Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 3826 - 3850 of 4470
The "Seeking Kin" column aims to help reunite long-lost relatives and friends. BALTIMORE (JTA)-On a recent visit to Manhattan, Michael Herman brought his wife and two daughters to a stone building at the corner of Canal and Orchard streets. A chiseled ribbon running across the 12-story structure's facade reads S. Jarmulowsky's Bank Est. 1873. Alexander "Sender" Jarmulowsky was Herman's great-great-grandfather and the bank's founder. The building the Hermans visited was constructed in 1912,... Full story
By Ron Kampeas WASHINGTON (JTA) – A month before her foreign policy autobiography, "Hard Choices," hits the bookstores, Hillary Rodham Clinton made an easy choice: She pitched her diplomatic credentials to a friendly Jewish audience. Clinton's speech to the American Jewish Committee on May 14 was meant to send a signal to the pro-Israel community, insiders say, that a Clinton presidency would smooth over tensions ruffled by the Obama White House. So while she broadly defended Obama a... Full story
Flying safely home (I hope)... As you read this column (written the day before I am flying to Chicago), I will have already returned to Central Florida, expecting the high heat, although I was told that Chicagoans are feeling 80 plus degree weather these days. (And I am needing to cool off a bit!) I am also trying to recover from the heart-wrenching Memorial Day weekend that just passed. This year (actually for the first time in my life) I felt the true meaning of the holiday... and I realized... Full story
The Holocaust Center honored Harris Rosen, president and COO of Rosen Hotels and Resorts at its annual Dinner of Tribute. The event raised more than $290,000 to support the Center, and its Holocaust Education and anti-bullying programs. Pam Kancher, executive director, said that honoring Rosen was a "natural fit" for the Center and its work to build a more compassionate world. "He has long supported the Holocaust Center and a number of other causes," she said. "His projects in Tangelo Park and... Full story
LOS ANGELES (JTA)-It's a sunny morning in Southern California and Lea Rosenfeld, a soft-spoken, bespectacled woman who looks like a Jewish grandmother, squares her feet, faces her target and squeezes off five shots with a handgun. All of them miss. "I never even held a gun in my hands before," she later confesses. "I'm still shaking." Still, Rosenfeld keeps shooting in the hot sun. She says she's doing it because of her parents and what they endured: Both were Holocaust survivors. "My question... Full story
Living Beyond Terrorism: Israeli Stories of Hope and Healing by Zieva Dauber Konvisser, Ph.D.; Gefen Publishing Paperback, 356 Pages; $26.95; e-book: $9.99 “So many Israeli lives have been taken by terrorism and so many families shattered. This book tells a different story: the determination and will of Israelis to rebuild and, indeed, to triumph over the terrorists, a victory of the human spirit.”—Daniel Kurtzer, Princeton University, Former United States Ambassador to Israel and Egypt “....this book is the key to unlock the inspiring complex... Full story
On May 6, the Roth Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando hosted Israel Independence Day Festival 66. Unlike in past years, this year's event was held in the JCC's backyard on the actual date of the holiday, bringing the community together "at home" for a special celebration. Also unlike in past years, all children's activities, games, and inflatables were provided at no-cost to the community. The JCC event celebrating Israel’s 66th anniversary of independence, included performances by t... Full story
There is a community in Israel that is connected to the Jewish Orlando community through the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando. It is our sister city Kiryat Motzkin. This beautiful city has been our sister since 2006. It is about 15 miles north of Haifa-a distance much like driving from Altamonte Springs to Sea World. Founded in 1934, its population has grown to 45,000, and was named after Leo Motzkin who was one of the organizers of the First Zionist Congress in 1897. "The story goes that... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-The last time New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie spoke at a venue attended by Sheldon Adelson, he alienated the Republican Party mega-donor and other hawkish pro-Israel Jews by referring to Judea and Samaria as "the occupied territories." Sunday night at a gala awards program in Manhattan honoring Adelson and hosted by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Christie avoided the topic of Israel altogether. But Sean Penn didn't. Held in the cathedral-like Cipriani restaurant, the dinner for Boteach's... Full story
A Shayne Maydel?... That expression fits me today like a loch in kop! But, believe it or not, I was once a great beauty. (Shut up!) My figure was superb; my breasts used to stand out proudly, but now gravity has taken them down. (I trip on them often); and all the muscles in my legs have turned to flab, acting like brakes when they rub together. (I can hardly walk!) My face, that could once stop traffic (in NYC), now stops traffic everywhere! I recently told my spouse I was stunning. He said,... Full story
Regarding Shavuot-when Jews from around the world celebrate the receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai-Rabbi Chayim Vital wrote on behalf of his master Rabbi Isaac Ben Solomon Luria ("Ha'Ari), "Know that one who does not sleep at all on this night, even for one moment, but rather immerses himself in [the waters of] Torah the entire night, can be assured that he will live out his year; no injury will befall him during this year." That level of protection is certainly a draw, but those who have... Full story
The Jewish Pavilion hosted it's first Shabbat service with residents at Savannah Court of Oviedo.... Full story
Fresh cheese is a staple in classic Shavuot foods, traditionally wrapped in a soft, egg-like blintz that is then fried lightly in butter. Variations on this theme can keep things interesting and expand your kitchen craft. You can try freshening up your blintz package with a cheese upgrade—namely, simple homemade ricotta, which tastes sublime. Cheesecake is another way to expand the joy of this holiday. Small cheesecake bars, topped with early strawberries, are a wonderful way to usher in the transition-to-summer month of June. A Thai tea c... Full story
Standing alone against the desert landscape, Kornmehl Goat Cheese Farm & Restaurant is modest, lacking artsy adornments and embellishments that tourists often favor. But situated about 30 miles south of Sde Boker, the home of Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, the farm is a striking example of how the once vast desert region that most tourists simply ignored is blooming today. Owners Anat and Daniel Kornmehl are considered by many chefs to be the finest makers of goat cheese in Isr... Full story
By Edmon J. Rodman LOS ANGELES (JTA)-In the Ten Commandments, the Torah tells us to "Honor your father and your mother," but on mothers-in-law, it's mum. That is until we come to the two-day holiday of Shavuot and read the Book of Ruth, which records the relationship between Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi. Since Shavuot celebrates the giving of the Torah, and in Ruth we can observe another form of giving-that of loving familial support-we can use the holiday to explore the give-and-take of... Full story
Sonya Baumstein is only 29 years old, but in her short life this second-generation Orlandoan-daughter of Darryl and Debbie Baumstein and granddaughter of Jack and Roz Baumstein-has sailed more seas, peddled more pavement, paddle-boarded more straits and rowed more oceans than any other American. And she is not finished yet. Baumstein has an impressive goal: To solo row the North Pacific Ocean from Japan to San Francisco. And not just row for the conquest, but to collect oceanographic data that... Full story
The Shabbat of Memorial Day weekend later this month will mark a first in American Jewish life: Three New York City congregations representing the three major U.S. Jewish movements will daven from the same prayer book. Produced by the Jewish Welfare Board (JWB) Jewish Chaplains Council specifically for the military, the siddur that the trio of shuls will use for those services made its debut at the Jewish Community Centers of North America (JCC Association) biennial in late March. Distribution... Full story
A must read... This comes (in part) directly from the American Jewish Committee (AJC): “Iran subjects children to the death penalty, including public hangings from cranes; North Korea maintains vast gulags where political prisoners, including the descendants and distant relatives of alleged political offenders, endure arbitrary executions, starvation and forced marriages for the purpose of breeding slaves; Russia has enacted sweeping homophobic legislation that criminalizes the sharing of information about gay, lesbian and other ... Full story
LOS ANGELES (JTA)—According to Jewish tradition, the Torah is so sacred that even a single error made on a single letter renders the entire scroll unfit for use. And yet the Hebrew Bible, including the Torah (its first five books), is riddled with corruptions and alterations that have accrued and been passed down over the millennia. Now an international team of scholars is working to fix all that. For the past 14 years, the team behind “The Hebrew Bible: A Critical Edition” has been laboring on a project to sift through the text and rever... Full story
In Israel, Israeli soldiers and bereaved families visit graves of fallen soldiers at Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem, on Yom Hazikaron, which commemorates Israel's fallen soldiers and Israeli civilians killed in terror attacks. Here in Central Florida at the Roth JCC, the community observed Yom Hazikaron with song, prayers and memories. See page 16 for the article and community photos.... Full story
One of Pnina Newirth's earliest childhood memories is of a trip to Mount Meron on Lag B'Omer. But this was no ordinary family vacation. "I was very small, yet I vividly recall the huge fires and the immense crowds," she says. Despite the cacophony and the roaring bonfires, the Ra'anana resident insists she felt no fear that day. "I knew my parents were there and would protect me. And we stood far enough back so give us a bit of distance," Newirth recalls. That moment was more than three decades... Full story
Dr. Gary P. Zola sees an inextricable connection between American Jewish history, American history, and global Jewish history. "The study of the Jewish experience in the context of the American nation sheds light on the story of the nation itself," Zola, executive director of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, told JNS.org. "Jews played an inordinately large role in shaping the character of American culture and heritage. The opportunities Jews had to contribute to... Full story
The Jewish National Fund has introduced its re-designed pushke, better known as the Blue Box—the box that built a country. “More than a century old, our little Blue Box is known the world over but it does change to keep up with the times,” said Russell F. Robinson, CEO of JNF. “Today’s pushke represents the many projects in Israel that we and our partners are funding to build a prosperous future for the land of Israel and its people.” The box has seen many iterations over the years. The first one was actually Theodor Herzl’s hat. At the Fifth... Full story
As is the case for many holidays in the Jewish calendar cycle, Lag B'Omer (May 18 this year) carries within it not one, but multiple and distinct layers of meaning. Mystical significances, historical memories, and moral reflections all meld together into the contemporary notion of what makes this day special, the product of nearly two millennia of overlaid and interwoven innovations in tradition and observance. One of the most prominent themes describes that the 33rd day of the Omer period broug... Full story
It's that time, I suppose... These days (being a so-called "Senior Citizen,") many of my friends, my spouse and I, and assorted relatives, are thinking about trusts, wills and such. Knowing that I'm an animal lover, someone sent this to me via email and I think it is worthy of repeating: A Dog's Last Will And Testament Before humans die, they write their last will and testament, give their home and all they have to those they leave behind. If, with my paws, I could do the same, this is what I'd... Full story
