יום שישי, י״ד תשרי תשפ״זFriday, September 25, 2026
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This year Valentine’s Day came out on a Friday. Enterprising Jews were quick to step up to the plate to make the day their own.
What began in 1974 as a tiny beis medrash with only ten students has developed into a yeshiva campus that encompasses many buildings spread over a six-mile radius.
His first book, Doesn’t Anyone Blush Anymore? was highly acclaimed and is now in its fourth printing.
Curtis Reeves is a 71-year old retired police captain from Tampa, Florida. Reeve was thought to be the consummate police officer. He helped set up a SWAT team for the department. He was described a man who almost never became angry. He seemed to always be under control.
The RASG Hebrew Academy JUMP (Jewish Unity Mentoring Program) hosted its second annual Israel Awareness Day on Monday, February 3, in the school auditorium.
The Orthodox Union will be presenting the SPIRIT Initiative – Stimulating Program Initiative for Retirees that Inspire Thought – to Congregation Torah Ohr in Boca Raton on Tuesday, February 18 and Thursday, February 20.
Young Israel of Bal Harbour will be presenting the final Scholar-in-Residence Shabbaton of the season on Shabbos Ki Tisa, February 14 -15.
HaGaon HaRav Chaim Halpern, rosh yeshiva of Ohr Joseph in Novardok, France, visited Yeshiva Aharon Yaakov-Ohr Eliyahu in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles.
Those who do not live in South Florida probably cannot realize the hatred and fear the mere mention of Fidel generates.
The OU will present its annual community weekend and dispatch speakers to serve as scholars-in residence at Orthodox synagogues in the area.
The SPIRIT Program is a three-day series featuring leading rabbinic, communal and mental health professionals, focused on enhancing the educational opportunities of the Jewish community.
Cantors Avi Albrecht and Yaakov Motzen will join up for a Shabbat Chazzanut, February 7 - 8, at the Palm Beach Synagogue in Palm Beach.
ETTA’s 20th Annual Gala, held recently at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, attracted more than 400 members of the Los Angeles community in support of ETTA’s work on behalf of Jewish adults with special needs.
The Ben Zakkai Honor Society’s NCSY National Scholarship Dinner on Sunday evening, January 26 in New York will celebrate the legacy of Anne Samson, a”h, of Beverly Hills, who was tragically taken from family, friends and the Jewish community she served so well in a horrific August automobile accident in Los Angeles.
Lois Mondres has lived in a South Florida condominium for 25 years. For the past five years she has enjoyed maintaining a small vegetable garden. Mrs. Mondres grew lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, bok choy, kale and tomatoes in a plot in front of her unit. The 82 year-old senior is a vegan and depended on her crop for the vegetables she ate.
Emunah of South Florida, Miami Beach chapter, will present the Emunah Humanitarian Leadership Award to U.S. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen at the organization’s annual gala dinner.
The Lana Ditchek Goldberg Hachnossos Kallah of Greater Miami will mark its 30th anniversary with a benefit tea.
Young Israel of Bal Harbour, 9592 Harding Avenue in Surfside, provides a virtual smorgasbord of classes, lectures, Shabbatons and speakers to satisfy every taste and interest.
Orthodox Union Executive Vice President Rabbi Steven Weil will be leading an OU community weekend at the Boca Jewish Center/Shaaray Tefilla of Boca Raton from Saturday, January 18 through Sunday, January 19 (Shabbat Parshat Yitro). The synagogue is located at 21065 Powerline Road, Suite C-7.
The Milken Family Foundation and the Board of Jewish Education (BJE) partnered in sponsoring the recent Jewish Educator Awards Student Essay Contest for middle and high-school students from BJE-affiliated schools.
Several weeks ago a man entered a convenience store in Miami and attempted to make a purchase using an unusual barter. Fernando Aguilera had a hankering for beer. His lack of cash produced a creative solution.
The RASG Hebrew Academy’s 66th Annual Event was held on Sunday night, December 22. The yearly dinner is held to raise scholarship funds that provide tuition assistance to approximately 60 percent of the Hebrew Academy student body.
The Israeli men’s international lacrosse team played an exciting showcase event on December 8 at the Miami Country Day School. The exhibition match pitted Team Israel against Florida International University. Israel defeated FIU 17 to 11.
Young Israel of Bal Harbour, located at 9295 Harding Avenue, 2nd floor, in Surfside, will be holding a Scholar in Residence Weekend January 17-18 with Rabbi Benjamin Blech. (The Shabbaton is being generously sponsored by Fred and Judy Farbman.)
Orthodox Union Executive Vice President Rabbi Steven Weil will be leading an OU Community Weekend at the Beth Israel Congregation of Miami Beach Friday, January 3-Saturday, January 4 (Shabbat Parshat Bo). The OU member synagogue is located at 770 West 40th Street.
The Orthodox Jewish Chaplaincy Board (OJCB) of Southern California conducted Chanukah candle-lighting services with Jewish inmates at Men’s Central Jail (MCJ), Twin Towers Correctional Facilities (TTCF) and Pitches Detention Center (PDC) during this past Chanukah.
Mandela remained loyal to the rogue leaders and regimes that backed him through the many years he’d been imprisoned: Cuba’s Castro, Libya’s Khaddafi and the PLO’s Arafat.
Hebrew Academy (RASG) has announced that Ron Dermer, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, will be the keynote speaker at the Hebrew Academy Annual Event.
Chai Lifeline Southeast’s first venture into the art world, “Through the Eyes of Our Children,” an exhibit and sale at Gallery Art in Aventura, was part of the organization’s Chai Crafts program, an innovative art therapy endeavor sponsored by the Root Foundation.
This year was memorable for the energy of all the participants who, along with Avraham Fried and the members of his orchestra and the YBO Band, joyously sang and danced in the rain. Fried performed with chassidishe warmth and humor. The night was so meaningful and so mesmerizing, the audience didn’t want it to end.
The Preserve at Palm-Aire, a local senior living community, recently donated more than 180 eco-friendly, sturdy and reusable tote bags to the Broward County Jewish Family Services (JFS).
Unfortunately, a map of the Middle East with no mention of Israel is nothing new... It is surprising however, that the world’s largest publisher of children’s literature, Scholastic Books, has joined in this trend.
About six months ago my parents and I started discussing ideas for a mitzvah project in honor of my bat mitzvah. I wanted to do something unique that would be meaningful to me and also do something that my friends could participate in. Immediately I thought of an organization called Sharsheret.
“I’m disappointed that the agreement reached with Iran leaves our unfulfilled our ultimate objective: a complete dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program and related activities.
Southern NCSY will be holding a leadership training Shabbaton at the Young Israel of Bal Harbour December 6 and December 7. Rabbi Steven Weil, executive vice president of the Orthodox Union, will be the special guest speaker.
Is there a beginning and an end to the universe? What role can medical breakthroughs play in conception or genetic engineering? Can science help us pinpoint the end of human life? Does the soul emanate from the brain or vice-versa?
In yet another sign of how popular kosher products have become, a symposium on kosher food production and certification recently took place in what may seem a most unlikely location: Hawaii.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has appointed attorney Andrew Friedman to the Commission on Local Government Services. L.A. County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich presented the motion of appointment.
Due to current circumstances in the Middle East, I am featuring my usual Thanksgiving column. Once again Israel is engaged in a futile round of “peace talks” with an enemy that seeks its demise. The cast may change, but the premise of the misguided script remains the same. When will we ever learn?
NCSY, the International Youth movement of the Orthodox Union, held its annual Jewish Unity Mentoring Program (JUMP) Conference and Challenge recently at the Hilton Huntington Hotel in Melville, New York.
The Torah Academy of Boca Raton held its 7th annual Golf Tournament and BBQ at Boca Lago Country Club on October 21. More than 80 golfers enjoyed a fabulous day of golf, food and fun.
Janos Ader made West Coast history last week by becoming the first sitting president of the Republic of Hungary to visit a synagogue. Ader was accompanied at Congregation Bais Naftoli by his wife and a 14-member high-level delegation. Bais Naftoli president and attorney Andrew Friedman hosted a breakfast in the president’s honor.
Last week, Israel’s Habayit Hayehudi Party spearheaded a new nationwide marriage registration bill into law. The bill, the Tzohar Law, was passed in a 54-17 vote.
It is really very hard for me to honestly believe that my oldest grandson, Jack Benveniste-Plitt, is about to become bar mitzvah. How is it possible that the same child whose infant socks slipped from his too-small feet is now almost as tall as me and wearing men’s size sneakers?
The RASG Hebrew Academy has always had much to be proud of. The school offers students the finest of both Judaic and secular curriculum. The faculty, student body, parents and leadership are top notch. The atmosphere is upbeat and inspirational.
The 34th annual South Florida Chassidic Chanukah Festival will be held on December 1 at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach. The star-studded program promises to be the best ever. The unique celebration has become the highlight of South Florida’s Chanukah holiday.
Rebbetzin Hanna Tennenhaus, a”h, passed away on Simchas Torah, 23 Tishrei, 5774/Sept. 27, 2013. She was 89. A shloshim was held in her honor at Chabad of South Broward Headquarters,1295 East Hallendale Beach Blvd, on October 29.
Touro College South, in cooperation with The Shul of Bal Harbour, will present a series of three workshops on new teaching technologies for educators in Jewish schools.
“We’ve had a relationship with the LAPD senior leadership for many years,” said Rabbi Alan Kalinsky, director of the OU West Coast Region. “And it is vitally important that we keep that alive as we show the Police Department that we care about them and the work they do.”
Deborah Raskin, principal at Or HaChaim Academy, an Orthodox elementary school for girls and boys with a middle school for boys in North Hollywood, is one of four recipients of the Milken Jewish Educator Awards.
A horrific case of cyber-bullying apparently led to the suicide of a Lakeland, Florida girl named Rebecca Sedwick. A month ago Rebecca jumped to her death from an abandoned building. She was 12 years old. The child had been tormented by online postings. One told her “to drink bleach and die.”
A body can be locked up. The soul can still soar. Life-changing moments can happen in the most unexpected circumstances.
Slated to run in some 150 locations around the world, A Reason to Celebrate is a meaningful, personal and spiritual journey through special days on the Jewish calendar. Through exploring the deeper, mystical significance of these days, they become lenses through which we gain insight into our relationships and our identities as Jewish women, and catalysts that empower us to implement positive change in our lives.
“What I find most exciting about the Hahn Family Ultra Weekend is the diversity among the teens,” said Todd Cohn, Southern NCSY’s executive director. “The teens from all different schools and backgrounds will come together for one inspirational, empowerment weekend.”
September 25, 2026 
