Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(My Jewish Learning via JTA)-What is the essence of Passover? On the one hand, it seems obvious: Passover is about gathering together with loved ones to recall, through sumptuous home rituals, the exodus from Egypt. We gather round our seder tables and quickly become engulfed in the warmth of family and friends, the culinary delights of a delicious meal, and the comforting, vaguely familiar words and songs we recite year after year. Passover is, indeed, a beautiful opportunity for rejoicing and... Full story
There are no Jewish characters in the cinematically and thematically beautiful 2018 Academy Awards best picture winner "The Shape of Water." However, out of all nine nominees, this Guillermo del Toro masterwork best speaks to the Jewish experience: empathy for others, defense of what is right-even if not politically expedient-and remaining true to core principles of our religion. There even are some striking Jewish historical parallels in this adult "fairy tale for troubled times" set in 1962,... Full story
(My Jewish Learning via JTA)-Here are nine things that many likely wouldn't know about the Festival of Freedom: 1. In Gibraltar, there's dust in the charoset. The traditional charoset is a sweet Passover paste whose texture is meant as a reminder of the mortar the enslaved Jews used to build in ancient Egypt. The name itself is related to the Hebrew word for clay. In Ashkenazi tradition, it is traditionally made from crushed nuts, apples and sweet red wine, while Sephardic Jews use figs or... Full story
(JTA)—When I walked into the house through the back door one day as a young man, I was shocked to see my mother in the kitchen. To put it mildly, this was not one of her favorite places. When I asked her why she was there, a look of panic crossed her face. “Now that Grandma’s gone,” she explained, “I have to make the charoset.” Sensing her culinary discomfort, I volunteered to take over. With a look of vast relief, she fled the scene. Guided by the memory of my grandmother’s charoset—the sweet, chunky, fruity mixture that symbolizes the mortar... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-It costs more per pound than filet mignon. It might be burnt or taste like cardboard. It's so delicate it often breaks in the box, rendering it unfit for Passover ritual use. Yet every year, Jews from Brooklyn to Bnei Brak line up to fork over their hard-earned money to buy boxes and boxes of the stuff. This isn't your regular box of Streit's matzah. We're talking, of course, about handmade shmura matzah: the artisanal, disc-shaped matzahs considered extra special because the... Full story
(The Nosher via JTA)-I first tried raw vegan coconut cream pie years ago at Café Gratitude, one of the popular plant-based restaurants in Los Angeles. Café Gratitude is a quintessential healthy L.A. eatery. The menu features dishes with titles like "I am bountiful" and "I am cosmic" (which you are semi-forced to say out loud as written). Those dishes might include heirloom grains, fermented vegetables, turmeric or seaweed. The servers often have ethereally glowing skin and offer you an i... Full story
LOS ANGELES (JTA)—Half a century ago, Bob Hope’s films were wildly popular, but the comedian was never nominated for an Academy Award. So when Hope served as host of the 1975 Oscar bash, he opened his monologue with “Welcome to the Academy Awards... or as it’s known in my house, PASSOVER.” At Sunday’s 90th award ceremony, the notable Jewish nominees could largely repeat his punchline. The list of Jewish nominees, all with realistic chances to strike gold, included two for lead actors: Daniel Day-Lewis (in “Phantom Thread”) and Timothee Chalamet... Full story
Every photo tells a story, and what you see here is no different. The photo shows two women, smiling and happy. On the right is Rebbetzin Rivkie Lipskier, Chabad at UCF co-executive director, wife, and mother of five young children. I stand on the left, professor of political science at UCF, wife, stepmother to two adult children, and old enough to be Rivkie's mother. Rivkie and I met about 11 years ago when she moved to Central Florida with her husband, Rabbi Chaim Lipskier, who, like Rivkie,... Full story
A meaningful letter... LAWRENCE GROSSMAN, American Jewish Committee's director of publications, wrote this letter a few months ago. I found it very powerful and so I pass it on to you in part: "What happened at the 'Unite the Right' rally on Aug. 12 last year in Charlottesville, Virginia, was both a battle in the longstanding war over Confederate memorials and, more broadly, the latest episode in the blood-soaked, centuries-old history of racism in America. But for baby-boomer Jews like me, the... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-She was young, Jewish and the founder of a nonprofit organization that aids deprived children in Southeast Asia. He was a potential funder more than twice her age, promising donations and introductions to influential people. "He dangled a lot of carrots," she said in retrospect. But the fundraiser, who spoke on condition she not be named for fear of jeopardizing future professional prospects, received no donations from the man who promised so much. Instead he stroked her thigh, pr... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-Six-time NBA All-Star Amar'e Stoudemire has launched a line of kosher-for-Passover Israeli wines. The 6-foot-10 former player, who returned earlier this month from a trip to the Jewish state, spoke glowingly about the wines and his connection to Israel at a news conference here Tuesday. "It's a blessing for me and my family to be able to produce such great wines from a land like the land of Israel, so we're constantly counting our blessings for that," Stoudemire told reporters at... Full story
(The Nosher via JTA)-There is no substitute for eating a dish in its place of origin, preferably made in a home kitchen by hands that hold the muscle memory of thousands of meals. For me, a close second is stumbling across a recipe, trying it out, and feeling transported to a new place by its flavors. The vastness of the Jewish Diaspora has gifted us with a wealth of interesting types of culinary mergers, and I particularly love exploring the Jewish food of India, where Jewish communities date... Full story
Although "The Moldau" (Czech Vltava), is immediately recognized by most lovers of classical music as the work of composer Bedrich Smetana evoking the flow of the Vltava River from the forests of Bohemia through the Czech countryside to the city of Prague, it holds out a special appeal for many Jews and especially Israelis who hear in its opening bars a melody quite similar to the Israeli national anthem and Zionist hymn "HaTikvah" (The Hope). This seems to symbolize the long tradition of... Full story
Jewish National Fund is celebrating Women’s Month in March and highlighting the remarkable women who have taken on leadership roles within the organization. JNF Women’s Month coincides with National Women’s History Month, as well as International Women’s Day, which has been observed since the early 1900s. Throughout the month of March, JNF is hosting over 30 events across the country to bring women together to share their personal stories and highlight the important work that Jewish National Fund accomplishes through the women who give their ti... Full story
Our people have been there... I read this in a letter from the American Jewish World Service: As this column is read, "we have just celebrated Purim, a celebratory holiday filled full of treats and costumes. Purim has deep lessons to teach us about fighting intolerance and acting on our shared values to pursue justice. Just as Queen Esther courageously stood up to the evil Haman and saved the Jewish community of ancient Persia, we too can stand up for those who face persecution today. In Burma... Full story
Harold Forman, age 67, of Longwood, passed away on Monday, Feb. 19, 2018, at his residence. Harold was born in Brooklyn, New York, on Feb. 24, 1950, one of three children born to the late George and Sylvia Shapiro Forman. Harold received his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the Brooklyn College of Pharmacy and his master’s degree from St John’s University. On Aug. 6, 1977, in Tarrytown, New York, he married the former Melanie Blair, his wife of nearly 41 years who survives him. The family relocated to the Orlando area from New York in 1996... Full story
Father Desbois is on a mission to expose the Holocaust’s hidden crimes. Father Partick Desbois, a French priest, might be one of the greatest detectives of all time. In nearly a decade of work, he has uncovered the murder of 1.5 million Jews in Eastern Europe during World War II. His most recent book, “In Broad Daylight,” maps out the mass killings of Jews in Eastern Europe in exhaustive detail. While the mass execution of Jews in Poland, France and Germany in Nazi concentration camps and death camps is well documented, in the eastern count... Full story
(JNS)-Canadian sports executive, lawyer and author of the new book "Alley-Oop to Aliyah: African American Hoopsters in the Holy Land," David A. Goldstein is often asked why he decided to write about hasbara, or positive propaganda used to convince others to support Israel. But according to Goldstein, when he started on the book 11 years ago, he discovered an unknown, upbeat phenomenon. "I didn't set out to create that positive feeling about Israel. That feeling is created by this country-how... Full story
One of the nicest things about our community in Florida is our diversity. Often, while I am working out in my exercise class or enjoying a concert or eating in our small bistro, I am struck by the number of people from all cultures, ethnicities, and countries that live here. An example of our melting pot was seen in the Shapiro's Who-Made-the-Hamantashen tale. In May 2016, my husband, Larry, and I purchased tickets for a Flores de Mayo celebration that was being sponsored by our community's... Full story
Calling any Jewish teen interested in developing a deeper understanding of Jewish politics, economy, and philosophy to attend the Tikvah Institute's Maimonides Scholar program. This summer, from June 24 through July 8 at Yale University, Rabbi Mark Gottlieb is introducing a new cultural and historical enrichment program for Jewish teens to encourage people to come and ask the "big questions" about fundamental Jewish texts and values. The Tikvah Institute for High School Scholars has announced a... Full story
"The phrase L'Dor L'Dor-from Generation to Generation-encapsulates the essence of good Jewish parenting," said Nancy Ludin, executive director of the Jewish Pavilion. Shown here (top photo) are the children in the Mishpacha Sheli class from Ohev Shalom who brought a bit of sunshine and flowers to residents of Savannah Court in Maitland. Shown in the photo to the right is Alison Klein, daughter of Jessica and Matt Klein of Orlando, making smiling faces with a resident. (The Klein's other... Full story
The NRA spends millions... (I'm just saying.) This is a recent statement from the American Federation of Teachers: (AFT) President RANDI WEINGARTEN on the Florida school shooting; "This is the 18th school shooting this year. At least 17 people were killed today. May their memories be a blessing, but when is enough enough? "We are devastated and horrified by yet another school shooting in our nation. The trauma and tragedy inflicted on the children, educators and parents of the Stoneman Douglas... Full story
NEW YORK—The World Values Network is honored to announce that Stuart and Robbi Force along with their daughter Kristen, will receive an award at The Sixth Annual Champions of Jewish Values International Awards Gala, which will be held on March 8, in memory of their late son, Taylor, who was tragically killed in Tel Aviv two years ago at the hands of Palestinian terrorists. Force was a West Point graduate and an Army captain who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Force was on tour in Israel at the time as a private citizen with a group of g... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-When Meredith Jacobs was taught the Purim story as a little girl in the 1970s and '80s, Esther was made out to be its heroine, while Queen Vashti was its "evil queen." According to the Book of Esther, Vashti was banished by her husband, the Persian King Ahasuerus, for refusing his order to display herself wearing her crown in front of his male guests. A body of traditional commentary depicts Vashti as disobedient and a fraud. As an adult, Jacobs started to reject that... Full story
(JTA)—Aly Raisman, the Olympic gold medalist gymnast, told a BBYO conference she drew strength from her Jewish upbringing. Raisman, addressing the pluralistic youth movement’s annual conference in Orlando, Florida on Friday, said she wanted to “talk about how proud I am to be a Jewish athlete,” which drew cheers. “Being Jewish is all about family and I think being Jewish is all about being a good person,” she said. “I have so many amazing memories of being with family during the Jewish holidays.” Raisman, 23, advised her audience to see... Full story
