Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 3001 - 3025 of 4419
TEL AVIV (JTA)-Say the words "Jewish" and "superhero" together in a sentence, and most people will likely think of Gal Gadot, the dark-haired former Miss Israel who's better known these days as Marvel's Wonder Woman. Milton Maltz wants to change that. The Cleveland, Ohio-based philanthropist and businessman is a longtime friend of Tel Aviv's Beit Hatfutsot-Museum of the Jewish People. And when he got wind of the museum's plans for a massive $100 million upgrade, one particular exhibition piqued... Full story
KRAKOW, Poland (JTA)-For the sixth year in a row, the seven synagogues in Krakow's historic Jewish district, Kazimierz, opened their doors for 7@Nite-or the Night of the Synagogues, a one-night mini-festival aimed at bolstering Jewish pride and promoting Jewish awareness among the public. Each synagogue-from the Gothic Old Synagogue, now a Jewish historical museum, to the ornate 19th century Tempel Synagogue, used for both services and cultural events-hosted an exhibit, concert, film or other... Full story
(JTA)-They say the best stories happen when a writer gets pushed out of his or her comfort zone. Since the "they" in this case was my editor, this is how I found myself readying to post a topless photo of myself online-all in the name of good journalism. But this isn't a story about-well, whatever you're thinking it's probably about. Rather, this was an investigation into a legit Israeli startup, Brayola, a social network for lingerie shopping. The site, which also sells and ships bras, just... Full story
ISRAELI21c-Israeli cookbook authors won four awards at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2016 including top prize, Best in the World Wines & Drinks book. Mira Eitan's "Happy Hours-Famous Bar Stories and Cocktail Recipes" book, which is in Hebrew, was chosen out of nine finalists in the Drinks category. "It is not taken for granted that a book in Hebrew would triumph over eight award-winning books and take first place," Eitan, an editor and writer on the subject of Israeli wines, told Yediot... Full story
(The Nosher via JTA)-I'm a cheese and dairy fanatic. So for obvious reasons my favorite holiday is Shavuot. This is when spring has sprung and my family makes a whole spread of cheese and dairy-filled foods and desserts. There is always a ton of different cheeses, spreads, breads, fluffy cheesecake, kugel, blintzes and my absolute favorite, bourekas-puff pastry or a simple butter pie dough filled with cheese and either potato, mushrooms or spinach. When you manage to get one hot out of the oven... Full story
On Friday, May 27 the second floor social hall at Spring Hills Assisted Living in Lake Mary was packed wall-to-wall with more than 40 kippot-clad residents, caretakers, and family members, for a memorial service in tribute to late resident, Charles "Dill" Hurvitz, who passed away on Sunday, May 8, 2016. He was a resident at Spring Hills for eight years, and lived to age 98. However, this was not Mr. Hurvitz's funeral. That service had already taken place graveside with a handful of mourners in h... Full story
Back in Orlando... Wow. I didn't think it was hot in Chicago when it hit 81 degrees the other day. However, many local folks donned shorts. Most complained about the high heat. (I cooled off!) You know I write this column more than a week in advance of publication. I just returned from Chicago late last night. I was there for a private gig and most important... for the bar mitzvah of my grandson, ZACHARY AARON YOUSHA, son of Dr. STEVEN YOUSHA and Dr. JESSICA GOLUB of Wilmette, Illinois. The... Full story
(Kveller via JTA)—My camp duffel bags are 30 years old. This is the first time since 1986 that they will not make the trek with me from Chicago to Wisconsin for a summer filled with outdoor adventure and friendship. As a lifelong camper and now “retired” camp director, I have enough experience to write a doctoral dissertation on how to prepare your child for the essential Jewish-American tradition: going to overnight camp. Instead of boring you with endless suggestions, I’ll share some tried and true advice. 1. Shop, label, and pack with your c... Full story
(JTA)-Sara Wolf was running around a water park in an oversized T-shirt when she became acutely aware of the need for a "less frumpy" yet covered-up swimwear option. So she and Daniella Teutsch, a former fashion industry colleague, launched HydroChic, a swimwear company for women who want to enjoy the water and stay modest at the same time. "The only options we were finding were these long, flowery dresses that just weren't our style or skin-tight surfing-style wetsuits," Wolf says. The company... Full story
Not only was Marcia Jo Zerivitz awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters-Honoris Causa, as was noted in the May 20 issue, but Heritage recently discovered that this award was an extremely rare honor. The following is more on the honorary degree Zerivitz received, as well as pictures with family and friends from the Central Florida area. Marcia Jo Zerivitz, founding executive director of Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU, was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters-Honoris Causa from... Full story
The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) praised Mosab Hassan Yousef (a/k/a “the Green Prince”), the son of a Hamas leader, for his courageous, important, and insightful speech at the Jerusalem Post conference in New York on May 22, 2016), urging the free world to unite against Islam itself as a belief system that has resulted in so many murders “in the name of Allah” and that threatens not only Israel, but also all of humanity. “I speak with the authority of experience, not from books or second-hand knowledge, and I don’t represent a... Full story
By Jerry Silverman NEW YORK (JTA)-In Israel, when the two-minute siren sounds at 11 a.m. on Yom Hazikaron, the Jewish state's Memorial Day, the nation comes to a halt. As we saw just two weeks ago, cars on streets and highways pull over, and drivers and passengers get out of their vehicles to stand and observe a moment of silence. Shoppers halt in the aisles of stores. Workers stand next to their desks. Places of entertainment close for the day. In a nation as tiny as Israel, nearly everyone... Full story
You know Shavuot is coming when you begin to see cheesecakes everywhere. Countless variations in the bakeries and supermarkets. Endless numbers of recipes in the media. Cheesecake is the iconic Shavuot dessert, as sacrosanct as a Hanukkah latke or Passover matzah ball. Unfortunately, cheesecake is one of those deceptively simple recipes, the kind that requires some tips and techniques to get right. Also, not everyone agrees on what makes a cheesecake perfect. Some like it dense; others,... Full story
As I write this... I am getting ready to fly to Chicago from Orlando International Airport in a few days. (Of course when you read this, I will have hopefully already returned.) My grandson, ZACH is becoming a bar mitzvah and I am looking forward to presenting him with his grandfather's tallit. His grandfather, Papa Irv (my loving spouse of 55 years) died several months ago. Needless to say, I am nervous to fly... actually, I'm always nervous to fly, but this time in the age of terrorism,... Full story
(JTA)-Science has finally provided evidence of what Jewish "Star Wars" fans long suspected: Yoda is a member of the tribe-or at least he speaks like one. The bad news is the science has been widely dismissed as junk. The Yoda reference appears in a video in which a a 36-year-old Israeli linguist at Sheffield University in England argues that Ashkenazi Jews and the Yiddish language originated in Turkey. The study joins a number of others published in the past 15 years that challenge the... Full story
TEL AVIV (JTA)—In 1978, when Beit Hatfutsot-Museum of the Jewish People opened, it did something big. But it did it in the smallest way possible. Among the museum’s first exhibits was a gallery filled with 18 miniature synagogues, each as intricate and tiny as a dollhouse. Representing houses of worship from around the world, the Synagogue Hall—like the museum itself—was a picture of global Jewish diversity, its models reflecting the wide range of building styles that house Jewish prayer. Visitors to the museum gasped at the fine detaili... Full story
By Pamela Ruben When my 76-year-old mother had recent back surgery, my siblings and I had a zillion questions and concerns that we shared with her orthopedic surgeon. It turns out we should have saved a few of those questions for the anesthesiologist... My mom slept most of the day following her procedure, and was in and out for most of the night. When I arrived in her room the next morning, she was sitting upright in bed, with a plate of eggs and bowl of fruit resting on her tray. My mouth dropped open in surprise as I watched my glassy-eyed... Full story
"We had an enjoyable Koffee and Kibbitz session at Plantation Oaks this morning, highlighted by three weeks of Heritage publications!" said Gloria Green, Jewish Pavilion program director for the Southwest Orlando area. Green pointed out articles of interest in each issue for the avid readers, and they all said they would love to be able to read it each week. Green saw a need among the residents for a connection to their Jewish community and the Jewish world. The Jewish newspaper was the perfect... Full story
Aaron Gorovitz named one of the top fundraisers in U.S. Orlando, FL –Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed is pleased to announce that long-time partner Aaron J. Gorovitz has been honored with a national STOP Diabetes-SHARE award by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) for his outstanding contributions in the fight to stop diabetes. This award is unique, and it has not been given to anyone else in the U.S. during the past 12 months. As the chairman of the local ADA Father of the Year (... Full story
WALTHAM, Mass. (JTA)-When Jonathan Sarna was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 1999 at the age of 44, it changed his life. Already a highly regarded historian at Brandeis University, Sarna was in the midst of writing his seminal study of American Jewish history when he realized with alarm that he might never finish it. He underwent chemotherapy, radiation treatment and surgery. Though he didn't know it at the time, doctors gave him a one-in-five chance of surviving. Then, slowly, the... Full story
I repeat myself because I'm old?... I'm NOT old. (Oh shut up!) I don't repeat myself. I don't repeat myself. (Okay, I do. Especially last week's joke. Sorry.) Speaking of dementia, I once asked my spouse if he thought I had Alzheimer's because I couldn't remember where I parked the car in the Publix parking lot. He answered that "it's not where you parked it. It's when you don't know what to do with the car that you may have Alzheimer's." And on this subject... I read the following in the... Full story
PARDES HANNA, Israel (JTA)-When Yoel decided, at age 8, to begin observing Shabbat, there was one problem: It meant he couldn't join most of Israel's youth soccer teams, which played games on Saturday. Yoel, now 12, has always lived in the increasingly large gray area between Israel's starkly divided religious and secular Jewish societies. His father observes Shabbat, his mother doesn't. He attended a religious elementary school, but transferred to a secular school this year. He enjoys how... Full story
One-hundred years ago this month, British colonel Sir Tatton Benvenuto Mark Sykes and French diplomat François Marie Denis Georges-Picot divided the Middle East loosely and arbitrarily between Great Britain and France. Following that division, which became known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement, a series of further-and often contradictory-treaties and conferences resulted in power battles, internal uprisings, coups, and revolts. A century later, the Middle East-with an explosive array of... Full story
(The Nosher via JTA)-Gluten-free brownies-when made without those unpredictably tricky gluten-free flours-is the kind of dessert that speaks to me: fudgey, rich and, above all, very easy to make. With halvah turning up everywhere from cinnamon buns, to donuts, to ice cream, I couldn't wait to try it out in my favorite baked good. After much deliberation at Russ and Daughters-marbled dark chocolate or seven layer halvah?-I ordered a block of pistachio halvah, which was weighed and wrapped by an... Full story
AMSTERDAM (JTA)-As a Dutch Jewish couple hiding separately from the Nazis, Emmanuel Joels and Hetty van Son were literally drawn together by a comic book of Emmanuel's romantic invention. After narrowly avoiding deportation to Auschwitz thanks to a policeman's tip, the young couple spent 2 1/2 years living less than a mile apart, each in the care of rescuers with ties to the resistance in the city of Apeldoorn, 55 miles east of Amsterdam. It was a fortunate situation in a country where 75... Full story
