Jacksonville Jewish News March 2013

He returned to the school dormitory after a weekend with his family – with an attitude. There was obviously something wrong, but no one could get him to talk about it. That afternoon, after classes and synagogue, he walked to the farm to check on his animals. He reached for a rabbit and started to stroke it.

The act of petting an animal releases endorphins in the person and the animal. It creates a calming effect in both.

Then he started to speak.“It’s a tool we can use for these guys,”

said Gabriel Azuby, who supervises the boys’ work at the farm at Ben Yakir Vil-lage in the Hadera-Eiron region of Israel. The Jewish Federation of Jacksonville has

partnered with the region and selectively funds the village, a Jewish Agency for Israel program.

About 100 seventh-to-ninth graders live at Ben Yakir, separated into fi ve groups, in the dormitory school.

“They learn here and live here,” Azuby said. “We try to give them an opportunity to have a different life.”

They attend synagogue on campus three times a day, but their education isn’t lim-ited to school and synagogue.

“We try to let them experience other things: computers, sports, ceramics, horses,” Azuby said. The goal is to fi nd something each boy is good at and provide experience to show him, “You are the best.”

Many boys come from environments in which they are trained to believe the opposite.

“They came from a place where people didn’t believe in them,” Azuby said.

At the farm, the boys are in charge from beginning to end, literally. The boys recently helped with the birthing of a kid, as in baby goat. They feed the animals. They exercise the animals. The clean the animals’ pens.

At home, the people in their lives know their history. At the farm, “The animal doesn’t judge them,” Azuby said.

The result? Improved self-esteem.“You understand you are not unuseful

… You can do something with your life,” Azuby said.

At Ben Yakir, boys learn a skill that helps them heal.

“That’s why I feel good about my job,” Azuby said. “I know I have a very strong tool for these boys.”

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LIONSLion of Judah luncheon features story of courage page 4

JEWISH NEWSSpotlight: Helping at-risk Israeli youth

Jacksonville

PASSOVERFind a Seder or some Seder ideas at Passover in the Matzo Aisle. page 11

SCHOOL DAYSZoo animals, Shoobee Shabbat and more page 10

March 2013 • Adar 1/Nisan 5773 • Published by Jewish Federation of Jacksonville • www.jewishjacksonville.org • Volume 25, Number 9 • 24 pages

View JJN’s feature photos

Each month the Jewish News re-ceives more photos than it has room to print. However the Federation’s website has plenty of room. So each month the Jewish News has been publishing extra photos from select events on its website.

To fi nd these gems, look in the photo captions and in the stories for the link. Past photo web pages have featured the Federation’s Girlfriend Connection, the Federation’s Chanukah Menorah contest and Etz Chaim Synagogue’s gala.

This month will be scenes from Super Sunday. Next month will likely show-case Purim.

If you are interested in your event being considered for the monthly show-case, email Communications Director Diane Rodgers at [email protected].

Join River Garden’s anniversary celebrationRiver Garden’s 67th Anniversary Day

celebration will be held Sunday, March 17, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Shari Shuman, River Garden Home board member, will chair the day, which has become a won-derful intergenerational community event.

The afternoon will include musical entertainment by Dan & Viv, a barbecue, kiddie train rides, a bounce house, pony rides, clowns, face painting and desserts provided by the River Garden Auxiliary. Sharon Smith and Alice Sherman will serve as the auxiliary’s co-hostesses with Ellie Hodz as honorary hostess.

In addition to the outdoor festivities, the annual business meeting of River

Garden Senior Services will begin at 4:30 p.m. New offi cers and board members will be installed.

Organizers hope that many community members will attend this meeting. River Garden has served thousands of families in this community over 67 years. Come and celebrate what River Garden – with support from the entire community – has accomplished.

The occasion will also mark the conclusion of the River Garden Capital Campaign. The success of this campaign allowed for building expansion, area repurposing and, after 23 years on the Mandarin campus, the refurbishment of most of the home. This will help the agency further develop outpatient therapy

programs, adult daycare and home health-care services to the community. Learn what the success of this capital campaign has done to assist River Garden in meeting the needs of residents and their families, for today and into the future.

“Each year more and more people come out and join the River Garden fam-ily in celebrating this wonderful home and campus that our Jewish community has built,” said CEO Martin Goetz. “All of us can be truly proud.”

The community is invited to attend this celebration. For more information, contact Skip Willbach at 904-288-7855 or email [email protected]. River Garden residents, families and staff look forward to celebrating with you.

By DIANE RODGERSCommunications Director

Annual speaker series to present ‘Wisdom’

See SPEAKER, p. 7

Rabbi Dayle A. Friedman will be the guest speaker at the JFCS 6th Annual Alexandra & Mark Miller Speaker Se-ries to be held on Wednesday, April 17.

Friedman is the director of Grow-ing Older - Wisdom & Spirit Beyond Midlife. Friedman has pioneered the development of a Jewish spiritual vision for aging, healing and spiritual care. Her leadership has been recognized by her inclusion in the Forward 50 and the Sisterhood 50, listings of the most infl u-ential American Jews and women rabbis. Friedman has many publications, which include “Jewish Visions for Aging: A Professional Guide to Fostering Whole-ness and Jewish Pastoral Care.”

Friedman will make two presenta-tions:

•“Cultivating Wisdom Across the

By River Garden

By Jewish Family & Community Services

At left, Gabriel Azuby greets a young camel. Other photos: Boys care for dogs, horses, hamsters and other animals at Ben Yakir Village.

page 2 Jacksonville Jewish News • March 2013 Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/JaxJewish

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What else would you do this summer?!

“This winter break I spent eight incredible days and nights in Israel,” said Liat Walker, one of four local Jewish educators who represented Jacksonville on the Federation’s Israel Partnership Educator Delegation. Accompa-nying Liat, an educator from the Galinsky Academy, were Haz-zan Jesse Holzer and Amy Stein from the Jacksonville Jewish Center, and Karen Susman from Beth El. These four educators visited schools and met with other educators in our Israel Partnership Region of Hadera-Eiron.

Walker, a native of Israel, wrote, “It was like seeing Israel for the first time through the eyes of a Jewish educator and through the eyes of my students.” She continued, “I was so impressed with how much the Israeli teachers were committed to this partnership … and I can’t wait to continue our partnership in the future.”

For educator Amy Stein it was a first visit to Israel. “After seven and a half years of teaching in a Jewish day school, it was defi-nitely time to visit … and develop my own personal understanding and love of Israel. I now feel much more connected to my Jewish identity … and I have a worldwide family I never realized before.”

Hazzan Jesse Holzer “hoped to renew an ongoing love with (his) homeland, a place (he) visited numerous times as a youth but rarely as an adult.” He wanted to

By JILL ABELIsrael Partnership Coordinator

Happy birthday JCA! Yes, as we brought in the new year, we also kicked off the Jewish Community Alliance’s 25th birthday celebration. We are planning many different events this year as we celebrate and highlight each depart-ment of the JCA.

Activities are planned for all ages and will pique all interests. There will be great variety ranging from spe-cial films to a fitness competition to burying a new time capsule, and more. You can check out all the events for the year at our website, www.jcajax.org/birthday.

This is such an exciting time for the JCA and for the community, and we are thrilled to show off our fabulous JCA and reflect upon all the memories so many of us have shared over these past 25 years.

And how can we celebrate without a party? The high-light of this celebration will be our 25th birthday party on Saturday evening, April 20. The JCA will host this party as the whole community meets for an evening of cocktails, dinner, dessert, dancing and more surprises.

This milestone event is planned to be a wonderful way to celebrate the JCA’s history with fun and friends while supporting our agency at the same time.

Please mark your calendars and plan to join us as this is our big fundraiser of the year. Funds raised by this event will help the JCA provide educational, social and cultural programs and projects for our community. Scholarships for children, the elderly and others who may not be otherwise able to afford the benefits of the JCA will also be funded.

You can purchase your tickets or become a sponsor online at www.jcajax.org/birthday. Expect your invitation in the mail shortly. We look forward to sharing this evening with you. Don’t miss out on the event of the year.

I am pleased to co-chair this event with JCA Past-Pres-ident David Miller and honorary chairs, Linda and David Stein, and Joy and Howard Korman. We are fortunate to have a wonderful and dedicated committee that has been meticulously planning what we anticipate to be an unfor-gettable evening for all.

Feel free to contact Allison Jacobs at 904-365-4078 or [email protected] with any questions.

By NANCY PERLMANJewish Community Alliance

see how Israel had changed and what his place was in it as a Jewish profes-sional. His goal was collaboration, and he worked throughout the trip to build relationships with American and Israeli educators. He wrote that “through a myriad of events, these hopes became a reality.” Musicians blended their voices to welcome Shab-bat, and efforts were made to create

dialogues between the communities for future work with our partnership communities.

Overall, the trip was a huge success for all of our educators. They have re-turned with an excitement about Israel and the desire for all of us to collabo-rate and remain a close-knit family no matter the highways or oceans that separate us. Am Yisrael Chai!

You’re invited to JCA’s 25th birthday party

Educators visit Hadera-Eiron in Israel

The Jacksonville Educators Delegation explores sites in Hadera during their visit in December. Top photo: Karen Susman enjoys visiting with all the chil-dren. Above, left: Amy Stein poses with Israeli Defense Forces. Above right: Karen Susman, Liat Walker, Hazzan Jesse Holzer and Amy Stein

page 3Jacksonville Jewish News • March 2013 www.jewishjacksonville.org

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Etz Chaim• Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home• Heekin Orthopedic Specialists• Israel Bonds• Jacksonville Jewish Center• Jacksonville Jewish Center • SchoolsJewish Community Alliance• Jewish Museum of Florida• Margo’s Catering• Mark Kraus, MetLife• Mediterrania• Museum of Comtemporary Art• Neat Organize and Design•

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COMMUNITY NEWS

Thank you ... thank you ... thank youAt the Jacksonville Jewish News, our advertisers are precious to us. It is with their support that the Jacksonville Jewish com-

munity has a newspaper. Advertising revenue also offsets the cost of production, so Federation dollars can be dedicated to helping Jews locally and overseas. Please continue to live generously and support our adverisers:

What’s insideCommunity ................................ p. 2Education ................................. p. 10Federation ................................ p. 8Israel Partnership .................... p. 2Jewish Family & CommunityServices ................................... p. 17Jewish Community Alliance ... p. 18Jewish Foundation .................. p. 19Lifecycles ................................. p. 20Obituaries ................................ p. 22Passover ................................ p. 11Perspectives .............................. p. 6River Garden ............................ p. 15Synagogues ............................ p. 21Women’s .................................... p. 4For your advertising needs, please contact advertising sales representative Barbara Nykerk at 904.733.4179 or Eta Perras

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After months of waiting, the ambulance is fi nished and is stopping in Jacksonville before being shipped to Israel. The MDA Jacksonville Mitzvah Chapter was disappointed it could not raise all the funds necessary to have its own ambulance, said co-chair Joan Waitz. Therefore, it part-nered with Aston Gardens Chapter of Parkland and Paul Rosen of Aventura.

The community is invited to

meet Joel Silberman of SE Region to learn more about MDA projects in Israel. Visitors can donate and sign a poster at each stop. Mitzvah Chapter’s major donors names will be on a card placed inside the ambulance.

Here is the March 10 ambu-lance schedule:

9:15 - 9:45 a.m.: Temple TIR students and parents will fi nd the ambulance in the front parking lot. Ronni Ticker, director of Religious School, said classes studying Israel will have a special tour.

10 a.m. to noon: Students and parents of the Bernard & Alice Selevan Religious School at the Jacksonville Jewish Center will have a chance to inspect it. USY convention participants can stop in before they head home. Temple Beth Shalom of Sarasota USY and the Center USY chapters are life member supporters of Mitzvah Chapter.

12:15-1:15 p.m.: River Garden. 1:30 p.m. JCA. “FAME” pa-

trons and JCA members can see it.4 – 7:30 p.m.: Crowne Plaza

Jacksonville Riverfront for the FL Central Region of Hadassah Spring Conference. Wendy Honig-man, co-chair, said that anyone attending the 6:30 p.m. Holocaust Memorial Concert at Jacoby Sym-phony Hall can see the ambulance at the Crowne Plaza on his/her way downtown.

March 11: Martin J. Got-tlieb Day School students can visit the ambulance at the Center. Several classes will have special tours. Judaica Coordinator Liat Walker is excited about connect-

ing our children to Israel. Shereen Canady, early childhood director of the DuBow Preschool, looks forward to showing her students a real “Mr. A.” The children bring tzedakah for the ambulance.

10:15 a.m. March 11: Torah Academy

For more information, call Wendy (268-3589) or Joan (731-2486). More stops may have been added. Our thanks to all our donors who have made this “miracle” come to pass. Some-times dreams do come true.

By Jacksonville Mitzvah Chapter

And he said it wouldn’t last. When he joined the organization in 1978, Martin A. Goetz was certain he would remain through the fi rst year, before moving to the next opportunity. And now, 35 years later, as chief executive offi cer of River Garden since 2004, Marty continues to guide

this dynamic organization on its journey as one of the leading senior service agencies.

Marty understands the value that stability and longevity bring to River Garden. Recently he wrote, “There are now 86 members of our staff with more than a decade of service… River Garden’s longstanding ability to attract and retain excellent staff

is the hallmark of our agency. Staff stability tied to a culture of care and caring that goes back to our 1946 founding on Stockton Street in Riverside is unques-tionably what makes our River Garden community so special.”

After 35 years of dedication to River Garden, it is evident that Martin Goetz has built a career by helping to build a community.

By River Garden

As part of the Jewish Com-munity Alliance’s 25th Birthday Celebration, the J Institute will present “25 Years of American Diplomacy: The Arab-Israeli Peace Process.”

Join us for a look at America’s role in the Arab-Israeli peace process through the eyes of Aviad Sella, former Israeli Defense Forces senior analyst intel-

ligence offi cer and counselor on international politics to the prime minister’s offi ce. Hear the stories behind the headlines and gain a better understanding of the underlying issues that politics and personalities play in this process.

This program is March 7 at 7 p.m. and is free to JCA members and $5 for nonmembers. Advance registration is requested. For more information or to register, contact Dorri Kraus, 730-2100 ext. 239.

By Jewish Community Alliance

MDA Jacksonville Mitzvah Chapter announces ambulance stops

Israeli international politics topic at JCA Thirty-fi ve years and counting at River Garden


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The Florida Central Region of Hadassah is holding its Spring Conference March 10-11 in the River City.

For those who have not yet registered for the conference, tick-ets are available for the luncheon on Sunday, March 10; the River Cocktail Cruise and Banquet on Sunday evening; and the luncheon

on Monday, March 11. In addi-tion to meals at the Crowne Plaza Jacksonville Riverfront, guest speakers are the additional draw.

Jacksonville will host two amazing national speakers. Come meet national vice president of Hadassah, Mindy Bloom, at noon on Sunday, and Dr. Janice Wein-man, Hadassah executive director/CEO, on Sunday evening.

The community is invited to

attend the Monday lunch and hear a presentation by Donna Deegan, former weekday television an-chor, and author and breast cancer awareness advocate; together with Dr. Edith A. Perez, deputy direc-tor of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center and director of the Breast Program at Mayo .

To register or for more infor-mation, call Lin Pomerantz at (904) 923-8030.

By Jacksonville HadassahLion of Judah luncheon It’s not too late to register for spring conference

Lions of Judah gather Feb. 7 at the homes of Judy Silverman and Kimberly Sisisky for a luncheon and dessert. Featured speaker was Jeannie Opdyke Smith, daughter of Polish Holocaust rescuer Irene Gut Opdyke. Her story was inspiring and remarkable; her message was simple: We all have the choice to do good or do evil, and every person can make a difference. Above: Judy Silverman, Irene Jaffa and Event Chair Debbie Banks-Kitay

Kate Robbins and Kim Robbins, and Fran Selevan and Kimberly Sisisky. Below: Holding a copy of her mother’s book, “In my Hands, Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer,” Jeannie Opdyke Smith and Sylvia Kraemer


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Can a group of Israeli and Palestin-ian women in a weight loss group make peace where everyone else had failed? Join the Women’s Division on Sunday, April 7, to find out how one filmmaker searched for this answer.

With the collapse of the Camp David Peace Accords in 2000, many Israelis and Palestinians felt they had lost their chance for peace. Out of disappointment sprang filmmaker Yael Luttwak’s idea to use the universal obsession with losing weight as a way of showing the humani-ty and the humor in the Middle East. She combined her experience of attending Weight Watchers in Tel Aviv with the conflict that raged almost daily. Despite the conflict, she was determined to make a documentary film that was insightful, entertaining and fun.

Luttwak directed and co-produced, “A Slim Peace,” which premiered at the Tribeca Film festival in 2007. “A Slim Peace” began as a documentary film about the first-ever nutrition and weight-loss group for Israeli and Palestinian women, but it turned into so much more.

Out of her desire to bridge a gap and break down barriers between the women of the Middle East, Slim Peace Groups emerged. Slim Peace Groups, a weight-loss program, has one general mission: to empower women in the Middle East to improve their eating habits and adopt a healthy lifestyle through a group sup-port system run by certified facilitators.

Luttwak will join us on April 7 to

share her experiences documenting this incredible journey.

Luttwak graduated from the London Film School, specializing in directing, and assisted Oscar-nominated filmmaker Mike Leigh on his last project. Two of her short films have been awarded Best Films of the School, nominated for vari-ous film festivals, and are distributed worldwide. “A Slim Peace” is her first documentary and feature length film.

The annual Champagne Brunch will take place at the Marriott at Southpoint from 9:30 a.m. to noon. The event chairs are Sue Eaglstein and Jen Plotkin.

Tickets are $30 and there is a mini-mum gift of $52 to the Annual Cam-paign to attend the brunch. Make your reservation online at www.jewishjack-sonville.org/champagnebrunch.aspx.

For more information, please contact Erin Cohen, 448-5000 x205, or [email protected].

Temple Sisterhood will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Women of Reform Judaism on Friday, March 1, at 7 p.m.

“We will be celebrating our centennial along with congrega-tions all over the world,” ex-plained Rhoda London, co-presi-

dent of Temple Sisterhood.Since their beginning as the

Jewish Women’s League in 1885, the women of Temple Sisterhood have been an integral part of Congregation Ahavath Chesed.

“Now we are known as the Women of Reform Judaism, and our mission of serving the Jewish community continues into the next century,” London said.

As part of the service, Temple

Sisterhood will honor its past presidents: Pat Goldberg, Ruth Nachman, Sheri Jaffa, Pat Ennis, Thelma Neid, Arlene Newman, Lois Schlesinger, Anita Teit-elbaum, Sharon Hyde, Laura Osofsky, Debby Schlackman, Sharyn Allen, Wendy Efron, Reva Sandler, Gail Jarrett, Deb Kuhr, Rhoda London, Marilyn New-man, Celeste Danos and Susan Board.

No bris, no brisket: Are laws against ritual circumcision and kosher slaughter anti-Semitism in disguise?

From San Francisco to Amsterdam and Co-logne to Stockholm, various municipalities and even entire countries have attempted to pass or have passed laws against age-old Jewish prac-tices such as kosher slaughter and brit milah.

Proponents insist their motivations are purely ethical; they allege that kosher slaughter is an inhumane way of killing animals, while circum-cision should only be practiced upon consenting adults rather than vulnerable babies. Opponents of these measures, however, maintain that these efforts are actually a sophisticated form of anti-Semitism, one which tries to hide bigotry behind a bogus cloak of moral concern. Join Sister-hood’s Hot Topic March 13 at 10:30 a.m. as we discuss this troubling topic and its ramifications for Jewish ritual practice around the world.

By Center Sisterhood

The River Garden Auxiliary’s Special Event will be held April 25 at the Southpoint at Mar-riott beginning at 11 a.m. Rhoda Goldstein and Sandy Selwitz are the chairs for the annual fundrais-ing event. “All That Jazz” is the theme for the luncheon, which will include a silent auction with exciting items and gift certificates

for services from local merchants. White House I Black Market

will show the latest styles with auxiliary members as the models.

Auxiliary members volun-teer thousands of hours to help provide for the needs of the residents of River Garden. All monies raised by the auxiliary are returned to River Garden.

Invitations will be mailed in March. Be sure to RSVP early.

By River Garden Auxiliary

By ERIN COHENJewish Federation of Jacksonville

By SAM GRISWOLDCongregation Ahavath Chesed

Champagne Brunch set for April 7

River Garden Auxiliary holds Special Event

Models Sheri Weiss and Donna Berger

Sisterhood celebrates centennial shabbat

Yael Luttwak

Hot Topic: Bris and brisket laws debated


Jacksonville

JEWISH NEWSDiane Rodgers, Communications Director

904.448.5000, ext. 212

Advertising RepresentativesBarbara Nykerk • 904.733.4179

Eta Perras • 904.629.0466

Communications CommitteeJon Israel, ChairShirley BielskiMichele KatzJoan Levin

Andrea MailRachel Morgenthal

Marsha PollockGail Sterman

Federation PresidentLarry Appel

Federation Executive DirectorAlan Margolies

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mitted content becomes the property of the Jacksonville Jewish News. Announcements and opinions contained in these pages are published as a service to the community and do not neces-sarily represent the views of the Jacksonville Jewish News or its publisher, the Jewish Federation of Jacksonville. The Jacksonville Jewish News is not responsible for the Kashruth of any product advertised.

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Avadim Hayinu, Ata B’nei Chorin. We were once slaves, but

now are free. We will be joyfully singing these words with family and friends later this month as we each sit down at our respective sederim to celebrate Passover.

We eat and drink and cel-ebrate that freedom. Yet, we do not just revel in that freedom. We reenact our exodus from slav-ery to freedom throughout the seder experience: the salt water represents our tears; the charoset represents the mortar of our la-bor; the maror reminds us of the bitter lives that we lived.

After all, we are commanded that in every generation, we’re obligated to see ourselves as if we left Egypt. We try to remem-ber the severe conditions of slavery so that we do not take freedom for granted. As a free people, especially during a holi-day that celebrates our freedom, we are then obligated to ensure that all of humanity, made in God’s Divine image, experience such freedom. We are obligated to eradicate slavery from our midst.

It was for this reason that I drove a few short hours to the small Florida town of Imma-kolee. As part of a rabbinic delegation with T’ruah: The Rab-binic Call for Human Rights, I witnessed fi rst-hand the hardship that migrants workers face in the tomato fi elds of our state.

The Department of Justice refers to Southwest Florida as “ground zero for modern slav-ery” where migrant workers

are enslaved to growers and crew leaders through coercion, fraud, debt and even force! This slavery is exemplifi ed by

the 2008 case of U.S. vs. Na-varrete, in which crew leaders were sentenced to federal prison for beating and threatening migrant workers as well as chaining them up and locking

them inside trucks at night.While in Immakolee, I wit-

nessed the brave work of the Coalition of Immakolee Workers. The CIW was started by La-tino, Haitian and Mayan Indian farmworkers over 20 years ago in order to free themselves of these conditions.

They explain that slavery is just the extreme end of a con-tinuum of abusive and exploit-ative labor practices. Like Moses standing on Pharaoh’s doorstep, demanding “Let my people go,” the CIW has worked to change such exploitative labor practices and freed thousands from a path toward forced labor and slavery.

Left out of the National Labor Relations Act, farmworkers are exempt from receiving minimum wage and have been paid pennies from their long days in the hot tomato fi elds.

For example, a farmworker is paid 50 cents for fi lling a 32-pound bushel of tomatoes that is sold in the supermarket for $81! The CIW’s Fair Food Program encourages corpora-tions, restaurants, supermarkets, and food service companies to pay one penny more per pound of tomatoes. In turn, this extra penny allows those of us that cel-ebrate freedom to take responsi-bility for human rights violations and abuses in the tomato fi elds by improving wages and living

working conditions.Through the Coalition of

Immakolee Workers hard work, many national chain restaurants and supermarkets have joined the Fair Food Program and have committed to ending the disgrace of modern slavery in our back-yard, in our country and in our society.

The work of the CIW has led many to feel that this exodus toward freedom is within our reach. Like the Israelites standing on the edge of the Sea of Reeds, these workers and their allies refuse to turn back. According to the midrash, when the children of Israel reached the edge of the waters, it took one brave soul – Nachshon Ben Aminadav – to plunge in, to believe that free-dom was possible and that it was God’s will, before the sea parted.

Let us be the brave souls that are willing to dive in, head fi rst, to stand at the forefront of the fi ght for justice and freedom and make God’s vision of freedom a reality for all.

As we prepare to sit around our own seder tables and cel-ebrate our freedom, let us ensure that all have the opportunity to celebrate freedom. If we do not stand up to such exploitation, if we do not step up, if we do not make our voices heard, then it is as if we too are the taskmasters.

So let us act. Let our voices be heard. Only then can all those made in God’s image sing with joy Avadim Hayinu, Ata B’nei Chorin, We were slaves, but now we are free!

Rabbi Jesse Olitzky serves as the Assistant Rabbi at the Jacksonville Jewish Center. You can follow his thoughts and refl ections at www.rabbiolitzky.wordpress.com.

RABBINICALLYSPEAKING

PERSPECTIVES

By RABBI JESSE OLITZKYJacksonville Jewish Center

Celebrating freedom by eradicating slavery

By JILL METLINColumnist

As our parents and grandpar-ents get older, there usually comes a point that they just

aren’t able to do what they used to do. For most of us, the time comes when we have to have “the talk” with our parents – you know, the one about driving the car. I say this jokingly but that’s probably because it is such a serious and devastating issue – both to you and to your loved one. They may have come to accept that they can’t climb a ladder anymore to clean the gutters, take a trip to Europe, or even walk without the help of a walker or cane. But the car issue, now that’s big.

Driving a car is seen as the last personal freedom for many elderly people. Many rely on their car to go to their doctor appointments, out to eat, to their place of worship or to the grocery store. Many fi nd it hard to make the decision to stop driving on their own so inevitably the decision falls on a healthier spouse who doesn’t want to be in the same car, or to the children or adult grandchildren. Even when it’s been mandated by the state as ordered by a doctor, it’s always the family who has to ultimately take away the keys. Guilt, albeit with a sigh of relief, seizes the moment.

The decision to take your par-ents or grandparent’s keys should not be taken lightly. Most experts say that being old doesn’t neces-sarily mean you are a bad driver. Many elderly drivers stay on the road until they are into their 90s and never get a ticket or cause an accident. The National Highway Traffi c Safety Administration’s Older Driver Research Program states that senior drivers are more likely than other drivers to wear seatbelts and are less likely to drink and drive. That doesn’t mean your concerns aren’t warranted; however, it is important to address your family member’s driving and

make sure that they, along with everyone else on the road, are safe.

Other than just a gut feeling, how can you tell that it is time to take the keys away from your loved one? There are signs, some obvious and some not, that your parents or grandparents should not be driving anymore:

• Health conditions – Do they have any physical or mental prob-lems that may impair their driving ability?

• Vision – If you can’t see you can’t drive. A good sign that vision might be going is not being able to drive at night.

• Hearing – Like vision, hear-ing is an important part of driving safely. You need to be able to hear sirens, horns or any other sounds that might signal a problem. Hav-ing a hearing test done can help determine whether or not they should be driving.

• Prescription drugs and alcohol – If your parent is taking prescrip-tion drugs, make sure to check the side effects or possible reactions like drowsiness or dizziness. If your family member regularly drinks alcohol, it would be good to keep an eye on how much they drink and how it affects them. Obviously it is never a good idea to drive while intoxicated.

• Memory issues – When you start to get those calls that dad couldn’t remember the way home, or that mom never made it to her appointment but said she did, that is a clear sign that it’s time to have the talk.

If you notice any of the above, get ready to broach the subject. Tune in next month for strategies on how to gently break the news. In the meantime, sign up to attend the workshop “How To Speak To Aging Parents” at the JCA Tues-day, March 19, at 7 p.m.

Suggestions, comments, ques-tions? Contact me at [email protected]. Thank you, and see you next time. (A special thanks to Karl Ott on this one.)

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After fifteen years of marriage, TV personalities and real-life-married-couple Annabelle Gurwitch (Dinner and a Movie, Fired!) and Jeff Kahn (The Ben Stiller Show, Forty Year Old Virgin) have adapted their hilarious and often moving memoir, You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up!, for the stage. You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up! “strikes directly to the funny bone” (Charlotte Observer) by offering a hilarious glimpse into a relationship that seems doomed by opposing personalities from the start. Gurwitch and Kahn’s delightfully crazy lifestyle manages to keep their relation-ship intact, up-ending every idea you ever had about living ‘happily ever after’. Jeff is played by Kevin Bartini and Annabelle is played by Gabrielle Mirabella

(Performers subject to change)

Lifespan” will be held at 7 p.m. at the Jacksonville Jewish Center, 3662 Crown Point Road. Fried-man will explore how Jewish tradition and community help us forge and deepen our wisdom at every stage of the lifespan. She will show how attendees can ful-fi ll the Psalmists’ vision, “Teach us to number our days that we may get us a heart of wisdom.” This program is free and open to the general community.

•“Fostering Resilience for Healthcare Professionals” will

take place earlier in the day at Baptist Medical Center Down-town, 800 Prudential Drive. This program is designed for health-care professionals and community chaplains and is also free. CEU’s will be provided.

The Alexandra & Mark Miller Speaker Series is coordinated by the Jewish Healing Network, a program of Jewish Family & Com-munity Services that reaches out to those who are sick, hospitalized, socially isolated or coping with loss and other life challenges.

For information or to RSVP, contact Karen Susman at 394-5737 or [email protected].

SPEAKERContinued from p. 1

The Jewish Moms Playgroup got together for a playground and picnic playdate on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The older siblings got to come, too, and everyone had lots of fun. Jewish Moms Playgroup is open to all Jewish

moms (or dads) in the community who want to meet up for playdates with children ages 0 to 4 years.

The group meets at least twice a month, is free and is unaffi li-ated. Come play.

For more information, go to www.facebook.com/groups/jew-ishmothers.

By Jewish Moms Playgroup

There aren’t many things worth two fi ve-and-a-half hour car trips, but the Jewish Student Union’s Ultra Weekend hap-pened to be one of them.

On Jan. 18, NCSY Jax’s teens shlepped down to North Miami Beach for three days of amazing events. The JSU event, sponsored by the Hahn family, was developed in conjunction with NCSY to gather 100 teens from 41 public schools across the Southern NCSY region for a weekend of food, fun, and learning.

The Jacksonville entourage and 94 other teens spent that Saturday emerged in a gamut of activities and surrounded by over 20 inspirational advisers who made it a priority to inject Torah into all aspects of the event. That

Saturday was topped off with an after-dark acoustic Matisyahu concert (which speaks for itself).

The next day, our Torah-ists headed over to Universal Studio’s Islands of Adventure in Orlando, where many of the teens conquered their fears by

daring to experience a plethora of thrilling rides. “It was great!” exclaimed Leah Finegold, a fi rst-time attendee of regional Shabbatons. “I met so many cool people.” Great indeed — and what a great way to kick off NCSY 2013!

By ELSIE PLATZERNCSY JaxThe St. Augustine Jewish His-

torical Society will hold its annual Roundtable Forum on Thursday, March 21, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Ringhaver Student Center Gamache-Koger Auditorium on the campus of Flagler College. This free program is open to the public.

The panel of scholars will include professor John Diviney, coordinator for the Spanish and Latin American Program at Flagler College; Charles Tingley, senior research librarian for the St. Augustine Historical Society; Rabbi Merrill Shapiro, president of the Jewish Historical Society and Diana Reigelsperger Miller, a doctoral candidate at University of Florida and an instructor at Flagler College. They will discuss the presence of Conversos in

colonial St. Augustine.Reigelsperger-Miller is work-

ing on a dissertation, “On the Edge of Empires: Society in the St. Augustine Presidio, 1668-1763.” She is also examining the history of the North American colonial Southeast. Reigelsperger-Miller holds an M.A. in history from the University of Florida and a B.A. in history and Spanish from Flagler College.

A visiting instructor at Fla-gler College, she has received a Program for Cultural Cooperation between Spain’s Ministry of Cul-ture and United States Universi-ties, Dissertation Research Award in 2011, a McQuown Scholarship, University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2011 and a Daniel J. Koleos Disserta-tion Research Award, University of Florida Department of History, 2011.

By Jewish Historical SocietyTeen recalls a weekend to remember

Jewish Moms Playgroup gathers

Forum welcomes Miller

FEDERATION NEWSpage 8 Jacksonville Jewish News • March 2013 Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/JaxJewish

Jewish Museum Of Florida-FIU

Since the 1920s, the game of mah jongg has ignited the popular imagination with

beautiful tiles, mythical origins and communal spirit. This exhibit provokes

memories of the intergenerational tradition of this game, and illuminates mah jongg’s

in�uence on contemporary culture.

Project Mah Jongg was curated and is circulated by the Museum of Jewish Heritage-A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, New York.The exhibition is made possible through the generosity of the National Mah Jongg League. Additional support is provided by Sylvia Hassenfeld and 2wice Arts Foundation. Local funders for Project Mah Jongg include Robert Arthur Segall Foundation, Funding Arts Network, Charles & Sandra Simon, Joni & Stanley Tate.

�ru March 17, 2013

Mah

Jong

g Sc

orec

ard,

c. 1

923.

Portraits by Inez Hollander

Through vibrant primary colors and strong, unrelenting brushstrokes, this series

documents a community teeming in diversity and captures the emotions of its subjects.

Also see MOSAIC: Jewish Life in Florida, visit the Orovitz Museum Store for one-of-a-kind gifts

and have a snack at Bessie’s Bistro!

Bring this ad in for 2 for 1 admission

February 12 - May 5, 2013

Elaine in Green Dress, acrylic on canvas, 2009.

Larry Dreaming About the Beach, acrylic on canvas, 2008.

The Museum is supported by individual contributions, foundations, memberships and grants from the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural A�airs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, the Miami-Dade County Tourist Developement Council, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural A�airs and the Cultural A�airs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissionsers and the City of Miami Beach, Cultural A�airs Program, Cultural Arts Council.

301 Washington Avenue, Miami BeachP 305-672-5044 www.jewishmuseum.com

Open daily 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.Except Mondays, Jewish and Civil Holidays

JJN

Our Catering Specialties:Bris/Baby Naming ~ Bar/Bat Mitzvahs ~ Shiva Meals

Weddings, From Modest to ElaborateHoliday Take Out ~ Private & Corporate Catering

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904-268-4200, Ext. 142 [email protected]

Shalom Jax’s monthly Manda-rin Java will be held on Wednes-day, March 6, 9-10:30 a.m. at Let’s Nosh. It seems like every month we are welcoming new faces and making new friends. Stop by and have a free cup of coffee and meet some very inter-esting and friendly people. This

group meets the fi rst Wednesday of every month.

If you live in the beaches area, please join us for our Beaches Java on Tuesday, March 12, 10-11:30 a.m. at the home of newcomers Susan and Larry Tal-lis. You’ll enjoy homemade cakes and cookies and coffee and tea. Feel free to bring a friend. RSVP to Isabel Balotin and receive directions, 448-5000 x 206 or sha-

While Community University is known for its interesting and diverse courses, this year it is offering something new.

What is certainly bound to be a popular course, local clergy members Rabbi Jonathan Lu-bliner of the Jacksonville Jewish Center, Rabbi Joshua Lief of The Temple and Rabbi Yaakov Fisch of Etz Chaim Synagogue will present a roundtable discussion moderated by Federation Execu-tive Director Alan Margolies on Torah as an engine of innovation. Another joint course on innova-tive music and Israel will be co-presented by Rabbi Matt Cohen of The Temple and Hazzan Jesse Holzer of the Jacksonville Jewish

Center.In keeping with the theme of

Independence, Innovation, and Ideas: Israel on the Cutting Edge, Community University will bring back two of its most popular presenters in recent years: Jon Mitzmacher and Dr. Elliott Rosenbaum will each offer a unique course inspired by Israeli independence.

Following our Community Café celebration, which will pay tribute to both Yom Hazikaron and Yom Haatmaut, there will be a free concert beginning at 1 p.m. featuring, “Playing for Peace: Yair Dalal and Friends in a Con-cert of Middle East Music.”

Don’t forget to save the date of April 14 for Community Uni-versity and look for registration information coming soon.

By JEANINE HOFFJewish Federation of Jacksonville

2013 Campaign Chair Hal Resnick recently reported the ex-cellent Super Sunday results the fi rst Sunday in February. Chaired by Dan and Karianne Jaffa, Super Sunday engaged over 50 community volunteers who manned the phones and received nearly 300 contributions at the Feb. 3 event.

The phone-a-thon raised $97,000.

Federation Executive Direc-tor Alan Margolies expressed his appreciation to the volunteers, many of whom represented our agencies, day schools and syna-gogues.

“It was great to see many rabbis, executive directors and board members come together on

behalf of the campaign,” Margo-lies stated.

In addition to Super Sunday and its follow-up phone solicita-tion sessions, February also fea-tured a unique progressive Lion of Judah luncheon at the homes of Judy Silverman and Kimberly Sisisky.

As this issue of the Jewish News is about to be printed, the 2013 campaign stands at $2 mil-lion.

Hal Resnick urged everyone: “Please make your gifts to the campaign at this time. We have a wonderful drive going, and we need everyone’s continued sup-port to fi nish off the remainder of the campaign year with success.”

See photos from Super Sun-day at jewishjacksonville.org/supersunday.aspx.

By Jewish Federation of Jacksonville

[email protected] to a Java near you or

travel a few miles and meet other friendly people. Whichever Java you attend, you will be welcomed with open arms. It doesn’t matter

how long you have lived in Jack-sonville, you are always welcome to join us for any one of our popular coffee and schmoozing programs. It’s the perfect place to fi nd out the latest happenings in

the Jewish community. The Jew-ish News and other community fl yers are available at these events and there are no solicitations. Coming soon: St. Augustine and Orange Park javas.

By ISABEL BALOTINShalom Jacksonville

Shalom Jax: Mandarin and Beaches Javas planned

Community University celebrates Israel’s innovation

Super Sunday a success


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EDUCATION

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page 13Jacksonville Jewish News • September 2009 www.jewishjacksonville.org

SYNAGOGUE NEWS

David A. SteinJewish Community Alliance

on the Ed Parker Jewish Community Campus8505 San Jose Blvd. • Jacksonville, FL 32217

The J Institute . . . Something for Everyone!Boot CampJoin us for a six week Boot Camp class that will be fun, motivating, and that will show REAL results.Tues. & Fri., Sept. 1, 4, 8, 11, 15, 18, 22, 25, 29, Oct. 2, 6, 9 • 6 - 7 a.m.

Buzzing with SweetnessNaturalist George DeMarino, former beekeeper from the New England area, will share the fascinating story of bees and honey making.Wed., Sept. 9 • 10:30 a.m. - noon

The JCA has two book clubs . . . one is just right for you!Well known local author Stacey Goldring is the facilitator for both of these book clubs.

Recreational Readers Tues., Sept. 8 • 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.

Night Readers Wed., Sept. 9 • 7 - 9 p.m.

Calling All Bridge PlayersPlease join us for a two hour session on “Jacoby Two No Trump” and “Splinter Bids” taught by Bridge maven Jeanne Harlan.Tues., Sept. 15 • 7 - 9 p.m.

M.E.L. (Members Enjoying Life)“Serving Our Country” Ed Mallow is a captain in the Navy Reserve and an attorney in Jacksonville who recently returned from Iraq. Ed will share his pictures and stories of his recent tour of duty, including a video on the last synagogue in western Iraq.Wed., Sept. 16 • 7 - 8 p.m.

Oy, My Aching Back!!Ivelisse Lopez, physical therapist with Brooks Rehab, will teach us how to best care for our backs through nutrition and exercise.Wed., Sept. 16 • 2 - 3 p.m.

Catch up with the “Friendzy”Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin . . . this program is for the novice user who wants to learn more regarding these computer applications.Thurs., Sept. 24 • 7 - 8:30 p.m.

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When Beth El The Beach Synagogue sought to hire a new education director it was hard to imagine it would find a profession-al cantorial soloist in the bargain. But that is just what a search com-mittee found.

“When the search commit-tee met Naomi Chase, we were impressed not only with her wide range of experiences and her obvious intellect, but also with her sincere passion to help Beth El to grow and develop,” said Marcy Sandler, Beth El vice president. “She can help develop our reli-gious school, to be sure, but she can also assist with confirmation, adult education, music program-ming and more. Her experience as an administrator of a Jewish day school will make for a smooth transition as she moves into the role of education director. As an added bonus, she will share her gift of song as our cantorial solo-ist.”

Chase’s experience spans Reform and Conservative congre-gations, and she is a member of several professional organizations including the National Association of Temple Educators.

“As I teach you, I will learn from you and, together, we will grow,” she said. “The congregation is very warm. It feels like home.”

Chase began her duties as edu-

cation director and cantorial soloist on Aug. 4.

“The hiring of Naomi Chase represents a turning point in the life of our congregation. Adding a full-time professional position for education director/cantorial soloist indicates that Beth El is alive and growing and that we are respond-ing to the needs of our growing community,” said Judy Poppell, Beth El board of trustees’ presi-dent.

Beth El’s religious school enrollment doubled last year, and it celebrated its first graduat-ing classes of confirmation and consecration students. For more information on registration, visit www.BethelBeaches.org.

Beth El’s new education director, Naomi Chase, visited Beth El in late July as a cantorial soloist.

Beth El education director doubles as cantorial soloist

Plans are in high gear at Beth Shalom for an exciting year. A successful open house and brunch was held recently and the congregation is eagerly welcom-ing all their new members.

The ritual committee is busy with plans to enhance the High Holiday services and to make the services more enjoyable and spiritual as well as more inclu-sive and welcoming to newcom-ers to the synagogue.

Our adult education com-mittee is dedicated to creating new and innovative classes and

programs for the congregants to enjoy and learn.

The membership committee has instituted a new promotion for new members for the com-ing year. Dues for newcomers to Beth Shalom will be $360 for one year of membership, which includes seats for the High Holidays.

Regular worship services are held Friday evenings, followed by an oneg Shabbat, and Satur-day mornings followed by a deli-cious Kiddush luncheon. Minyan services are held Tuesday eve-nings and Sunday mornings.

Sisterhood and Men’s Club are also busy planning for the coming year with exciting pro-gramming.

Beth Shalom Congregation is committed to building a caring, welcoming, synagogue com-munity that provides a range of opportunities for spiritual

development and the preserva-tion of Jewish traditions, values and culture.

For further information about the synagogue please call the

office at 268-0404 or visit our website at bethshalomjax.org.

The synagogue is located at 4072 Sunbeam Road.

Beth Shalom Congregation plans exciting new yearOpen House kicks off new year’s plans

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We held our annual Shoobee Doobee VPK Shabbat program on Feb. 8. The theme this year was Rosh Hodesh. The VPK families kvelled as they watched their cuties sing songs, dance and act out the story of Shabbat Shalom Moon, an adaptation of Good-night Moon.

“When the moon hits the sky like a crescent on high, that’s Rosh Hodesh!

It’s a new moon that’s rising,

a new month arriving, that’s Rosh Hodesh!”

We enjoyed sharing juice and challah on this special Shabbat with our families and friends on Rosh Hodesh Adar.

On March 1 the families of our youngest preschoolers, our Doo-bonim (teddy bears) and Kofim (monkeys), will be invited to their own special Shoobee Doobee Shabbat. It will all begin with our weekly Shabbat parade to the JJC chapel and will be an extra special celebration for their families!

By DuBow Preschool

The enrollment season at the DuBow Preschool is off to a stupendous start. Our Open House on Feb. 4 was well-attended, and there was much excitement in the air as the morning started off with Mr. Greg’s interactive Magic Bubble Science Show. One of our preschoolers said the show was, “Super wow!” The kids had a great time getting messy, experimenting and having fun at the exploration centers. Families were wowed by what they saw and learned when they visited the classrooms. New families were given a guided tour and met the teachers. It was a great day.

To learn more about our school

First graders at the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School participated in the annual Kitah Alef Conse-cration on Feb. 2 during Shabbat morning services at the Jackson-ville Jewish Center.

Consecration, also known as Haggigat HaSiddur, marks the beginning of formal Jewish edu-cation. During the program, they demonstrate their knowledge and

devotion to Judaism, parents pres-ent beautifully covered siddurim to their children, and the Jackson-ville Jewish Center Sisterhood gives each student a bound collec-tion of Leagrams containing well wishes from family and friends.

Mazel tov to the students in the consecration class for a job well done. The consecration program was filmed during dress rehearsal and can be found on the school website, www.mjgds.org.

By Martin J. Gottlieb Day School

or to schedule a tour, call Shereen Canady at 268-4200 ext. 143 or email: [email protected].

Happy Passover!

First graders embark on a rite of passage in Jewish education

Registration is booming at the DuBow PreschoolBy SHEREEN CANADYDuBow Preschool

DuBow Preschool holds Shoobee Doobee Shabbat


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────idris khan: every... Bernd & Hilla

Becher Spherical Type gasholder, 2003. Lambda digital c print mounted

on aluminium. triptych, each part 67 x 53cm. (ik 12 8/10). courtesy

the artist and victoria miro, London. © idris khan.

W2013_SlowAd_JewishNews_D2.indd 1 11/16/12 10:55 AM

Passover is one of the most celebrated Jewish holidays in America. It provides a wonderful opportunity for reaching out to unaffiliated Jews and intermarried families who during the rest of the year are rarely seen at Jewish events. Since it is a food-oriented and a home-centered holiday, it makes sense to for us to be where the people are most likely to go to prepare for the holiday – the Passover food aisle in our local supermarket.

For the sixth year in a row, Jacksonville Jewish Federation’s

Shalom Jacksonville and Winn-Dixie Supermarkets are partnering to present the Jewish Outreach Institute’s signature programs, Passover in the Matzo Aisle, on Sunday, March 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Lakewood Store, 1520 University Blvd. West.

The goal is to educate and engage customers, to feed the Jewish mind and spirit by setting up a display in the grocery store and making a connection with interested participants who will be lured to our tables for a taste of some Passover food samples provided by Winn-Dixie.

This becomes a basis for conversation for our trained

Rabbi Julie Ringold Spitzer helped expose the myth that domestic abuse does not happen among Jews when she published her ground-breaking book, “When Love Is Not Enough: Spousal Abuse in Rabbinic and Contem-porary Judaism,” in 1995. Spitzer was born in Jacksonville, gradu-ated from Wolfson High and then the University of Florida. She re-ceived her Masters of Hebrew let-ters, Masters of Jewish education and her ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio.

“Because of her passion for shedding light on and ending domestic violence, WRJ Temple Sisterhood chose to re-name

its annual Women’s Seder in memory of Rabbi Spitzer,” said Celeste Danos, past-president of WRJ Temple Sisterhood. “The proceeds from our women’s Seder are donated to Hubbard House. To date, those donations total over $20,000.”

The 20th Annual Women’s Seder will take place on Thursday, March 14, at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $18. Children between the ages of 8-12 are $9. Additional contribu-tion levels are: $36 (patron), $54 (angel), $72 (Rachel) and $108 (Miriam).

A light vegetarian fare will be served. Seating is limited. Please RSVP by March 9. Mail, or drop your check payable to Temple Sisterhood by the Temple office at 8727 San Jose Blvd., Jackson-ville, FL 32217.

Experience the Exodus and reflect on the gift of freedom with Congregation Ahavath Chesed.

“We are proud to offer our Seder on the first night of Pass-over, so everyone has a place to go,” Rabbi Joshua Lief said. “Here at Temple, we take great pride in welcoming all who enter our doors: Jews by birth, Jews by choice, interfaith families and

friends of all faiths.”Don’t feel like cooking? Let

us take care of it for you. Can’t fit everyone around your table? Come find a seat at ours.

Celebrate the festival of free-dom with food, friends and fun on Monday, March 25, at 7 p.m. The cost is $30 for adults and $18 for children (ages 3-12). Child-friendly and vegetarian options will be available. Call the Temple office at (904) 733-7078, and we’ll be happy to save you a seat.

volunteers who will then share holiday information and extend an invitation to other relevant Jewish programs. In addition, fact sheets on the rituals and traditions of Passover, recipes and local congregational Seder information will be offered.

This program is not just about food; it’s about providing new-comers and unaffiliated with

another positive contact with the Jewish community. All volun-teers will be given a fact sheet of Passover customs and traditions, of proactive hospitality, inclusive language and strategies of wel-coming. Each volunteer will be-come familiar with the Passover products available in each store and assist customers as needed.

Passover begins on Monday

evening, March 25, with the first Seder. If you would like to volunteer for this program or need more information, please contact Shalom Jacksonville coordinator Isabel Balotin, 448-5000 x 206 or [email protected]. The Jewish Federation’s Shalom Jacksonville is the official Jewish welcome wagon of North-east Florida.

The Beaches Sisterhood Con-nection of Congregation Ahavath Chesed (The Temple) invites all sisterhood members to a Pass-over Tasting and Recipe Swap on Thursday, March 7, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Bring your favorite Passover recipe and samples to share with 30 others. Email Judy Poppell at [email protected] for more information.

Temple Bet Yam Congrega-

tional Seder will be held at 2055 Wildwood Drive, St. Augustine, Tuesday, March 26, at $36 per person. Reservations must be made no later than March 20. Please contact the Temple office at 904-819-1875 for more infor-mation and to make a reserva-tion.

Beth El The Beaches Syna-gogue will host a Passover community Seder March 26 at 6 p.m. We encourage all to join us for the first evening of Passover.



Briefs

By ISABEL BALOTINShalom Jacksonville

Passover in the Matzo Aisle set for March 10

Women’s Seder helps Hubbard House

Temple hosts Passover Seder


We’ll save you a seat at our table!

Here at the Temple, we take great pride in welcoming all who enter our doors: Jews by birth, Jews by choice, interfaith families and friends of all faiths.

Celebrate the Seder with lots of food, friends and fun!

Join us here at the Temple on

Monday, March 25 at 7:00 PM

The cost is only $30 for adults and $18 for children. Child-friendly and vegetarian options will be available.

Call the Temple Office at 733-7078 and we’ll be happy to save you a seat!

Let all who are hungry come and eat!


EDUCATION

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FLORIDA Jewish Ad.indd 1 3/16/11 8:48 AM

Pizmon livens up Jacksonville Jewish Center during 1st Shabbat A Cappella.

Wearing your pajamas to school at night – how fun!

That is exactly what local Jew-ish 4 year olds did one evening in January. The Martin J. Got-tlieb Day School and PJ Library partnered to create an evening of fun at the school called Shema at Bedtime.

Kids arrived in their PJs, lis-

tened to a beautiful story from the PJ Library collection, sang bed-time lullabies with Hazaan Jesse Holzer on his guitar, decorated pillow cases that had the Shema prayer on them and ended the evening with cookies and milk.

The program was wonderfully attended and a huge hit. MJGDS looks forward to partnering up with PJ Library for more extraor-dinary programs such as this one.


Michele Block Gan Yeladim Preschool student Charlotte Kaplan checks out a visitor from the Jacksonville Zoo, one of the school’s partners.

Ilene Schinasi is one of our favorite visitors at the DuBow Preschool. In January we cel-ebrated Tu B’Shevat with Ms. Ilene. She read “A Tree Is Nice” by Janice May Udry, then helped the children plant seeds. In February she was the mystery reader in a few classes and read, “Cakes and Miracles,” by Barbara Diamond Goldin, a PJ Library story about a little boy who is blind and wants to help his mother make hamantaschen. We look forward to seeing her again in March for a surprise Passover book and scavenger hunt.

Shema at Bedtime well-attended

Zoo visitors

Kids love PJ Library

Pizmon at the Center

By SHEREEN CANADYDuBow Preschool


RIVER GARDEN SENIOR SERVICES

RIVER GARDEN 2012 FEDERATION ALLOCATION: $179,132

Did you know that, as a Medicare beneficiary, you are free to elect any provider of your choice for out-patient therapy services? Why not choose a place that offers:

• A program tailored spe-cifically for you

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with many years of unique clinical experience

When asked by her physi-cian why she was adamant about receiving out-patient therapy at River Garden, Constance Ellingson did not have to think hard.

“Both of my parents have been there and I, too, want the best.” She went on to ex-plain, “The staff is fabulous and it’s close to my home.”

It’s no secret that health-care is ever-evolving and

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To learn more about the specialized programs The Therapy Center has to offer, call: 904.886.8454, email: [email protected], or visit our website: www.river-garden.org/therapycenter.

By SHERI SAMUELSThe Therapy Center

The Minnie Schreiber Staff Leadership Award was created in memory of Minnie Schreiber, the first woman president of the River Garden board, volunteer and board member for more than 50 years, and a strong advocate of River Garden employees. This award recognizes an employee who consistently exhibits excep-tional care, teamwork and convic-tion to the River Garden mission.

Judy Perez enjoys her daily interactions not only with the residents on her unit, but also throughout the home. Judy truly believes that “River Garden is not only a place to come and work, it

By River Garden Senior Services

Space is limited. Act now. Whether you are considering a career in physical therapy, nursing or need community service, we are encouraging you to consider applying for our Summer Teen Volunteer Program 2013.

If you are at least 13 years of age, please feel free to request an application for consideration.

Maturity and dependability are a must!

We are looking to engage teens who have the ability to commu-nicate effectively with residents by way of initiating conversation and strong listening skills. The ability to take the initiative and to work independently are desired attributes.

River Garden would be a great place to spend your summer. We will be flexible in your scheduling in order to work around sum-mer school and family vacations. Treat yourself to the River Garden experience.

For additional information, please contact Leslie Held (904) 260-1818/ext.808 or [email protected]

By LESLIE HELDVolunteer Coordinator

Is it time already?

is like family. They don’t just see me as an employee - when I am here I am at home.”

Judy was born in Fresno, Calif. She is mother to three sons – Monty, living in Texas; Juan, still living in California; and Ricardo, residing in Oregon – and grand-mother to five children. During Judy’s spare time she loves to visit St. Augustine for a stroll through the old city, or even sit up late at night watching an old clas-sic movie on the TMC channel with her toy poodle, Sugarbaby. Judy joined River Garden on Nov. 13, 2001, as a certified nursing assistant. She currently works on Traditional Care Unit 1 as a preceptor for new CNAs.

It’s your choice when it comes to providers

Perez receives leadership award


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EDUCATION

What do you see and touch when you enter a Jewish school or home? Ask the children at Michele Block Gan Yeladim Pre-school and they will proudly tell you a mezuzah.

Their preschool classrooms re-cently received beautiful new me-zuzot made by Israeli artist Yair Emanuel. Beautifully decorated with colorful Noah’s ark images, these handcrafted Judaic symbols were brought back from the recent director’s trip to Israel.

What is inside a mezuzah? The children will tell you all about the shema prayer written on special parchment paper and even recite it in sign language. Todah rabah to Rabbi Fisch, Rabbi Lief and Rab-bi Cohen (all parents of children in our program) for their kindness and assistance in blessing and mounting the new mezuzot.

Art is woven into our pro-gram every day. Children grow

creatively and strengthen their fine motor skills through daily art experiences. As you enter the school, you will see the DuBow

By DuBow Preschool Art Gallery with masterpieces from every class. The gallery is updated each month so that each of our little artists enjoys the op-portunity to display their art.

We look forward each month as the new creations are hung. The children enjoy learning about

artists’ tools and using mixed media, water-color, collage, paint, cray-pas and more. The sculptures in the gallery are class collabora-tions.

Ms. Janet’s Parparim (butter-flies) proudly displayed the giant grogger and beautiful megillah

they created during February. Our full-day preschoolers also attend a weekly art class at the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School art studio. We believe, as Pablo Picasso does, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”

DuBow Preschool Art Gallery debuts its masterpieces

What was once called Teacher In-Service Day has been transformed at the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School to Faculty EdCamp. Edcamp is an “un-conference” – an opportunity, without intense preparation or anxiety, for teachers to own their professional learning. Teachers showed up at edcamp to find a blank schedule – only time slots and locations.

They were then asked to decide what topics they wanted to present on or which conversa-tions they wished to facilitate and sign up until the schedule was complete. And then the learning began.

“Sounds simple, which it is, but its power is in recognizing how much teachers already have to offer and how strong their de-sire is to learn from each other.

It is also an important acknowledgment that they are already experts in important topics and, thus, there is no need for intense preparation – simply share the work,” explained Jon Mitzmacher, head of school.

Sessions included: The Daily 5, iPads, Textbooks or Both, Diigo and How to Incorporate It into the Classroom, Student Led Conferences, Smart Boards, Current Events, Student Blog-folios, Art Collaboration, and Writing Scope and Sequence. It was quite an extraordinary day.


Teacher in-service day held modern-day style

Preschool dedicates mezuzah

By ROCHELLE GOLOMBMichele Block Gan Yeladim Preschool


New book club launchedThe Department of Jew-ish Services at JFCS will be launching a Jewish Inclusion Awareness Book Club. The book club will also provide a forum to have meaningful discussions about ways that every person, regardless of ability, can participate in all aspects of Jewish life. The first meeting will be Thursday, March 21, at noon at Jewish Family & Community Servic-es, 6261 Dupont Station Ct., E. The first book is “The Story of Beautiful Girl” by Rachel Simon. To RSVP or for further information, contact Gail Fur-man at 394-5723.

CALL2GORemember rides to syna-gogue for Shabbat and holi-days are free, and other rides to medical appointments, the grocery store, etc. are offered at a reduced rate. Need a ride? Call the transportation line at 224-6287.

Kosher KartThe Kosher Kart program at JFCS provides a convenient alternative for meals that are ready to heat. Many people order our meals as a way to have healthy and easy meals available when recuperating from an illness or hospitaliza-tion, or just to have on hand when they don’t feel like cooking. Call 394-5724.

Attention kidsDon’t forget to sign up for the PJ Library. Free Jewish books for children ages 6 months to 8 years. It’s fun to receive your own book in the mail. Tell your parents to go to the PJ website at www.pjlibrary.org or call Ilene Schinasi at 394-5724.

Be a JHN volunteerIf you have ever wanted to be a Jewish Healing Network volunteer but didn’t know where to begin, call Karen Susman today. Volunteers made friendly visits to those who are ill and those who are feeling isolated from the Jewish community. Office and event volunteers needed too. 394-5737.

JEWISH FAMILY & COMMUNITY SERVICES

JEWISH FAMILY & COMMUNITY SERVICES 2012 FEDERATION ALLOCATION: $250,283

448-1933www.jfcsjax.org

Briefs

“Once we were slaves; now we are free.”

As the community prepares for Passover, we are reminded once again of the importance of freedom.

Freedom is a critical component of the Passover story. “Once we were slaves; now we are free” is a central theme in the Haggadah. And, as American, we are grateful to live in a country where we enjoy

many freedoms, including the op-portunity to practice the religion of our choice.

But freedom is more than being liberated from slavery or from being under the power of another. A lack of freedom can also come from being constrained in having a choice or action. For the poor, it may mean a lack of peace of mind, good health, an education, safety, a dependable livelihood and a steady source of income, or basic necessi-ties such as food. Those in poverty suffer from more than a lack of

material things (money, shelter and clothing). They often live in risky environments, have more insecuri-ties, fewer opportunities and are making daily choices that have nothing to do with freedom.

Each day, we receive calls from individuals who face those kinds of constraints whether it is an individual who is unemployed and doesn’t know how they can pay for both rent and utilities, a senior who has to choose between buying groceries or a prescription medicine, or a young mother who

is trying to decide whether to stay in an abusive relationship or seek an unknown life on her own.

As the holiday approaches, we realize once again how important – and yet how fragile – freedom is. We are grateful to provide the programs and services that help people in need and we are equally grateful for your support so we are able to continue helping people help themselves.

From all of us at Jewish Family & Community Services, we wish you a Happy Passover.

Date: Sunday, March 10Time: 1:30 - 3:30 PM.Place: River Garden Hebrew

Home, 11401 Old St Augustine Road

This quarterly Eat & Schmooze program for Holocaust survivors and their families will have a special Passover Seder theme.

The NCSY Jax Youth Group of Etz Chaim will lead a model Seder, and a special Hagaddah is being created.

We are grateful to our spon-sors, the Pollan Family and Robert M. Morgan & Associates, as well as the members of the Holocaust Gatherings Committee, River Garden, Etz Chaim Syna-gogue and the staff of the Jewish Services Department at JFCS.


Join JFCS, together with honorary chairs Laurie and Linda DuBow, and Wayne and Delores Weaver, as we celebrate how people in our community help

each other. Save the date: Thursday, Oct.

17. More information to follow;

sponsorships will be available. If you have any questions, con-

tact Heather Corey at 394-5727.


Enrollment is under way at our local Jewish day camps. One thing is for certain: If you want your child to be affiliated and stay connected to the Jewish commu-nity as an adult, one of the best ways to ensure that is to find a way to send him or her to a sum-mer day camp.

And many Jacksonville day camps are offered at local syna-gogues. In 2010, a study on the long-term impact of Jewish camp was released concluding that those who have attended camp are more Jewishly engaged as adults.

JFCS has a long history of helping families in need by providing for Jewish day camp experiences for children in our community.

This year, our camp fund is low, and we need your help. Please consider donating to our Day Camp Scholarship Fund. With your support last year, JFCS assisted 23 children with camp scholarships. Let’s beat that num-ber this summer. Send your gift to JFCS, 6261 Dupont Station Ct. E., Jacksonville, FL 32217 or you can donate on line at www.jfcsjax.org. Simply indicate Camp Scholar-ship Fund.


Over the next few months, JFCS will highlight our newest board members.

Judy Poppell has been in-volved in education, community and service to others as far back as she can remember.

She is retired from Duval County Public Schools having served as a teacher, principal and district-level administrator, and is currently an assistant professor at University of North Florida in the College of Education and Human Services. Judy teaches master’s degree students in edu-cational leadership.

Having moved here at a young age, she definitely considers Jacksonville her home. She has been a Temple member for over 50 years and her husband Ron is a Jacksonville native.

Community has always been an important part of their lives and that of their children, as well.

Judy’s interest in JFCS began when she was a religious school teacher at the Temple. She told us that her students were often engaged in projects to support JFCS, specifically the food

pantry. “JFCS serves so many community needs for all age groups and income levels - from brokering adoptions, to serv-ing the needs of disadvantaged families, to providing support for the elderly. I am proud to be part of this important community organization.”

In addition to her dedication to our agency, Judy is also a past president of the Temple, serves on a number of area boards and is an active member of Leader-ship Jacksonville.


Foods for March are: peanut butter, jelly, crackers, mac & cheese and hearty soups. The Winn-Dixie Emergency Food Pantry at JFCS appreciates your donations of nonperishable foods

throughout the year. Please give generously to Feed-A-Needy-Neighbor by contacting Renie Levin at 394-5721 or donating on line www.jfcsjax.org.

And watch for further details about the Block Family Food Challenge to begin in April.


From left: Mark Lamping; Colleen and chairs; and Jim and Brian. The JFCS men’s event was a big success. Guests heard all the latest Jaguar news from team president, Mark Lamping, and agency updates from JFCS Executive Director Colleen Rodriguez. Our sincere thanks to co-chairs David Stein and David Robbins, and to our generous sponsors: bestbet, Ernie Brodsky, Dr. Lawrence Goldberg, Harris, Guidi, Rosner, Dunlap, Rudolph, P.A., Dr. Lawrence Kanter, Jim Kempner, Dr. Ronald Levin, David Robbins, Sheriff John Rutherford, David Stein, Tobacco Cove and String Theory for providing the musical entertainment.

By COLLEEN RODRIGUEZExecutive Director

Being grateful for our freedom

Foods of the monthOh what a night

Meet Judy Poppell

Eat & Schmooze features Passover theme

Summer camp season is around the corner

Judy Poppell

Scotch, Cigars & Football


JEWISH COMMUNITY ALLIANCE 2012 FEDERATION ALLOCATION: $181,000

904.730.2100wwwjcajax.org

JCA happenings

JEWISH COMMUNITY ALLIANCE

The Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra’s Mole Music String Quartet performs for students at the JCA’s Michele Block Gan Yeladim Preschool. The symphony is one of several community partners.

Author and JCA parent Sandra Kes-sler reads her book about trees to the Michele Block Gan Yeladim Teddy Bear classes during Tu B’Shevat activities at the school.

Michele Block Gan Yeladim preschool and kindergarten children proudly collect almost 500 food items as part of their annual participation in the Souper Bowl of Caring tzedakah project.

Rochelle Golomb, left, Early Childhood Edu-cation assistant director, and ECE Director Theresa Levy display the certificate signifying the Michele Block Gan Yeladim Preschool and kindergarten’s reaccreditation.

Scenes from Michele Block Gan Yeladim Preschool

The Jewish Community Alli-ance is marking its 25th birthday with a year-long celebration. Highlights include the unearthing of a time capsule buried in 1988, burial of a new time capsule to be opened in 2038, a commemora-tive book and video, special dis-plays and activities for members and nonmembers and a birthday party fund-raiser.

A commemorative book, video and photos and stories on display at the JCA will “represent the many untold stories of how the JCA has helped shape people’s lives and bring the Jacksonville community together,” said JCA Executive Director Myron Flagler.

On March 17, the JCA will open the time capsule that was

buried in 1988. A new time cap-sule – to be opened in 2038 – will be buried on May 5.

Beginning April 24, the JCA’s Vandroff Art Gallery will display photo stories about the JCA and its members.

In November, the JCA will unveil “How it all Began … The JCA Story,” a pictorial/visual display.

The highlight of the year-long celebration will be a 25th Birth-day Party Fundraiser on Saturday evening, April 20.

A complete schedule of birthday events is online at www.jcajax.org/birthday.

Construction began on the JCA in 1987 at the former site of the Beauclerc Country Club after community surveys and focus groups revealed a need for

a Jewish Community Center in Jacksonville. The facility opened in 1988.

Through the years, the JCA added nationally accredited preschool and summer camp programs. The annual Jewish Book Festival began in 1996 along with the first Theatre of Youth Production. The JCA later added the Concert in the Round series and the JCA Film Series, both of which offer free cultural events for the entire community. The Vandroff Art Gallery presents monthly exhibits of the work of local artists.

A major renovation begun in 2006 expanded the facility to 99,000 square feet and added a new, 4,500-square-foot fitness center with 100 new pieces of strength and cardiovascular equip-

ment along with an expanded group exercise class area, private personal training/core training studio, new cardio theater system, expanded and renovated Dubow Adult Center, new art and pottery studios and three new class-rooms in the Michele Block Gan Yeladim Preschool.

The JCA continues to expand its offerings of an integrated range of programs for people of all ages, levels of ability and interests to fulfill its mission to strengthen Jewish life, serve as a common meeting ground, and enhance the quality of life of the entire com-munity.

These programs include fit-ness, recreational and sports activities; preschool; summer camp; youth theatre; after-school programs; Jacksonville Teens

Volunteer; youth activities; the J Institute for adults; programs and activities for seniors; family-oriented events and activities; and cultural arts programs.

The JCA also has entered the world of social media and the Internet with a website (www.jcajax.org) and a presence on Fa-cebook, Twitter and YouTube.

The JCA has grown from an initial membership of 750 to al-most 2,400 today. Membership in the JCA is open to all. About half of the members are non-Jewish.

The JCA is a non-profit com-munity center affiliated with the Jacksonville Jewish Federation, the United Way of Northeast Florida and the Jewish Commu-nity Centers of North America.

The JCA is at 8505 San Jose Blvd.

By Jewish Community Alliance

Vandroff Art GalleryThe Vandroff Art Gallery will

exhibit works by members of The Art Guild of Orange Park through March 20. This organization promotes the visual arts in Clay County and Northeast Florida.

Beginning March 22, the gallery will exhibit the paintings of Bronwen Chandler. Bronwen grew up in New Zealand. She expresses herself mainly through landscapes. She loves to paint in acrylics and she works in both brush and knife, and there is always some purple to be found in her paintings. You may remember Bronwen as a dance instructor here at the JCA.

Live from New York: inside Israel’s national security

Hear a fascinating exchange between former Israeli Deputy National Security Adviser Chuck Freilich and senior military affairs analyst with Ha’aretz Reuven Pedhatzur as they discuss the his-tory and chronic inadequacies of Israeli national security policy-making. Hosted by Dan Raviv, of CBS News Weekend Roundup, this is sure to be a rousing conver-sation.

The broadcast is at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 21. It’s free for JCA members and $5 for non-members.

Break Away DaysThe JCA offers full days of

fun when school is out of session. Each school day off is filled with

exciting activities such as sports, swimming, arts and crafts, and cooking.

We will be offering Break Away Days during most schools’ spring breaks March 25 through April 5 (call 730-2100 ext. 245 for dates and fees). This spring we will take a journey under the sea. We will make jeweled jellyfish, hunt for sunken treasure and much more.

Babysitter’s training course

Learn how to prepare for an emergency if home alone or if babysitting in this one-day class. Valuable safety tips will be taught and basic CPR and first aid skills will be reviewed.

This class is for ages 10-15. It will be from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Friday, March 29. The fee is $50 for JCA members and $75 for nonmembers.

Flag football leagues kick off

The JCA will offer flag football leagues for youth and adults this spring.

The JCA Youth Co-Ed Flag Football League is back for anoth-er action-packed football season. The league is unique in that we practice before each game so it is a convenient one-stop-shop for all your football needs.

A mandatory skills evaluation will be held at the Bolles Football Field on March 10. Age groups will be determined after the evalu-ations. The fee is $100 for JCA

members and $150 for nonmem-bers. Call Geoff Thomas at 730-2100 ext. 254 if you would like to volunteer to coach or if you have any questions about the league.

The JCA’s Adult Flag Football League for ages 18+ will play at Bolles Stadium Field on Sunday afternoons from 4 to 7 p.m. begin-ning April 14.

Form your own teams of six to eight players for 5-on-5 flag football. You can also register individually or with a friend and be placed on a team. The fee is $60 for JCA members and $90 for nonmembers. Call or email Geoff at ext. 254 or [email protected] if you have any questions.

‘FAME!’Don’t miss the music, dance

and all-around fun when the JCA Theatre Of Youth take the stage in the hit musical “FAME!” Set in Manhattan at Laguardia School of the Arts, “FAME!” will take you on the journey young artists, both visual and theatrical, must face while trying to achieve their dreams.

Show dates and times are March 2 and 9 at 7:30 p.m. and March 3 and 10 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $7 and are sold at the door.

The body’s furnace: your thyroid

You may not hear much about thyroid problems, but they are very common and affect many people of all ages. Now is the time to learn about your thyroid and how it works and doesn’t

work and what you can do about it.

Join Dr. Sohrab Afshari, MD, F.A.C.S., chief of surgery of Memorial Hospital and chairman of the Cancer Center program of Memorial Hospital, at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 10, for a most informative session on keeping your “furnace” working and much more.

Healthy treats including home-made sushi rolls will be provided for your health and enjoyment. This program is free and open to all.

JCA annual book saleThe JCA’s annual book sale

will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 10. All books are new and cost $5.

Sports programs for youngsters

The JCA is offering programs in basketball, baseball, soccer flag football and gymnastics for ages 3-9 beginning in early March. Call 730-2100 ext. 250 for more information.

3rd annual Spring Fling Racquetball Tournament

The next Spring Fling Rac-quetball Tournament is quickly approaching. Keep an eye out for more information on this great annual event. The tournament will be Sunday, March 24. Contact Rio Robinson at 730-2100 ext. 250 for more information.

Varsity basketball league

The JCA offers a 5 vs. 5 full court basketball league for ages 14 - 18. Register as a team or sign up individually and be placed on a team. Call ext. 250 to regis-ter your team or to volunteer to coach. Deadline for team registra-tions is March 28.

Games will begin April 9. The fee is $80 for JCA members and $120 for nonmembers.

JCA Makos summer swim team

Get out your swimsuits and caps because it’s River City Swim League season for the JCA Makos Swim Team. The team begins practice in May, during our Swim Team Registration Week, so make sure you register in advance be-cause space will be limited.

Our outstanding coaching staff is ready to help each swimmer accomplish his or her goals. All levels of swimmer are welcome. We have two options for registra-tion; practice/meet and meet only

JCA celebrates 25th birthday with fundraiser


JEWISH COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF NORTHEAST FLORIDA 2012 FEDERATION ALLOCATION: $76,422

JEWISH COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF NORTHEAST FLORIDA

Please join us and the 500 members of our community who have created their Jewish legacies. Remember the Jewish community in your will and estate plan. For more information, contact the Jewish Community Foundation of Northeast Florida. 904-394-0720 www.jewishfoundationnefl.org

Create a Jewish Legacy is a partnership of our area synagogues and Jewish agencies

To create your Personalized Legacy Agreement including which causes will be your beneficiaries, contact the Foundation. Then, use the following language in your will and to change a beneficiary designation on other assets such as IRA’s or life insurance. “I give and bequeath to the Jewish Community Foundation of Northeast FL Inc., its successors and or

assigns X %”, (whatever % or dollar amount that is comfortable for you) “of my residual estate or/asset.” Contact the Foundation with additional questions.

To support the Jewish community and to create your Jewish legacy, contact the Jewish Community Foundation of NEFL at 394-0720 or [email protected].

For a video of the Create a Jewish Legacy event, call 394-0720.

Ellen Rosner, Andrea Mail and Jeanine Rogozinksi, CJL Event Chairs, welcomed 350 guests to the Jewish

Community Foundation’s CJL Celebration Event

350 IN OUR COMMUNITY ATTEND CREATE A JEWISH LEGACY EVENT

With deepest thanks to our many volunteers

who work tirelessly to ensure our

Jewish community and Israel remain vibrant and strong

for future generations.

Susan Elinoff greets guests Judy Elikan and Judy Poppell

Isabel Balotin & Ellen Hare (CJL Singers) with Kimberly Sisisky (Honorary Chair)

Friends of Mike Donziger celebrate his life and dedication to CJL with a song and toast

Deanna Lissner and Deborah Shapiro (CJL Steering Committee) catch up

Jeanine Hoff rocks the house

Barry Zisser (JCF Board), Mike DeSanto, and Ron Elinoff (JCF Board)

Richard Sisisky, CJL Community Chair and Mark Green, Foundation President (Honorary Chairs)

Alex Ackerman, Nancy Green (Honorary Chair) with David Robbins (JCF Board)

Hazzan Jesse Holzer shares his talent

“WE STAND STRONGEST WHEN WE STAND TOGETHER!”


B’nai MitzvahJacob Dean Glassman, son of

Dean and Lisa Glassman, will be called to the Torah on the occa-sion of his Bar Mitzvah on March 16, 2013, at the Congregation Ahavath Chesed.

Sharing in the simcha will be his sister Sienna, 22, Gabriella, 21, and Julian, 15; his grand-mother Elinor Glassman and the late Dr. Jacob Glassman of Miami Beach; and grandparents LaVerna Sanford of Delaware, and Norman and Sharon Sanford of Belleview. Aunts, uncles and cousins will also attend, coming from Seattle to Baltimore.

Jacob is a seventh grade hon-ors student at The Bolles School. He loves to play basketball and was on the seventh grade team as well as playing AAU. Jacob also played football for the Bolles middle school. Currently he plays the clarinet in the middle school band. When Jacob is not outside shooting the ball he is playing his X box.

Hannah Mendelson, daughter of Robin and Brian Mendelson, will be called to the Torah on the occasion of her Bat Mitzvah on March 2, 2013, at Congrega-tion Ahavath Chesed.

Shar-ing in the simcha will be her brother Jake, 18; grandparents Sharon and Barry Kaufman of Poinciana, and Sharon and Jerry Mendelson of Houston; and many friends and family.

Hannah is in the seventh grade at The Bolles School, where she is an honors student and played on the middle school volleyball team this fall. Hannah plays volleyball for JJVA and enjoys art, spend-ing time with her friends and attending Camp Coleman in the summer.

Daniel Nabert, son of Dr. David and Debbie Nabert, will be called to the Torah on the occa-sion of his Bar Mitzvah on March 2, 2013, at Etz Chaim Synagogue.

Sharing in the sim-cha will be his grandpar-ents Barbra and Fredrick Soilson; uncle; cousins Jeffrey, Rebecca and Noah; and cousins from the Druin Family from North Miami Beach.

Daniel’s mitzvah project will involve traveling to Israel this June to participate in a Youth 4 Youth program to help children with educational and poverty needs of the communities of Jaffa, south Tel Aviv, Bat Yam and Holon.

Allison Rose Wolfson, daugh-ter of Bud and Lisa Wolfson, was called to the Torah on the occa-sion of her Bat Mitzvah on Feb. 9, 2013, at the Jacksonville Jewish Center.

Sharing in the simcha will be her brothers, Jacob, 20; Alex, 18; and Jared 18; Beverly Furman of Norfolk, Va., and Bob and Renee Moses of Jacksonville; and many friends and family.

Ally is in the seventh grade at Landon Middle School, where she is in the gifted and talented program. She enjoys acting at the JCA, learning guitar, singing, and being with friends and family.

For her mitzvah project, Ally will help raise awareness and money for Type 1 diabetes.

Lily Sarah Steinberg, daugh-ter of Bruce and Lonnie Stein-berg, will be called to the Torah on the occa-sion of her Bat Mitzvah Feb. 16, 2013, at Congrega-tion Ahavath Chesed.

Sharing in the sim-cha will be her brother Blake; sis-ter Alli; and grandparents Arnold and Aviva Miller, and Morton and Ronnie Steinberg.

Lily is a seventh grade honor roll student at St. Johns Country Day School. She enjoys theatre and spending time with family and friends.

For her mitzvah project Lily has made Boggy Bears to donate to Camp Boggy Creek, a camp serving seriously ill children in Florida.

AccomplishmentsYelena M. Finegold of Jack-

sonville has been named to fi rst honors on the Clark University Dean’s List. This selection marks outstanding academic achieve-ment during the fall 2012 semes-ter.

LIFECYCLES

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WeddingRobyn Blum and David

Bortz were married Oct. 6, 2012, at Chateau Julien Wine Estate in Carmel, Calif. The bride is the daughter of Cheryl and Fred Blum, and the granddaughter of Sally Levine, all of Jacksonville. She graduated from Florida State University with a bachelor’s degree in public relations. She

is a project manager for Syscom Technologies.

The groom is the son of Mary Jayne and James Bortz of Rock-ville, Md. He graduated from the University of Richmond with a bachelor’s degree in econom-ics and is a sales associate for S. Freedman Company. The couple resides in Washington, D.C.

See LIFECYCLES, p. 22


SYNAGOGUE NEWS

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Three Locations to Serve You!

Untitled-3 1 9/19/2011 10:55:18 AM

Are you a Jacksonville Jewish Mom? This trip may be for you!

For more information, please contact Henny Fisch at 904-731-2127 or [email protected]

Theatrical entertainment com-pany Bella Voce fi lled Congrega-tion Ahavath Chesed (The Temple) with “Music from the Heart of the Jewish People” on Feb. 2. The concert was inspired and produced by Temple member Rae Masin in honor of her family.

“My family was devoted to music as a way of life, and I woke up every morning to the sound of music as my father sang the morn-ing prayers,” Masin said. “I chose the theme ‘Music from the Heart of the Jewish People’ to remind all

of us that our people have contrib-uted to humankind in many ways and that music has been handed down perpetually from generation to generation.”

Over 200 people heard music from several genres including Broadway, the movies and animat-ed features. The Temple Chorale performed selections from “Fiddler On The Roof” and “Light One Candle.” Rabbi Joshua Lief sang “One Enchanted Evening” while Rabbi Matt Cohen brought Frank Sinatra back to life with a rousing performance of “The House I Live In.” The night also included “The Impossible Dream,” “The Wind

Back by popular demand, “The Best New York Style Corned Beef Sandwich” is again available to you, your co-workers, your fam-ily and friends beginning Friday, April 12, (the day for large order delivery) as well as Sunday, April 14, and Monday, April 15, for $10.

You can have an amazing New York style corned beef sand-wich, chips, pickle and a drink. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to The Donna Foundation which supports women in need during their recovery from breast cancer, as well as educational and social programs at Beth El Syna-

gogue. We will deliver orders of 15 or more sandwiches. Just call and order your prepaid tickets. Please go to [email protected] or call 904-372-3847 to order now.

Helen Siegal, president of Beth El Sisterhood, commented, “I very much appreciate the activities our congregation has undertaken to support the beaches community through social and outreach programs. By supporting our program, you will not only get the best New York-style corned beef sandwich since last year’s sale, but you will also be support-ing The Donna Foundation. We look forward to your support and thank you.”

By Beth El - The Beaches Synagogue

Beneath My Wings” and “Climb Every Mountain.”

“All of the music performed here tonight was written by Jew-ish composers,” explained Bella Voce member Jim Goodell, who

also serves as the Temple’s music director.

“Whether it’s music at Shab-bat, or our Nosh n’ Notes Jewish Food & Music Festival coming up May 3-5, music plays a big part in

Temple life,” said Goldie Lansky, executive director of Congregation Ahavath Chesed. “We are fortu-nate and grateful for members like Rae Masin who share their passion for the song with others.”

Did you ever have a food fi ght when you were a kid?

The Sisterhood and Men’s Club of the Jacksonville Jewish Center will conduct their fi rst annual championship food fi ght to benefi t the Jewish Family & Community Services Food Pantry.

We are asking everyone to help the two clubs in this endeavor.

The food fi ght will begin on Feb. 23 and continue until March 18. We are asking everyone, when they empty their pantries for Pesach, to bring their chametz to the Center and deposit it in either the Sisterhood cart or Men’s Club cart in the front lobby. Let’s see which club can bring in the most food.

The winner of this food fi ght will be the JFCS food pantry.

By Jacksonville Jewish Center


Bella Voce performs at Congregation Ahavath Chesed

Theatrical entertainment group Bella Voce joins Temple Chorale on Feb. 2.

Beth El’s best corned beef sandwich available again

Knock out hunger food fi ght continues


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Sympathy…to the family of Ralph

Anderson, father of Becca (Rabbi Joshua) Lief, and grandfather of Leah. Ralph died Feb. 3, 2013, after a long illness. Contributions may be made to the N. Chicka-mauga Creek Conservancy, P.O. Box 358, Hixson, TN 37343.

…to the family of Margaret Fishler Fleet who died Feb. 8, 2013. She is survived by daughters Claire Fleet Berman (Arnold), Dolly Corlin (Rod), Adele Fleet Bacow (Lawrence), and Robin Fleet (Phillip Cole-man); grandchildren Micah Seth Siegel (Ksenia Zvereva), Janna Schwartz (George), Eric Berkman (Brett), Joshua Berkman (Robin), Jay Fleet Bacow (Terri), Kenny Bacow (Nina Kleaveland), Laura Corlin, Sarah Coleman, and nine great-grandchildren. Contribu-tions may be made to a charity of your choice.

…to the family of Sondra Krantz, wife of Gilbert Krantz; mother of Alan (Adria) Krantz and Jonathan (Susan) Krantz; and grandmother of Jason, Shelby, Caroline, Adam and Rachel Krantz. Sondra died Feb. 17, 2013. Contributions may be made to the Home Delivered Meals Program at Jewish Family Service Association of Cleveland, 24075 Commerce Park Road, Beach-wood, OH 44122, (216) 292-3999.

…to the family of William “Bill” Krinsky, father of Su-san Krinsky Lubliner. Bill died Feb. 11, 2013. He is survived by daughters Susan Krinsky (Rabbi Jonathan) Lubliner and Joy (Da-vid) Kemmerer; brother Barnett (Eunice) Krinsky; and fi ve grand-children, Avichai, Elior, Itamar, Samuel, and Tova. Donations

may be made to the Scholarship Fund at the Juilliard School of Music in New York, or to the Jacksonville Jewish Center.

…to the family of Debbie (Jeff) Parker on the passing of her father Warren Leve, who died Feb. 11, 2013. He is also survived by his wife of 60 years, Louise; daughters Susie (Walter) Menag-ed and Lynn (Nelson) Wenguer; and grandchildren Eric, Sari, and Josh Parker, Marci and Benny Menaged, and Adam, Erica, and Steven Wenguer. Contributions may be made to the Jacksonville Humane Society.

…to the family of Cindy (Randy) Silverberg on the pass-ing of her father Ted Schlossman

on Jan. 20, 2013. Other family members include Cindy’s mother Bea Goldsmith, as well as Ted’s children Judy Reed, Alan (Mary) Schlossman; and grandchildren Arnie and Alex Silverberg, and Rachel and Rebecca Schlossman. Contributions may be made to the Martin J. Gottlieb Day School.

…to the family of Marilyn Sussin who died Jan. 17, 2013. She is survived by daughter Linda (Michael) Abramson, brother Alan (Nancy) Honig, grandchil-dren Daniel and Sarah Abramson, and nieces and nephews. Con-tributions may be made to the Jacksonville Jewish Center.

…to the family of Jonathan Weintraub who died Jan. 22,

2013. He is survived by his wife Kim; children Andrew and Han-nah; parents Cynthia Disher and David (Cass) Weintraub; siblings Shelly Brewer, Christopher and Thomas Foster; and in-laws Henry and Sandy Catanzaro. Contributions may be made to the Jacksonville Jewish Center or the Florida Wildlife Federation.

To submit an item for life-cycles, please email it to [email protected]. Dead-line is the 6th of the month. For guidelines of how to write Bar/Bat Mitzvah, wedding or obituary announcements, go to jewishjack-sonville.org/news under “Share your news.”

LIFECYCLESContinued from p. 20


SYNAGOGUE NEWS

Members of Congregation Ahavath Chesed (The Temple) and Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church are planning a pulpit swap to take place the weekend of March 8-10.

The two houses of worship are less than five miles apart on San Jose Boulevard, and Rabbi Joshua Lief and HAB Senior Rev-erend Dr. Kyle Reese hope the interchange will give both faith communities a glimpse into their

The Beth El yoga group is now basing its practice on Yoga Shalom by Lisa Levine and Carol Kruchoff.

A collaboration between a cantor and a yoga instructor, Yoga Shalom is built around the Shacharit service. The yoga pos-

tures and breathing embody the traditional morning prayers and lead to a deeper understanding of the spirituality and physicality of Jewish worship.

The group meets every Tuesday at 9 a.m. Cost is free for members and $5 for nonmembers . For more information, contact Beth El at 904-273-9100.

By Beth El - The Beaches Synagogue

neighbors’ practices and beliefs. HAB members will join Temple congregants at Kabbalat Shabbat worship on Friday, March 8, at 7 p.m. Pastor Reese will offer the sermon. Temple members will then have an opportunity to join

HAB members for Sunday morn-ing worship services on March 10 at 11 a.m. Rabbi Lief will offer his sermon there.

“This is a wonderful op-portunity for learning about our differences while celebrating

how much we have in common,” Rabbi Lief said.

All are welcome to join us at either, or both services.

For more information, call Temple office at (904) 733-7078.

Above: Pre-k and kindergarten Family Education Day participants play the Miracle of Family.Below: Beth El’s Sunday School first and second graders educate students on their mitzvah of helping hurricane victims.

Rabbi Lief and the Rev. Dr. Reese swap pulpits in March

Beth El offers Yoga Shalom


At left: Rabbi Lief and Pastor Re-ese will swap pulpits on Friday, March 8, and Sunday, March 10.

Miracles and hurricanes


If you’re looking for a one-of-a-kind learning environment for your one-of-a-kind child, tour the newly re-imagined DuBow Preschool.

Call now for a tour 904-268-4200, ext 143

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(Or in this case, hands up.)

Lic. C04DU0526Located at the Jacksonville Jewish Center.

Documents

Jacksonville Jewish News March 2013