Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 3713 - 3737 of 4526
Shirley Schoenberger has been volunteering with Jewish Pavilion for just a few months and she is already recruiting others to join her. Shown here are her two grandsons, Noah (right) and Jared Weiss, who joined Shirley and her husband, Peter, on a recent Friday afternoon. Fifth-grader Noah and third-grader Jared, who attend religious school at Congregation Ohev Shalom, were on Thanksgiving school break from Lake Sybelia Elementary School and spending time with their grandparents doing a... Full story
(ISRAEL21c) -Meet Moshe Hogeg, the Israeli venture capitalist and entrepreneur tagged by Forbes magazine as one of the 10 "Start-up Nation movers and shakers you need to know." The 33-year-old founder and chairman of Singulariteam (a private investment fund and incubator formerly called Genesis Angels)-with an extensive network of companies he has created, technologies he has invested in, or both-is making an international name for himself. His illustrious list of backers and partners includes... Full story
Fifteen-year-old Jonathan Trattner, a 10th grade student at Lyman High School, dreams of spending the second half of his junior year studying in Israel as part of NFTY's Eisendrath International Experience program for 10th – 12th grade students, the same program his father attended 40 years ago. He also wants to help pay for the trip himself, and has launched his first business, www.holidayblowoutsale.com to raise the necessary funds. "I spent time this summer looking for ways to earn money. I... Full story
BALTIMORE (JTA) – Beyond the rusty orange leaves, the sky hugging the orchard flourished in pastel blue – a hue that surprisingly didn't define my mood while stretched out upon the grass, head nestled in interlocked palms that sweet October day. Surprisingly because the Sunday afternoon outing marked a jarring wrinkle in a cherished autumnal tradition. With one son serving in the Israeli army and another participating in a post-high-school one-year program in Jerusalem, this apple-picking for... Full story
More reasons for depression... It is acknowledged by most that as a person grows older... really elderly... they may experience bouts of depression. It happens to me occasionally, even though I'm NOT elderly, (Shut up!) especially when I read things like the following story from The World Jewish Congress Digest (WJC): "One of the oldest functioning Jewish schools, The Carolineskolen in Copenhagen, Denmark, recently suffered smashed windows and anti-Semitic graffiti. The vandals, who perpetrated... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA) -- Sharing their favorite Jewish chocolate experiences recently, a group of about 60 chocolate lovers didn't even mention Chanukah gelt. That is, until one woman at the New Jersey get-together shared her thoughts on the subject. "It is sucky," she said, meaning that the chocolate is waxy, flavorless and should remain wrapped in its foil on the holiday table. Francine Segan, an author and chocolate maven, echoed the feeling when she told me recently that her children, who were... Full story
PHILADELPHIA (JTA)-In text accompanying a new exhibition at this city's National Museum of American Jewish History, Sammy Davis Jr. is quoted on why he converted to Judaism. "I became a Jew because I was ready and willing to understand the plight of a people who fought for thousands of years for a homeland," the late entertainer said. What immediately follows is a curator's observation: "Davis knew that becoming a Jew also meant recording Christmas songs." The comment, while somewhat facetious,... Full story
ERUSALEM (JTA)—When the Maccabees climbed the stairs of the Temple in Jerusalem, they lit the menorah with the knowledge that there was only enough oil to last for one day. Only a miracle could turn oil into a renewable resource. And the future of the planet urges us not to depend on miracles. The faith and initiative shown by the Maccabees can inspire us this year to take greater action, especially during a Chanukah that falls during the shmita year. Shmita is the biblically ordained law that has roots in agriculture and building a just s... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-There's nothing quite like that first night of Chanukah: a platter full of hot, crispy latkes and the accompanying applesauce and sour cream. It's classic, delicious and a beloved comfort food for so many American Jews. But by the third or fourth night, I need a change of pace for my latkes. Or to be more specific, I crave some other toppings. While I love dipping my latkes into a healthy serving of rich sour cream, I also relish serving meat with latkes, specifically pulled... Full story
The average Chanukah sufganiya (jelly donut) has between 300 and 400 calories of nearly pure oil and fat. In honor of the miracle God bestowed on the Maccabees, making oil meant for just a day last eight days, the delicious donut and other traditionally oily Chanukah foods become annual killers for your diet. For those who are health conscious but do not want to be deprived of the annual treat, here are three healthier recipes selected from Joyofkosher.com. Consider substituting or reducing... Full story
Two San Francisco Bay area moms, Lisa Kinne and Susan Mayost, set up a new business they call Sweet Thrills Bakeshop, and their focus has primarily been on developing a new, creative activity for Chanukah-Chocolate Gingerbread Menorah decorating kits. "With our kids all now in school (ages 4-8), it was time for us to have some fun with our own creative ideas, not that playing Legos and having tea parties isn't endlessly satisfying," said Kinne. The idea was sparked by Mayost's own experience as... Full story
LOS ANGELES (JTA)-What can a buck get you on Chanukah? Maybe a gold mesh bag of chocolate coins or a lighter for your menorah. But Jewish continuity? At Chanukah time, when we get so wrapped up in gift giving, I propose that it's a single dollar of gelt (Yiddish for money) that has the power to keep on giving beyond eight nights. Chanukah gelt referred originally in Europe and later America to coins given as gifts to children and adults. Today, gelt brings to mind the chocolate coins wrapped in... Full story
BOSTON (JTA)-Back in 1984, when Eric Kimmel was an up-and-coming children's book author, he tried his hand at a Chanukah story, one featuring goblins. Overly cautious Jewish editors rejected the manuscript, not knowing what to make of it, Kimmel recalled. "It was strange. It didn't look like any other Chanukah books and didn't fit into any neat category. It wasn't a folk tale and it was kind of creepy," he told JTA with his signature sense of humor and tell-it-like-it-is manner. Kimmel tucked... Full story
SAN FRANCISCO (MyJewishLearning.com)—Chanukah is observed with joy and celebration in Jewish communities around the world. There are eight nights of lights and blessings the world over, but there are also many ways that different communities make the holiday uniquely their own. Here are eight customs and ideas to help you make your celebration just a little more global. • In Alsace, a region of France, double-decker Chanukah menorahs were common with space for 16 lights. The two levels, each with spots for eight lights, allowed fathers and son... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-One of my favorite ways to celebrate Chanukah is over brunch. Yes, it's nontraditional-and you can't enjoy the experience of lighting the menorah together or singing. But it's a great way to change up the routine, especially if you have young kids and want to work around nap and bedtime schedules. Serve Dill Potato Latkes with Caper and Lemon Creme Fraiche and a seasonal winter Blood Orange and Goat Cheese Salad, and add tradition with sufganiyot. Sufganiyot are much more popular... Full story
MINNEAPOLIS (Kveller.com)—The Chanukah I see in children’s books demonstrates families playing dreidel and eating latkes while the menorah shines brilliantly in the window. Then there’s the inevitable illustration of the kids’ utter elation when the parents unveil a bag of gelt night after night. The scene sounds delightful, but I can’t imagine it’s realistic in all Jewish homes. Let’s be honest: Starting in October, lots of Jewish kids obsess over the “holiday” (aka Christmas) catalogs that arrive daily in mailboxes across the country. Right o... Full story
It may have been 47 years ago but Yossef Carasso remembers every detail of the night that he was taken to an Egyptian police station from his home in the city of Tanta, near Cairo. It was the first night of the 1967 war. "We were the only Jewish family still left in Tanta and at 10 p.m. there was a knock on the door," Carasso told The Media Line. "The policeman told my father, 'We're looking for your son and son-in-law. They took us to a police station and left us there all night.'" Carasso,... Full story
CHERRY HILL, N.J. (JTA) – As Chanukah nears, let the grousing begin. Too much is made of a holiday that Judaism ranks as a minor festival—one whose rite takes no more than five minutes to complete each night—some American Jews will say. Some will complain about the season’s excessive commercialism or materialism. Yet most Jews will also participate in at least one of the many customs developed by American Jews to augment the holiday’s simple rite and express the enhanced place of Chanukah, which this year falls on Dec. 16, on the American... Full story
MINNEAPOLIS (Kveller.com)—We Jews have two choices in our approach to the Christmas season: resent it or embrace it. I for one vote for a big, sloppy embrace. In the name of love thy neighbor and tolerance, I say we hug it out with Christmas already and teach our kids to do the same. Why? We expect our non-Jewish co-workers, friends and neighbors to show heaps of interest and concern in all things Jewish. During the High Holidays we ask our kids’ teachers not to assign big tests after those long days at shul. We offer unsolicited exp... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-A Swiss museum's pledge this week to conduct a full search into the provenance of some 1,600 works of art it plans to accept from the estate of Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of one of Hitler's main art dealers, once again has thrust the issue of Holocaust art restitution into the headlines. The announcement by the Kunstmuseum Bern underscores the ongoing quest for the transparent restitution of Holocaust art, but we should remember that the problem is not Europe's alone. Here in the... Full story
ALGEMEINER-Birthright Israel, the American organization that organizes visits to Israel for participants from 66 different countries, has terminated a partnership with the controversial New Israel Fund (NIF,) resulting in the cancellation of a December visit to the Jewish state assembled by the two groups. In an email to trip participants, Stephanie Ives, the New York director for the NIF, said that "we have been cut from the trip for three reasons that have been communicated to us: (1)... Full story
Orlando Torah Academy second graders are forming yet another link in the chain of their Jewish heritage all the way back to Moses. On Friday, Nov. 7, these children reached a joyous milestone when they learned from inside the Chumash for the very first time. They began with the third parsha/portion in the book of Bereishis/Genesis, Parshas Lech-Lecha, where it talks about our forefather Abraham passing G-d-given tests. Their journey began in preschool where they learned the letters of the Aleph... Full story
LOS ANGELES (JTA)-Henry Koster had a long and successful career in Hollywood, directing a string of hits from the 1930s through the 1960s, including "Harvey," the comedy classic that paired Jimmy Stewart with a 6-foot invisible rabbit. But perhaps the most important film Koster ever made was also his least famous. Koster's "From Europe to Hollywood I," a home movie he shot in 1936, followed his journey from Hegyeshalom, Hungary, to Los Angeles. For Koster the trip -across Europe, the Atlantic... Full story
NEW YORK—Applications for the 2015-2016 Masa Israel Teaching Fellows are officially open. For the program’s fifth cohort, Masa Israel Journey will select 200 outstanding Jewish college graduates to teach English in Israel’s periphery and, for the first time ever, in Israeli youth villages for immigrant and at-risk youth. Masa Israel Teaching Fellows is a joint initiative of Israel’s Ministry of Education, Masa Israel Journey, and the Jewish Agency for Israel. The 10-month service-learning fellowship was created to address the achieve... Full story
I love... I love a lot of things... my spouse of course; our three sons; our grandchildren; all family; dear friends; the United States... and Brig. General Dr. DANNY GOLD. (Oy vay! Relax Irving, and read on before you get crazy!) Actually, I love Dr. Gold because his "brainchild" is Israel's Iron Dome. The following article comes directly from the World Jewish Congress Digest (WJC). I pass it along to you with asides in parenthesis by me: "It's more than just the logo on Israeli apparel or the... Full story
