PAGE 2A HERITAGE FLORIDA JEWISH NEWS, MARCH 8, 2019
By Christine DeSouza
Imagine Lawrence
Dressler's surprise when fel-
low inmates at the Federal
Correctional Institution in
Otisville, N.Y told him that
he was mentioned on the Bill
Maher show the night before.
"At the time the show aired
I was eating gefilte fish and
lokshen kugel with fellow
Sabbath observant felons,"
Dressier posted on his blog
(larrynoodles.com), which
is about the lives of wealthy,
powerful men he lived in close
quarters with at Otisville.
"I was honored to be men-
tioned on a show that is hosted
by a fellow Jew."
Maher was talking about
one of America's "10 Cushiest
Prisons" according to Forbes
magazine. Also called a "castle
b'ehind bars," the prison is a low-
security campus connected to a
1,200 -inmate medium-security
complex and houses only 125
inmates--two to a room.
The Otisville prison caught
the media's attention when
Michael Cohen, President
Trump's former lawyer who
was sentenced to three years
in federal prison on fraud
charges, requested to be
placed at the resort-like
facility.
Inmates, often referred
to as the "gold-chain gang,"
have access to free weights
and machine weights, boccie
courts, horseshoe pits and
even soccer. They can watch
HBO, Showtime and Cinemax
as late as 2 a.m.
Otisville boasts a full-
time Chasidic chaplain, daily
minyanim, weekly Shabbat
services, and kosher kitchen
and vending machines in the
visiting room. The prison
commissary sells yarmulkes
for $6 and offers a kosher
selection that includes matzo,
gefilte fish, rugelach and
seltzer.
Otisville's campus has long
been the lockup of choice
among Jewish white-collar
offenders, including Sheldon
Silver, former lawyer and
Democratic Party politician
who was arrested on federal
corruption charges. Sholom
Mordechai Rubashkin--CEO
of Agriprocessors, a now-
bankrupt kosher slaughter-
house and meat packing plant
in Postville, Iowa--was sen-
tenced for bank fraud, and sent
to Otisville but serves in the
section relegated for people
with longer sentences. Ber-
nie Madoff, who received 150
years for his Ponzi scheme,
had his request for Otisville
denied.
Otisville is known for its
well-attended Passover sed-
ers. On April 19, about 48
prisoners will observe a seder
complete with a Haggadah,
kosher-for-Passover chicken,
potatoes, and the seder plate.
According to Rabbi Men-
achem Katz, director of prison
programs for the Jewish-
outreach Aleph Institute,
Federal Correctional facility at Otisville, N.Y.
the Bureau of Prisons "kind
of unofficially" designated
Otisville as a prison to meet
the needs of Orthodox Jews.
"Once you've been at a
prison Seder, it'll never be
the same on the outside,"
said Chaplain Gary Friedman,
chairman of Jewish Prisoner
Services International. "The
Haggadah has a line that
reads 'Tonight we are all free
men,' and for the duration of
the Seder, they are."
"For a Jewish person, there
is no place like Otisville," said
Earl Seth David, 54, a former
inmate who attended kosher
meals, religious classes and
weekly Shabbos services in
the prison shul.
"As a Jew, there's no other
prison you can get services
like that."
By Lisa Levine
" The Pearls of the Pavilion
luncheon on Feb. 22 treated
some of the Jewish Pavilion's
most generous supporters to
a gracious afternoon social
affair. Attendees were cel-
ebrated as "pearls" because
of their yearly commitment
of at least $500 to support
the Pavilion's programs,
which keep hundreds of Jew-
ish seniors in Central Florida
living facilities connected to
their Jewish heritage and to
the community. To symbolize
their value to the organiza-
tion, all attendees who were
first-time annual donors of
$500 or more received a beau-
tiful strand of hand-knotted
freshwater peacock pearls.
Guests enjoyed a delicious
lunch catered by George's
Gourmet Cookies and Cater-
ing, featuring panko-encrust-
ed salmon filet with bearnaise
sauce and capers and basil
cream penne Alfredo, and fol-
lowed, of course, by George's
mouth-watering cookies.
The event was sponsored
and co-chaired by Geanne
Share and Eva Krzewski, who
also created the beautiful
table decor. As guests enjoyed
their meals, Share thanked
them for their support of
the Pavilion, asking them
to imagine a life in which
a day's highlights might be
dressing, eating, and playing
Bingo. "Now, you can imagine
what it means wh@a the: Jew-
Beth Shalom Memorial Chapel
Proucll9 .Serving Our Communit;
Por Over Years
i
i
ish Pavilion visits or hosts
a program," she continued.
"We give them a hug, a touch,
which is so meaningful. We
bring them a slice of challah,
a little pudding, and we make
a connection with the seniors
we visit. Because of your gen-
erous support, Jewish seniors
have not been forgotten."
The event's highlight was
an intimate private perfor-
mance by Orlando Ballet II
dancers, made possible by
the generous donation of
the Orlando Ballet. Orlando
Ballet School director Phil-
lip Broomhead introduced
the sneak preview of two
new works, "Arrival" and "In
Concerti," which are in final
stages of rehearsal before an
upcoming performance.
The Jewish Pavilion hosts
a number of entertaining and
meaningful events through-
out the year and warmly
welcomes members of the
community to get involved. To
learn more about the Jewish
Pavilion, visit JewishPavilion.
org or call 407-658-9363.
Jewish Pavilion CF, O Nancy Ludin shows appreciation for
Pearls of the Pavilion co-chair Geanne Share with a gift of
framed art with the Hebrew word "ahava," meaning love.
The Congregation Sinai
Sisterhood will host their
annual multi-denominational
Outreach Program on Thurs-
day, March 21, starting at
noon at 1200 West Broad
Street, Groveland, Fla. Wom-
en from six local churches
along with Congregation Si-
nai Sisterhood members will
celebrate "The Wonderful and
Willful Women Of The Bible."
This special event will feature
influences from Miriam, Es-
ther, Naomi and Ruth as one,
with Hannah, Sarah and the
Daughters of Tzlofhad.
Participants from Blessed
Sacrament Catholic Church
of Clermont, First United
Methodist Church of Cler-
mont, Oakland Presbyterian
Church of Oakland, Zion Lu-
theran Church of Groveland,
Iglesia Tercer Cielo of Grove-
land and the Bible Study
Group of Summit Greens will
enjoy this open invitational
opportunity to share faith-
based empowerment through
a diverse education, social
networking, community sup-
port and personal develop-
ment program. Joe and Lynn
Goldovitz, spiritual leaders of
Congregation Sinai, will be
sharing songs and partici-
pating in a presentation for
this program. Following the
Outreach Program everyone
will socialize with a lunch
featuring souvlaki and an ar-
ray of middle-eastern foods.
For more information about
this multi-denominational
Outreach Program, contact
Sinai Sisterhood President
Michele Sobel at GramMi-
chele5@GMail.com. For in-
formation about Friday night
and holiday services, member-
ship and special events; call:
352-243-5353. Email info@
Congregation-Sinai.org. Visit
www.Congregation-Sinai.
org. Congregation Sinai is
located at 1200 West Broad
Street, Groveland, FL 34736.
Affordable annual member-
ships are available.
Additional Jewish Pavilion Purim parties
A few more parties were
added to the party list. They
include:
Walter Goldstein/Lance
Rhodes
March 14, I p.m. at Sonata
West
March 17, I p.m. at Brook-
dale Dr. Phillips
March 18, 10:30 a.m West-
minster Towers
March 21, 2 p.m. at Kinnert
Apartments
Everyone is welcome to
attend. Special thanks to
Cornerstone Hospice for
supplying the hamantashen
pastries.
For more information about
the Purim parties, please call
407-678-9363.
