Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 3454 - 3478 of 3578
Congregation Beth Sholom of Leesburg invites the community to a festive Shabbat service at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9. This uplifting service of music and song, led by Rabbi and Cantor Karen Allen, who will be playing her keyboard, features world-class violinist, Zoriy Zinger. Zinger was a soloist in the Russian Symphony Orchestra before reaching fame in America. He has performed at Lincoln Center, programs on television, and stage shows with popular musical artists including Ray Charles and Ricky Martin. Allen and Zinger have collaborated in... Full story
At the Jewish Pavilion, volunteering is a family affair. Volunteering offers spouses an opportunity to interact with loved ones, young families an opportunity to learn compassion and teens the opportunity to interact with grandparents. Elizabeth and Emma Bookspan are in the back row and Asa Bookspan and Bea Rozen are sitting in fron... Full story
Abrams & Kaplan Foundation has offered a match up to $25,000 for the school supply project of the Jewish Federation of Volusia & Flagler Counties (FEDVF). For the past 17 years, the Federation has given quality backpacks filled with supplies to more than 65,000 local elementary, middle and high school students in Volusia and Flagler Counties appropriate for their age group. One hundred percent of the donated money goes to purchase this merchandise. FEDVF is now looking for people to meet this match. Only the neediest students receive these... Full story
Jewish National Fund (JNF) will host its annual Tree of Life Award Dinner at the Rosen Plaza Hotel on Wednesday, Nov. 6. The event will honor Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer with the prestigious Tree of Life Award. The Tree of Life Award is a humanitarian award given in recognition of outstanding community involvement, dedication to the cause of American-Israeli friendship, and devotion to peace and security of human life. Orlando native Buddy Dyer is the dean of Florida’s “big-city” mayors, having ser... Full story
The Holocaust Memorial Research and Education Center of Florida in Maitland has recently announced a renovation project that will significantly expand its permanent exhibit. The project will be funded by a grant from the Frances and Joseph Victor Fund at the Community Foundation of Central Florida, one of more than 400 charitable funds established since 1994. The grant will pay for the purchase of new exhibit cases, and a minor reconfiguration so that the museum can display Holocaust-era family... Full story
Dor Shalom will gather for a potluck Shabbat at 6 p.m. Aug. 9 in Longwood. Interested in attending? Visit www.jfgo.org to register today. The event will be held in a private home and address information will be sent to attendees prior to the event. All attendees are asked to bring their favorite vegetarian kosher-style dish prepared for at least 12 people. It will be a great evening to connect with old friends and make new friends, says an event organizer. Everyone 40 and above are welcome, but you’ll need to RSVP to save yourself a seat at t... Full story
A community Erev Tisha B’Av service will be held at Temple Israel at 8:30 p.m. Monday, July 15, in the Rein Sanctuary. Temple Israel is at 50 S. Moss Road, Winter Springs. Congregants from Congregation Beth Am, Congregation Ohev Shalom and Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation will join members of Temple Israel for the service. Anyone else in the community who wishes to attend is cordially invited. Tisha B’Av is the Jewish national period of mourning. The “three weeks” between the 17th of Tammuz and Tisha B’Av have historically been days of mis... Full story
From Friday July 26 to Sunday July 28, Temple Israel will host a membership weekend to encourage current and prospective members to share Shabbat together. On Friday evening current TI members will invite prospective members to their homes for Shabbat dinner and then accompany them to Kabbalat Shabbat services and Oneg Shabbat at Temple Israel in Winter Springs. The Friday night Shabbat dinners will include at least two longterm Temple Israel members, a recent member and prospective members. This will give the prospective members an... Full story
Larry Marini, president of Congregation Bet Chaim (CBC), has announced the appointment of longtime Central Florida resident Rabbi Thomas (Thom) Werthman as spiritual leader of the Reform synagogue in Casselberry. A native of Pittsburgh, Rabbi Thom, as he is known, graduated in 1970 from Clarion (Pa.) State University with a degree in education, although his final credits came from studying abroad during his final year at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Yeshiva Shomrei Emunim. During the e... Full story
Chabad of North Orlando in Lake Mary is about to meet an important milestone. An authentic scribe has been commissioned to begin writing a new Torah scroll. The Torah is the most precious article in Jewish life. It is perfectly intact just as it was received some 3,300 years ago, transcribed by Moses from the words of God. Not one of the Torah’s 304,805 letters has ever been changed. The words read in synagogues today are the exact words recorded by Moses. In addition to the original Torah kept in the Holy Ark, each of the 12 Tribes received a... Full story
The cease-fire that ended the 1967 Six Day War left Israel in possession of territories roughly twice the size of the country at the time. Since then, those territories—the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and the Golan Heights—have been the subject of negotiations, the keys to peace treaties and the flashpoints for war. Israel returned the Sinai to Egypt under the 1979 peace treaty, and disengaged from Gaza in 2005. However, her presence in the other territories continues to spark emotionally charged debate. Are these territories... Full story
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the St, Augustine Accord Freedom Trail and the Civil Rights Museum of St. Augustine all were present in force as the St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society (SAJHS) led a commemoration of the largest mass arrest of rabbis in the United States on June 18, 1964. SAJHS came only to help create a place of sacred memory on the site where 16 rabbis, 49 years ago stood up for the ethics and behavior mandated by Jewish tradition. The Jewish community of St.... Full story
The Roth Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando will honor community leaders Keith and Julie Levitt at this year’s 30th Annual Beat-the-Heat 5K Road Race. This year’s event will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday July 24, beginning and ending at the Roth Jewish Community Center campus. When one mentions the Levitt family, three thoughts come to mind: the JCC, running and helping children. Keith, who grew up in Maitland (son of Ken and Jackie who have also been extremely active in the JCC), has... Full story
Biannually, Chabad at UCF brings students to Israel on the Taglit – Birthright Israel: Mayanot program. Every summer and winter break sees hundreds of students travel to Israel with UCF Chabad Rabbi Chaim Lipskier, and this summer marked their 10th trip to Israel with Birthright. With Lipskier serving as the rabbi and spiritual tour guide, the trip is a high-quality Israel experience that includes 10 days of visiting landmark attractions and participating in cultural activities together with y... Full story
The board of directors of Temple Israel in Winter Springs announces that Rabbi Joshua Neely will serve as Rav Beit HaSefer (Principal) of the religious school for the coming year. Neely will continue in his other rabbinical roles as well. The Temple Israel leadership team sees this as yet another advantage of having a synagogue family that is of a size to allow the rabbi, the students and the students’ family members to get to personally know one another. What else does it mean to have one’s rab... Full story
The Roth Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando’s Richard S. Adler Early Childhood Learning Center is embarking on a fundraising campaign to renovate its enclosed courtyard playground, just behind its preschool lobby and outside of the infant/toddler patio. The playground renovation will include new surfacing, a gathering area for planning and storytelling, a secret garden pathway with sensory experiences, musical instruments for the stage, wooden decking for building and planters for flowers and herbs. New fencing will be installed a... Full story
The Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Orlando’s next program, at 1 p.m. Sunday, June 23, will be “Smarter Searching on Ancestry.com.” An Ancestry.com expert, Crista Cowan, will be the facilitator. Shaky leaf hints. Global searches. Database specific. Fuzzy. Exact. These are just a few of the ways to locate records on Ancestry.com. You can search by person or location. You can use the Card Catalog to discover what is online before you begin your search. You can change your collection prior... Full story
Every morning Max, a kindergartner at the Jewish Academy of Orlando, would make sure his mother was awake by 6 because he didn’t want to be late for school and his morning ritual: greeting Lynne Shefsky, who had been head of school at the JAO for eight years. At 7:30 a.m. Max would be one of the first students in line to enter the school. “He would stand right by my side,” says Shefsky, “and if I were with someone else, he would wait patiently until he had a chance to say ‘Good morning,... Full story
Jewish Family Services Orlando (JFS Orlando), the Winter Park-based non-profit, human service agency, announces its partnership with Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) in providing its Kids Konnect Family Circle program to students and their families beginning August 2013. Participating Orange County schools will host licensed JFS Orlando therapists who will work on-site with school guidance counselors. The counseling program is geared toward students from homes that are experiencing family disruption or life-altering situations including,... Full story
The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando’s Maimonides and Cardozo Societies in partnership with the Holocaust Center played host to an afternoon with Dr. Perry Brickman. His presentation recounted his experience at Emory University’s Dental School as a Jewish student. After his first year, he received a letter ejecting him from the university. In 2006 he discovered by chance that 65 percent of all Jewish students in the dental school between 1949-1962 had been flunked or forced to repeat yea... Full story
The Florida Region of Women’s League f or Conservative Judaism held its annual conference on May 19-21 in Sarasota. Temple Israel Sisterhood, which sent six women to the conference, received top awards. The theme this year was: “Sisterhood: Many Visions, One Goal.” At the opening luncheon award certificates were presented to sisterhoods which had met the requirements for the Jewels in the Crown Awards, which honor those sisterhoods that nurture and sustain Jewish life and vitality in their... Full story
The Jewish Pavilion is gearing up for its annual Fall Festival/Walk at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 27 at Cranes Roost Park. Participants will walk in the paths of those who walked before us. The event will be named in memory of Nancy Kobrin and Lynn Steinmetz. Festivities include a free breakfast, live entertainment, activities for children, a health fair, vendors, live entertainment and a walk. Co-chairs of the 2013 walk are Norma Ball and Toby Vandemark.... Full story
By Pamela Ruben Special to the Heritage The Pavilion Golf Society shot a hole in one for the elder community with a successful inaugural golf outing June 2. More than 70 golfers were in full swing at Alaqua Country Club for a morning round of golf to raise funds for the Jewish Pavilion and its Senior Help Desk. Sunday morning golfer and Pavilion member Hank Katzen noted, “Today’s all about spending time with family and friends, while raising money for a great cause.” This sentiment was secon... Full story
Jewish National Fund announces that Laura Abramson will be the new campaign executive for Orlando. “My passion for Israel began in 1976 after my first trip to Israel for six weeks,” says Abramson. “A lot has changed since then, but there will always be a need to continue to build the infrastructure of the country and to continue to provide assistance to those that are less fortunate with special programs. I am eager to work with JNF to help enhance the quality of life for Israel’s residen... Full story
Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando, the Orlando-based nonprofit, human service agency, announces its partnership with the Fern Park Winn-Dixie in hosting a scan program now through Tuesday, June 11. Fern Park Winn-Dixie customers will be encouraged to make a monetary donation to JFS at check out. Contributions raised during the program will go directly to JFS’ Pearlman Emergency Food Pantry, which positively impacts more than 20,000 Central Florida residents each year. Fern Park Winn-Dixie customers may also contribute nonperishable food... Full story
