Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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I love it when people taste my pareve desserts and say, "Wow - this is pareve!?" It's the same rule with Passover dishes and desserts. Which is why I am on a never-ending search for the perfect Passover desserts that are good enough to eat all year and just happen to also be Passover-friendly. In one of my searches I came across this recipe for Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies which I realized could easily be made Passover-friendly just by swapping out the peanut butter for almond butter. I...
There's nothing like Passover to remind us where we come from. In many Jewish homes, Passover traditions are carried down from father to son, establishing the family's customs and setting the standards for their Passover pantry. Growing up, my family's standards were quite stringent. We did not eat any processed ingredients, and we only used produce that could be peeled. My mother prepared simple syrup in place of sugar, and we seasoned our dishes minimally with kosher salt, no spices allowed....
First, before I begin my column, I want to express my condolences to the family of the late Madeleine Albright as well as to all of us. (She was quite a loss.) Madeleine was the first United States woman Secretary of State under President CLINTON. She immigrated with her family, (Jews who converted to Christianity) to the U.S. from Communist Czechslovakia. Unfortunately, she said, her parents never told her about her Jewish ancestry and heritage. (She learned of this in 1997). May she forever...
Making your own Haggadah is not just a money-saver, but also a great way to educate yourself about the Passover seder, add a unique twist to your seder and have a more meaningful and satisfying holiday. For generations, enterprising seder leaders have been sticking post-it notes in their favorite parts of existing Haggadahs, adding in photocopied readings or even cutting and pasting from multiple Haggadahs and combining it all in a looseleaf binder. The Internet makes the project of creating a...
Passover requires a lot of preparation, especially if you are making your home kosher for Passover. These 10 tips will help you organize and prioritize, so you can enjoy the holiday. Don’t Wing It, Plan It Planning is imperative. Think of your house as your corporation and you are its CEO. You are in charge. Just like a big company would plan out their functions, so too you want to work on “Project Passover.” When you have a plan in place, things will go much more smoothly. Delegate To Your Team, Including Children As CEO it is your job to de...
Passover has always presented some unique challenges to daily food preparation, but several events during that time of year has given me opportunities to develop new recipes. One son had a Passover bris. My daughter married the day before Passover. It was an afternoon wedding and I felt obligated to serve the out-of-town guests dinner. With a little advanced planning, I made sure to kosher the kitchen early. We used disposable plates and silverware. The simple menu for 24 guests consisted of vegetarian matzana (Matzah Lasagna), Apple-Celery...
Rabbi Steven Engel of Congregration of Reform Judaism joined a group of Reform Rabbis to explore how they could help the situation in Ukraine. They contacted the JCC Director in Krakow Poland, Jonathan Ornstein, and asked what the needs are and what could be done. He shared with the CRJ congregation via email the plans of this trip. Rabbi Engle stated, "without hesitation, [Ornstein] said "as Rabbis you need to come to Poland to counsel and comfort refugees, to let Ukranian Jews know that...
(New York, NY) — The American Jewish Congress profoundly mourns the passing of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. The secretary was not only a patriot and public servant in their most accurate forms, but was also a staunch advocate for peace and a lifelong ally of the Jewish Community. From her earliest days in the U.S., Secretary Albright exhibited a remarkable capacity for knowledge and quickly grew into a leading voice on many issues. During her time as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Secretary Albright fought to keep f...
(JTA) - Late last year, months before a Russian missile landed near the Babyn Yar memorial outside of Kyiv, Ukraine, the site's foundation announced plans for a new museum to honor the 33,771 Jews slaughtered there by the Nazis in September 1941. Natan Sharansky, chair of the memorial's supervisory board, described Babyn Yar as a "symbol of attempts to destroy the memory of the Holocaust," and that the new institution would be called the Museum of the History of Oblivion. "The History of...
Jewish Super Talents ... William Edward Crystal was born on March 14, 1948. Of course you know him simply has BILLY CRYSTAL! Billy is an actor, comedian, director, producer and writer. (He is also one of my favorite favorites!) It seems every movie he appears in has been a hit! He is also a Broadway star! Like me, Billy is a native New Yorker. He was born in a Manhattan hospital and raised in the Bronx. (I'm a Brooklynite.) As a toddler, he moved with his family to Long Beach, Long Island. He ha...
(JTA) - Few Jewish grandfathers are still riding a motorcycle at age 65. Even fewer can boast that they have Alice Cooper's number on speed-dial. Of course, David Fishof is no ordinary zayde. The 65-year-old L.A. sports agent and entertainment producer built a storied career promoting such stars as The Monkees and Ringo Starr and NFL greats Phil Simms and Vince Ferragamo. It's the stuff of any teen fanboy's fantasies, but Fishof insists he's an ordinary guy. "I'm a legend in my own mind," he...
(JNS) - A new street mural in Greece honors two non-Jewish Greek citizens recognized by Yad Vashem as "Righteous Among the Nations" for saving Jews during the Holocaust. The art display in the city of Patras pays tribute to the late Zakynthos Mayor Lucas Carrer and Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Dimitrios Chrysostomos, who together protected Jewish residents on the Greek island of Zakynthos after the Nazis occupied the territory in 1943. The project was an initiative of Artists 4 Israel in partners...
My friend and colleague Toliy is a Ukrainian professor, who lives in a small city called Ostroh, in the western part of the country. He, like so many of his compatriots, now suffering under the relentless advance of Vladimir Putin's militant barbarism, is not going anywhere. He and his wife, Larisa, remain in this university town, doing whatever they can to do battle for their nation. Toliy writes: "Our women as well as men are ready to take up arms and fight against the invaders ... This traged...
The tree that was pictured in the original article about Gush Etzion (Jan. 21, 2022) didn’t come with an explanation in the article. In 1948 when the people got word that an Arab invasion by regular Jordanian troops was eminent, the teenagers carried children and others walked with them to Jerusalem to safety and for 19 years between 1948 and 1967 the only thing all of those children could see was the top of that tree from Jerusalem as they longed to go back to Gush Etzion. — Submitted by Jon...
(JTA) - Feeling the sand between her toes was Teva Goldstein's favorite part of her December 2021 bat mitzvah on the island of Maui. She and her family all wore white, accessorized with purple leis. The beach in Hawaii was nearly 4,000 miles from her home in Dallas, another thousand miles from where she had lived for most of her life in Maryland. Yet her family had chosen it to mark her bat mitzvah, the moment when she would symbolically assume adulthood among the Jewish people. The path to the...
(New York Jewish Week) - Uptown bagel and bag lovers rejoice! The Zabar's x Coach collaboration has arrived and it's the ultimate mashup of nosh meets posh. As part of their Spring/Summer 2022 line, luxury fashion brand Coach is drawing inspiration from the iconic Upper West Side gourmet grocery. Specifically, Coach has placed the iconic orange Zabar's logo - accompanied by an image of a bagel with a bite taken out of it - on their classic brown leather Cashin Carry Bag, as well as a gray wool...
A super favorite of mine ... I'm referring to Mel Torme', of course, who I also had the pleasure of meeting. (Remember, I'm a native New Yorker and had the opportunity to meet many celebs!) Melvin Howard Torme', nicknamed "The Velvet Fog," was a wonderful singer, musician, composer, arranger, drummer, actor and even author. He composed and co-wrote lyrics to my favorite of all time Christmas songs, "The Christmas Song" (Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...) Yes, I'm Jewish and so was Mel!...
Marina Furman was born and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine. Her entire family was wiped out years ago in the Ukrainian Holocaust site, Babi Yar, and her mother was the only survivor. Being surrounded by antisemitism was simply part of everyday life. At the age of 19, Furman became a Refusenik — a Soviet citizen (and especially a Jew) who was refused permission to emigrate — and spent 10 years fighting the Soviet dictatorship to allow freedom of immigration and religious expression, nearly losing her...
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — Jewish baseball legend Sandy Koufax will be immortalized with a statue at Dodger Stadium this summer. The Hall of Fame pitcher will join his trailblazing teammate Jackie Robinson, whose bronze statue was unveiled in the centerfield plaza in 2017. Artist Branly Cadet, who made the Robinson statue, also created Koufax’s sculpture. The Los Angeles Dodgers had announced the Koufax statue in 2019, with its unveiling originally planned for the summer of 2020. The new ceremony wil...
(New York Jewish Week) - "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" aired its fourth season finale on Friday, but if you're not quite ready to say goodbye to Midge and the rest of the very Jewish gang, the show's real-life locations across Manhattan are just a vintage car ride away. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Sites Tour from On Location Tours - which takes fans of the Amazon hit series to seven locations from the show -began in late 2019 as a bus tour. After a hiatus during the height of the pandemic, the tour...
Next month will mark the 120th birthday of the Rebbe, the most influential Jewish religious leader in recent history. To mark this special date, several Chabads in Orlando are coming together to bring the community Judaism: The Soundtrack, an evening of immersive musical experience, featuring Jewish Chasidic melodies, fascinating narratives, and motivational messages brought to Orlando by the acclaimed Rohr Jewish Learning Institute. On Sunday, April 10th, the program begins at 5 p.m. with a...
(JTA) - The most prominent Jewish figure in Ukraine right now is the country's president, Volodymyr Zelensky. The runner-up may well be another country's famous Jewish leader. Golda Meir, the fourth prime minister of Israel and a native of Kyiv whose family fled amid antisemitic violence, has loomed large ever since Russia launched its war on Ukraine late last month. Her words have appeared in pro-Ukrainian memes, been quoted by Ukrainian diplomats and even been pulled from the backpack of a...
I'm going pandemic nutty... I'm in my house for many months, (I'm not the type who swears or grunts!) But coronavirus is a trap, My days are filled with food and nap, I'm watching TV night and day, (Please Dr. Phil just go away!) When will this end? I need to know, (I'll put on makeup so I'll glow), And dress in sexy clothes again, I cannot wait-Just tell me when! Okay, I don't wear sexy clothes, (I just wear jeans, and I don't wear hose) Okay, okay! I'm sort of old, I'll admit to 50. Aint I...
(New York Jewish Week via JTA) - Nothing seemed so Jewish as a box of Entenmann's cake or cookies. "All of the Jews I know bought Entenmann's," wrote Nancy Kalikow Maxwell, in her 2019 book "Typically Jewish." The bakery earned a place in Tablet magazine's list of "100 Most Jewish Foods," with an essay by TV producer and foodie Phil Rosenthal singing the praises of their chocolate-covered donuts. Jodi Luber, who runs a Jewish food site, once wrote that, "When someone opened up an Entenmann's...
Ali Marpet, a Birthright Israel alumnus, was selected by the Buccaneers in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft and played 101 games with the team, serving at both guard and center. He became a Pro-Bowler in 2021. (JNS) Jewish Tampa Bay Buccaneers left guard Ali Marpet announced his retirement from the National Football League s in an Instagram post over the weekend. "After seven formidable years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, I've come to the decision to retire from the game that has given me...
