Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 3958 - 3982 of 4518
On March 8, the Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando hosted its largest annual fundraiser, the J Ball, which benefits the organization's programs, services, and Marvin Friedman Scholarship Fund, which all center around the organization's mission of building community, strengthening family life, and promoting Jewish values. The night was a record-setting fundraising success, thanks to honoree Bruce Gould, co-chairwomen Rhonda Forest, Es Cohen, and Lynn Minkow, and the J Ball committee. The... Full story
BALTIMORE (JTA)-Shortly after assembling the players trying out for the American squad he'd be coaching at the 2009 Maccabiah Games, Bruce Pearl brought them to Sabbath evening services at the Heska Amuna Synagogue in Knoxville, Tenn. The passionate and gregarious Pearl, a veteran of reading the haftarah at Yom Kippur, led the services. Now he's bringing that spirit, enthusiasm and knack for leadership back into coaching. The plan is for Pearl to guide the Auburn University basketball team for... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)—It is no secret that when Israel’s government announced this past September that we would be returning to the table to negotiate with the Palestinians, I was not optimistic about the prospects of this latest round of talks. I knew that as much as we desire peace and normalcy for this region, our Palestinian counterparts have never tired in making demands without any corresponding willingness to offer concessions and prove themselves as real negotiating partners. While many Israelis viewed these talks as a harmless diversion to... Full story
Just a couple weeks ago, I had the fortunate opportunity to experience nearly 2,000 Jewish teens from around the world come together in Dallas, Texas, at BBYO International Convention (IC) 2014. Just as the teen participants were, I was "welcomed home" with hundreds of staff, volunteers, advisors, community partners, supporters, and alumni. I was motivated and inspired to see teens leading 20+ varieties of Shabbat services that they created, learning sessions on Saturday afternoon, and teen lead... Full story
This article was reprinted with permission from Lake Mary Life Magazine. When a loved one dies, sorrow can overcome us while our hearts long for one more moment together. Yet, through our time of grief, we must contend with resolving the legal and financial aspects of our loved one’s estate. Where does one begin? Locating your loved one’s estate plan documents, such as a last will and testament and trust, will begin the process. These documents direct the passing of property to the beneficiaries who will inherit the property. Other imp... Full story
Rabbi Shana Goldstein Mackler, daughter of Sammy Goldstein and Bill Yahner, will be honored at Shabbat evening services at The Temple, Congregation Ohabai Shalom, in Nashville, Tenn., on Friday, March 28. The congregation will be celebrating her tenth year with the synagogue. Sammy Goldstein is the executive director of Beth Shalom Memorial Chapel here in Orlando. Rabbi Mackler was ordained from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Cincinnati, in May 2004. She has been a rabbi at... Full story
Two world-renowned performers, Michael Ochs and Alaa Ali, integrated their Pursuit of Harmony experience into a beautiful Friday night Shabbat service filled with their music and their story. Almost 200 people attended the service, held by Temple Shir Shalom at the First United Methodist Church of Oviedo. Those in attendance welcomed Shabbat with a new twist on a traditional melody. Ali and Ochs, joined by Beth Schafer and the TSS choir, led a stirring rendition of "Hinei Ma Tov" in the round wi... Full story
Elise Hoffeld Schilowitz of Maitland remembers pop icon, Paul Simon, from her sixth grade classroom at P.S. 164 in Kew Gardens Hills, New York, where he also was a fellow congregant at the Jewish Center. Schilowitz dug up an old class photo, and noted, "Paul Simon is still easy to pick out from our class picture. Though I haven't seen him in 50 years, he hasn't seemed to change all that much." Fortunately for Simon's voluminous fans, his crowd-pleasing vocals and iconic harmonies haven't... Full story
The words of Martin Niemoller... "First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out... because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out...because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out... because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me... and there was no one left to speak for me." (I remembered these famous words as I was preparing to write this column. I feel they are most appropriate, especially... Full story
The children at Temple Israel celebrated Purim this year with a carnival and a lot of revelry. There were activities for every age group from tots to teens. In addition to a Purim Spiel, crafts, games and food, there were costumes galore and lots of fun. More photos can be seen on Temple Israel's Facebook page and on website, www.tiflorida.org. For information about Temple Israel, please call 407-647-3055.... Full story
Dunham on Woody Allen HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (JTA)-Comedian Marc Maron is incredibly skilled at getting famous people to move past surface PR stuff and engage in organic, in-depth conversations. His "funny, brainy romp" with Lena Dunham on Monday's edition of his WTF podcast is a perfect example of this. The creator and star of "Girls" chatted with Maron about being raised in the art world, feminism, Oberlin College (her alma mater) and criticism of "Girls." But let's get to the important stuff. Here,... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-Almost exactly 55 years after Barbie made her debut at the American International Toy Fair, a more realistically proportioned alternative to the iconic fashion doll has become a crowd-funding sensation, raising more than $400,000 in a week and a half to begin production. The Lammily doll, which has joints that bend, an athletic physique and a motto of "Average is Beautiful," is being described by some fans as the anti-Barbie. But Lammily's creator, 25-year-old Pittsburgh artist... Full story
At Temple Israel, tots are a vital part of programming. A program titled Tot Shabbat was begun a year ago and has been held monthly each Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to noon. This year, having started with Purim, programming for the major Jewish holidays will be offered. The entire community of tots is invited to participate in these programs (tots should be accompanied by an adult) and there is no charge. Please call the TI office (407-647-3055) to find out which program (Shabbat or holiday) will... Full story
Community service can range from something as little as picking up trash to assisting children with special needs. It can be done with one friend or many, with help or on your own. It can start as something small and expand into something large. This year’s Orlando J-Serve (Jewish day of international service) theme, The Ripple Effect, focuses on simple tasks done by individuals becoming part of a whole team. One good deed ripples across our vast community ocean, impacting others mentally, physically, and emotionally. Through this “Ripple Eff... Full story
First came the Cronut. Now, there's the Cragel. On Jan. 13, the New York City blog Gothamist broke the news that the Bagel Store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn was baking up a bagel-croissant hybrid no doubt inspired by the wild success of Manhattan bakery Dominique Ansel's cronut, a pastry cream-filled, croissant-like flaky pastry. The latter became a bonafide phenomenon: hours-long lines formed outside the bakery, and pastry chef Ansel even trademarked the term-check out the little "TM" in a... Full story
"Start in your own backyard"... That sounded like a solid piece of advice so I am going to reach out via this column. With all the reports of stolen passports in the news lately, I decided to look for my own passport just to make sure it was safe. During my search I came upon a paper with a piece of information that I want to check out. It contained the names Boris and Rebecca Berestesky, Montreal, Canada, and said that they were the people who sent steamship ticket money to my maternal grandpar... Full story
(JTA)—A book on Yiddish published by a Polish Jewish group has won first prize at one of the world’s leading professional fairs for children’s literature. The book, “Majn Alef Bejs,” was announced this month as the 2014 winner of the first prize in the nonfiction category of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, which will open March 24 in the northern Italian city. “A stunningly produced alphabet of Yiddish poems, this book instantly united the Jury as the outright winner for the Non-Fiction category,” the jury wrote on the website on the... Full story
Rogen’s Jewish jokes HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (JTA)—Longtime pals Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, a comedy team extraordinaire, are at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas, for the screening of “Neighbors.” The movie is about new parents (Rogen and Rose Byrne) who move in next door to a frat house headed by Zac Efron. The Hollywood Reporter chatted with the pair about growing up on screen and off, Alzheimer’s, and the N word. And, of course, it wouldn’t be a Rogen/Goldberg interview if things didn’t get a little Jewy. A lot of jokes in “N... Full story
Scarlett Johansson is pregnant HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (JTA)-B'sha'ah tovah to Scarlett Johansson! The 29-year-old "Her" star, of recent SodaStream fame (or infamy, depending which side you're on), is expecting her first child with French fiance Romain Dauriac, E! News reports. The couple, dating publicly since November 2012, announced their engagement six months ago. Prior to this relationship, Johansson dated ad exec Nate Naylor for a year. She split with husband Ryan Reynolds in 2010 after two years... Full story
Who knew?... Last month I heard about the Monuments Men (and women) of World War II for the very first time. That was completely news to me and I suspect, to many of you as well. (Check out the movie to learn even more.) The other day I received a few emails about a Jewish major league baseball player, Morris "Moe" Berg, who was also involved in World War II. Another surprise to me... really! Read on: Moe Berg was born in New York City on March 2, 1902. It is known that his affinity for... Full story
The "Seeking Kin" column aims to help reunite long-lost relatives and friends. BALTIMORE (JTA)-All Zipora Saar had were some letters, names and pictures of American relatives she never knew, people last heard from a half-century ago. Saar fancied turning up descendants of her mother's first cousin, Filippus Mosesco, and his second wife, Lillian, who sent the letters from their farm in Macungie, Pa. Filippus was known as Feivush before emigrating as a young boy in about 1902 from the extended... Full story
PHILADELPHIA (JTA)-Celeste Morello isn't Jewish or a sports fan, and has never attended a professional basketball game. But a passion for history-particularly Philadelphia history-prompted her to seek recognition for the hoops pioneer Eddie Gottlieb. Morello succeeded last week when the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission approved her application for Gottlieb, a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, to be featured on an official state historical marker. The... Full story
(JTA)-One evening, during a retreat for his Diller Teen Fellowship, Philip Caine told his fellow teens a truth about himself. At the age of 17, he had already undergone two open-heart surgeries. To his surprise, another teen told him that she had needed heart surgery as well. Together they decided to launch "Youth with Heart," to serve as an educational, mentoring and support group for other teenagers with congenital heart defects. Modeled after "Moms with Heart," an American Heart Association... Full story
