Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 4101 - 4125 of 4463
CHICAGO (JTA)—When I was 28 years old, I had just gotten out of a serious relationship, and to avoid the onslaught of “When are you getting married?” I left Chicago with two bags, my bike and my laptop and headed for Israel. Within a few months I found a job and met a guy, whom I later married. A few years later, trouble hit when I started trying to have children. With all the right drugs, my body could get pregnant, but I had three miscarriages —two at my job. It was devastating. During... Full story
The “Seeking Kin” column aims to help reunite long-lost relatives and friends. BALTIMORE (JTA)—The photograph shows a lighthearted moment at the end of a war that four decades later still prompts analysis and evokes somber reflections. Snapped just after Israel and Egypt had signed an agreement ending the Yom Kippur War in February 1974, the photo shows two Israeli soldiers swimming in the Suez Canal. It was among several war-era photos from the Israel Defense Forces’ archives published recently by Yedioth Ahronoth as the 40th anniver... Full story
BALTIMORE (JTA) – Needing a gift for retiring New York Yankees reliever Mariano Rivera, the Baltimore Orioles pitched their idea for a sculpture to the Israel-born artist Omri Amrany. No surprise there, even though Amrany knows nothing about baseball. The 59-year-old Amrany, now living in the Chicago area, has become the go-to guy for sculptures of athletic giants. A week after the Orioles put in their request, they had their gift for Rivera, who retired Sunday after a record-breaking career w... Full story
One of the bitter ironies of history is that Hitler and the Nazis loved music but it did nothing to soothe the savage breast of Nazi Germany. A second irony is that the high culture of Western Europe, including its heritage of classical music, featured the compositions and performances of a great many Jewish musicians. The irony suffuses the romantic tale that Carol Jean Delmar tells in “Serenade: A Memoir of Music and Love From Vienna and Prague to Los Angeles” (Willow Lane Press, $27.99). Her parents, Franz and Franziska, met and fell in lov... Full story
Tampa Bay Bucs offensive lineman Gabe Carimi usually fasts on Yom Kippur, but this year, the day before the team’s Sept. 15 home opener against the New Orleans Saints, he decided not to. In past seasons he has observed 25 hours of fasting for the holiday of Yom Kippur; even if it came during the day before a game, as it did this year — sundown tonight to sundown Saturday. But this year he decided to postpone it because he has been battling a cold. “I’ve fasted on the day before a game, but it wa... Full story
Thanks to the Jewish Pavilion, residents in 54 independent, assisted and skilled nursing facilities were thrilled to begin their New Year with apples and honey, challah and honey cake. They cried tears of joy when they heard the blowing of the shofar and the singing of Kol Nidre. More than a dozen facilities provided a traditional Jewish meal beginning with matzah ball soup and ending with Jewish apple cake. Service booklets, menus and recipes were supplied by program directors at the Jewish... Full story
Boy Scout Troop 641 is sponsored by the Children of Abraham Foundation and is the only troop in Central Florida sponsored by a Jewish organization. This photo was taken of the Troop at Camp Raven Knob in Mt. Airy, N.C. this past summer. For more information about Troop 641, contact Scoutmaster Mark Kluger, holmark@cfl.rr.com.... Full story
Marian Bromberg is an active volunteer for the Pavilion. She has been visiting Health Center Windermere for the past four years. She rarely misses a Friday. Marian has greeted the residents that have passed through this facility with love, kindness and a Jewish connection. She comforts the aging, bringing Challah rolls, sharing her life and listening. Important holidays are always celebrated and made special. Marian grew up in Brooklyn, has been married to Edward for 48 years and moved to Florida in 2005. She is a member of SOJC, an active... Full story
What a tragedy... As the mother of a naval lieutenant commander whose whereabouts are never completely known to me, I admit I panicked when I heard the first newsbreak over television about the attack at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. I immediately sent my son a text and after assurance that he was safe, I calmed down but still was horribly saddened at the event that could have and should have been avoided. Of course, with the demise of 12 innocent precious people, now (and only now) a... Full story
Dr. Ruth scores at 9/11 benefit A-listers such as Billy Crystal, Jamie Foxx, Julianne Moore and Jon Hamm attended this year’s Cantor Fitzgerald and BCG Partners 9/11 Charity Day. But it was Dr. Ruth Westheimer who got the biggest laughs. Her arm in a stylish sling due to a broken wrist and shoulder, the Jewish sex maven cracked a sex joke or two at the benefit, according to Page Six, the New York Post’s gossip page. “I tripped,”she said. “I didn’t engage in sex, but I was thinking about it an... Full story
(JTA)—Susan Esther Barnes had had a rough two years. Her father’s death in April 2011 came as a shock; she hadn’t even known he had been hospitalized. And his widow leaving town for a week complicated plans for his funeral and burial. As executor of his will, Barnes discovered that the money in bank accounts that were to go to her and her sister had been transferred to someone else. All in all, it was an extraordinarily difficult ordeal, says Barnes, who wrote about the experience on her Relig... Full story
By Linda Gradstein The Media Line On a broiling Jerusalem afternoon, dozens of children are whooping and darting in and out of spouting water geysers at the newly opened “Teddy Park” named after Jerusalem’s long-time mayor Teddy Kollek. The park is just outside the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, and the fountains are surrounded by patches of grass. Most of those enjoying the water are ultra-Orthodox children whose parents would never have voted for Teddy Kollek when he was alive, but nobody seems to care. “This is the Jerusalem ocean,” Y... Full story
When someone asks me Judaism’s position on a particular subject, I usually answer, “Which Jewish tradition do you want to hear?” I’m not just talking about the differences between contemporary religious movements, but the fact that Judaism—from biblical times to the present day—offers contradictory ideas about a variety of topics. For example, as Rabbi Elaine Rose Glickman notes in “The Messiah and the Jews: Three Thousand Years of Tradition, Belief and Hope” (Jewish Lights Publishing), there is no one idea concerning the Jewish messiah.... Full story
On a recent afternoon at Lenny’s Deli in Westwood, Calif., Jon Voight reached into a black satchel and pulled out a well-worn copy of Paul Johnson’s “A History of the Jews,” then began reading aloud from the text, his fingers carefully tracing the words. Looking professorial, he glanced up from time to time to emphasize a point, his steely blue eyes peering from behind spectacles as he read with a quiet but fierce intensity of Johnson’s admiration for Judaism. Voight, 74, remains tall and trim,... Full story
Kinneret board members Geanne Share, Mollie Savage and Jacob Hara shared New Year’s wishes with Kinneret residents on Wednesday, Sept. 11, in Kinneret Apartment’s Jessie Render Social Hall. More than 30 residents from Kinneret I and Kinneret II apartments gathered in the social hall and learned about the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur holiday while enjoying a snack of apples and honey. If you would or your organization would like to be a part of our Jewish programming efforts, contact Leslie Col... Full story
(JTA)—Many Jews feel a connection with their ancestors, but how many have regular conversations with them? Rebecca Rosen, a 36-year-old mother of two, is one who does. Rosen lists her profession as “psychic medium,” and her specialty is communing with the dead, acting as “the bridge between the spiritual and the physical world.” Rosen is a far cry from most psychics, with their storefront tables, tarot cards and crystal balls. She has appeared on “Dr. Phil” and “The Rachael Ray Show” and write... Full story
On Monday, Aug. 12, 155 eager and excited students passed through the doors of Maitland’s Jewish Academy of Orlando to meet their teachers for the 2013-14 school year. Not only was the excitement of a new school year in the air, so was the feeling of pride as the students and parents learned that this year marks the school’s 36th anniversary. It’s Jewish Academy’s Double Chai anniversary year. What does Double Chai mean? Chai is a Hebrew word and symbol that means “life” or “luck.” Bec... Full story
I was reminded... In last week’s column I wrote this: “Instead of the gassing of innocent Syrian people including children, Congress (especially members of the House of Representatives) had to vote on whether or not to save Jews from the Holocaust. Can you imagine how that vote would go? (I’m just saying.)” Since last week, I was reminded by someone a little older than me, how the United States did nothing to save the Jews of Europe from the Holocaust. I was also reminded about our anti-Se... Full story
Celebrity Rosh Hashanah roundup: Gwyneth Paltrow, Woody Allen, Zach Braff NEW YORK—From Shanah Tovah shoutouts to on-set shofar blowing, here’s how some of the more famous and attractive among us recognized the new year. 1. What to do when filming your Kickstarter-funded project gets in the way of Rosh Hashanah? Celebrate at work, of course! At least that’s what Zach Braff did on Friday: According to Popsugar, he put together a New Year’s gathering for the heavily Jewish cast of “Wish I Was Here... Full story
By Abigail Klein Leichman The Israeli-innovated Total Lift Bed is a simple but revolutionary solution that could set a new standard of care in hospitals and rehabilitation centers worldwide. Made by VitalGo Systems, the patented Total Lift is the only hospital-grade bed that can elevate a patient from a lying to a fully standing position—and all points in between—for treatment and transfer with no lifting required of the caregiver. Two major companies are now distributing Total Lift in the acu... Full story
For sage financial wisdom, Julie Hammerman doesn’t turn only to someone with a proven track record like investor Warren Buffett. She also turns to Maimonides. As founder of the new nonprofit JLens Investor Network (http://www.jlensnetwork.org), Hammerman helps individuals and institutions—such as Jewish federations and foundations—meet investment goals while simultaneously honoring the Jewish values they espouse. Doing well by doing good? The former investment banker says it’s doable. “The fear of losing financial return has been used for... Full story
Second of a three-part series. (The first part can be read in the July 26 issue of Heritage) Jeffrey Katzenberg grew up in Manhattan, the son of an artist mother and a stockbroker father. By the time he was 14, he was volunteering for John Lindsay’s successful mayoral campaign. Even as a kid, “I was entrepreneurial, always looking to do things, organize things, you know, when there was a snowstorm, we’d go shovel sidewalks for storeowners on Madison Avenue, and we’d have our lemonade stands... Full story
AKRON, Ohio (JTA)—During a High Holidays discussion about repentance in Sarah Greenblatt’s Jewish values class, not all the students are listening. One girl stares out the window at the azure sky. Another sits in the back doodling. But a boy in the front row wearing a creased black skullcap sits transfixed, notebook open, pencil poised. Why is reflection and repentance so important around Rosh Hashanah? Greenblatt asks. The boy’s hand shoots up. “The Torah, and also the Bible, tells us how to... Full story
BALTIMORE (JTA)— Last September, first baseman Nate Freiman was doing his best to help Israel secure a spot in the World Baseball Classic. Despite some super hitting from the towering slugger, the team fell short. Fast forward a year. Freiman, 25, now finds himself in another playoff chase. Only this time it’s as a rookie in the big leagues, splitting time at first base for the Oakland Athletics. Playing for the A’s has been “an amazing experience,” Freiman said in a locker room interview... Full story
Prior to the S’lichot services this year, which fell on a rainy Saturday on the last night of August, five distinguished Central Florida Conservative rabbis met at Congregation Ohev Shalom in Maitland for a panel discussion open to the public. The rabbis—Joshua Neely, from Temple Israel; Richard Margolis from Melbourne; Moe Kaprow, a retired chaplain from the U.S. Navy; and Aaron Rubinger and David Kay from Ohev Shalom—were asked “What are the most pressing issues facing the Jewish community in the New Year?” The rabbis first spoke in alphab... Full story
