Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Chaya Appel-Fishman hatched the idea for a network of Jewish businesswomen at age 16, when she rented a college campus and created a conglomerate of creative arts programs with 120 participants and a 20-person staff. “I wanted mentors who could give me advice and deal with my religious needs,” she recalls. “And many women reached out to me for support, asking me ‘How did I do it?’” Now 24 and the founder and executive director of The Jewish Woman Entrepreneur nonprofit, Appel-Fishm... Full story
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (JTA)—The thick scent of a peppery rub wafted through the Margolin Hebrew Academy and Corky the Pig embroidered his chef’s hat with a K and became a cow. Just before Purim, the famed Memphis barbecue joint Corky’s, with a hog for its mascot, koshered one of its smokers for a brisket fundraiser on behalf of the city’s Orthodox Jewish day school. Organizers explained that the unusual marriage of brachas and BBQ was a product of a parlous economy, a small school in need of refurbishi... Full story
PHILADELPHIA—When comedian Susie Essman meets fans and is nice and gracious to them, they are often visibly disappointed. What they really want, she says, is Susie Greene, Larry David’s nemesis on the HBO show, “Curb Your Enthusiasm. ” They ask to be told off, the way she does to David when, for example, he says her hideous, homemade bedazzled sweatshirts aren’t his “cup of tea.” She responds, “All right, you know what, f--- you and f--- your tea.” Essman, who will be performing here May 18, wil... Full story
By Robert Wiener New Jersey Jewish News As the author of the new book, “The American Jewish Story Through Cinema,” Eric Goldman believes you can chart the history of Jews in the United States by studying their roles in films: as actors, moviemakers and moguls. Goldman is an adjunct associate professor of cinema at Yeshiva University and the Jewish Theological Seminary. He spoke with the New Jersey Jewish News in a recent telephone interview. NJJN: To what extent did the early films involve Jew... Full story
(JTA)—The Jews of Corpus Christi knew a decade ago they had to act fast to save their two synagogues. With at most 1,000 Jews left in the Texas town and only 60 families making up its membership, the 60-year-old Conservative synagogue was in shaky financial shape. So in 2005, B’nai Israel Synagogue merged with Temple Beth El, a Reform shul, to form Congregation Beth Israel, combining customs and sharing sacred spaces to preserve Jewish life in an area that saw its heyday around World War II. The combined synagogue, and a small but growing num... Full story
If it’s a sign of the times, boy, is it a doozy. The sign at the entrance to Temple Beth Shalom of Smithtown, N.Y., at first glance, seems standard-issue; it stands about six feet high, with white letters (announcing the times of services) on a black background inside a glass frame. But look again, and the bottom part of the sign holds a revelation, so to speak. “JCL,” the sign announces in bright colors, an orange flame inside the curve of the C — Jesus Christ Lives. And underneath that the Spanish version: Ministerio Jesuchristo Vive, a... Full story
My son, Donald Soldinger, head football coach for Miami Southridge High school and then an assistant coach at the University of Miami from 1984-1988 and 1995-2005, was inducted April 11 into the university’s Hall of Fame, along with six others. My daughter, Vicki, and I were among 500 guests, including former inductees. As he thanked his family for allowing him to be a football coach, I remembered the day he told me he wanted to be a player and a coach at age 9. My response as a Jewish mother wa... Full story
MIAMI BEACH—On Saturday morning, March 18, 1922—two years after American women received the right to vote—Judith Kaplan, daughter of Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan, became the first American girl to mark her bat mitzvah during a public worship service. With this revolutionary act, she and her father initiated what would become the widespread American Jewish practice of bat mitzvah. To mark the 90th anniversary of Judith Kaplan’s bat mitzvah, the National Museum of American Jewish History and Moving... Full story
BALTIMORE (JTA)—A “Seeking Kin” column in April 2012 excited Gal Adam Spinrad—and now the Cincinnati woman has cause to be happy anew. Adam Spinrad has long been fascinated by the legend of her relative, Jacques Faitlovitch, who more than a century ago left his native Lodz, Poland, bound for Ethiopia. He devoted much of his life to the Jews living there, becoming one of the first European Jews to vouch for them as co-religionists and bring them into the fold. As a UCLA student in 1992, Adam Sp... Full story
Oy vay… ”Oy Vay”! That expression really describes how I feel. I’ve written about the terrible increase in anti-Semitism in Europe recently. Now I find that the trend seems to be surfacing in America as well! I’ve described in this column what my childhood was like in the very poor and very tough section of Brooklyn called Red Hook, where, with my family, I lived in the section’s low rent project for folks on welfare. I told how I was beaten daily because I was Jewish. I was only 5 or 6 years... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)—May is Jewish American Heritage Month, a commemoration first recognized by President George W. Bush in 2006. Since then, hundreds of programs have taken place nationwide annually to honor the rich contributions of Jews to American culture and society. President Obama added to the annual festivities by launching an annual White House bash. But this year’s party was canceled because of the sequester. Not to worry: In anticipation of the big month, we’re suggesting 31 activ... Full story
As the director of a shelter for victims of domestic abuse, Naomi Taffet sees a lot of women in tears. But once a year, for Mother’s Day, she has a chance to witness what she calls “happy tears.” That takes place when Taffet, executive director of CHANA-Counseling, Helpline & Aid Network for Abused Women in Baltimore, delivers a large bouquet of Mother’s Day flowers, courtesy of Jewish Women International (JWI), to the CHANA safe house. Through its Mother’s Day Flower Project, which for 15 ye... Full story
Amy Winehouse Street NEW YORK (6NoBacon)—Amy Winehouse’s name may live on in the streets of her hometown—literally. Residents near the late singer’s old London neighborhood have been asked to brainstorm names for roads in an area being redeveloped for housing. Winehouse fans are voting for Winehouse Street, reports the Sun. Her family is understandably psyched. “To think that our surname would be indelibly linked with London through the naming of a street after Amy is remarkable,” said Mitch... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)—With its tradition of dairy meals, Shavuot is one of my favorite holidays. Arriving later in the spring—an ideal time to find delicious fruits, herbs and vegetables—it’s perfect for using fresh and seasonal ingredients. The four dishes I have selected for a Shavuot menu not only are perfect for dinner or lunch, they also reflect my philosophy on eating well: good planning, portion control and nutrition. Each dish can be prepared in advance, is not too difficult to make and doe... Full story
LOS ANGELES (JTA)—On Shavuot, we celebrate being given the Five Books of Moses by opening the gift and reading from the scroll. But first we need to find the place. How do we find our place in the Torah? Newbies to the ways of a Torah scroll will soon realize that unlike the mass-produced technological marvels that bring order and wonder into their lives, this handmade inspiration comes without an operating manual. As I discovered the first time I tried to find my place, the perfect columns o... Full story
ISTANBUL—As visitors heave open the thick, vault-like metal door to the Neve Shalom Synagogue on a discreet side street in the Galata neighborhood of European Istanbul, a skittish guard confronts them. Guests are shuttled through secure, windowless rooms to an X-ray machine and metal detector. Pockets are emptied and passports surrendered. The guard questions the reason for the visit and the guests’ ethnicity. He then determines whether they can be allowed through. It’s hardly a welcoming experience, even as the city’s largest and most symboli... Full story
PORTLAND, Ore. (JTA)—It’s brunch time at Mother’s Bistro & Bar and owner-chef Lisa Schroeder has a small crisis on her hands involving the accidental defenestration of a busboy. Moments earlier, a server had tripped and gone flying through one of the restaurant’s large picture windows. Shattered glass covered the pavement outside, where the hapless staffer was being treated for a nasty gash by an ambulance crew. Meanwhile, dozens of undeterred diners were waiting to be seated. “What’s... Full story
PORTLAND, Ore. (JTA)—Jessica Bettelheim, a business ethics lecturer at Portland State University and a young Jewish mother, has little time to spare on weekends. Like other professionals her age, she’s busy bonding with her husband and 4-year-old daughter, meeting friends at one of Portland’s many fine restaurants or gardening, a favorite pastime in this verdant metropolis known as the City of Roses. So when Bettelheim received an email from the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland last month... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—A same-sex Israeli couple struggling against U.S. immigration laws are set to become the faces of the fight to extend one of the foundations of immigration policy to gays and lesbians. Adi Lavy and Tzila Levy have been caught in the bureaucratic red tape of the American immigration system since Lavy, who suffers from a kidney ailment, arrived in the United States in 2011 to seek treatment. The couple, whose New York marriage is not recognized by the federal government, have b... Full story
Welcome Jewish Americans… May is designated “Jewish American Heritage Month.” (I bet you didn’t know that. I certainly didn’t!) It is the official time we celebrate the contributions of Jewish Americans who have helped weave the fabric of American history, culture and society. (You can learn more about it at www.jahm.us.). Rabbi Dov Behr Manischewitz (a familiar name to most of us) and his wife Nesha Manischewitz are the first to be the founding corporate sponsors of Jewish American Heritage... Full story
When one Googles “Songs for seniors,” there are 3,250,000 results. One reason is that our older generation grew up listening and singing the same songs no matter where they were raised. Seniors love to sing. They love to belt out their old favorites. They enjoy it even more when others join in—especially younger volunteers. Seniors relish the opportunity to laugh and share some happy singing time with the Jewish Pavilion volunteers. Even seniors with dementia recall the songs of their youth... Full story
Diamond’s gesture to Boston NEW YORK (6NoBacon)—After a horrible week in their city, one Bostonians surely want to forget, singer Neil Diamond brought them a memorable moment. Diamond came to Fenway Park on April 20, when the Red Sox played their first home game following the Boston Marathon bombing five days earlier. It was also less than a day after Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a suspect in the bombing, was captured following a manhunt that included a shootout with police and a lockdown on Boston and ot... Full story
Although her book “Tradition and Equality in Jewish Marriage: Beyond the Sanctification of Subordination” (Continuum International Publishing Group) focuses on Jewish marriage laws and tradition, Melanie Landau is really considering a much larger question: Is halacha (the rabbinic legal rulings of the past) binding for eternity or should sociological factors be taken into consideration in order to acknowledge contemporary sensibilities and ethics? Landau notes her own conflict with these iss... Full story
By Jonathan Mark New York Jewish Week For years, the modest dress of Satmar chasidim, and their request that visitors dress in kind, was seen by some non-Jews as Amish-like charming, by some liberal Jews as annoying or religious bullying, and within their own Satmar world as a gentle way to bring holiness to something as ordinary as the length of a sleeve or socks. What chasidic modesty has never been called in the United States is illegal, a violation of human rights. But New York City is now saying exactly that, filing charges against seven... Full story
TEL AVIV—Because it has no source of energy, a dead star—known as a white dwarf—will eventually cool down and fade away. But circumstantial evidence suggests that white dwarfs can still support habitable planets, says professor Dan Maoz of Tel Aviv University’s School of Physics and Astronomy. Now Maoz and professor Avi Loeb, director of Harvard University’s Institute for Theory and Computation and a Sackler professor by special appointment at TAU, have shown that, using advanced technology to become available within the next decade, it should... Full story
