Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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By Julie Wiener A few weeks after Ben & Jerry's founders indicated that marijuana-infused ice cream may one day join its product line, the company's kosher-for-Passover charoset flavor has been generating buzz. In case your memories of last year's seder are blurred by too many cups of wine, charoset is the fruit-and-nut puree that symbolizes the mortar Hebrew slaves used when making bricks to construct Egyptian cities. In making its charoset flavor, which, sadly, is distributed only in Israel,... Full story
By Hillel Kuttler The Seeking Kin column aims to help reunite long-lost relatives and friends. (JTA)-As sage burned on a tin tray atop the green-carpeted floor of his living room, Arieh O'Sullivan stuck a pin in a voodoo doll. Meanwhile, friends played a guitar, Jew's harp and harmonica. Others chanted. O'Sullivan then grasped a shrunken monkey head and recited biblical verses, an ancient Assyrian text and an Irish-Catholic poem – all praying for his new home to be protected. The laugh-inducing... Full story
After having a presence in the southwest Orlando area for 15 years, and even though the building is not complete, Chabad of South Orlando, including the Chai Preschool Orlando and Orlando Jewish Day School, has officially moved into its beautiful new 11,000-square-foot facility-The Center of Jewish Life, located at 7347 Sand Lake Road in Orlando. They expect the new building to be completed by Rosh Hashanah. On a tour of the facility, Rabbi Yosef Konikov explained their operations. They have Sha... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)-With the clock winding down on a recent game here, Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Blatt was still barking out instructions to his players despite enjoying a late 40-point lead over the Washington Wizards. Things didn't come quite as easy early this season for the rookie NBA coach and his team, which had great expectations with the return of four-time MVP LeBron James via free agency from the Miami Heat. Cleveland stumbled to a 19-20 record, leading some pundits to question... Full story
Brody Criz wants to be like Jim Carrey when he grows up. He wants to be known for "being funny." So when it came time to send out his bar mitzvah invitations, this creative young man, a seventh grader at Caruso Middle School in Deerfield, Illinois, went all out with a video produced by Xpress Video Productions and put it on YouTube. Becoming a "Billboard Top 5 Mitzvah Invitation" it has gotten more than 1,970,136 views in just three weeks. In the video, Criz parodied five popular songs,... Full story
Thanks to the generosity of Melvin and Zelda Siskind, visitors to the Holocaust Center enjoy a major improvement in how well they can hear a presentation in the back exhibit room. A new high-quality sound system, complete with sound enhancement for visitors with hearing impairments, has been installed and is now in use. At Melvin's suggestion, he and Zelda decided that upon their passing, they wanted to donate funds to various Jewish charities-the Holocaust Center being one of their primary... Full story
Am I "green" with envy? No way! But, if you are a "senior citizen" you should read this story sent to me by a reader: "Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the much older lady, that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags are not good for the environment. The woman apologized to the young girl and explained, "We didn't have this 'green thing' back in my earlier days." The young clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care... Full story
(Kveller via JTA)—Each year, the thought of Passover makes me want to run away. It’s a labor-intensive, heavy-on-the-sighing holiday, especially in Israel. The traditions and message are nourishing, but for me they get lost in the pre-holiday hype, in the burden of preparation, and in the myriad prohibitions that turn us back into disgruntled slaves. If the 10 biblical plagues paved the way for the Israelites liberation, the 10 modern plagues of Passover have me reaching for my passport and looking for a simpler way to celebrate freedom. 1.... Full story
PHILADELPHIA (JTA)-The Reform movement's rabbinic association unveiled its new High Holidays prayer book-one that continues the movement's trend toward inclusive liturgy-at the group's 126th annual convention. Mishkan HaNefesh, the Reform's first High Holidays prayer book, or machzor, since 1978, was a major focus of the Central Conference American Rabbis conference that concluded here Wednesday. The prayer book features the voices of female writers and language more reflective of the LGBT... Full story
(JTA)-A whopping 16,000 books have been written about President Abraham Lincoln. But a new book and an exhibit at the New York Historical Society tell a previously untold story about Lincoln: his relationships with Jews. Benjamin Shapell has been collecting documents relating to Lincoln and the Jews for over 35 years, housing them in the archives of the Shapell Foundation. For the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's assassination, Shapell persuaded Jonathan Sarna, the Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun... Full story
(The Nosher via JTA)-Passover brings the same challenge each year-especially for the baker. How do you make an array of delicious and unique desserts without using any flour (or any other leavening ingredients, for that matter)? This task is additionally complicated by the fact that dairy is often off limits, too. So when I find a recipe that works-and that my family agrees is a "keeper"-I tend to bring it back year after year. And this sponge cake is no exception. Moist and deeply flavorful,... Full story
The recent horrors in Brooklyn have united Jews in sorrow. They are also a tragic example of how quickly fire can sweep through a home and the devastation it can leave behind. In addition to Shabbat, practically every Jewish holiday has a connection to fire. These sites provide potentially lifesaving advice for enjoying our traditions safely. Tragic results can occur year round when fire is not given the respect it demands. Some recent examples: • Passover: A mother trying to set fire to a piece of bread as part of a centuries-old Jewish r... Full story
(Jewniverse via JTA)-In 1900, Horace Elgin Dodge and John Francis Dodge founded the Dodge Brothers Company. The brothers were not Jewish, but their original logo looked a lot like the Star of David. It was a circle with two interlocking triangles forming a six-pointed star. An interlocked "DB" was at the center of the star, and the words "Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicles" encircled the outside edge. One popular belief was that the symbol was chosen to anger their competitor Henry Ford, a notorious... Full story
Leave it to the Israelis... I've said it before and I'll say it again... the world would surely have had a cure for all cancers and so many other diseases and conditions threatening life and quality of life today, if the murder of millions of Jews during the Holocaust never happened. I am convinced of that. What a waste of so many brilliant minds. The entire world is being punished. I read this in a current issue of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) Digest and I pass it along to you: "'From the mo... Full story
Times Square: The luminous crossroads of the world. The brightly lit up corner of the city is a universally known landmark. This year, at the seventh annual CTeen International Shabbaton, the lights of Times Square were made brighter and stronger by the presence of 1,500 Jewish teens from across the globe who gathered together to celebrate their heritage. Joining in the Shabbaton was a group of 40 teens from central Florida led by Rabbi Yanky Majesky of Chabad in Lake Mary, Rabbi Ed Liebowitz... Full story
Former secretary of state... No! I'm not referring to HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON and her private (and not so private) emails, although that's all we seem to be hearing about in the news these days (at least as I write this column in advance), Rather, I'm referring to HENRY KISSINGER, who served as secretary of state to Presidents Nixon and Ford. I recently received this bit of news from the World Jewish Congress (WJC) Digest and pass it along to you: "Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry A.... Full story
At the BBYO International Convention (IC 2015) this year, held Feb. 12-16, Jay Kohler, volunteer adviser of Rebels AZA #442, was selected out of hundreds of advisers around the country as the Adviser of the Year. Jonah Goldberg, a junior at Lake Mary Prep School, and Corey Cohen, a senior at Edgewater High School and current chapter president, had the honor of presenting the award to Kohler in front of over 2,000 of their peers at the Saturday night ceremony. "We've known Jay for over three... Full story
It was 25 years ago that Linda Amon and Harriet Corey,z"l, of Congregation of Liberal Judaism (now Congregation of Reform Judaism) stood waiting at the Orlando International Airport with a sign that read "Welcome Levitasovs." It seemed to take forever before the anticipated Russian family finally walked through the gate. There were four of them-grandfather Anatoly Mantelman, 71, his daughter Marina Levitasov, her husband Mikhail (Misha and Americanized as Michael) and their daughter Yana. For... Full story
Kayla Dombrosky, granddaughter of Risa and Gil Dombrosky (who is on staff at the Heritage), attended the annual CTeen Shabbaton in New York City hosted by Chabad Lubavitch. It was a get-together of over 1500 Jewish teens from around the world. Kayla met the Chief Rebbi of Chabad and learned more about Judaism than her grandparents knew. The group toured Manhattan and then celebrated a unity Shabbat in Brooklyn. Saturday night was spent in Times Square for a havdallah ceremony where the teens... Full story
Seventh grader Aubrey Stern has always loved animals. As she approaches her 13th birthday, Aubrey has been preparing to become bat mitzvah at Temple Israel in Winter Springs. So, it's no surprise that when Aubrey was told one of the requirements of becoming bat mitzvah is to perform community service, she chose to support a local no-kill animal rescue organization. To do this, she held a dog fashion show as a fund-raiser and education event for Pet Rescue by Judy. Aubrey raised $350 at the dog... Full story
Bill Abramson is passionate about his photography. He appreciates and loves the wonders of this world and sees beauty in everything and strives to capture it through his camera's lens. About one year ago, he began thinking of his "Yiddishkite." Abramson reminisced about his Jewish heritage. "I started to contemplate all that the Lord has done for us," he said. "Restructuring John F. Kennedy's quote, 'Let's not ask what Ha'Shem can do for me, but what I should be doing to make Ha'Shem proud of... Full story
"Seventy years? That's all it took?"... I received a letter from Rabbi MARVIN HIER, head of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. It stated (with comments in parenthesis by me) that "Adolf Hitler himself predicted it might take centuries, but in a much, much shorter time we are seeing the return of vicious hatred directed at Europe's Jews." In his last will and testament, Hitler wrote 'Centuries may pass, but out of the ruins of our cities and monuments of art there will arise anew the hatred for the... Full story
On Thursday, March 5, the students spent the afternoon participating in Purim activities, which included face-painting, games, dancing and making masks for the holiday. The students also participated in the reading of the Megillah and ate delicious hamantaschen. The teachers put on a little Purim Spiel, which was a called, "Purim, Dress You Up," a parody of the pop song by Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson called "Uptown, Funk You Up!" "It was really a lot of fun!" said Head of School Alan Rusonik.... Full story
This story is the first in a series about members of the Jewish community who have stepped up on behalf of Central Florida's New Hope for Kids, a nonprofit with the purpose of bringing hope, healing and happiness to children and families of all backgrounds suffering from grief, loss or life-threatening illnesses. New Hope for Kids achieves this through two programs, the Center for Grieving Children and Wishes for Kids. For more information visit www.newhopeforkids.org. People often ask retired r... Full story
BOSTON (JTA)-In the past decade, a new class of Jewish mega-givers has emerged, reshaping the Jewish philanthropic landscape. This has been, without a doubt, a tremendous boon for Jewish life. Super-donors are facilitating the expansion of the Jewish enterprise. With their largesse, more young people are going to Israel, more kids are receiving scholarships for camp, more dollars are flowing to the Jewish state and more seniors are aging with dignity. But there is a downside to this funding... Full story
