Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 2176 - 2200 of 4419
"Why are we here?" the question hung in the air of the first board meeting of the revamped Rollins Hillel student board. Sure, who doesn't love free Shabbat dinners and trips to Israel, but really, at the end of the day, why are we here? There are over 100 student organizations in addition to athletics, Greek life, internships, etc., that students at Rollins can be a part of. Why is it important that there is a Jewish student organization on campus? After a moment a student leader looked up,... Full story
This past year has been a very exciting one that saw the J improve and expand its programs to better serve our community. We are excited about our current offerings and we are looking forward to adding new and exciting programs for the community in this new year. November marks the 20th annual Central Florida Jewish Film Festival, in partnership with the Enzian Theater, featuring significant, acclaimed movies with a focus on the Jewish experience. Last year we showed "1945," a film winning... Full story
For 40 years, Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando has served the needs of our neighbors, regardless of race, religion, culture or national origin. We have cared for tens of thousands of those neighbors, keeping true to our mission of "providing services to stabilize individuals and families in crisis, and enhancing the quality of life across generations to all members of the Central Florida community." We strive to ensure that our mission is reflected in everything we do. Our mission... Full story
The Journal of Moral Education published an article titled "Holocaust Knowledge and Holocaust Education Experiences" predicting citizenship values among U.S. adults. The research investigated the relationship between Holocaust knowledge, Holocaust educational experiences and citizenship values. The authors concluded that learning about the Holocaust in school, hearing Holocaust Survivor testimony (in person or via electronic media) and visiting a Holocaust museum were the strongest predictors... Full story
A special date... Today, Sept. 7, my beloved spouse, Irv and his twin brother, Jack, were born. Irv and I were married for 55 years until his death on Aug. 20, 2015. Life goes on... barely. I also just received a message on my cell phone that said U.S. Senator John McCain has died. How sad! I had so much respect for Senator McCain, he will be sorely missed by me and by the entire country (and maybe even the world.) May he rest in peace. French justice... I read this recently about the murder of... Full story
Many people are familiar with the "Aleinu" prayer recited at the conclusion of each Jewish prayer service. I would even venture to say that it is one of the favorite prayers of the Jewish people because it indicates that services are coming to an end. What many people don't realize is that this ancient prayer was originally only recited as part of the High Holiday liturgy. It was so popular that the rabbis decided to incorporate it as the concluding prayer of our daily service. During Aleinu we... Full story
I have to confess something-when I was in college, I did not go to Hillel. I made a deal with my mother that I would go once a semester for a bagel brunch or a Shabbat dinner, but after fall of my freshmen year I decided it wasn't for me (sorry Mom). Even five years ago when I moved to the Orlando area to help restart Central Florida Hillel I was skeptical. Does Hillel work? Does it have an impact? Can a truly welcoming and inclusive community really exist on a college campus? Through no small a... Full story
It's that time of the year again when roughly 350,000 Jewish college students will be facing the High Holidays away from home. Whether for the very first time or just returning for another year of school, this is a time of the year when Central Florida Hillel is at its busiest. The High Holidays present a perfect opportunity for young Jewish adults to get together, whether they are observant or completely secular. The social aspects of the holiday combined with our famously abundant, delicious... Full story
In the next few days we'll celebrate Rosh Hashanah and herald in the new year 5779. It is a time of renewal and of family-filled with good food, traditions and wishes, hopes and prayers for the future. While the holiday is best known by the name "Rosh Hashanah," which literally means "head of the year," in the Torah the holiday is called "Zichron Truah," which roughly translates as "Memory Blast." Additionally, the only mitzvah, or commandment, that is directly connected with this holiday is to... Full story
Picture a pretty welcome table in the lobby with Jewish calendars, apples and honey. Imagine a front desk clerk wishing all Jewish residents and their family members a happy New Year. Think about a holiday menu with challah, noodle pudding, tzimmes and apple cake. While these things were once unimaginable in Orlando, they are occurring today in over 70 elder-care communities thanks to the Jewish Pavilion. Seniors who are no longer able to travel to shul can celebrate the High Holidays with... Full story
Shalom, friends, On behalf of the staff and Board of Directors of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando, I wish you a sweet New Year 5779! Just over a month ago, I was elected president of the Federation, and during our annual meeting I discussed our strategic plan to refine and modernize Orlando's Federation model to better serve the modern local Jewish community. As we embark on a promising new year, it is apropos to reaffirm the principles that will fuel our progress in the months ahead. The Federation mission is built on four core... Full story
27 was another spectacular year for the Rosen JCC. We saw continued growth in our early childhood, summer camp and senior adult programs, and increased membership, event rentals and community reach. Highlights include: • Reaching new highs in early childhood enrollment (over 200 children) and summer camp enrollment (over 400 children). We also opened our new state-of-the-art Noah's Ark Infant Room. • Programmatic partnerships with the Orlando Repertory Theatre, Orlando Science Center, Orlando... Full story
Since the year that we met, my husband, Larry, and I attend Rosh Hashanah services. We hear the shofar, listen to melodies that we only hear on the High Holy Days, and greet our friends with L'Shana Tova-Have a good year! Attending High Holy Day services as an adult is different from my experiences as a child growing up in Keeseville, N.Y., a small upstate town of two thousand people about 90 minutes south of Montreal. My Uncle Paul had opened Pearl's, one of a chain of small department stores... Full story
Date Honey Cake recipe Ronnie Fein (The Nosher via JTA)-As a kid I would shiver at the prospect of eating honey cake, which I thought was too sticky, too pungent and too spicy. My mother served it every Rosh Hashanah because it was my Aunt Belle's recipe and among the treasures of my father's family, where the women were prize-winning bakers. Tastes change. Years later, I actually looked forward to this once-a-year goodie. So I'd like to say that honey cake is an adult, acquired taste, but that'... Full story
Who knew? department... When I was younger and much better looking (oh quiet!), I loved to wear the latest fashions and I adored the famous fashion designers. My favorite was RALPH LAUREN. I just found out that his real name is not Lauren, rather Lifshitz! (A landsman!) If you were born in 1925-1955... This is a note to all the kids who survived the 1930s, '40s and '50s. No matter what our kids and the new generation think about us, we are awesome!! Our lives are living proof!! First, we... Full story
AMSTERDAM (JTA)-On July 19, Evelien Gans, one of the Netherlands' foremost scholars on anti-Semitism and the Holocaust, jumped to her death from her fourth-story Amsterdam apartment, where she lived alone. Gans, 67, a retired professor at the University of Amsterdam who had struggled with clinical depression for years, prepared her suicide with characteristic meticulousness. She left a carefully worded note for her life partner, Frank Diamand, and a last will and testament for her sister. Yet... Full story
LOS ANGELES (JTA)-Ask Ben Kingsley about why he was keen to portray Nazi criminal Adolf Eichmann in the new film "Operation Finale" and he describes the traumatic childhood incident in which he first learned about the Holocaust. The 74-year-old British actor was then in grammar school and at home alone when he turned on a documentary about the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. "I remember my heart stopped beating for a while," Kingsley, who is not Jewish but believes he may... Full story
(JTA)-When undercover Israeli agents captured Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in 1960, JTA's reporters were just as surprised as everyone else. An article dated May 23 of that year described an abrupt announcement of the operation by Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion to the Israeli Knesset. JTA described his mood as "hushed, almost incredulous." Ben-Gurion's announcement did not include the place and time of the capture, which had taken place 12 days earlier in Argentina, nor how it... Full story
The 2018 Hanukkah stamp will be issued sometime in late September or early October. The word "Hanukkah" is not on the stamp. The explanation given by the USPS is "Though the word Hanukkah is not on the face of the stamp, the words "Happy Hanukkah" are printed at the top of the stamp sheet." They go on to say "The USPS has received many public recommendations over the years to do a Hanukkah stamp without the word Hanukkah thus giving the Jewish community could choose to use the stamp beyond... Full story
(JTA)-You know what Oreos are. They're two delicious chocolate cookies sandwiched around a creme filling. Oreos also come in Double Stuff, vanilla, birthday cake and pumpkin spice (really). There is debate on how they should be eaten, but everyone knows they're best when dunked in milk. What you might not know is that Oreos are just a copycat of Hydrox, a sandwich cookie first sold in 1908, four years before Oreos appeared on shelves. Even though (or maybe because?) they were second, Oreos came... Full story
Spoilers for "BlacKkKlansman" below. NEW YORK (JTA)-In 1965, two young Jewish men, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, were murdered along with black activist James Chaney by Ku Klux Klansmen in a Southern horror memorialized in the 1988 film "Mississippi Burning." My own Jew-adjacent summer camp showed the film to us when we were about 12, with a non-Jewish camp director adding in an impassioned speech that while the days of the violent Klan had passed, it was our responsibility, as... Full story
Anti-Semitism in France... As recently reported in the La Croix International, (and passing it along to you), some 300 leading French public figures signed a manifesto denouncing what they see as the new wave of anti-Semitism in their country. The manifesto was published recently in Le Parisien newspaper and was signed by politicians, as well as Jewish, Muslim and Catholic leaders. Among the signatories were two leading Catholic officials: JOSEPH DORE, Bishop-emeritus of Strasbourg, and Father... Full story
This article ran in the Nov. 18, 2016 issue of the Heritage shortly before Myrtle turned 106. She passed away on Aug. 18, 2018. As I pulled into Myrtle Rutberg's driveway at the house she has lived in for 30-some years, her son, Gerald, greeted me at the door. "My mother likes visitors to come in through the front door," he said as he led me to the front porch. Myrtle's dear friend Karnine greeted me at the door. Karnine stays with Myrtle and their relationship is like a mother and daughter.... Full story
When Longwood's Vicky Countess sent her third and youngest son off to college in 2013, the full-time mom and part-time educator/office manager felt she had more to give. Fortunately, her husband, Ken, was an avid volunteer with Take Stock in Children, a nonprofit Florida organization that provides deserving low-income students with opportunities for success. Countess learned the program, which offers students college scholarships and volunteer mentors, was recruiting volunteers to mentor... Full story
Jerusalem, the true capital... I read this in a current issue of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) digest and pass it along to you: "BETTY EHRENBERG, executive director of the WJC, North America, joined with 70 other leaders from the Jewish and Christian communities in the U.S. and Latin America to meet with Guatemalan President JIMMY MORALES in Guatemala to show support for his decision to move the Guatemalan Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Guatemala was the first country to follow... Full story
