Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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The 24th annual presentation of Choices on March 26 is subtitled "Women Transforming Lives," and that theme rings true, right down to the venue chosen for the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando's largest fundraiser of the year. Choices 2018 will be held in the gymnasium-yes, the gymnasium-of The Roth Family JCC in Maitland. The idea of selecting such a unique venue evolved from several brainstorming sessions by Federation staff and the volunteer Choices co-chairs, Judy Kahan Davis and Shira... Full story
In response to feedback from previous attendees, Choices 2018 will place a greater emphasis on socializing than in years past, allowing women ample time to connect and celebrate. The highlight of the brief formal program this year will be the "Lights of Empowerment" ceremony, during which all of the community's women in 13 categories will be honored in a candle-lighting ceremony. The categories, and the women scheduled to represent them during the event, are: • The Arts, represented by H... Full story
Jewish National Fund (JNF-USA) will host the annual Tree of Life™ Award Gala at Congregation Ohev Shalom on Tuesday, March 20, to honor Deborah Dorsky Meitin, Marc Reicher, James Riola, and Rabbi Aaron Rubinger with Tree of Life™ awards for their dedication to the Orlando community, JNF, and Israel. Guests will hear from Rabbi Leor Sinai, co-CEO of Alexander Muss High School in Israel, and Ariel Kotler, JNF's Israel operations development officer, who will speak about "Israel and the next gen... Full story
This small congregation located in Minneola, Fla., has been serving the Jewish community of Central Florida since 2003. After providing successful community service for the past 15 years, they have just received an unexpected lease non-renewal notice, with no reason given, from Cactus Management. Under the spiritual leadership of Joe and Lynn Goldovitz, the congregation provides a spiritual environment for observance of Jewish traditions and celebration of member’s lifecycle events. Congregation Sinai’s membership ranges from age 6 to 96, and... Full story
Congregation Beth Sholom, “The Synagogue that Feels Like Family,” invites the community to attend a second night Passover Seder with Rabbi Karen Allen at Pennbrooke Fairways, 501 State Road 44, in Leesburg, at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 31. A traditional Kosher Seder dinner will be catered by Deanna’s Catering, LLC. The meal will include gefilte fish, matzo ball soup, carrot tzimmes, grilled vegetables, oven roasted potatoes, and a choice of four entrees: beef brisket, chicken, salmon, or Vegan. Dessert, coffee, hot tea, and iced tea are a... Full story
It’s a time for the men to get together and watch the opening games of the NCAA tournament or play poker and blackjack at the Rosen JCC’s Men’s Night Out, March 15 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. There will be lots of food, fun and friendship. The event, held at Audi South Orlando, located at 4725 Vineland Rd., Orlando, is free for JCC members. However, RSVP’s are a must. Email joelb@rosenjcc.org by March 12 and you are in.... Full story
From March 1 until April 15 JFS Orlando will be collecting non-perishable food items and cash donations to restock their pantry shelves. This year the Weiner family and the Winter Park Wealth Group will match 50 cents for every dollar and one pound of food donated, up to $10,000. For more information or to register as a Restock Challenge Food Drive partner, email heather.betts@jfsorlando.org.... Full story
The Orlando Ballet School, on behalf of the Jewish Pavilion and under the direction of Dierdre Miles Burger, gave a special performance for residents of Westminster Winter Park on Feb. 27. Attendees learned about the daily life of a ballet student, and were then treated to a performance featuring the works of three different composers. After the show, Purim was celebrated with a play and the serving of Hamantaschen.... Full story
Congregation Beth Sholom will hold a Shabbat Morning Service led by Rabbi Karen Allen on Saturday, March 24 at 10 a.m. A Kiddush will follow the service. 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.... Full story
As the 40th anniversary of Jewish Family Services approaches, a special ribbon-cutting ceremony was held last Thursday officially opening the newest wing of the facility. In 2016, Orange County Community Development Block Grant awarded JFS Orlando with a $75,804 grant to transform one hallway of the building into a mental health counseling center; create an ADA-compliant handicap ramp at the rear of the building (that faces Lee Road) for a new counseling center entrance, which will give clients... Full story
The Jewish National Fund will host the annual Tree of Life™ Award Gala at Congregation Ohev Shalom on Tuesday, March 20, to honor Deborah Dorsky Meitin, Marc Reicher, James Riola, and Rabbi Aaron Rubinger with Tree of Life™ Awards for their dedication to the Orlando community, JNF, and Israel. 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 the peace and secur... Full story
What's a nice Irish-Catholic girl doing in a Jewish preschool? Making it the best Jewish preschool in Central Florida, that's what! Carol McNally, director of the Richard S. Adler Early Childhood Learning Center, has been at the preschool for 29 years, and she is retiring on May 31. But before she leaves, The Roth Family JCC will be honoring her with the Harriet Weiss JCC Legacy Award at the annual JBall on March 14. "Carol has inspired countless children as the director of our Richard S. Adler... Full story
RAISE (Recognizing Abilities & Inclusion of Special Employees), the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando’s work and social skills training program for adults with special needs, has a new job creation division called RAISE Awareness to Hire. “RAISE Awareness to Hire works with local businesses to provide a simple and seamless transition for adults with disabilities from the nurturing environment of RAISE into the more competitive marketplace,” said Loren London, RAISE founder and director. Rachel Slavkin, RAISE director of Employment and Educa... Full story
(JNS)-Mike Signer, who served as the mayor of Charlottesville, Va., during the rally and protests last August that brought white supremacists to the forefront of international attention, recalled that he was about 8 or 9 when he heard his first anti-Semitic slur. "Growing up in Northern Virginia, the last thing I wanted to be was different, so I assimilated," he told more than 3,000 Jewish teens attending the annual BBYO International Convention held last week in Orlando, Fla. It wasn't until... Full story
The Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando expresses its deepest sympathies to the survivors, victims and families impacted by the tragic shooting in Parkland, Florida, and all those affected by senseless murder that plagues our nation. The importance of action, rather than words, is a central lesson of Judaism. In particular, the Torah expressly commands, “Do not stand idly by the blood of your fellow” and compels us to take whatever action we can to save, protect, and defend human life (“piku’ach nefesh... Full story
Celebrate Shabbat with the synagogue that feels like family. Congregation Beth Sholom’s Shabbat evening service led by Rabbi Karen Allen is on Friday, March 9 at 7 p.m. An Oneg Shabbat will follow the service. The synagogue is located at 315 North 13th St. in Leesburg, with the entrance on Center Street. The Rabbi’s Torah Roundtable Discussion Group with Rabbi Karen Allen of Congregation Beth Sholom, will be held on Thursday, March 15 at 1 p.m. at the Sumter County Administration and Library Building (with the golden dome) at 7375 Powell Rd.... Full story
Hail, Hail, the gangs all here, celebrating Purim with hands in the air! The Jewish Pavilion Program Director Walter Goldstein had the residents at Kinneret, celebrating the holiday with a Purim play, festive music and hamentashen, with the help of Laurie Goodheim-Levine and Julie Capps. Special thanks to VITAS for supplying the colorful paper good.... Full story
On Jan. 20, the Jewish Pavilion held its annual Pearls of the Pavilion luncheon to honor those who go above and beyond to support the Jewish Pavilion. During her opening remarks, Miriam Josephs, event co-chair, shared the true definition of a pearl with attendees. "One that is very choice or precious," said Josephs. And for the Jewish Pavilion, supporters invited to the event truly are precious, as the group's generous annual contribution is an important component of funding that allows the... Full story
There are four Democratic contenders for governor of Florida and one of them is Jewish. His name is Philip Levine, and he optimistically sees a lot of opportunity for Florida. He is the former mayor of Miami Beach, a wealthy businessman, and a member of Temple Beth Sholom, a Reform congregation in Miami Beach, but he said his personal faith does not play a part in his campaign. And although he is proud to have been a prominent surrogate for Hilary Clinton's presidential campaign, he sees... Full story
What does a retired clinical chemist with two grown children and no formal Jewish education know about the Talmud? As it turns out, a lot... Maggie Anton grew up in a secular Jewish household, and had little investment in her Judaism until she was married. In 1992, she joined a women's Talmud class at the home of Rachel Adler, now a professor at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles. Surprised by how much she loved engaging in the Hebrew and Aramaic text, she delved even deeper into the text and... Full story
Never had a chance to be a contestant on The Price Is Right? Always thought you could beat that guy on Jeopardy? Secretly wish you could buy a vowel on Wheel of Fortune? Well, then, "come on down" to Ohev Shalom on Wednesday, Feb. 28, for Game Show Purim. The fun begins at 4 p.m. with COS's annual all-ages community Purim carnival. For $18 ($15 in advance) play as many games as you want, as many times as you want. (Unlimited games for children ages 4 and under for only $5.) Buy kosher food and d... Full story
Purim begins at the end of February! (Feb. 28, March 1-2) The Jewish Pavilion staff and volunteers will be celebrating with the Elder Residents in many of Orlando's assisted living, independent living, memory care and rehab facilities. There are plenty of "parties/plays" on JP program directors' schedules and they welcome volunteers to come and join in the fun! Please contact the Jewish Pavilion office to participate with programs. Call 407-678-9363 and "Make a Difference in the Lives of... Full story
FASTSIGNS® of Orlando-Central, a local sign and visual graphics provider, was recognized as a top performing center at the 2018 FASTSIGNS Convention recently held in Houston, Texas. Owned by Renee Friedman, FASTSIGNS of Orlando-Central received multiple awards including: the CEO Circle Award, which recognizes the top 25 centers with the highest sales volume in the U.S. and Canada between Oct. 1, 2016 and Sept. 30, 2017; the Two Million Dollar Threshold Award for surpassing $2 million in tota... Full story
ORLANDO-At a time when young people are socializing more online and interacting less in person, thousands of teens converged on Orlando Thursday, Feb. 15 for the BBYO International Convention, which goes through Monday, Feb. 19. With over 3,000 teens from 36 countries, and thousands of educators, thought and business leaders, celebrities, political figures and philanthropists coming together for BBYO International Convention over Presidents Weekend, this epic event will offer opportunities for... Full story
The Orlando Chapter of Hadassah presents "An afternoon in Paris," the annual Bunny Rosen Women's Heart Health Luncheon and Fashion Show, on Sunday, March 4, 2018. The Bunny Rosen Women's Heart Health Endowment was established to honor the memory of Bunny Rosen for her tireless efforts on behalf of Orlando Hadassah. This annual charity event is a permanent memorial to Rosen and her endeavors in support of Hadassah's good works for Jews in Israel and worldwide and in particular all women at home... Full story
