Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Are you hearing "I'm bored" already from children this summer break? Try to have one to two things for them to look forward to each week. Don't worry, these don't have to be big lavish trips. They can be as simple as make-your-own-pizza night or a movie and board game night. Not only will this approach add some fun to your summer, but often it will also help children work on delayed gratification and patience. Want more tips for putting you and your family's wellness first this summer? JFS...
Most people notice changes in their thinking and memory as they grow older. Neurologists tell us that some older adults develop dementia, most memory changes are age related and normal. Staying physically active benefits every organ in our bodies - and that includes the brain. Our brains also need a good mental workout. Studies show that cognitive decline can be reduced through a combination of daily activities like using a computer and playing word games. Mental stimulation encourages new...
(JNS) - If he isn't already, Rabbi Ari Sitnik will soon be the most-seen rabbi in the history of the internet, all because of a single video. The Brazil-born Sitnik, 52, appears at the beginning of Drake's new music video for his song "Falling Back," which has already garnered more than 11,000,000 views on YouTube. The video begins with former NBA center Tristan Thompson telling the Canadian-Jewish rapper and singer (whose real name is Aubrey Drake Graham) in a side room that he can call off...
What a surprise!... I’m referring to the late, great Madeline Albright who passed away at the end of March. She was brought up as a Christian, but her parents converted from Judaism to Christianity, which is understandable since they (and Madeline) were from Czechoslovakia and were around during the time of Hitler. (Madeline was never told that her parents once were Jews.) Madeline and her family came to the United States in 1948 after the Communist coup in Prague. When she grew up she became the first woman to reach such a high position as U...
(JTA) - Leonard Cohen wrote around 150 verses to "Hallelujah," or so the scholars claim. The beloved Canadian folk singer, who fused Jewish mysticism with pop mythology for a global audience, wrote several hit songs over his 50-year career, including many, such as "Who By Fire" and "You Want It Darker," that are unmistakably Jewish in content. But none of them were as successful, or as pored-over, as "Hallelujah," which has been covered around 300 times and played at weddings, funerals, church...
YILAN, Taiwan (JTA) - It was a cool spring day in Yilan, a town on Taiwan's northeast coast known for its picturesque rice fields and delicious spring onions. On a concrete clearing beneath a bridge that doubled as a dance floor, against a cloudy mountainous backdrop dotted with white cranes, about 10 Taiwanese adults danced expertly to classic Israeli folk music - songs such as "Hinei Matov," "David Melech Yisrael," "Sulam Yaakov" - and other folk tunes from around the world. Altogether, over...
In response to the Mapping Project of Boston, Sam Friedman, chief development officer of Shalom Orlando, gave a statement on behalf of the now-merged Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando and The Roth Family JCC. “Shalom Orlando stands in solidarity with the Jewish community of Boston and is grateful to Rep. [Darren] Soto [of Kississimmee] for his support in investigating the antisemitic Mapping out of Boston,” Friedman said. “We further urge all of our elected officials to remain vigilant against the growing threat of antisemitism and thank...
(JNS) - A 30-member Simon Wiesenthal Center international delegation met with Pope Francis on Wednesday to present a facsimile of an original four-page 1919 document authored and signed by Adolf Hitler, in which he openly espouses the destruction of the Jewish people by "a government of national strength." The facsimile, whose original is displayed at the SWC's Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, was presented by Simon Wiesenthal Center founder and CEO Rabbi Marvin Hier and Dawn Arnall,...
(JTA) – For years, Steven Spielberg intended to direct a movie about Edgardo Mortara, a 19th-century Italian Jew who was kidnapped by the Catholic Church and raised Christian, eventually becoming a priest, while his Jewish family lobbied to free him. But Spielberg is no longer making the film after having trouble casting the role of the young Mortara. Instead, viewers' best chance to see Mortara's story onscreen will now be via a separate Italian production helmed by director Marco Bellochio (...
(JNS) - When it comes to novelist A.B. Yehoshua, who died on June 14 at the age of 85, it's difficult to separate his romances from his political activism. Despite his extreme views on Jewish identity, the Holocaust and the Palestinian conflict, he was pragmatic in his opinions, taking in the reality on the ground. Born on Dec. 19, 1936, to Yaakov Yehoshua - a multi-generation Jerusalemite - and Malka, who immigrated to Israel from Morocco four years before his birth, he was named Avraham...
BUDAPEST (JTA) — Antisemitic sentiment is especially prevalent in Italy and Hungary, according to multiple surveys. But a first-of-its-kind index combining different measures of Jewish experience found that they are also the best countries in Europe for Jews to live in. The index, unveiled Monday, is based on a study that combines polling data and policy information to create a single quality-of-life metric for Jews in the 12 European Union countries with sizable Jewish communities, according to Daniel Staetsky, a statistician with the L...
I never cease to be amazed … I refer to Jewish people — so talented! How about John Garfield. (Those of you who are as old as me will remember him and what a fine actor he was!) He always played brooding, rebellious characters. He was active from 1932 until his untimely death from a heart attack in his late 30s. His real name was Jacob Julius Garfinkel. He was born in March 1913 and died in May 1952, much too young! John was the father of three children. (I remember him well and, I repeat, what a fine actor he was!) And speaking of fine … How a...
(JTA) - Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? ShvomBob Kvadrat-hoyzn, of course. And now the Jewish world knows how to say "SpongeBob SquarePants" in Yiddish, thanks to a translation of the animated kid show's theme song by Eddy Portnoy, the academic advisor and director of exhibitions at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in Manhattan. Last week, Portnoy's college-aged daughter put "SpongeBob" on TV, and Portnoy was inspired. He typed up the lyrics on his Notes app and posted the...
(JTA) - "Ella Fitzgerald, wherever you are, I apologize in advance." Billy Crystal gave this year's Tonys a jolt of Jewish shtick when he coaxed the audience into a call-and-response "Yiddish scat" routine, as part of a live performance to promote his Broadway musical, "Mr. Saturday Night." In a good-faith mockery of Fitzgerald's own famous "scat" routine, Crystal, in character as his show's fading comedian star Buddy Young Jr., let loose on the Sunday night telecast with a series of...
(JTA) - Last month, Adam Sandler threw his daughter a star-studded bat mitzvah party. Now it looks like his production company is making a bat mitzvah-themed film. The casting site Backstage has posted a casting call for an in-the-works adaptation of "You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah," a 2005 young adult novel by Fiona Rosenbloom. Whether Sandler will have a role in the middle school-set story has not yet been revealed, but his Happy Madison Productions company is behind the film. Sammi...
LOS ANGELES (JTA) - For Jewish sports fans around the world, Sandy Koufax has for decades occupied an unmatched legendary status. Now, 57 years after the Hall of Fame pitcher sat out a World Series game to observe Yom Kippur, Koufax has officially been immortalized with a statue at Dodger Stadium - next to his former teammate, Jackie Robinson. The Los Angeles Dodgers unveiled the Koufax statue with a pregame ceremony on Saturday, three years after the statue was initially announced. The...
On June 6, Tess Wise, founder of the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center, celebrated her 99th birthday. Tess always challenged everyone to examine the past in order to learn from it; to build a more just society free of all forms of prejudice. The Center encourages everyone to help celebrate her legacy with a donation in Tess's honor. Thanks to a special anonymous donor, all gifts honoring Tess's birthday will be matched 100 percent up to $10,000. Please help the Center to continue...
Agree, never argue. Divert, never reason. Distract, never shame. Reassure, never lecture. Reminisce, never say "remember..." Repeat, never say "I told you..." Do what they can do, never say "You can't..." Ask, never demand. Encourage, never condescend. Reinforce, never force. Patience and encouragement are essential when caring for loved ones. While most seniors face major adjustments when transitioning to an elder-care community, Jewish seniors face additional challenges. Not only do they lose...
The pleasant, heart-warming re-incarnation of ABC's "The Wonder Years" has offered a bar mitzvah episode, as did the original series in 1989. The setting is Montgomery, Alabama, during the late1960s, when Blacks were fighting for civil rights and Jews still wanted simply to be accepted. Written by Yael Gatena, the episode begins with some boys throwing pennies at Brad Hitman (Julian Lerner) in front of his friends, goading the Jewish lad to pick them up in order to be true to stereotype. His...
Pashtida (a crustless quiche) is beloved and common in Israel, where it is enjoyed at everything from potlucks, school events, shivas, and everything in between. It's also commonly prepared for Shavuot and Sukkot. The versatile dish transports well, and there is no right or wrong way to make one. Israelis make pashtida all year long, but it's a dish especially perfect for warmer climates and seasons, when it's just too hot to spend hours in an overheated kitchen. Plus, during warmer months, ther...
(JTA) - Days after defending their decision to play in Tel Aviv, the hometown of their bass player, the indie folk rock band Big Thief canceled two scheduled Israel shows, writing that they "oppose the illegal occupation and the systematic oppression of the Palestinian people." Last week, the Grammy-nominated band had announced two shows at Tel Aviv's Barby venue in July, and said that they would donate the gig profits to NGOs that aid Palestinian children. They also noted that they wanted to...
The Jewish Pavilion takes pride in the many volunteers who offer compassion, skill and understanding to hundreds of seniors living in Central Florida. Along with helping to enrich these lives, a volunteer is able to benefit in a variety of ways. Volunteering increases self-confidence. A sense of accomplishment occurs when doing good for others. Volunteering combats depression. Having regular contact with others, volunteers can develop a support system, which in turn can protect against stress when going through challenging times. Volunteering b...
The music I love … If you’re like me, you too will consider that “Rap is Crap”! I love and perform the good stuff, the music of the 30s and the 40s…not rock and roll & (heaven forbid) rap! Maybe the music I love will live on… or maybe, with today’s teens, it will go by the wayside. But why should I care? I am considered a senior citizen. (NOT MENTALLY!) We lost one of the best … I’m referring to Stephen Sondheim, of course. He was one of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater. Stephen was born in New York City (of cou...
(JNS) - It's not quite New Kids on the Block getting back together, but it's still meaningful. When Blue Fringe released "My Awakening" in 2003, frontman Dov Rosenblatt had no idea that it would sell more than 15,000 copies and that his Jewish rock group that formed two years earlier would take the Jewish music world by storm, performing at Irving Plaza, Makor Center and B.B King Blues Club in Times Square, as well as venues around the world. The singer, guitarist and founder of "Blue Fringe"...
The Jewish world has a longstanding aversion to tattoos. Even among largely secular Jews, the taboo against body ink remains powerful - a disinclination attributed both to the tattooing of concentration camp inmates during the Holocaust and the myth that tattooed Jews can't be buried in a Jewish cemetery. As tattooing has grown increasingly mainstream in recent years, some Jews have even embraced it as a way to honor ancestors tattooed by the Nazis. While some liberal Jews have taken a fresh...
