FOOD GALORE Congregation Ahavath Chesed hosts its anuual Jewish Food Festival May 4
PURIM FUN View our crazy Purim pictures. page 2
EDUCATION Jacksonville’s Jewish schools make learning fun.
JEWISH NEWS Jacksonville
May
2014
•
Nisan/Sivan
5774
•
www.jewishjacksonville.org
page 8
page 10
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www.facebook.com/JaxJewish
Friend of Jews stops by Java
A publication of the
FEDERATION
JEWISH •
Volume
26,
OF JACKSONVILLE
Number
11
•
16
pages
Passover 2014
By ISABEL BALOTIN
Shalom Jacksonville Director
“My whole life I have always been fascinated by the Jewish people. And for some reason, I feel a very special connection, even though I was not born or raised Jewish.” These were the first words our new friend, Franco, spoke to me after I greeted him at our April Java program. He had heard about Shalom Jacksonville from a newcomer I had spoken to a couple of weeks ago. After a brief conversation with him, I seated him with a friendly group of regulars where he eagerly shared his interest and desire to learn more about Judaism. Born in northern Italy and an avid traveler, Franco sought out the Jewish communities wherever he lived or visited. Living in Jacksonville for eight months, he felt the same strong desire to connect with the Jewish community, and Jewish Java was his entry point, as it has been for many other newcomers. During the conversation, one of our regulars shared her many experiences as a member of the Jewish Community Alliance and offered to take Franco there for a tour after our program. He also was invited to Shabbat services, which he plans to attend with one of our Java regulars. I gave him my business card and the Jacksonville Jewish News, and wished Franco well as he begins his journey into Jewish life in Jacksonville. As always it was a very interesting morning, which began with some sharing of Passover experiences and
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See JAVA, p. 6
Shalom Jax thanks you : This year marked six years of hosting Passover in the Matzah Aisles with Winn-Dixie Supermarkets. A special thank you to our friendly volunteers who greeted and assisted shoppers: Mimi and Marty Kaufman, Eunice Zisser, Kathy Moemke, Marcia Grado, Aviva Kaplan, Mere and Martin Schwartz, Sonya Morris, Eva Jackler, Barbi Young, Naomi Lazar, Arlene Adelson, Adrienne Biber, Sandy Rosenfield, Ina Taffet, Gloria Goodman and Edna Maltz. Special thanks to the Lakewood and Mandarin Winn- Dixie store managers and marketing department for their cooperation.
Temple Bet Yam chocolate Seder
Martin J. Gottlieb Day School reenactment
Synagogues, schools hold variety of Seders By Temple Bet Yam
By Martin J. Gottlieb Day School
By Congregation Ahavath Chesed
Temple Bet Yam school holds chocolate Seder
MJGDS K-8 experiences differentiated Passover
Interfaith Passover Seder held
Recently families of the Temple Bet Yam Religious School celebrated Passover with a chocolate Seder. The chocolate Seder was a creative addition to the traditional Seder the Temple holds each year. Passover celebrates the exodus of Jews from Egypt, and the story is told using symbolic items on the Seder plate. In this case, the Religious School staff created chocolate symbols to exemplify the tradition. For instance, wine became chocolate milk, matzo was dipped in chocolate, and the bitter herb used to remind Jews of the harshness of slavery was substituted by bitter chocolate. A special chocolate Haggadah followed the traditional order of a Seder. A delicious time was had by all.
(Taken from Dr. Mitzmacher’s blog) MJGDS believes in the model Seder. The Seder is among the most powerful pedagogies ever developed. Celebrating a holiday through reenactment is experiential education at its finest. We like it so much, we have created them for Tu B’Shevat, Yom Ha’Atzmaut and holidays. And we do in the Jewish day school feel a certain pressure to provide Jewish experiences of holidays to ensure all our families have opportunities to participate. Hence, our monthly All-School Kabbalat Shabbat services and this year’s Purim celebration. Basically, outside of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we celebrate the entire Jew-
See MODEL SEDER, p. 4
The Lefkowitz Interfaith Passover Seder was held on April 10, several days before Passover. Everyone who attended was invited to attend the Congregational Seder, at which more than 250 gathered on the first night of Passover. At the Interfaith Seder, a model Seder, Rabbi Joshua Lief shared the symbols and meaning of the holiday. Everyone partook of the symbolic foods, four cups of wine, tasty Passover treats, rituals, songs, and even a hunt for the Afikoman. At our Interfaith Seder, we remember that “no one is truly free until all people are free,” explained Lief. A unique feature of this Seder is that a Temple member is seated at each table
See INTERFAITH, p. 6