Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(Jewish Journal via JNS) - I hope the Jew haters who bully a young Steven Spielberg in his new movie "The Fabelmans" get a chance to see the film. In fact, I hope Kanye "Ye" West, Kyrie Irving, Jew-hating white supremacists and any sect who believes American Jews are not the "real Jews" also see the film. I want them to see the film for many reasons, but primarily because of the young Spielberg's reaction to being called a "kike" and a "Christ killer" and getting beaten up by ignorant,...
(JTA) - Michelle Williams is one of the only non-Jewish actors with a starring role in "The Fabelmans," director Steven Spielberg's autobiographical film based on his Jewish family. But it turns out that Williams, who plays the Spielberg character's mother, has a Jewish family of her own. She told the Wall Street Journal that she and her Jewish husband, director Thomas Kail, are raising their two young children with Judaism and that she is studying the religion herself. "I can't teach it to...
(JNS) "Money doesn't buy you happiness," says Jesse Eisenberg, as Dr. Toby Fleishman. "Oh, of course it does," Claire Danes says, as his wife, Rachel, in the FX series "Fleishman Is in Trouble," available on Hulu. The miniseries is based on the eponymous New York Times best-selling book by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, who wrote the series and is the showrunner. In it, Eisenberg delivers his best performance other than when he played Mark Zuckerberg in "The Social Network." Toby meets Rachel at a...
How are your relationships with friends, loved ones, or others around you? Are there people you wish you were closer to? The holidays can be the perfect time to nurture those relationships. It can be as easy as a phone call, grabbing a cup of coffee together, an afternoon walk in the park, or even sending them a surprise holiday gift. Make it a priority to show them that they are important to you and that you cherish them in your life. Remember that strong and healthy relationships can boost your overall well-being! Consider meeting with a JFS...
As a journalist in Israel in the 1980s, I'd covered the Lebanon War and violence in the West Bank. But I'd always felt like an outsider. Last month, I returned to Jerusalem after nearly 35 years away. This time, though, I wasn't just an observer. Dancing around a Torah scroll at a tiny Haredi yeshiva, I was a participant. That Torah was saved thanks to Aristides de Sousa Mendes, a Portuguese official who rescued thousands of Jews from the Nazis - including my grandparents. For two days in...
(JTA) – Indy's going to sock it to the Third Reich once more. The fifth movie in the Indiana Jones series will plop Harrison Ford's heroic archaeologist into "a castle swarming with Nazis" in the year 1944, according to new plot details revealed in Empire Magazine this week. Digital de-aging technology will be used to make Ford appear young again for the opening sequence before the film transitions to the year 1969. Leaked set photos had previously hinted that Nazis would be involved in the s...
(JTA) - Given his place in the international literary canon, it's hard to believe that there has never been a widely-released documentary made about the Jewish Nobel Prize winner Saul Bellow. That's about to change, as PBS debuts "American Masters: The Adventures of Saul Bellow" on Monday night. The documentary, which was filmed by Israeli director Asaf Galay between 2016 and 2019 and features what is being touted as the last interview Philip Roth gave before his death in 2018, digs deep into...
(New York Jewish Week) — It was a stupendously bad idea to arrive at the press preview for the New-York Historical Society’s new exhibit, “‘I’ll Have What She’s Having’: The Jewish Deli,” on an empty stomach. The exhibit — which originated at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles and opens in New York on Friday, Nov. 11 — traces the mouthwatering history of the Jewish deli, beginning with the first waves of Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These new Americans created a “fusion food born of immigration,” acco...
(JNS) — “Today, Theodor Herzl is best known for his beard, not his books,” laments Gil Troy, editor of “The Zionist Writings of Theodor Herzl,” in his introductory essay to a new edition of Herzl’s diaries. Troy, a professor of history at Canada’s McGill University now living in Israel, wants to make Zionism’s founders come alive for the next generation. His latest effort is a three-volume collection of Herzl’s writings. The brainchild behind the series is Matthew Miller, owner of Koren Publishers, a Jerusalem publishing house producing m...
(JTA) - It seemed like the last keg had been tapped for Shmaltz Brewing Company, until a rabbi-in-training stepped in for a Jewish renewal project. The Jewish craft beer label, best known for its He'Brew: The Chosen Beer line of drinks, shut down last year after 25 years when its founder, Jeremy Cowan, said he wanted to focus on his other businesses. But now it's been sold to a new owner: Jesse Epstein, a 26-year-old Reform rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College who first got into home...
As this year comes to a close, it might be time to glance in the rear view mirror. How was your year? Did you have several accomplishments you're proud of, or maybe you made a few mistakes you wish you could fix? Perhaps there was a significant loss or disappointment that still weighs heavy on you. Whether good or bad, looking back can help you learn where you are, know where you still want to go in the future, and gain the resilience we need to move forward and continue to live life to the...
(JNS) — It has been proven that the Birthright program produces lifelong connections between young Jews and Israel. Studies also show that participants are more likely to build Jewish families. But could it produce the next Jewish comedy star? The new Birthright Israel Labs initiative is holding a competition to find Jewish comedy’s next breakout performer. The winner gets a coveted slot at the all-Jewish Chosen Comedy Festival in Miami on Dec. 14, joking it up alongside some of the business’ more well-known comedians and musicians. “I’ve...
(JTA) — Bucking weeks of public pressure from Jewish groups, celebrities and the Brooklyn Nets, Amazon will not stop selling an antisemitic documentary on its service that was promoted by NBA star Kyrie Irving. The company’s CEO Andy Jassy, who is Jewish, said Wednesday that Amazon had no plans to remove or add a disclaimer to “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” whose Amazon link Irving ignited a firestorm by tweeting about it earlier this month. Amazon had previously considered whether to add a disclaimer. “As a retailer of content to...
(JNS) - Adam Sandler recounted a funny remark from a celebrity mentioned in his famous "The Chanukah Song" when he spoke to a crowd at the 92nd Street Y (now called 92NY) in Manhattan on Tuesday night. Following a screening of his new film "Hustle," Sandler said he showed his daughters the spot on 56th and Broadway where he stood in front of a diner and had the idea for the tune. "I am so proud of that song, I love it," Sandler said, explaining that he excitedly wrote the song at the NBC...
The First and Second Books of Maccabees contain the most detailed accounts of the battles of Judah Maccabee and his brothers for the liberation of Judea from foreign domination. These books include within them the earliest references to the story of Chanukah and the rededication of the Temple, in addition to the famous story of the mother and her seven sons. And yet, these two books are missing from the Hebrew Bible. In order to begin addressing the question of this omission, it is important to...
After iconic roles in television shows like Blossom and The Big Bang Theory, actress Mayim Bialik is now the host of Jeopardy. Here are six incredible things you never knew about her. What do you think has been your greatest kiddush Hashem – a moment you really excelled in representing the Jewish people? That's a funny question. I don't usually identify them myself. I think that typically it should be something other people say or see. I think it's hard to answer for myself without sounding l...
Cognitive performance is not fixed. There are small changes people can make in their daily lives that should sustain higher cognitive functioning in old age. Keep the mind active through work, volunteering, hobbies or playing games. Learning new skills can be a real brain boost. Learning new skills or dance steps can be very beneficial. Using the opposite hand to do a task like brushing your teeth can also be helpful. Engagin in social activities, with family, friends, peers etc., and staying physically active with exercise, or household...
(J. The Jewish News of Northern California via JTA) — The year was 1968. Young people from around the country were descending on San Francisco looking for ways to express themselves, making efforts — sometimes heroic, sometimes tragic — to free themselves from the bonds of American society. At the same time, a group of Jews came together in the city to create something new. “After painfully realizing that the Jewish leaders and especially, in San Francisco, are only interested in lecture...
(JTA) – At one point in John Boyne's new novel "All The Broken Places," a 91-year-old German woman recalls, for the first time, her encounter with a young Jewish boy in the Auschwitz death camp 80 years prior. "I found him in the warehouse one day. Where they kept all the striped pajamas," she said. The woman, Gretel, quickly realized her mistake: that "this was a phrase peculiar to my brother and me." She clarifies that she is referring to "the uniforms. ... You know the ones I mean." Boyne's r...
Latkes are far more popular during Hanukkah than donuts here in the U.S. While you can find latkes in the freezer section of almost every major supermarket, good quality sufganiyot are much harder to come by, and lots of people I know have a fear of using yeast to make doughs like donut dough. But there is an easier way to make sufganiyot, and it comes in a can: biscuit dough. What can these doughy babies not do?! Using canned biscuits, you can either make full-sized sufganiyot, or smaller,...
This story was originally published on The Nosher. There's no question that the most delicious, comforting recipes are the simplest, especially if they come with a bushel of history and soul. My Jewish husband Miki's grandmother (Grandma Esta) made the best brisket I've ever tasted. I know that these might be fighting words, but hear me out. It was complex, sweet and tender - everything that Grandma Esta embodied. I was honored that she passed down her recipe to me, but also surprised that the...
These beet pancakes are also great for using up a variety of other root vegetables. Using a food processor will make quick work of the shredding aspect of the preparation. With a nice browned crust, the latkes are delicious served with applesauce or sour cream and chives, and offer a good alternative to hash browns at breakfast or brunch. Ingredients 1/4 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts (about 2 large) 1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme 1 tsp kosher salt, or more to taste 2 cups peeled and...
This story was originally published on the Nosher. I know that sufganiyot — jelly donuts — are traditional and beloved for Chanukah. But I feel confident that once you try these easy and incredibly delicious ricotta fritters, you will be converted to these sweet fried treats. And if I’m making a confession, I have actually never loved traditional sufganiyot. Sometimes our family made our own, or bought from local bakeries, but were usually left feeling kind of “meh.” They were always a bit too bread-y and heavy. Around 10 years ago my sister...
Local author Lenore Richman Roland has just finished writing a book of poems for children, titled "Under Granna's Poetry Tree, Birthday Poems for her Grands." Her inspiration for this book has been her children and grandchildren. Since 2003, when her oldest grandchild was born, she has been writing original poems to celebrate each grandchild's birthday from the first to the present. In January 2022, she wrote a poem for her granddaughter, Francesca, to celebrate her 10th birthday. As she always...
What a dichotomy. Life in Israel vs. life in the U.S. Being a Jew has its challenges and rewards in both places...but being an American Jew vs. being an Israeli Jew is vastly different. I was just in the U.S. for about 10 days including Parsha Chaya Sara and I stayed in a modern orthodox community. What was the talk around the Shabbat Table? To us, it's Parshat Chaya Sara which covers Sarah's death and Abraham's purchase of the famous Ma'arah h'Machpelah where she is buried. The parshah also...
