Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 2551 - 2575 of 4419
A beginner in the Jewish genealogy search, Jane Edelstein recently attended the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies conference held in Orlando. This is the second article about her experience finding her roots. If you're building your family tree online, you may be tired of reviewing old historical documents that aren't even in English. It's one thing to focus on relatives that you or your parents had once met, but once you've gone back two or more generations, how do you... Full story
Oh No!... My favorite comedian of all, maybe the funniest comic of all time, has passed on. I'm talking about Jerry Lewis. Jerry Lewis was an American actor, comedian, singer, film producer, film director, screenwriter, and humanitarian. He was known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He died at the age of 91 on Aug. 20th. He will be remembered for all of his movies, his years as half of the team of Martin and Lewis (with Dean Martin) and mostly, for the joy he... Full story
Like many back-to-schoolers, Ed April is preparing to return to classes. An eager student, he has already read through his required text on the Spanish American War. In just a few weeks, Ed will join with the thousands of students on the campus of Northwestern University, as he heads into his ninth year at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Northwestern University (OLLI). Though Ed is more than 55 years older than the average college student, he shares that returning to campus each year for... Full story
TENAFLY, N.J. (JTA)—Ayala Hodak usually cooks the way her mother taught her: adding a pinch of spice here or relying on her eyes—never a measuring cup!—to judge how much liquid to add. But on a recent Tuesday, she was being much more precise. At her spacious home in this suburban town less than 15 miles from New York City, Hodak, 52, who grew up in an Iranian family in Israel, measured the amount of salt and pepper she added to a stew. She also paused to demonstrate how thickly to cut a piece of beef. Her reason for the accuracy: Hodak... Full story
Jerry Lewis, who has died at the age of 91, was a consummate entertainer, one of the 20th century's great comic geniuses and a great philanthropist. Beloved on screen, his personal life was often tumultuous. Suffering through decades where his work languished, he nonetheless continued to challenge himself with new projects well into his late 80s. Lewis was born in 1926 in Newark, New Jersey. Most sources give his original name as Joseph Levitch. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Russia... Full story
Showing now at the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU is the exhibit Evil: A Matter of Intent. This timely exhibition features the work of over 30 contemporary and modern artists addressing the many faces of inhumanity. This pertinent group show features artists hailing from around the world with diverse backgrounds, including Helene Aylon, Judith Glickman Lauder, Grace Graupe-Pillard, William Sharp, Tamar Hirschl, John Lawson, Paul Margolis, Mark Podwal, Trix Rosen, and Arthur Szyk. The exhibition is... Full story
At the NAACP's annual convention in 1981, former President Ronald Reagan stated in response to racist violence: "A few isolated groups in the backwater of American life still hold perverted notions of what America is all about. Recently in some places in the nation there's been a disturbing reoccurrence of bigotry and violence." To those "who still adhere to senseless racism and religious prejudice," Reagan said this: "You are the ones who are out of step with our society. You are the ones who... Full story
Israel Experts, an Israel-based tour operator with an in-house logistics team made up of highly professional experienced tour guides, has been running Birthright trips for over 16 years. The organization is currently recruiting for its winter trips. The following is a first person article from one of Israel Experts' past participants. Israel Experts asked a young man who had recently traveled through Israel on a Birthright trip, "What was you favorite part of Israel?" It's been the nonstop... Full story
When family comes to town and it's your 95th birthday, that calls for celebration! David Fitzer was delighted to be surrounded by family, friends and community at Kabbalat Shabbat one recent Friday afternoon. His daughter contacted Jewish Pavilion program director Emily Newman to arrange for this special occasion. Fitzer enjoys the weekly Shabbat program, so it was the perfect fit to share birthday wishes with him on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. Healthy and happy birthday wishes to David! "May he... Full story
WALTHAM, Mass.-Mary Pridgen is an innovation-minded teenager who doesn't like to waste time. Volunteering in politics in Biloxi, Mississippi, Pridgen long had been vexed by a recurring problem: how to diplomatically extricate herself from meetings with long-winded people. So when she arrived at the Brandeis campus this summer for the technology track of a pre-college summer program focused on experiential learning and Jewish community, Pridgen came up with a solution: She designed a pair of... Full story
The world's first-of-its-kind dual robotic surgery was recently performed at Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem in Jerusalem. Aaron Schwartz, age 42, was severely injured when a heavy wall of steel fell on him at work. Suffering six broken vertebrae and leg fractures in two places, Schwartz was brought to the underground hybrid operating room in Hadassah Hospital's Sarah Wetsman Davidson Hospital Tower. "In the hybrid room are two robots," explained Prof. Meir Liebergall, head of Hadassah's Orthopedic... Full story
Sydney Kamen has always been concerned with helping others. In 2004, when genocide was raging in the Darfur region of Sudan, Kamen's mother announced that instead of Hanukkah gifts that year, Kamen and her sister should research and select a charity to support. At Jewish religious school on Sundays, Kamen went on service trips to soup kitchens, and through Georgetown Day School, he spent time at a women's shelter in downtown Washington, D.C. Her first experience with aid work in a developing... Full story
(JTA)-Curious George-that curious little monkey-is beloved by millions of readers around the world. His adventures with the Man With the Yellow Hat impart important life lessons amidst silliness and mayhem. But many people probably don't know that the children's book character was actually born during very dark times. His two Jewish creators, Margret and H.A. Rey, fled the Nazis in 1940-on homemade bicycles, no less-carrying their unpublished manuscripts with them. The story of the couple's... Full story
Memories and pure joy... What a week of television! I laughed. I cried. I clapped. I even changed one of the MUST destinations on my bucket list from a visit to my mom's birthplace, Montreal, Canada, to Broadway, New York City, my birthplace. (Of course, I hope to live long enough to visit both places.) The first exciting TV show for me was memories of Bob Hope. Little bits from many of his shows, including those entertaining our troops in World War II, Korea, Viet Nam... and on and on. (How I... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-Michelle Reyf isn't really a synagogue-goer. Until recently, the 28-year-old, who works for a Jewish nonprofit, was perfectly happy to get her spiritual fulfillment at Buddhist prayer services and meditation retreats. Synagogue did not appeal to her for a variety of reasons-she found the crowd to be older and the atmosphere to be impersonal. And as someone who identifies as queer, she felt distanced from the traditional values she encountered in many Jewish spaces. But in... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-As a rookie in the National Football League, New York Giants offensive lineman Adam Bisnowaty is splitting most of his time before the season starts in September between grueling practices and long team meetings. To lighten the mood, veteran players ask the newbies each preseason to sing in front of the team. Bisnowaty figures that when it's his turn, he'll go with "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel." Bisnowaty, 23, is Jewish-a rarity in professional football-and comfortable talking... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-Six years ago, the Israeli government released a series of controversial ads to show its expatriates that they would never feel at home in the United States. But last year, Israeli Cabinet members lined up to address a Washington, DC., conference celebrating Israeli-American identity. The ad campaign, which was pulled following a backlash from Israelis and Jews abroad, represented Israel's traditional attitude toward citizens who left its borders. Emphasizing its image as the Jewi... Full story
A beginner in the Jewish genealogy search, Jane Edelstein recently attended the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies conference held in Orlando. This is the first article in a series about her experience finding her roots. You didn't know your great-grandparents, and even thinking about Europe at the turn-of-the-century doesn't really sound appealing to you. So why should you spend at least a little bit of time, and seek out your Jewish ancestry? "Jewish genealogy is not a... Full story
(JTA)-Twenty years ago this summer, Anita Diamant-a freelance writer and author of several nonfiction books about Jewish practice, including "The New Jewish Wedding"-was awaiting the publication of her first novel. It was a work of historical fiction, set in biblical times, that focused on the story of Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob and Leah. The book was called "The Red Tent," and it has since achieved iconic status. The novel has sold millions of copies around the world and was adapted... Full story
Do you remember?... The following (in part) was sent to my editor from LAURENCE MORRELL and was passed on to me. (The original author is unknown). Growing up Jewish... If you are Jewish, and grew up in a city with a large Jewish population, the following will invoke heartfelt memories. (I grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. with a super large Jewish population!) The Yiddish word for today is PULKES (PUHL-kees). Translation: THIGHS. Please note: this word has been traced back to the language of one of the... Full story
LOS ANGELES (JTA) – While researching his latest one-man show, "Our Great Tchaikovsky," Hershey Felder-a playwright, actor and composer who has brought the loves, torments and soaring music of some of the world's greatest composers to the stage-faced a moral question. Does towering talent exculpate a composer, or any artist, for a racist or anti-Semitic remark, even at a time and place where such comments were commonplace? The answer isn't simple. "This is a very complicated matter," Felder, 49,... Full story
The 20th Maccabiah Games have ended, and the Central Florida Jewish community is proud to have two very talented tennis players among the USA Team who medaled. Aviva Diamond, daughter of Laura Felson of Orlando and Dr. David and Orly Diamond of Winter Park, was the Mixed Doubles and Girls Doubles winner for the U.S. Juniors Tennis team and brought home a Bronze Medal overall in Girls Doubles with her partner Yana Gurevich of California, losing to No. 1 seed Israel. Diamond will be a sophmore... Full story
A photo the Heritage ran last week of Hillel staff displaying their banner underwater was more than just a cool picture. These Hillel members are focused on "tikkun hayam"-repairing the seas-and are making a stand to "dive against debris." For the sea is His, He made it-Psalms 95:5 Most people with a moderate amount of biblical knowledge can recite the opening line of the Torah without having to give it much thought: In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. Genesis 1:1 But what co... Full story
(JTA)-Margaret Bergmann Lambert, a high jumper who was barred from the 1936 Berlin Olympics because she was Jewish, died in New York at 103. Her niece, Doris Bergman, confirmed that Lambert died Tuesday, The New York Times reported. In June 1936, just a month before the Olympics, Lambert, then a German citizen known as Gretel Bergmann, won a meet against some of the best German high jumpers with a leap of 5 feet, 3 inches-a height tying a German record and good enough to win the gold medal.... Full story
LOS ANGELES (JTA)-A famous photo of Albert Einstein sticking out his tongue at a photographer and signed by the renowned scientist has been sold for $125,000. The Nate D. Sanders auction house in announcing the sale Thursday evening did not reveal the buyer's identity. The Hebrew University stands to benefit from the latest sale, since Einstein bequeathed his estate, including the use of his image, to the Jerusalem institution. United Press International photographer Arthur Sasse took the... Full story
