - 2075 of 4383
(JUF News via JTA)-Author A.J. Jacobs has encouraged his three sons to be grateful for all they have. He and his wife urge them to write thank-you notes, to thank the bus driver, even thank their household robot Alexa for weather forecasts. Jacobs, who is Jewish, sometimes says a prayer of thanksgiving with his family at the dinner table in appreciation of those who helped get food to their plates. But not too long ago, Jacobs' son Zane raised an observation to his dad. "You know these people ca... Full story
(JTA)—Former Major League Baseball center fielder Lenny Dykstra ran car washes, wrote a book, went to drug rehab and spent time in prison. Now he is studying Torah. Dykstra, 55, a three-time All-Star who played for the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies and retired from the game in 1996, attends Torah study every Wednesday afternoon in the basement of the Ambassador Wines shop on New York’s East Side, with Rabbi Shmuel Metzger, who runs the Chabad at Beekman-Sutton, the New York Pos... Full story
Were the heavens and the earth created 6,000 years ago, as the Biblical Genesis Creation account suggests? Or, did the universe expand into existence nearly 14 billion years ago from a spontaneous "Big Bang" as modern science has described? Both dates cannot be right. Or can they? Imagine medieval manuscripts, written some 800 years ago, that could help us decipher Genesis chapter 1 and thereby pinpoint exactly when the universe began-an instant squaring, moreover, with our most up-to-date... Full story
(JNS) Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Michael Pierce chose Christians United for Israel's Israel Collective as his cause for the National Football League's "My Cause, My Cleats" campaign, featuring customized cleats. The shoes consist of the Israeli flag at the cut length, the initials "IC" at the back" and a skyline of Jerusalem on the sidewalls. Pierce has traveled to the Holy Land with the CUFI initiative to learn about Israel's past and customs in furthering the relationship between the... Full story
(JTA)-Just like any other Santa Claus, Santa Rick will spend much of the next couple of weeks sitting children on his knee, asking whether they've been good and listening to their Christmas wishes. If it's a Saturday, he may have slept overnight in the building. And he'll only accept payment after nightfall. For Santa Rick's last name is Rosenthal, and he's an Orthodox Jew who does not drive or handle money on Shabbat. But that doesn't stop him from doing his job. "I don't know anyone who... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-In the span of just a couple days, Chaim Raice went from never having been on a bobsled to being a contender to represent Israel in the 2022 Winter Olympics. And it all started with a Facebook post. Raice, a house builder based in Pomona, New York, was browsing the social media site in November when he saw a post saying that the Israeli bobsled team was in need of another athlete to compete in the North American Cup beginning that month. He thought it was a joke, but he still... Full story
Ancestry, ancestry... My mother was born in Montreal, Canada. Her family-her mother, father, brother and sister-were all immigrants from Ukraine. Her mother (my maternal grandma) died in Montreal at a young age, and her brother and sister came to the U.S. (Brooklyn), to live. My mom and her father followed soon after to join them in Brooklyn, where my mom eventually met my dad, they married and my older sister and I were born. So Ukraine is part of my ancestry and that brings us to the next... Full story
(JTA)-Three years ago, Don Was walked into a Jewish service in Los Angeles without high expectations. Was, born Don Fagenson in Detroit, is a producer who has worked with musicians like John Mayer, Bob Dylan and Bonnie Raitt. Since 2012, he has also been the president of Blue Note Records, the historic and acclaimed jazz record label. Since his bar mitzvah in 1965, he has rarely stepped into a synagogue. But his aging father, who was getting remarried, was set to be honored by his beloved... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-Liana Finck is in the eating area of a grocery store in Southampton, New York, and I've interrupted her beach excursion. Once a week, the Brooklyn-based illustrator rides a train to the east end of Long Island to channel her creative energy. She wakes up at 6:30 in the morning to catch that train and stays until the afternoon. Each year she picks a different beach. "I think of the big picture of what I'm working on, and it's for some reason the only time in the week when I get to... Full story
JERUSALEM-When Asael Lubotzky led his soldiers into battle against Hezbollah 12 years ago during the Second Lebanon War, he knew he might be wounded or even killed. What the infantry platoon commander never could have imagined was that a crippling injury would catapult him into becoming a best-selling author-and, eventually, a physician. Despite suffering wounds in Lebanon that nearly cost him his life, Lubotzky is now one of Israel's most promising young cancer researchers. His work focuses on... Full story
(JTA)-"If Beale Street Could Talk," the new film from "Moonlight" director Barry Jenkins, is at heart a film about African-American love during a time of rampant racism. It's an adaption of James Baldwin's heartbreaking 1974 novel of the same name, which depicts a young African-American couple in 1970s New York whose love story is unjustly derailed. But one of the film's most powerful-and most talked about-scenes begins with a close-up of the back of the head of a yarmulke-wearing man as he... Full story
By Brian Blum (Israel21c via JNS)-Some 14 percent of American adults suffer from migraines or severe headaches. Among women aged 18 to 44, the number soars to 23 percent. Currently, no cure for migraines exists, and over-the-counter pain relief medicines do not always work. One of the most promising treatments is occipital nerve stimulation, where a small pulse generator is implanted at the base of the skull to send pain-relieving electrical impulses to the brain. What if the same effect could... Full story
(JTA)-"The Kominsky Method" is the wisest and saddest new comedy on television. That might be its biggest problem. The protagonist of the eight-episode Netflix series that debuts Friday is Sandy Kominsky (played by Michael Douglas), a Jewish Tony Award-winning actor who landed with a thud in Hollywood. He no longer acts for a living but teaches the craft to students using the titular "method." Norman Newlander (Alan Arkin), whose wife, Eileen (Susan Sullivan), is dying from cancer, is Kominsky's... Full story
By E.J. Kessler When Eva Gelernt was a child, she suffered from mysterious medical ailments: severe bone pain in her legs and knees. Unexplained bruising. Low blood platelet counts. Eva, now 24, visited doctor after doctor near her home in the Philadelphia suburb of Moorestown, New Jersey, but her problems were dismissed repeatedly as growing pains. By the time she reached high school, Eva was being tested by oncologists. "They thought I had cancer," she said. The tests, however, never showed... Full story
I know Chanukah is over for 2018 but I just have to share this song (to the tune of "The First Night of Christmas") with you... "On the first night of Chanukah, someone sent to me, a warm bagel topped with cream cheese. On the second night of Chanukah, someone sent to me, two matzoh balls and a warm bagel topped with cream cheese. On the third night of Chanukah, someone sent to me, three golden latkes, two matzoh balls, and a warm bagel topped with cream cheese. On the fourth night of Chanukah,... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)—Apple CEO Tim Cook reiterated the company’s commitment to fighting hate and used a Hebrew phrase to do so. Cook invoked a phrase from Leviticus 19:16 in its original language on Monday at the Anti-Defamation League’s Never Is Now summit on anti-Semitism and hate. “’Lo ta’amod al dam re’eikha.’ Do not be indifferent to the bloodshed of your fellow man,” Cook said after receiving the ADL’s Courage Against Hate Award. Cook, who is not Jewish, said in his address that the biblical mandate moves Apple to speak out on behalf of the ri... Full story
(JNS)-You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll feel what it's like to breathe the air of Israel on a daily basis. You'll also see this tiny sliver of land through the eyes of the 51 olim (new immigrant) bloggers whose experiences Akiva Gersh packed into "Becoming Israeli: The Hysterical, Inspiring and Challenging Sides of Making Aliyah." Warning: Don't be surprised if you find yourself pulling out your suitcase and throwing in your Naot sandals, the family photos and a year's supply of Ziploc bags.... Full story
KRIMPEN AAN DE IJSSEL, Netherlands (JTA)-For two years, the world's only seaworthy life-size replica of Noah's Ark has been wowing passengers traveling along Holland's Maas River. Built according to the specifications detailed in the Hebrew Bible, the 390-foot-long vessel towers to a height of 75 feet. It boasts enough wood to fell 12,000 trees. And its distinct form dominates the coastline of the small town hosting it deep in southern Holland's so-called Bible Belt. Dwarfing even some... Full story
(JTA)—On the phone last week, just before the revival of his play “The Waverly Gallery” opened on Broadway, Kenneth Lonergan sounded harried. There had been some set malfunctions earlier in the week, just as critics were getting ready to start their reviews. He acknowledged the play is hard to take—as much for him as for the viewer. “‘Cathartic’ seems to imply that writing it made me feel better,” Lonergan said. “It didn’t.” Perhaps the critics’ takes could lift his spirits. “The Waverly Gallery,” which runs through Jan. 27 at the John Golden... Full story
(Kveller via JTA)—While Chanukah is a favorite on the Jewish calendar, there is no holiday as dangerous with its open flames, boiling oil and sharp graters for making latkes. So we’ve compiled these helpful tips to help you minimize the risks and have a safe and bright Festival of Lights. Menorah safety tips: Don’t leave your menorahs unattended. Never leave a room where a menorah is lit. Either wait for the candles to go out, or put them out yourself if you need to leave the room or house. Put your menorahs on a nonflammable surface. If you’r... Full story
It's taken six years, but former Orlandoan Brian Feldman is finally bringing the project that started it all to the District of Columbia. And not to just one venue, but all eight Wards (charities). Unlike anything ever seen in D.C. history, "The Feldman Dynamic: 8 Wards of Chanukah," is an unprecedented reality theater event featuring Feldman's actual family: Mom, Marilyn Wattman-Feldman; Dad, Edward Alan Feldman; and sister, Adrienne McIntosh and the family cat (take allergy medicine if you... Full story
Oy Vay... (There's no other way to put it.) According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, there has been a "spike in hate crimes." And according to the World Jewish Congress, "rising levels of physical violence, harassment and intimidation against Jews, including the desecration of our synagogues, schools, monuments and cemeteries. There are attacks against our history, culture, and sacred rituals, including laws seeking to ban Kosher slaughter and male circumcision. There is biased,... Full story
(The Nosher via JTA)-Each Jewish holiday has its iconic food: For Passover it's the symbolic matzah; for Rosh Hashanah it's sweet honey and new fruits. For Purim we get the delectable hamantaschen; and for Chanukah it's oil. That purified olive oil, used to rekindle the iconic seven-branched candelabra that was eternally lit in the grand Temple in Jerusalem, has shown up in modern times in our Chanukah lamps and in our foods. Jews from North Africa traditionally ate some form of fried pastry or... Full story
Larry Oskin of Art Beautique offers a unique virtual art gallery with Judaica artwork and a professional fine art photography service in Central Florida. For years, many Jewish homes, temples and community facilities have been challenged with creating a unique environment that celebrates Jewish life, traditions and culture. With seven very diverse Art Beautique Collections, Oskin celebrates Judaica & Religion, Flowers & Nature, Cityscapes & Seascapes, Animals, Americana, World Capitals, and... Full story
(JNS)—For generations, lighting the Chanukah candles together has been the stuff that makes lifelong memories. But today’s far-flung families are increasingly challenged to share the sight of the candles aglow, the sound of the blessings and traditional songs sung by old and young alike, the feel of a perfect dreidel spin, and the smell and taste of latkes fresh from the pan. Long-distance offspring may be away at college, on a gap-year program, studying in a seminary or yeshivah, a lone sol... Full story
