Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 2226 - 2250 of 4419
AMSTERDAM (JTA)-You can call a taxi, order a hamburger, rent a film and buy a book with a few clicks of a smartphone. So why shouldn't it be as easy to score a set of tefillin? That, at least, was the question that led to the launch last month of Wrapp-an app its creator calls "the Uber of the tefillin world." It connects those who have tefillin-leather straps attached to a set of two small boxes containing scripture on parchment-with Jews who need them for morning prayers or other rituals. And... Full story
MARKOWA, Poland-Memorial plaques bearing the names of Poles killed for rescuing Jews line the pathway leading to a small, austere structure built into a hillside in this rural village in southeastern Poland. In the center courtyard, a large slab is inscribed to the memory of Jewish victims of the Holocaust. The quiet, reflective space sets the stage for the haunting story that unfolds within the walls of the building, a museum that memorializes Józef and Wiktoria Ulma, local farmers who... Full story
(JNS)-Several camp counselors from Habonim Dror were present at an IfNotNow Jewish summer camp counselor training session in Boston on May 27. An organization that seeks to promote sympathy for the Palestinian narrative by encouraging fellow Jews to oppose the Israel "occupation," IfNotNow states on its website that its members "do not take a unified stance on BDS, Zionism or the question of statehood." Yet its critical statements against Zionist-aligned organizations, such as Camp Ramah, tell... Full story
(JTA)-A letter written by Albert Einstein on the day he renounced his German citizenship, after realizing he could not return due to the rise of the Nazis, was sold at auction for $30,250. The letter written on board the S.S. Belgenland and dated March 28, 1933, sold at the Nate D. Sanders Auction House in Los Angeles. Bidding started at $25,000. A second letter from Einstein written in 1938 in which he discusses helping Jewish refugees escape Nazi Germany sold for $31,250. The 1933 letter was... Full story
(JTA)-Omri Casspi, the first Israeli to play in the National Basketball Association, reportedly has agreed to a one-year contract with the Memphis Grizzlies. Reports of the deal emerged Sunday with the start of the weeklong free agency period. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN first reported the deal. Casspi, 30, can sign the deal on July 6. The Grizzlies will be his seventh NBA team. The 6'9" forward was waived in April by the Golden State Warriors, where he was under a one-year contract, after... Full story
As a 66-year-old retiree, I play chess recreationally a few times a week. For the most part, I play in chess clubs that are open to the public and are drop-in. Such was the case, recently, when I did something during a chess game that only a handful of chess players in the history of the game can claim: I suffered a heart attack while playing. It was late afternoon on a Wednesday. All the other chess players had already gone home for the day. Kevin and I were the only ones remaining, and we... Full story
About immigrants... This is a country made great by immigrants! My ancestry is Canada, Ukraine, Russia, Poland... as far as I know. (I plan to take an Ancestry test soon to see where else my ancestors come from). Everyone should be welcome... that is everyone but... (no, I am NOT getting political!) Great news from Greece... I read this in a recent World Jewish Congress (WJC) digest and pass it along: "DAVID SALTIEL, president of the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece, a WJC... Full story
(JTA)-Jewish tourists from North America are likely to notice one big difference when visiting synagogues around the world. Though a plethora of symbols, such as stars of David and menorahs, may be displayed, national flags are rare inside the sanctuary. Meanwhile, in the United States and Canada, an American or Canadian flag (and sometimes both) are commonly displayed on the bimah, or ritual stage, often alongside an Israeli flag. When did this uniquely North American Jewish custom originate... Full story
AMSTERDAM (JTA)-More than 70 years have passed since Meijer van der Sluis first laid eyes on the love of his life. He was at a home for child survivors of the Holocaust, and he opened the door for her. He still remembers her short haircut and exactly what she wore that day. "It was a black army coat," van der Sluis, 91, of Amsterdam, recalls in a critically acclaimed documentary that aired last month in the Netherlands about his wife of 65 years, Tedje. "It hit me hard. I fell in love. It... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-Growing up in Imperial Japan during World War II, Isaac Shapiro's best friend was a member of the Hitler Youth. The friend wore the organization's brown shirt uniform to their international school every day, but not because he wanted to-he was German and Japan was an ally of the Nazi regime, so he was expected to project support for the Fuehrer. Instead of instilling fear into his classmates, however, the uniform had the opposite effect-his non-German peers gently teased him. "We... Full story
AMSTERDAM (JTA)-As a seasoned ghost writer who specializes in biographies, Miriam Dubi-Gazan says there is no such thing as a boring life story. Her attention to detail, creativity and editing skills yield satisfying results even for clients whose resumes are not exactly the stuff of spy novels (think retired bankers, plastics manufacturers, midlevel civil servants and family doctors), she says. But Dubi-Gazan's own astonishing life story needs none of the tricks of her trade. Born in 1945 to... Full story
(The Nosher via JTA)-If you've been to a falafel or shwarma stand in Israel, then you have probably heard of amba. It's a spiced pickled mango condiment whose popularity in Israel comes by way of the Iraqi Jewish community. This flavorful condiment is commonly found in Iraq and across the Middle East, as well as in India. In fact, amba originated in India, and the word means mango in Marathi. You can find countless recipes and variations for amba, but the main and required ingredient is mango.... Full story
(Aish Hatorah Resources)—Without understanding what happened in the past, it’s impossible to grasp where we are today. Mention history and it can trigger a roll of the eyes. Add the Middle East to the equation and folks might start running for the hills, unwilling to get caught up in the seemingly bottomless pit of details and disputes. But without an understanding of what happened in the past, it’s impossible to grasp where we are today—and where we are has profound relevance for the region and the world. Fifty-one years ago, the Six-Day... Full story
(JNS)-As part of the annual Israel Festival in Jerusalem, I boarded the light rail with my fellow performers, each donning a white headset. Our choreographer was a pre-programmed Siri-like female voice named "Rachel" telling us exactly how to perform the show. But I am no actor, and neither were my fellow performers; in fact, we were the ones who needed tickets to the show! So there we were, in the middle of a performance on the Jerusalem light rail. "Try to look someone in the eye. Try! They... Full story
"Where have all the values gone?"... This is the title of a work written by a lovely lady, AUNITA PADGETT, a friend and fellow member of my Grief Support Group. It really hit home with me, especially all the young folks I see (even when they are driving) who constantly stare at their cell phones. I pass it along in part to you: "We have new gadgets, fancy automobiles and name brand clothing, but do we appreciate a new car, for instance, the way our grandparents and the whole family oohed and... Full story
By Rob Gloster SAN FRANCISCO (J. The Jewish News of Northern California via JTA)-Breaking religious barriers is nothing new for Rabbi Daniel Lehmann. Ordained at New York's Yeshiva University, the flagship of Modern Orthodoxy, he most recently was president of Hebrew College near Boston, which is devoted to pluralistic Jewish education. During his tenure, Hebrew College became the first non-Christian member of the Boston Theological Institute, a consortium of nine graduate schools of theology. N... Full story
SAN FRANCISCO (JTA)-In the compact, open kitchen of the apartment here that Dalit Gvirtsman shares with her husband, about a dozen women are jostling for space. One is chopping tomatoes, another is sauteing onions and another is squeezing a few dollops of honey into cooked egg noodles. Just beyond, the dining room table is set; each place setting features a napkin with the Israeli flag. A platter of bourekas with miniature Israeli flags has already been demolished. It's another monthly... Full story
(JTA)-Jack Garfein, a former movie producer who survived 11 concentration camps during the Holocaust, was honored in New York by a Poland-based group commemorating victims of the genocide. Garfein, 87, a former teacher and director at New York's famed Actors Studio and civil rights activist, received the From the Depths Award for Dialogue earlier this month at a ceremony along with fellow survivors Edward and Cesia Mosberg, who have worked to foster greater understanding between non-Jewish... Full story
Just a few weeks ago Lynn and I, together with a group of 39 people from Congregation Sinai and Temple Israel, had the pleasure of being in Israel for the 70th anniversary of the proclamation of the independence of the Jewish state. Yom Ha Zikaron (Remembrance Day) began for our group the evening of April 17 with a gathering of many thousands of Israelis at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv. El Maale Rachamim and Kaddish were said along with music selections appropriate for the occasion being performed and televised throughout the country. Sirens... Full story
(JTA)-On June 10, 2002, Charles Krauthammer delivered the Distinguished Rennert Lecture upon receiving the Guardian of Zion Award from Bar-Ilan University's Ingeborg Rennert Center for Jerusalem Studies. Below is an excerpt from the lecture titled "He Tarries: Jewish Messianism and the Oslo Peace." Krauthammer died on June 21, 2018. In the 1990s, America slept and Israel dreamed. The United States awoke on Sept. 11, 2001. Israel awoke in September 2000. Like the left and like the reverie that... Full story
The first time Rabbi Raphael Karlin gave his sixth-grade students a Talmud game, it didn't turn out quite the way he expected. The challenge was to take a passage of Talmud cut up into six parts and reassemble the components in the correct order. The process required his students at the Jewish Education Center in Elizabeth, New Jersey, to replicate a line of Talmudic argumentation followed by rabbis who lived 2,000 years ago. On the first round, no one got it right. So Karlin had them look at... Full story
This report really upset me... I read this in the World Jewish Congress digest and pass it along to you: "The World Jewish Congress decried the United Nations Human Rights Council's recent adoption of five resolutions under Agenda Item 7 accusing Israel of human rights abuses and violations of international law in the Golan Heights and Palestinian territories. (I visited the Golan Heights some years ago during the Yom Kippur war.) 'The U.N. Human Rights Council has once again let its biased and... Full story
(JTA)-"Ethics of the Fathers" includes this bold advice from Rabbi Yishmael: "When we learn in order to act, we become learners, teachers, preservers and doers." So many Jewish institutions are asking how they might engage younger people, raise a new generation of leaders and appeal across age groups. How might they advance the Jewish journeys of their volunteers, followers and "users," and take them further toward greater interest in and commitment to Jewish life? Limmud, a global network of... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-As its name suggests, relationships are key to members of the International Association of Relational Psychoanalysts and Psychotherapists. But there is one relationship some members want to sever: the one between the organization and Israel. At its 2018 conference, held June 14-17 at a Midtown Manhattan hotel, a vocal minority of the association's 2,200 members objected to next year's gathering being held in Tel Aviv, with some pledging to boycott it. The 100 people or so who... Full story
(JNS)-Can archaeology bring biblical history to life? According to historian and Deputy Minister Michael Oren, it depends who you ask. Speaking at a June 10 Jerusalem event celebrating the opening of the "Seals of Isaiah and King Hezekiah Discovered" exhibit at the Armstrong International Cultural Foundation in Oklahoma, as well as 50 years of archaeological collaboration between the Armstrong Foundation and Israel, Oren said that in Jerusalem, archaeology serves as a tool for proving the... Full story
