Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1129 - 1153 of 3579
Are you interested in learning more about the Jewish history of Spain? Then register for “The Jewish Golden Age of Spain: From Glory to Exile” taught by Jewish educator Charlene Neely at Temple Israel this fall. The free course will be taught over three Sundays on Oct. 27, Nov. 3, and Nov. 17, from 10 a.m. to noon each session. The course, which Neely created, shares the story of a 1,000-year-old community that created a lasting legacy in the arts and philosophy. Topics include Spanish life under Islam, including poetry, music, and arc...
Beth Shalom Memorial Chapel was recognized by the Independent Funeral Directors of Florida for its 25 years of membership at their annual meeting in Clearwater, June 7. Beth Shalom was founded by Manny Adams and Sammy Goldstein in 1984 and is the only Independent Jewish funeral home in Central Florida. Originally located on Gore Street in Downtown Orlando, the company relocated to its current facility on Lee Road in 1999. Beth Shalom is privileged to continue to have the honor of serving families in Central Florida, throughout the state and...
Friday, July 12th: A meaningful Shabbat service at 7 p.m. led by Rabbi Karen Allen. Join the family-like celebration, followed by refreshments at the Oneg Shabbat allowing everyone to mingle with old and new friends. The synagogue is located at 315 North 13th St. in Leesburg, with the entrance on Center Street. More information is available on the synagogue website: http://bethsholomflorida.org/ or by calling the synagogue at 352-326-3692. Thursday, July 18th: Join Rabbi Karen Allen for the 1 p.m. monthly roundtable discussion. It is held at...
Cyndie Ellman lost her husband in July and attended grief counseling with a lovely woman who was unaware of her faith and "just didn't get it." She then tried a secular grief support group run by one of the hospices, and again "they just didn't get it." Her third try was a charm. Ellman is currently participating in a Grief Support Group co-sponsored by the Jewish Pavilion and VITAS Hospice. The magic formula" was in the facilitator. "Rabbi Maurice Kaprow gets it... he provides support from a Jewish perspective and that made all the difference...
On Sunday, July 14, at 5:30 p.m. Congregation Beth Am in Longwood will be hosting mentalist Mark Stone for an evening with dinner and a show that will amaze you. Stone is one of the nations most sought after entertainers. Having acquired an interest in E.S.P., he began developing his skills while at the University of Maryland. An open-mic night at a lounge in Baltimore launched his career as an entertainer that led to performances at New York’s Upstairs at the Downstairs and Dangerfield’s. A c...
The congregants of B'nai Torah, a progressive conservative synagogue, were truly moved to tears at a recent mother and daughter b'not mitzvah. The mother, Lisa Ravede, is a convert to Judaism. The daughter, Shoshana, has a chromosome deficiency and cannot speak. Together Lisa and Shoshana shared the special occasion on Saturday, June 15, which also happened to be the birthday of proud husband and father, Jimi. Making it a real family affair, brother Asher, who celebrated his bar mitzvah two...
A unique opportunity is coming to Jewish high school students in Orlando this fall: the chance to earn two private college credits while exploring the tenets of Judaism. The course is being offered by CTeen U: a collaboration of Yeshiva University and CTeen International. Yeshiva University is the world’s premier Jewish institution for higher education. It is home to a network of undergraduate and graduate programs. The undergraduate programs offer a unique dual curriculum comprising Jewish studies and liberal arts, sciences, and business c...
Forty some years ago, a young man named Eliot Lasky was driving with his friend when he saw a Chabad rabbi dancing on the street with a few other Chassidim. The young man was shocked. He'd never seen anything like this in Buffalo, a city that at the time was known as the "Berkeley of the East" for its university's hippy counterculture vibe. Lasky was no stranger to what he'd just encountered. He'd grown up in Brooklyn in an Orthodox home, but had left that life behind to seek his fortune. Where...
The Jewish Pavilion’s mission is to bring Jewish life and culture to residents in senior living facilities. This includes Shabbat and holiday services and programs, along with individual visitations. The outcome is obvious and predictable—an opportunity to enjoy the rich array of prayers, songs, stories, food, and social interaction. However, many times during a Shabbat service, the opportunity arises to go beyond the words of the service or the routine of the day. Opening up dialogues and telling personal stories during the program bec...
The Congregation Beth Sholom Sisterhood will have their monthly meeting on Sunday, July 7, at 2 p.m. The meetings are held at the Beth Sholom Synagogue located at 315 North 13th Street in Leesburg with the entrance on Center Street. The meeting and presentation are open to the public. Following the business meeting, there will be a presentation by Lt. Colonial Herb Siegel who will give an introduction to Jewish genealogy. This is a great opportunity to meet the warm and friendly women of Congregation Beth Sholom and answer your questions on...
The RAISE program for adults with special needs is now accepting online applications for RAISE employees as well as opportunities to volunteer as a job coach. RAISE is a 6- to 12-month work and social skills training program for adults with special needs offered through the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando. RAISE provides paid employment at our partnering agencies. If you know of someone who may benefit from RAISE please apply online by clicking on BEGIN THE APPLICATION PROCESS at jfgo.org/RAISE. If you are interested in volunteering as a...
Coming in for a landing on July 2 at the Orlando International Airport will be EL AL’s inaugural flight from Tel Aviv to MCO. The flight will ferry out empty back to Tel Aviv. Then on July 9 at 9:30 a.m. EL AL will make its first flight out of MCO with passengers....
On May 30, Jewish Academy of Orlando celebrated the class of 2019 with acceptances to their top-choice middle schools, including a 100 percent acceptance rate at both Trinity Preparatory School and Lake Highland Preparatory School. The acceptance rates are not surprising given that the fifth-grade class, on average, scored nearly three grade levels ahead of peers nationally on the IOWA Achievement Assessments. The grade-level composite score, which includes Language Arts, Math, Science and...
The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando’s Jerome J. Bornstein Leadership Development Program is accepting applications for its fall 2019 class. Co-chairs Rhonda Forest and Abby Nelson opened the Bornstein Program’s application period in a community-wide announcement. The program, named in honor of long-time community volunteer and leader Jerry Bornstein (Z”L), is designed to find the next generation of Jewish leaders in Central Florida and prepare them to address the challenges and opportunities of servicing the community. Those selec...
Temple Israel installed a Little Free Library on Sunday, May 19, outside the synagogue facing Moss Road. The installation event took place during a worldwide Little Free Library weekend celebrating the movement's 10-year anniversary. According to its website, "Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization that inspires a love of reading, builds community, and sparks creativity by fostering neighborhood book exchanges around the world. Through Little Free Libraries, millions of books are exchan...
All good things must come to end. Thankfully the monthly musicals at Brookdale Lake Orienta will continue in September. What a wonderful "season" it had been with some of the most wonderful entertainers. Not only did the talent bring such joy to the residents on Sunday afternoons, these artists showed such passion with their music, making it more meaningful. Stewart Bloom, one of the entertainers as well as monthly volunteers stated, "My performance was heart-felt and I think our seniors knew....
Ten Israeli high school student performers will present a high-energy song and dance performance on Tuesday, June 18 from 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m., at Temple Israel, 7350 Lake Andrew Drive, Viera, Fla. They will also share stories of their life in Israel. The Sister City Program of Cocoa, Florida, and Beit Shemesh, Israel, is jointly sponsoring this performance along with Temple Israel, Temple Beth Sholom, and Bridges for Peace. Door prizes featuring beautiful Israeli gifts will be awarded. Tickets:...
The Jewish Pavilion is an organization that connects Jewish seniors with their heritage and roots. A large number of senior living facilities have ongoing Shabbat and holiday programs while other residences have visitations by staff and volunteers from the Pavilion. The Jewish Pavilion is comprised of a small group of program directors who oversee the activities offered to the community, but the group that enables these programs to thrive are the wonderful volunteers. Without the ongoing dedication of volunteers, the Jewish Pavilion would fall...
A sellout crowd of 225 Jewish Pavilion supporters and Citrus Club members gathered in early June for a fun and relaxed networking and social event in the Citrus Club's opulent downtown setting. The 18th-floor sunset views provided a gorgeous backdrop for the evening's festivities, which included drinks and small bites, a whiskey tasting, raffle prizes, and a few premium silent auction items, including club-level tickets to upcoming Jennifer Lopez and Jonas Brothers concerts at Amway Arena. The...
(JNS)—Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation on Wednesday, May 29, barring anti-Semitism and other religious discrimination in the Sunshine State’s public schools. The Florida state legislature unanimously passed the legislation in both chambers in April. The law adopts the U.S. State Department definition of anti-Semitism and mandates that discrimination against Jewish people be considered similar to acts of racial discrimination in Florida’s public-education institutions. “The bill sends a strong signal that Florida will not tolerat...
A recent Orlando Sentinel guest commentary by Zaina Alsous, a Palestinian-American organizer with the Dream Defenders in Miami and Donna Nevel, a community psychologist and educator and a Jewish social justice activist living in South Florida, pushed an anti-Israel agenda under the guise of criticizing Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decision to hold a Florida Cabinet meeting in Israel. The May 29 opinion piece was titled “DeSantis’ Israel meeting slap in the face to voters.” The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando quickly responded to the opinion piece....
It's too bad there could be only one performance of "Junie B. Jones-The Musical" by Jewish Academy of Orlando students, because they wowed the audience at the Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center. Here are just a few of the scenes from the musical for our enjoyment. Jewish Academy of Orlando serves central Florida students of all faiths from grades kindergarten through fifth. The school delivers a whole-child education fostering academic excellence and character education rooted in Jewish...
Congregation Beth Sholom, Lake County’s oldest synagogue, will celebrate the holiday of Shavuot on Friday, June 14 at 7 p.m. On Shavuot, we celebrate the gift of Torah. The Torah, a history and a guide to our every step through life, was given to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai, more than 3300 years ago. Every year, on the holiday of Shavuot, not only do we renew our acceptance of the gift, we also re-receive the Torah. “What better day than Shavuot, the giving of the Torah, and what better way to celebrate Shavuot, than to dedicate a new Ark...
Temple Israel has brought back their cheesecake bake-off as part of a community-wide Tikkun Leil Shavuot. The night of studying and learning will take place in the Rein Sanctuary on Saturday, June 8, at 9:30 p.m., with cheesecake tasting and judging in the Roth Social Hall. All are welcome, so come join the Orlando community in celebrating Tikkun Leil Shavuot with a night of passionate learning and delicious cheesecake. There will be teachers from all over the Orlando area. Bakers can bake their kosher creations in their own rabbi-approved...
Join Congregation Beth Sholom for a very special Shavuot Shabbat Service, led by Rabbi Karen Allen, on June 14, at 7 p.m. The congregation’s beautiful new Ark will be officially dedicated during the service. Socialize with members and enjoy refreshments at the Oneg Shabbat following the service. The Rabbi’s Torah Roundtable Discussion Group with Rabbi Karen Allen will be held on Thursday, June 20th at 1 p.m. at the Sumter County Service Center and Library Building (with the golden dome) at 7375 Powell Rd. (near Pinellas Plaza and 466A), Wil...
