Family and tradition are an important part of Jewish life for Jonathan Plutzik and Lesley Goldwasser. The co-owners of The Betsy South Beach—a boutique Miami Beach hotel known for its commitment to philanthropy and promoting the arts—are both Jewish, but their backgrounds couldn’t be more different.
Born and raised in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Goldwasser says Hanukkah was not celebrated in as grand a manner as the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. She remembers lighting the menorah candles, but she did not receive gifts during the eight-day “Festival of Lights.” When she moved to the United States in 1983, her experience shifted.
“I was surprised to learn that Hanukkah was so big in the U.S.,” says Goldwasser. “We were family-oriented, but we always had Christmas envy. Coming from diaspora, where Jews built their lives from scratch, I felt wonderful and welcomed when I moved to New York because holiday celebrations were so different.”