Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(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
Recently, the Heritage received a phone call from the mother of a young woman attending the University of South Florida. She was alarmed at what her daughter was telling her about the bullying tactics of the campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). The mother is a member of the Congregation of Reform Judaism and gave the Heritage her daughter’s email address to learn what exactly was happening on campus. The daughter, who did not want her name to be mentioned, (and therefore the Heritage also did not want to give the m... Full story
Unity in Paris, France... I’ve been lucky enough to spend time with my spouse in Paris a few years ago, although a single glass of diet coke at a Paris sidewalk café cost us $9 American. (Oy vay.) It might be higher today. I recently received this story from the World Jewish Congress digest (WJC) and I pass it along to you: “World Jewish Congress CEO ROBERT SINGER and other WJC leaders joined with heads of state from some 40 nations, leaders of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF), European Jewish Congress and marc... Full story
On Sunday, Feb. 22, ESP entertainer and mentalist, Mark Stone, wowed the crowd at the Jewish Pavilion Gala with a jaw-dropping demonstration of mental gymnastics. Stone entertained the packed ballroom with a mind-boggling numeric demonstration, dividing the number "46" six ways from Sunday on a Sudoku-like grid in less than a minute's time. Then, the event co-honoree shared some additional numbers of note with the 264 Gala attendees gathered at Lake Mary's Westin Hotel. "Here are some numbers... Full story
For a February Shabbat Lunch, sponsored by The Jewish Pavilion at Brookdale-Dr. Phillips volunteers-Jennifer Jacobson, Samantha Jacobson and Kimberly Shader-assisted Jewish Pavilion program director Gloria Green in providing a short Shabbat service and lunch featuring chicken matzo ball soup for the attendees. Shader took a break from her job as an artistic director to lend a hand. Jennifer, Green's daughter, is senior program coordinator for the Rosen JCC. Her daughter, Samantha, is a high... Full story
HAVANA (JTA)-On the freshly painted, salmon-colored walls of Alberto and Rebeca Meshulam's apartment, two portraits of the late Lubavitcher rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, frame the entranceway leading to a wide, airy vestibule. Miniatures of the same portrait sit atop a glass-covered countertop near an image of the Meshulams' son, Moises, taken at the Chabad-Lubavitch yeshiva in Buenos Aires that he attended for a decade. Despite the iconography, and their kosher kitchen, the Meshulams are n... Full story
ISRAEL21c-Twice a year, before the Passover festival and the Jewish New Year in the fall, employees at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem get out their dustpans, brushes and brooms for a truly unique kind of clean up. The employees carefully remove hundreds of thousands of handwritten notes placed between the ancient stones by worshippers all over the world. Millions of people visit the Western Wall-one of Judaism's holiest sites-every year and many leave a written prayer or request... Full story
LOS ANGELES (JTA)-Who is the Haman in your life? The person, like the bad guy in the Megillah Esther that we read on Purim, schemes to bring you down. When we get to the place in the Megillah where Haman is forced to lead Mordechai though the streets of Shushan, saying, "This is what is done for the man whom the king desires to honor," might we insert ourselves-like a video game-into an updated version of the story? Imagining that a seriously negative person in our life is pushing our car down... Full story
Israel and world affairs... Once again, Israel is "right there" when needed, helping with crisis after crisis, as well as medical breakthroughs. This article comes directly from the World Jewish Congress Digest (WJC) and I pass it along to you: "Just as it did after crises in Haiti, Ghana and the Philippines, Israel is stepping up to fight the spread of the African Ebola epidemic that has infected more than 7,000 people. In addition to sending more than a million shekels worth of medical... Full story
All year long, Brown's Deli in Maitland offers freshly baked apricot and raspberry hamentashen, but now is the time for a Purim plethora of varieties. The traditional three-pointed hat-of-Hamen-shaped cookie in not-so-traditional flavors like reverse chocolate peanut butter, s'mores, almond coconut delight, cherry pie, and cinnamon apple, to name a few. Of course, there will be poppy seed and prune for delicious nostalgia. The bakery at Brown's serves a wide variety of Kosher Parve desserts.... Full story
