Down the rabbit hole

This past Shabbat I received a giant box from my aunt.  In the box, there was a studio photograph taken of my father in the late 1950's, there was also
this certificate.

In addition, my aunt included the talk she gave at the bar-mitzvah.

I was, as you might imagine, completely tickled by this gift.

I decided to do a Google search on the rabbi who signed the certificate. That led me down a terrific internet rabbit hole. I found the entire run of The Jewish Floridian which was a weekly newspaper that was published between 1928 and 1990.

The paper seemed to have covered news of interest to Jews in most of the state. There is a mix of international news ( including news of worsening conditions for Jews in Europe, as well as the moves towards establishing a Jewish state)national and local news and social news as well.

I started my search in The Jewish Floridian in June of 1940 hoping to find an announcement for my father's bar-mitzvah.

Here is the clipping of interest

I assume that my aunt's giving an address was something negotiated between my grandparents and the synagogue.

My aunt told me she had no idea that this appeared in The Jewish Floridian.

I have spent entirely too much time reading various issues of the paper. My sister found an announcement of my father leading High Holiday services for kids at his synagogue. I found a wedding announcement for my parents.

I have not spent every bit of my waking time reading old issues of The Jewish Floridian.

Last night we were invited to a  Sheva B'rachot on the roof of the Heschel School just south of Lincoln Center.

The weather was a bit iffy. Just before the celebrations began it began to rain. We went inside and soon we were rewarded with a rainbow.

We went back upstairs and enjoyed the rest of the evening.