Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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On the morning of March 11, 2026, Jewish Pavilion Senior Services hosted a delightful Sponsors Breakfast at Grand Living in Lake Mary. The gathering brought together sponsors, board members, and supporters who share a commitment to enhancing the lives of seniors served by the Jewish Pavilion. The breakfast provided a wonderful opportunity for guests to enjoy a delicious meal while connecting with other businesses and community leaders who support Jewish Pavilion Senior Services. The relaxed and friendly atmosphere encouraged meaningful...
“Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward.” – Kurt Vonnegut Laughter is more than a pleasant reaction — it is a powerful physiological and emotional tool. Research shows that laughter positively influences multiple body systems. It strengthens the immune response by stimulating the production of immunoglobulins, improves circulation by increasing oxygen intake and heart rate, and promotes the release of endorphins, the body’s natural pain reli...
Brownies with Marbled Cream Cheese This easy recipe is an easy snack. 18 oz. package of fudge, chewy brownie mix 2 eggs 1/2 cup oil 1 tsp. instant coffee, optional 1 T. cocoa powder, optional 8 oz. cream cheese at room temperature (I used Neufchâtel cheese with 1/3 fewer calories.) 3 T. sugar 1 tsp. vanilla, divided Chocolate curls or chocolate chips, optional to garnish Cover a 9x13 baking pan with foil, making handles or cover the pan with parchment overlapping the sides of the baking dish....
By Steven Cardonick Spring! We survived winter without too much snow this year. A few flakes came down from the skies but never made it to the ground here. According to one of my readers, Josh the joker, they were escorted off the plane by security personnel, questioned, and sent back to their northern homes. Baseball! The grapefruit league is already winding down and regular season is about to start. Did you catch an exhibition game? The closest spring training park is over in Lakeland where...
For a long time, Jews looking for representation in video games had to make do with the possible Jewishness of William Joseph Blazkowicz, the Nazi-hunting protagonist of the popular ‘90s video game series Wolfenstein. A white, muscular, machine-gun-toting GI, with a lantern jaw and blue eyes, Blazkowicz didn’t exactly look the part. But his Polish ancestry, together with his enthusiasm for vanquishing Wehrmacht soldiers, left many Jews convinced. (Eventually, in 2017, Wolfenstein creator Tom...
Team Israel doubled its win total from its previous World Baseball Classic appearance and closed out the 2026 tournament with a victory on Tuesday. But it was not enough to advance to the quarterfinals. Israel defeated the Netherlands 6-2, overcoming an early 2-0 deficit to even its tournament record at 2-2—good enough for third place in the pool of five teams. By winning at least one game, the team automatically qualified for the next World Baseball Classic, likely to be held in 2029. Team Israel went 1-3 in 2023. “It’s amazing to me that even...
On Monday, March 2, President Donald Trump posthumously presented the Congressional Medal of Honor to Pastor Chris Edmonds, Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds' son. The Medal is the highest honor that the United States can confer. The Medal's Citation reads, "For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty." Pastor Edmonds kindly invited me to join him, his family, and friends for the ceremony. Pastor Edmonds' father had been a Nazi POW during...
I ran into Whole Foods the other day just to return a couple Amazon packages. One of those quick errands. In and out. Nothing special. But sometimes the smallest moments end up meaning something. The woman working the Amazon return counter looked really stressed. She was doing her job, helping people, scanning packages, but you could feel something heavy on her. Even the customers waiting around could sense it. When it was my turn, she scanned my return and handed me the receipt. Then she looked up at me and asked, almost out of nowhere:...
MAITLAND, Fla. - The spirit of joy and community filled the air at the Shalom Orlando campus on March 3, as hundreds of Central Florida residents came together to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim with a lively circus-themed celebration. The celebration was sponsored by Dr. Bernard, z"l, and Mrs. Samra Gotlib. Families and friends enjoyed an evening filled with colorful entertainment, festive food, and the traditional reading of the Megillah - the biblical story of Queen Esther's bravery...
Living with heart failure can feel overwhelming, but with the right medical care, lifestyle adjustments, and support, many people are able to manage their symptoms and maintain a good quality of life. The Orlando Senior Help Desk at Jewish Pavilion Senior Services is here to help seniors and their families navigate these challenges. For guidance and community resources, call 407-678-9363. Follow a heart-healthy diet Nutrition plays a critical role in managing heart failure. Without proper dietary habits, symptoms can worsen. Work closely with...
I’m stumped! Everybody on my Philadelphia row house street seemed to know Yenem. I don’t know what house he lived in, but he surely did live on our block. Or was it on the next street? People went to see him for everything they needed. When I was a little boy, the next-door neighbor knocked on my screen door and said he needed to use our lawnmower. I didn’t have the key to our garage and no one else was home. Later on, I told my mother. She said that Mr. Silverman probably borrowed Mr. Yenem...
A few years ago, while walking my dog at night, I tripped over the raised edge of a sidewalk and fell hard — my cellphone landing about six feet away in the grass. Before I had time to gather my senses Siri, speaking through my Apple Watch, asked me a question: “Did you fall?” “Yes.” “Are you hurt?” “Yes.” “Would you like me to call for help?” “Yes.” Within seconds an emergency dispatcher was speaking to me through my watch. “Where are you?” the dispatcher asked. While my location had already been transmitted, the dispatcher wanted further cla...
For a people noted for their contributions to humor and comedy, “Wit Happens: Global Jewish Humor” (edited by Jennifer Caplan, Jarrod Tanny and Avinoam Patt; Wayne State University Press), is a serious look at a funny subject. The editors — and contributors, each, of an essay in the book — examine how various strains, and mediums, of Jewish humor have developed in various venues. The essays are based on academic papers delivered during a conference, “No Respect: Jewish Humor Around the World,” at the University of North Carolina Wilmington,...
As we grow older, changes in vision are common – but significant vision loss is not an inevitable part of aging. The Orlando Senior Help Desk at Jewish Pavilion Senior Services wants seniors and their families to understand that many serious eye conditions can be detected early and treated effectively. Older adults are at increased risk for several major eye diseases that can lead to low vision and reduced quality of life. These include age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma. Age-Related Macular D...
(JNS) - When Ellen Dooley, a teacher at Milken Community School in Los Angeles, went to a school assembly on Tuesday morning, she had no idea that she was going to be named a national Milken Educator Award recipient, which comes with a $25,000 cash prize. The entire school gathered to hear from Stan Kasten, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Dodgers. After Kasten spoke, Lowell Milken, co-founder and chairman of the Milken Family Foundation, announced that Dooley, a social-science...
(JNS) - Gumbo and Bandit, the dogs of U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee and his wife, dressed up ahead of the Jewish holiday of Purim, which was last week. In a video published on the U.S. ambassador's social media accounts on Thursday, Mike and Janet Huckabee dressed Gumbo and Bandit in the Israeli and American flag, respectively, as well as blue and red hats. "Two thousand three hundred years ago, God orchestrated through Queen Esther and Mordechai the salvation of the Jewish people and victory...
Serves 4-6 Knishes are an Ashkenazi dish that is typically served at Purim, Passover, Chanukah, especially if fried, and other holidays. Knishes can be filled with potato, cottage cheese or kasha fillings. My favorite is the potato recipe below. When I make chicken recipes, I save all the chicken fat and excess skin, then I fry it in a non-stick skillet with 1/4 cup chopped onion to get crisp Grieben (crackling). They freeze well for flavoring recipes. As a shortcut, you might try refrigerated...
Editor’s note: Purim is over, but this article can show parents that the theme of “KPop Demon Hunters” is as old as Purim. (JNS) — If you have a daughter between the ages of 6 and 12, it is very likely you’ve seen Netflix’s cult classic “KPop Demon Hunters”—at least three times. Even if you don’t have kids, you may have watched it at least once. This masterfully animated musical comedy about a Korean girl band, Huntr/x, that moonlights as demon hunters has seduced even my childless friends....
Purim is Judaism's most dramatic, fun-filled holiday. When else can you dress up like a bunny rabbit and eat doughy triangles filled with poppy seeds? Purim occurs on the 14th of Adar. (In certain walled cities like Jerusalem, "Shushan Purim" is celebrated the following day, the 15th of Adar.) Purim celebrates the dramatic turn-around events, where the wicked Haman tried to annihilate the Jewish people of ancient Persia. The Jews were saved through God's miraculous arranging of events, as...
(JNS) — Holocaust survivor Charlotte Roth, 96, finalized her immigration to Israel on Wednesday in Tel Aviv, nearly eight decades after being liberated from Nazi captivity. Roth, born in Czechoslovakia, survived Auschwitz and a death march after being deported with her family in 1944. She later rebuilt her life in a Displaced Persons camp, married and immigrated to the United States before raising four children in Cleveland, Ohio. Accompanied by five generations of descendants, Roth completed her immigration process with the help of Nefesh B...
The usual costumes on Purim are straight from Shushan - Esther, Mordechai, Ahasuerus, or even the bad guy Haman. But some people treat Purim like Halloween, choosing their favorite from a gamut of options. This year, if I went with the "Halloween" option, I would don a black cape, a black hat, and lots of green face makeup. Yes, I would be Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. So why would I choose to dress up as one who would be considered in Jewish tradition as one of the Amalekites? The...
(JNS) - In a quiet art gallery on George Washington Street, a short walk from Jerusalem's bustling city center, color fills the walls with scenes of weddings, musicians, Jerusalem landscapes and Biblical figures bathed in radiant light. For the London-born Robert Elisha, the owner and curator of Huvy's, these are not simply paintings. They represent memories, faith and history-preserved on canvas in his art gallery and reflecting his family's own warmth and hospitality. In an interview at the...
(JNS) - ZIKIM, Israel - For nearly a year and a half, Michal Reichter stared at the Mediterranean Sea from her first-line beach home in her southern Israeli agricultural community, but dared not approach. "The sea is my home, but I would not agree to come near it," said the 46-year-old resident of Kibbutz Zikim, three miles north of Gaza. The trauma of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks, still fresh in her mind even after nine months of being evacuated from her southern Israel home, simply...
Many older adults say they feel cold even when others in the room are comfortable. While this can seem like a minor complaint, increased sensitivity to cold in seniors is common and sometimes it can signal an underlying health concern. Why aging adults feel coldera As we age, the body undergoes physiological changes that affect temperature regulation: • Lower metabolic rate: The body produces less heat at rest. • Thinning skin: Aging skin provides less insulation. • Loss of subcutaneous fat: The fat layer beneath the skin decreases, reduc...
(JNS) - In the hills surrounding Ramat Beit Shemesh, groups of teenagers and soldiers ride mountain bikes along narrow dirt trails, climbing steep ascents and navigating rocky descents. The activity looks recreational. But for the participants of Geerz, every ride carries a deeper purpose. The program's founder, Nachum Wasosky, never intended to build a typical sports club. A therapist and family counselor who has worked with youth for more than two decades, he created Geerz as a therapeutic...
