Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1997 - 2021 of 3615
JFS Orlando's Pearlman Emergency Food Pantry receives hundreds of leftover boxes of matzah and other kosher products every year from local stores after the Passover holiday. Myrna Ossin's book, "What to Do with Your Leftover Matzah, the Fifth Question: A Guide to the Perfect Passover Seder," is a useful guide for the novice or experienced cook to make the perfect Passover Seder, or otherwise use those leftover items. JFS Orlando Executive Director Eric Geboff is pleased to have this resource at... Full story
Eighty-five dads, moms and children joined PJ Library Orlando/Shalom Families on Feb. 5 for "Birds and Trees, a 'Tweet' Tu B'shevat Celebration" at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland. It was the perfect day and perfect venue to celebrate Tu B'Shevat and Shabbat Shira! Families participated in a scavenger hunt/bird walk, planted pea seedlings, and made birdhouses, bird feeders, delicious almond "trees" and more. PJ Library Orlando/Shalom Families is a program of the Jewish... Full story
Tu B'Shevat Shabbat programs were held at various senior living communities earlier this month to welcome the upcoming spring harvest and celebrate the new year of the trees. Friends, residents and volunteers enjoyed the fruits to symbolize the seven species. Some older adults are not familiar with the holiday of Tu B'Shevat but enjoy learning about it and tasting the sweet treats. The fifth graders of Congregation Ohev Shalom presented a skit to the residents at Brookdale Island Lake in... Full story
More than 460 women (and quite a few men) converged on Congregation Ohev Shalom on Feb. 9 for Choices, the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando's annual women's philanthropy fundraiser. This year, Federation honored eight Women of Choice, representing Greater Orlando's eight Jewish agencies. A full report and more photos from Choices 2017 will appear in the Feb. 24 edition of the Heritage. Watch a video tribute to the Women of Choice at www.jfgo.org/choices.... Full story
It all began this past November, when a grant application was offered to Orlando area nonprofits by Victory Cup Initiative founder Ashley Vann. Now in its second year, the Victory Cup, received more than 100 applications from qualified 501(c)3 organizations, vying for one of 10 finalist spots in its annual philanthropic storytelling competition. The 10 finalists competed for audience votes and grand prizes, after each giving a two-and-a-half-minute speech, held at Rollins College on Feb. 2. On D... Full story
Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation will present Six13 Jewish A Cappella in concert on Sunday, March 5, at the Olympia High School auditorium. Six13 is a six-man vocal band that brings an unprecedented style of Jewish music to the stage, with songs ranging from hip-hop dance tracks to rock anthems. The members of the New York City-based group sound like a full band-while using nothing but their voices. They have made numerous appearances in national television-featured on Fox, ABC, CBS, in... Full story
The Orlando Chapter of Hadassah presents My Fair Lady, the annual Bunny Rosen Women's Heart Health Luncheon and Fashion Show on Sunday, March 5, at 11:30 a.m. This year's affair will be held in the ballroom of the Westin Hotel in Heathrow with fashions presented by the combined boutiques of Chico's Winter Park and Altamonte Springs. In keeping with Hadassah's 2016-2017 Celebration of Women, My Fair Lady-Race day at Royal Ascot has been chosen as the theme for the event. Hats are always... Full story
On Sunday, Feb. 26, at 2 p.m., the Congregation of Reform Judaism will host Dr. David Tucker, son of legendary singer Richard Tucker, as he narrates an audio and video tribute to his father along with James Drake, Richard Tucker's biographer. "The voice of Richard Tucker," said the legendary tenor Luciano Pavarotti, "was not only beautiful-shimmering, silvery, and very powerful-but also incredibly enduring. For 30 years his voice remained youthful and vibrant. Richard Tucker gave himself to his... Full story
On Thursday, Feb. 23, Temple Israel Sisterhood will be hosting an artist workshop led by Renee Schwadron Lewis. The entire community is cordially invited to attend, participate and meet Lewis. Who was "born" with a talent for combining texture and color. An experienced artist, Lewis's works have been exhibited in many venues and reflect her inspiration, aesthetic value and sophistication of the Post Impressionists. She has a B.F.A. degree in fabric design from The School of Art at Syracuse... Full story
On Sunday, March 5, at 2:30 p.m., Rabbi Karen Allen of Congregation Beth Sholom and Zoriy Zinger, world-renowned violinist, will present a captivating performance titled An International Songbook. Rabbi Allen began her career as a pianist and singer. She performed on and off Broadway productions before becoming a rabbi and cantor. Zinger was a soloist with the Russian Symphony Orchestra. He has performed at Lincoln Center in New York, the NYC Metropolitan Museum of Art, the NYC Museum of Modern... Full story
The sixth in the series of 10 monthly JGSGO (Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Orlando) Workshops held at the Roth JCC on Feb. 7, was enjoyed by 35 in attendance both in person and online. The guest speaker was Hal Bookbinder, a former president of the IAJGS and internationally known genealogy expert, spoke on Changing Borders of Eastern Europe. He brought some understanding of the changing maps over 1000 years of history in that region. In conclusion, he provided some very helpful tips on... Full story
Our children are our future. As they step into, and create the future, we hope that they bring with them the Torah and Jewish traditions of the past. On Sunday, Feb. 5th, all Jewish children in Orlando were invited to bake Challah at a Kids Mega Challah baking event. The event imbued within them a sense of Jewish pride and unity. Jewish children were able to learn about the Torah commandment of separating Challah, and had a great time while doing so, thereby realizing that Judaism is fun and... Full story
Tu B'Shevat is celebrated annually at senior communities in Orange and Seminole counties. The seniors enjoy participating in the Tu B'Shevat Seder service. Unlike other holidays, few have memories to share regarding this Jewish Earth Day other than the collections they did for Jewish National Fund. For many, their favorite part of the Jewish Pavilion service is reciting the poem "Trees" by Joyce Kilmer. Many elders had to memorize this poem for school and even those who appear to be sleeping... Full story
On Friday night, March 3, members of West Volusia County's Jewish community will gather at Congregation Beth Shalom in an unparalleled display of Jewish revitalization and Jewish unity. Conceived and organized by the National Jewish Outreach Program (NJOP) in 1997, Shabbat Across America/Canada represents a united effort by the entire Jewish community to renew interest in the fourth of the Ten Commandments-observing a weekly day of rest (Shabbat in Hebrew). Congregation Beth Shalom will be one... Full story
On Sunday, Feb. 26, Congregation Ohev Shalom, 613 Concourse Parkway South, Maitland, will honor Amy Geboff, director of Youth and Family Education, for her 21 years of service to the synagogue. The Gala Celebration will begin with a cocktail reception and silent auction at 5 p.m. followed by a dinner and program at 6:30 p.m. A native of Philadelphia, Geboff came to Orlando with her husband, Eric, and their daughters, Sara and twins Alana and Rebecca. Prior to joining Congregation Ohev Shalom,... Full story
If you remember the SNL church lady (aka Dana Carvey) saying "Isn't that special?" or how about "Shout, shout, let it all out," "Wake me up before you Go-Go" and "Girls just want to have fun," then you will love the Decades Party: Rockin' the '80s!, hosted by the Jack and Lee Rosen JCC. The dance party begins at 7 p.m. and goes until 11 p.m. on Feb. 18 at the Rosen Event Center at the JCC. This unforgettable event includes heavy hors d'oeuvres, drinks, dancing, giveaways, a silent auction and... Full story
Computers are everywhere, changing every industry on the planet, but fewer than half of all schools teach computer science. Girls and minorities are severely underrepresented in computer science classes, and in the tech industry. Good news is, the Orlando Jewish Day School is on its way to change this. With the Hour of Code, computer science has been on homepages of Google, MSN, Yahoo! and Disney. Over 100 partners have joined together to support this movement. Every Apple Store in the world has hosted an Hour of Code. Former President Obama... Full story
The Hadassah Chapter of Williamsburg will have their monthly meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 1 p.m., at the Parkview Point Clubhouse in Williamsburg, which is near Sea World. The speaker for the meeting will be Gloria Green, who will discuss Jewish foods and their origins, and she will bring samples. The film “Princess Bride” will be shown at the March 22 meeting, at 1 p.m. in the Parkview Point Clubhouse. All are welcome to attend. For more information, please call Marian Bromberg at 407-354-4622.... Full story
The Commons, every third Friday, has an extra special Shabbat lunch. The Jewish Pavilion, the Jewish residents at the Commons as well as the Jewish residents at Windsor Place located directly across the street enjoy Matzo Ball Soup, Chopped Liver, Latkes, Pastrami, Challah bread, Chocolate Covered Macaroons and other treats. At the last Shabbat lunch, the group celebrated Miriam's 99th birthday which was in November. Shown here are Activities Director Xenia (r) and Miriam sitting back and... Full story
Angelique, a Family Stabilization Program client, is an ALICE (Asset Limited Income Constricted Employed person). Since losing her job last year, she has been working day labor jobs as a temporary worker. In some ways this has been great, she has been able to spend time with her children and have flexibility in her schedule, on the other hand she still has many bills to pay. The day labor company pays using a local shopping store’s money card system. Her paycheck goes into an account which she draws funds from similar to a bank’s debit car... Full story
On Tuesday, Jan. 31, the first-grade students blasted off into outer space during their annual Space Program. The fun, fact-filled program encompassed props, live music, a slide show, and a display of student artwork related to the thematic unit. This program was the culmination of their integrated Science unit Sun, Moon and Stars. The multi-faceted curriculum included the creation of vocabulary journals, lunar models, space mobiles, and was enriched by a visit to the Emil Buehler Perpetual... Full story
Hatred of the Jews is real in our global network. Indifference and ignorance are no excuses to allow its terror to spread through propaganda and the false teachings of history. “Hate Spaces” is a powerful film about the college campus anti-Semitism/anti-Zionist crisis. The film examines how anti-Semitism is being made fashionable at many American universities through the ongoing academic delegitimization of Israel, and the normalization of hatred in the name of social justice. Alan Dershowitz stated, “‘Hate Spaces’ is a wakeup call to the Je... Full story
Michael Dewitz, 34, walked around on the University of Florida campus dressed in black and wearing a swastika armband. On Jan. 26, he stopped by the potato statue on Turlington Plaza and stood there for about three hours. He immediately received attention from angry and offended students, and by noon a crowd of about 100 people had gathered around him. Emotions and opinions were mixed-while some students shouted expletives at Dewitz or held posters of protest, other defended his right to free... Full story
Machaneh Ohev, Congregation Ohev Shalom's one-week camp for children entering Pk-8th grade, celebrates 10 years this summer! The dates are June 5-9 and the camp takes place at the synagogue located at 613 Concourse Pkwy S. Maitland. The theme for this year is "One in a Minyan, celebrating 10 years of Jewish friendship and fun." Machaneh Ohev started as a suggestion from a parent for a "vacation Bible school" type program because the children loved being at Ohev. At first the suggestion was brush... Full story
On Feb.15 and 16, the Israeli Soldiers Tour will come to the ROTC at University High School (5 classes) and the University of Central Florida. Similar to other tours, two reserve duty Israeli soldiers relate their personal experiences serving in the IDF upholding the strict moral code, discuss their backgrounds, life in Israel and answer questions. These never-before-heard stories are from the front lines, not the headlines. The two soldiers, Ilan and Mark-their last names are withheld for... Full story
