Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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The family of Bunny Rosen has requested donations in her memory be made to The Jewish Pavilion. The Pavilion is establishing “The Bunny Club” in her memory. The fund will be used to enrich Jewish holiday celebrations in 54 long-term care facilities in the Orlando area. Bunny was a beloved volunteer who went out of her way to insure that residents enjoyed festive holiday meals. She often prepared the brisket and matzah ball soup herself so that she could be certain that holidays were extra special. Her compassion and warmth were boundless. She...
Rabbi Werthman of Congregation Bet Chaim is teaching a weekly class in basic Judaism each Tuesday night at the synagogue, 426 Lake Port Cove, Casselberry. The class is one hour, from 7:30 p.m.—8:30 p.m. and will include discussion, lecture, multimedia presentations and other methods to explain and understand the basics of Judaism Topics will include The nature of G-d; Man’s relations with G-d; Jewish prayer; holidays and traditions; the role of Israel in human history; the Jewish truth about gender and equality; Torah as a history, moral gui...
Some very creative teachers have brought the Jewish holiday of Sukkot into their Room 4 at the Roth Jewish Community Center’s Richard S. Adler Early Childhood Learning Center. The class, taught by Mickey Hibbard and Stefani Rabideaux, takes turns eating and sleeping in the indoor sukkah. Traditionally built outside, the sukkah is a temporary hut built during the weeklong Sukkot festival to symbolize the temporary shelter the Jewish people lived in while wandering in the desert for 40 years. T...
On Tuesday, Sept.10, Jewish Academy of Orlando and Walgreens presented a Health and Wellness Fair for the school’s parents, teachers, staff, and other adult professionals working on the Maitland campus. With flu season rapidly approaching, the school wanted to provide an opportunity to help the parents and teachers obtain flu shots and other important tips that will help keep them healthy. In addition to administering the flu shots, Walgreens had a pharmacist on hand to answer health and w...
A room crowded with art aficionados and Holocaust museum supporters gathered around the 25-plus pieces of artwork to look closely at the craftsmanship of 18 local artists who presented their interpretations of Kristallnacht through their art mediums. The exhibit was the opening of “In Remembrance: 75 Years After Kristallnacht,” hosted by the Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center of Florida. The opening reception, which included a juried art contest, was a successful event. When pla...
The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando’s Jewish Community Relations Committee is pleased to announce a free community adult education initiative focusing on “Jews in American Politics.” Dr. Terri Susan Fine, political science professor at UCF, will teach the class on four Monday nights—Sept. 30, Oct. 7, Oct. 14, and Oct. 28—from 7 to 8:15 during Beit Hamidrash at the Jewish Academy of Orlando. The adult course, which is separate from the students’ classes, is open to the public. Participant...
The Orlando Chapter of Hadassah recently held a luncheon to pay tribute to Bunny Rosen for her years of devoted service to the organization. She is the heart of the Orlando chapter. She oversees the monthly luncheon meetings, awards brunch, donor luncheon, and the Youth Aliyah Fashion Show. Perfection is the key word. She will settle for nothing less, be it an event venue, a casual buffet or an elegant meal, donor accounts, the gathering of donations, an auction or a drawing. Rosen is an...
The Orlando Chapter of Hadassah will host an afternoon dessert reception featuring nationally-known mentalist Mark Stone, who will present “Mentalmania,” a program of mind-reading and ESP that has amazed audiences all over the world. This event takes place on Sunday, Oct. 6, at three o’clock in the afternoon at Eola Masonic Lodge, 3200 E. Grant St., Orlando. Mark is a well-known member of the Jewish community, and has performed locally many times. Those who have attended his performances, or seen him in one of his many TV appearances, have...
The Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Orlando will host Steven Gataletto, research librarian at the Orange County History Center, at its first meeting of the new year on Tuesday, Sept. 24, from 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Gataletto will speak on “Remembering Orlando and its Jewish citizens.” The meeting will be held at the Roth Jewish Community Center, 861 N. Maitland Ave., Maitland. Admission is free for members, $5 for nonmembers. The JGSGO is a non-profit organization that has been in existence for more than 20 years, helping hundreds of peopl...
Meet Sue Shames who moved to town just a few months ago with her parents. While helping her parents settle in at Chambrel she became connected with the Jewish Pavilion. Shames volunteers by helping at Shabbat services, visiting with residents and giving them a new Jewish calendar, provided by Beth Shalom Memorial Chapel. She finds it fulfilling and a wonderful way to meet new friends while feeling involved with her new community all while doing a mitzvah. Call the office at 407-678-9363 to...
Congregation Beth Israel of Ocala and the Nature Coast Unitarian Fellowship of Citrus County will hold a joint service of welcome and celebration of the fall harvest on Sunday Sept. 22 at 10:30 a.m. at the Unitarian Fellowship Meeting Hall on 7633 North Florida Avenue, Citrus Springs. There will be readings and musical interludes as well as an explanation from the Jewish congregation about the holiday of Sukkot upon which the American holiday of Thanksgiving is based. After the service, refreshments will be served in the sukkah, a temporary...
The Orlando Chapter of Hadassah will hold its October regular meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 1, at Congregation Ohev Shalom beginning at 11:30 a.m. Lunch is included with a couvert of $10. Linda Bender will be the guest speaker for the day. Her expertise is in astrology. Bender was born in Wilmington, N.C., and grew up in Asheville, N.C. She graduated from the University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in history and the social sciences. She married Morton Bender and moved to Central Florida in 1969, where both her sons were born. She is the p...
The Jewish Pavilion’s annual “Walk in the Park” will be co-sponsored this year by philanthropists Harvey Kobrin and Chuck Steinmetz, in honor of their wives, Nancye Kobrin and Lynn Steinmetz. This free event will be held Oct. 27, beginning at 9:30 a.m. at Cranes Roost Park in Altamonte Springs. Kobrin has a long history of giving in the Jewish community. Most notably, in 1972 Harvey and brother, Phillip, donated the Maitland property on which the Roth Jewish Community Center is housed. Longt...
With Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in our rearview mirror, Congregation Beth Am in Longwood sets out an ambitious schedule of events to celebrate the week-long festival of Sukkot. The holiday, which starts on the evening of Sept.18 is one of the three biblically mandated festivals. During the seven days of Sukkot we spend time and eat meals in a sukka, a temporary structure reminiscent of the fragile dwellings of the Israelites in their 40-year travels in the desert. The sukka also recalls the...
As the Jewish Academy of Orlando staff gathered early in the morning before Meet & Greet, Rabbi Sharon Barr Skolnik, the new Hebrew/Judaic curriculum coordinator, offered a prayer to begin the year. She spoke about the connection between the number 36 and the very first question asked in the Torah by God to Adam. When Adam and Eve broke God’s rule and ate from the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, they felt guilty and hid from God. God then asked, “ayeka,” “Where are you?” Although...
Few sounds are more mystical and breathtaking than the sound of the shofar heard daily during the month of Elul. And no shofar blast was perhaps more awe-inspiring than the blast heard at the conclusion of the S’lichot service. Congregation Beth Am in Longwood and the Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation (SOJC) joined together for a very special S’lichot program and service on Saturday night, Aug.31 at Beth Am. This unique “S’lichot of Memories” was a night to remember. Havdalah, marking t...
Effective Sept. 27 Congregation Beth Israel of Ocala is moving its meeting place from the Collins Center to its new home at the First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, 7171 Highway 200 in Ocala. Services will be held in the main building of the church in the choir room, which is to the left of the main lobby. The facility is handicapped accessible with plenty of close parking. The church is located southwest of I-75 at exit 350. The first service in the new facility—a special Shabbat-Simchat Torah service led by the c...
“That’s a bunch of baloney” was the expected response to the theories proposed by the St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society when they were published in Journal of Spanish, Portuguese and Italian Crypto Jews. “Instead, we received accolades from across the country. Even some Israeli academics are interested in our work!” said Rabbi Merrill Shapiro, Society president. The Journal is a publication of the Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies in collaboration with Florida International University. Its editor, FIU Professor of Sociology Dr. Abraham L...
The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando hosted an Israel seminar presented by Chaim Shacham, consulate general of Israel to Florida and Puerto Rico. On Tuesday, Aug. 27, leaders of local Jewish organizations, political staffers and members of Israel advocacy committees were invited for a full day of briefings on legislative issues related to Israel and the Middle East. The seminar began with welcoming remarks from Michael Soll, board president of JFGO and Shacham. Immediately after, David...
On Wednesday, Aug. 21, the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando presented its annual meeting at the Maitland campus. The festive event was themed as a ‘Night at the Movies’ and delivered big results at the box office. Community members entered to a red carpet and celebratory fanfare. The stage was set, the lights were lit and soon the emcees called ‘Action!’. The room was filled with agency executives and community members eager to learn more about the Federation’s vision for the next year. The...
The Jewish National Fund (JNF) will honor two generations of the Israel family at its annual Tree of Life™ Award Dinner. Sy and Debra Israel, and Mark and Caryn Israel will receive the Guardian of Israel Award. “The Israel family is a true testament of two generations that embrace the genuine meaning of tzedakah (charity) and making the world a better place,” said Jim Riola, JNF Orlando board president. “The Israel family’s commitment to JNF and to Israel over the past few decades is truly admir...
In honor of Rosh Hashanah, Rabbi Shmuli Gutnick of Boca Raton, Fla., brought his collection of honeybees to Chabad of North Orlando. Seventy-five children and parents enjoyed the one-of-a-kind, pre-Rosh Hashanah program where they said the correct blessing over the food in their goodie bags, followed by the blowing of the shofar by Rabbi Yanky Majesky. Chanshy Majesky, director of the Chabad Hebrew School, led the children in a musical game, which helped familiarize them with different aspects...
In synagogues across the nation, a shofar (ram’s horn) is blown during the Jewish New Year. The Jewish Pavilion is an outreach organization that ensures that Jewish seniors in 54 long-term care facilities in Orlando get to experience the Jewish holidays and hear the shofar. The shofar is the quintessential symbol of Rosh Hashanah that calls for the awakening of the slumbering soul. Hearing the shofar reminds our elders of their precious heritage....
Sunday, Sept. 8 will be the start of a great year for the monthly musicals at Horizon Bay on Boston Avenue as the Jewish Pavilion presents well-known and respected pianist David Witte. All are welcome and encouraged to attend this exciting afternoon. Witte will perform at 1 p.m. and ice cream sundaes will be served to all. The Jewish Pavilion is always looking for volunteers and great talent. Please call 407-678-9363 if you are interested in helping make a difference and having a great time....
Hadassah of Williamsburg is having a “Welcome Back Meeting” on Wednesday, Sept. 25, at 1 p.m. at Lakeridge Clubhouse in Williamsburg. Members, associates and friends are cordially invited to attend. Delicious refreshments will be served. Please come and enjoy a pleasant afternoon with old friends and meet new ones. For further information, please call Helene at 407 352-0535 or Eleanore at 407 351-9189....
