jcc circle fall 2008

8/8/2019 JCC Circle Fall 2008

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jccccautumn 2008 .jcca. 5769 u`x

The Magazine of the North American Jewish Community Center Movement

JCC AssoCiAtion BoArd

Brings support And

supplies to CuBAn Jews

ShalomHavana!


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ssociation of Jewishhaplains of the United States

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he Coca-Cola Company

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andscape Structuresww.playlsi.com

es Mills North America, Inc.ww.lesmillsusa.com

Macroleasewww.macrolease.com

MondoRecreational Flooringwww.mondousa.com

Nautilus

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Network Services Companywww.nsconline.com

New Leafwww.newleaftness.com

The Ostroff Groupwww.ostroffgroup.com

Power Platewww.PowerPlate.com

Precorwww.precor.com

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Staples Business Advantage

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Star Tracwww.startrac.com

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TechnoGymwww.technogym.com

To help support the work of JCCAssociation and JCC Circle, pleasecontact Fani Magnus Monson,vice-president of development, at:

JCC Association

520 Eighth AvenueNew York, NY 10018tel: (212) 532-4958, x5136fax: (212) 481-4174

e-mail: [email protected]

cccirclesponsorse following sponsors have made this issue of JCC Circlepossible.

CC Association thanks them for their generosity.

contents2 The Glatt Kosher JCC

5 JWB Asks Rabbis to Be

All That They Can Be

6 Out-of-the-Box Fundraiser

8 A (Compact Fluorescent)

Light Unto the Community

10 Never Forget, Never Again

11 Special Insert:

JCC Israel Ofce

15 Let My Parents Go

16 Bridging the Gap: Generational

Differences in the Workplace

20 JCC Association Board Brings

Support and Supplies to

Cuban Jews

22 JCC Happenings

jcccircle Autumn 2008 www.jcca.org 5769u`x

ver photo: Fani Magnus Monson

For address correction or Information about JCC Circle

contact [email protected] or call Alina at (212) 786-5096.

2008 Jewish Community Centers Association

of North America. All rights reserved.

520 Eighth Avenue | New York, NY 10018Phone: 212-532-4949 | Fax: 212-481-4174e-mail: [email protected] | web: www.jcca.org

JCC Association of North America is the leadership network offor, 350 Jewish Community Centers, YM-YWHAs and camps inand Canada, who annually serve more than two million users. Joffers a wide range of services and resources to enable its affieducational, cultural and recreational programs to enhance theAmerican Jewry. JCC Association is also a U.S. government-acserving the religious and social needs of Jewish military personand patients in VA hospitals through the JWB Jewish Chaplain

JCC Association receives support from the UJC Nation al FedeAlliance, local federations and Jewish Community Centers.

ISSN 1065-1551

Chair

Alan P. Solow

Honorary Chairs

Edward H. KaplanAnn P. KaufmanJerome B. MakowskyMorton L. MandelLester PollackDaniel Rose

Vice-Chairs

Lisa BrillDonald BrodskyCheryl FishbeinGary JacobsVirginia A. MaasStephen R. ReinerToby RubinStephen SeidenPaula Sidman

Secretary

Shirley Solomon

Assoc. Secretaries

Enid RosenbergMichael SegalMichael Wolfe

Treasurer

Edwin Goldberg

Assoc. TreasurersStephen DorskyAndrew ShaevelDoron Steger

President

Allan Finkelstein

jcccircle:

Sr. Vice-President,

Marketing & Commu

Robin Ballin

Creative Director

Peter Shevenell

Communications Ma

JCC Circle Editor

Miriam Rinn

Design

Jeremy KortesDan Hertzberg

dearfriendsThis issue ofJCC Circle reects the diversity and depth of the JCC Movement.Going beyond the view of a JCC as just a gym, or a preschool, or a camp (all ofwhich are signicant aspects of our mission), we feature the many other waysJCCs serve our communities that are not as well known:

We learn of several JCCs that serve ultra-Orthodox populations, providingspecialized services to more observant Jews who need the same programs,but within their own religious discipline.

We see a diversity of social-action projects and initiatives, where JCCs playkey roles in supporting important causes and issues, such as the ght againstAIDS/HIV and the push toward greening the JCC, which has become asignicant continental-wide JCC effort.

We focus on the special challenges of encouraging young people to build theircareers in JCCs, and how new li festyles and technology have changed theworkplace.

We delve further into the critical JCC/Israel relationship, and lay out specicdirections for JCCs to bring their agencies and memberships much closer toIsrael, both at home and in the Jewish State. Our Israel Ofce stands ready towork with local JCCs on a variety of exciting Israel programs.

We hear again of the special work of our Jewish military chaplains,and the efforts of JWB Jewish Chaplains Council to recruit rabbis of alldenominations to continue to make these critical connections with Jewisharmed services personnel wherever they may be stationed.

We focus on the unique ways that JCCs educate their members and gueststhrough various media including art, photographic exhibits, and literature.

Our continental board followed the Miami Biennial with an extraordinary visitto the Jewish community in Havana. This trip provided another perspective onJewish life for so many of us who had only heard about the situation in Cuba.It was a tremendous opportunity to do tikkun olam, and we brought much-needed medical supplies to special clinics at two of the citys synagogues. JCCAssociation is organizing another trip to Cuba in November, and I encourageyou to take advantage of the opportunity. Several JCCs have also elded suchhumanitarian missions.

As you see, there is much more to see, experience, and learn at the JewishCommunity Center. The beauty of the JCC is the opportunity to take part inprograms and services beyond those for which you came. We are proud of thediverse contributions that JCCs make to their communities, and the high level ofengagement of leadership in these efforts.

Allan Finkelstein

President, JCC Association

Sincerely,


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2 jcc circle autumn 2008 www.jcca.org jcc c

children on outings to amusement parks and bowling. The

primary obstacle to more programming, according to Rand,

is inancial. Like many rum communities, the Breuer kehilla

is not wealthyThe all-mighty dollar is not what theyworship, she saysand Rand is grateul to sponsors such as

the Jeannette & H. Peter Kriendler Charitable Trust, who und

her program. Were not turning anyone away because they

cant pay, she says.

In Borough Park (usually spelled Boro Park by residents), alarge group o modestly dressed women, their hair covered by

close-itting turbans or kerchies, exercise vigorously to

the beat o a pop tune in the Boro Park YM-YWHA. On

another loor, a group o elderly Holocaust survivors

listen to a religious lecture, while little girls rom the

Bobov Hasidic sect answer their teachers in Yiddish

in rented space nearby. Boro Park is more and more

Hasidish every day, says Executive Director Ellie Kastel,who struggles to get the idea across to her community

that the Y is more than just gym and swim. Sensitive

to the norms o her members, Kastel programs so thatmen and women are rarely in the building at the same

time. Programs are segregated by sex and by age, except

or special community-wide events, such as a health air

sponsored by a local hospital.

Because o their devotion to Jewish learning,

rum Jews arent looking or the kind o Jewish

education that JCCs usually oer. Many o them

dont participate in popular culture, and they take

political direction rom their leaders. Social and

mental-health services also come rom the rabbis. The mixo JCC programming that interests them tends to be limited

to itness and practical skills. O course, theres always the

exception, and a group o women at the Boro Park Y were

happily expressing their creativity through oil paintings

still lies and portraits.

We are very alert and cognizant o their needs, says AvaBlau, program and membership director. Still, Kastel knows

that some o the local rabbis urge their ollowers not to use

the Y. They are earul, she says, that their children will meet

kids rom other groups. Her goal is to convince them that

what we do here is not treyf. This is not a small matter when

working within an ultra-Orthodox community; another

Brooklyn Y in Williamsburgh, also a Hasidic neighborhood,

closed many years ago over mixed dancing among seniors.

Boro Park is not a wealthy community, although Kastel says

that the population ranges rom billionaires to paupers.

According to the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty,

an agency that advocates or New Yorks Jewish poor, two

thirds o the community lives below or near the povertyline. Thirty percent o residents below 25 have no high-

school degree and the great majority do not attend college.

Many speak English poorly, according to Kastel, and they

work in small community businesses or as tradesmen

cant get jobs in the many yeshivas. The Y oers prog

to help people get GED degrees, and has run some ES

and computer programs. Despite the widespread povthe ultra-Orthodox community has a well-established

pervasive tzedakah network and believes in taking car

its own, so Jews are ed and dressed and educated, wh

they have money or not. But income level aects whe

they can support their JCC, and whether they can ser

its board.

Its very expensive to live a Jewish lie, says Rina Shko

the executive director o the JCC o the Five Towns in

Cedarhurst, New York, an aluent area on Long Island

that has become increasingly ultra-Orthodox over the

15 years. Shkolnik, who is a native Israeli, describes her

community as very diverse, with those who go with th

to the knee and those who go with the skirts to the ank

Although she has several ultra-Orthodox members on board o directors, she understands that its hard or m

to support the JCC. Those who live in Far Rockaway c

support like those who live in Lawrence. But as a JCC,

should support everyone, she says. Despite the areas h

income level, Shkolnik says the JCC eeds 125 amilies

its ood pantry every weekwere talking about youn

amilies as well as elderlyincluding more than ity rom the ultra-Orthodox community.

Not surprisingly, most o these Jewish

Community Centers are in themetropolitan New York City area, where

the mass o ultra-Orthodox Jews live.

Two hundred and ity thousandfrum,

or highly observant, Jews live in Borough

Park, Brooklyn alone, the largest

community outside o Israel. Overall, the

ultra-Orthodox population in the United States is estimated at

a hal million. Since JCCs are committed to serving the peoplewho live in their neighborhoods, as well as all Jews, those JCCs

located in rum areas work hard to understand the needs o

their neighbors and how to satisy them.

To the unknowing eye, rum Jews may seem all alike, but thats

not true. The community is varied, and includes Hasidim

(those loyal to speciic rabbinic dynasties, such as Satmar or

Ger);yeshivish (non-Hasidic, with an allegiance to a speciic

yeshiva or school o learning); modern Orthodox gravitating

toward the right and taking on the liestyle choices o the more

rigorously observant; and people who move rom one group

to another, such as the businessman who works with women

during the day and dons a Hasids shtreimel, a lat hat trimmed

with ur, and a long black coat or Shabbat. Add to these

distinctions ancestral geographic divisions, such as Hungarian,

German, Polish, Bukharan, and more, and the general socio-economic eatures o education and income level, and you

have a real mix. JCCs serve all o these dierent groups,

adapting to meet the needs o their individual communities.

The YM-YWHA o Washington Heights & Inwood at the

northern tip o Manhattan is located in a community in

transition. Up here, its like a mini UN, says Cyndi Rand,

the Ys Jewish educator. In addition to a group o Holocaust

survivors, the Y serves Hispanic, Arican-American, and

Russian residents, as well as the Breuer kehilla or community.Not well known even in New York City, this ultra-Orthodox

group settled in Washington Heights when they let Frankurt,

Germany in the 1930s, escaping the rise o Hitler. Seeking to

reconstitute themselves, the new immigrants established the

Yeshiva Samuel Samson Hirsch, named ater the great rabbi

who ounded the original kehilla in opposition to the Reorm

movement. Its a Yekkisheh (German) community, Rand says,

very respectul, very proper. The kehilla supports severalsynagogues and shtiebelach, or small prayer groups, as well

as a preschool, an elementary school, and the yeshiva. Rand

devised a program or preschool and elementary-aged boys and

girls, which oers arts and crats, drama, sports, karate, and

computers in same-sex groups. It runs on Fridays because the

kids get out o school at 12 oclock, Rand says, and mothers

are eager or some ree time to prepare or Shabbat. The Rav, or

chie rabbi, approved hiring non-Jewish counselors as long asRand could guarantee that the children would not interact with

children who were not Jewish. Since these children are in public

school on Friday aternoons, Rand could comply.

Any JCC program or the ultra-Orthodox must be totally on

their terms, she said, an observation echoed by al l the JCCswho work with rum Jews. Rand emphasized that she must

cooperate with leaders o the community to be successul,which means in practical terms that she has to sell the rabbis

on the worth o any program she wants to oer. She believes

they recognize that children need social and recreational

outlets. You live in Man hattan, you dont have a backyard.

They dont have television, they dont go to the movies. No

central air conditioning. Because she hersel is Orthodox andsends her ive children to day schools, she believes the rabbis

and the parents trust her, and shes been able to take the

Te Glatt Koser JCC:How JCCs Serve the Ultra-Orthodoxby Miriam Rinn

Any JCC program for tultra-Orthodox must btotall on their term

Think of the typical JCC user. Are you imagining a man dressedin a black suit and black felt hat in August? A woman wearingan ankle-length skirt, long sleeves, and a sheitel, or wig?Probably not. Yet there are JCCs that successfully serve theultra-Orthodox community, and upend common stereotypesabout JCCs and the ultra-Orthodox while doing so.


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4 jcc circle autumn 2008

It takes flexibility, ability to compromise, and acommitment to the totality of the Jewish people tobe an effective Jewish chaplain in the armed forces,

according to Rabbi Barry Baron, deputy director of JWBJewish Chaplains Council. The U.S. Armed Forces, facing ashortage of chaplains, is eager to recruit candidates, saidBaron. They are aware they need chaplains, and they arehappy to have rabbis.

JWB has been endorsing rabbis as military chaplainssince World War I, and in the last year it has stepped upits efforts to find new candidates. The staff visited fiverabbinical schools, adding the Academy of Jewish Religionand the Reform seminary in Cincinnati to the JewishTheological Seminary, REITS, the seminary at YeshivaUniversity, and Hebrew Union College in New York City.That was our first broadening of the net, said Baron.There are a couple more well add to this, schools on the

West Coast, and we hope to add the ReconstructionistRabbinical College in Philadelphia. Baron also reached outto rabbinical students who had expressed interest in thechaplaincy at some point, and worked closely with chaplaincandidates to make a commitment as they neared the endof rabbinical school.

One of those candidates, Josh Sherwin, a student at JTS,spent the summer in Newport, Rhode Island at officerdevelopment school. This was his second summer with theprogram, which is a five-week course for professionalsdoctors, lawyers, chaplainsto learn how to be officers.Sherwin, whose father is also a rabbi, said, When I decidedI wanted to be a rabbi, I wasnt sure I wanted to go intothe congregational world. When he met ChaplainMaurice Kaprow, it seemed that chaplaincy mightbe a place I wanted to be. Sherwin said.

Last summer Sherwin spent three weeks atthe U.S. Navy chaplaincy school and at CampLejeune in North Carolina. He met the Jewishchaplain there and filled in at the base whenthat rabbi was deployed to Iraq for twoweeks. It was an amazing experience,Sherwin said, who is the recipientof the first JWB rabbinical schoolscholarship. At services, we had 25to 30 people show up, and everyone

wanted to be there. In this much moreintimate setting, you can really seethe impact youre having, he said, andthe experience solidified his decision aboutbecoming a chaplain.

In the U.S. Armed Forces, chaplainsprovide services to everyone in their care,regardless of their religion. That meansthat rabbis find themselves ministering tomany non-Jews. When it comes to religious

services, chaplains are expected to provide to their ofaith group, facilitate for those from other groups, ancare about everyone. As human beings, thats sometwe should all be doing, Sherwin said. Its a differentof experience, and an intriguing one for him. His paresupport his decision. My dad is a sixties liberal, Shesaid, but all politics aside, theyre very proud.

Like many children of immigrants, Rafael Kaiserbluefeels a sense of gratitude towards the U.S. I feel vestrongly that everyone should serve their country inway, the chaplain candidate said. Kaiserblueth was in Puerto Rico, but his parents came from Latin Amewhere his grandparents landed when they escapedEurope just before World War II. A fluent Spanish speKaiserblueth is eager to bring Judaism to people whhavent had much, as well as to non-Jews. My job achaplain is to provide for the spiritual needs of everhe said, explaining that he believed an important pathe job is to expose people to Jews. A lot of peoplnever seen a Jew, forget a rabbi.

Kaiserblueth did his basic training in Rhode Island, spa week on a ship, a week in a hospital, and a few daysthe U.S. Coast Guard. All of these experiences gave hthe ability to see the human aspect of military life, said. Its a connection that you cant really describe.Those young people feel a great need for solace andconnection. I know that I can make more money in asynagogue, Kaiserblueth said, but theres no reasonthese guys should not get the same spiritual guidance

Not surprisingly, money is an issue for new rabbis, juit is for new doctors and lawyers. Like other professrabbis now graduate with a lot of debt, and the subsdifference between military pay and synagogue sala

can discourage candidates, according to Baron. To eliminate that obstacle, JWB is working hard to

scholarship funds and/or income supplements new chaplains. Former Jewish Chaplains CouncChair Rabbi Philip Silverstein donated the first

rabbinical school scholarship in memory of his wAdinah. Jerry Weinstein, a resident of New Je

is underwriting a new scholarship for a Rerabbinical student in memory of his unclearmed forces help place chaplains where spouses can find good jobs, Baron said, athat also makes a difference.

Roughly speaking, theres a need for tas many Jewish chaplains in the arm

navy as serve currently, accoto Baron. Even on the rese

side, we have a need asreservists are getting oldThe need is very acuteis doing everything it casatisfy that need.

Shkolnik met with each and every rabbi in the community

when she took the job as exec, no matter how long it took to get

an appointment. One rabbi inally said hed give her 15 minutes

and then spent two and hal hours talking with her. She is rankin admitting that her being Israeli is an asset. The rabbis are

impressed by her luent Hebrew and they cant categorize me

as a Reorm or Conservative Jew. Since one o her academic

degrees is in Bible studies, I can talk to them in their language,

she says, and all that makes a dierence. But she was also

honest as to what she could and could not do,

she says, and the rabbis understood that

the JCC has to serve everyone. We oerprogramming or the entire community,

and they pick and choose. The

agency is glatt kosher to make it more

inclusive, and the act that the JCC has

no itness center or pool makes many

problems moot. And I dont ight

them. I dont want to go with my

head to the wall, Shkolnik says. I

want the people to eel comortable.

Although the Five Towns JCC

attracts ultra-Orthodox children to

its preschool, thats unusual. More

commonly, rum children come tothe JCC or sports and recreational

programming, or special-needs programs. The ultra-

Orthodox community has signiicant numbers o special-

needs children, and Bob Friedman, executive director at the

Central Queens Y, is hoping that providing such services is

a way to reach out to a sometimes distrustul community.

We want to balance special needs with the purpose o a

community center, which is to build one Jewis h community,Friedman says. The Y is trying to address the health care

needs brought on by a very sedentary liestyle, too. Another

shared interest is Israel. Zionism is one o the binding orces

in the Y, and were able to engage people through Zionism.

According to Friedman, the Orthodox community inForest Hills is aging. The community that is moving in

is Bukharan, Jews rom the ormer Soviet Union central

Asian republics, also very observant. Despite these new

immigrants, the economic [level] o our Orthodox

community is much higher than Boro Park, Friedman

says. The men are working, and learning becomes a

secondary pursuit. Many women are also employed. The

ultra-Orthodox Bais Yaacov schools or girls are expandingvocational programs to teach marketable skills such as

hospital billing or accounting. Central Queens is aordable

and has a wealth o Jewish institutions, and certain

neighborhoods such as Kew Gardens Hills are attracting

young amilies. A social worker who once worked or the

government, Friedman notes that the Y doesnt qualiy

or many government contracts because theyre closed

on Shabbat and holidays. Hes hopeul that he can build

a donor base among the more aluent ultra-Orthodox

segments o his community because theyre staying.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews live outside o New York City too, and

one such group requents the Park Heights branch o the

JCC o Greater Baltimore. JCC Vice-President Phil Miller, an

Orthodox rabbi himsel, says, This is a traditional yeshiva-

based communitywith a remarkable inrastructure. They

are looking to the JCC as a place or recreational, itness-

based programming or adults and youth-sports

programming or their kids. As do other

JCCs working with this population,

Park Heights splits their our-lane pool

schedule into men and women-only

times. O the two itness centers, one

divides its time between men and

women, and the itness classes cater

to women only. On Friday aternoons,

when women are preparing or

Shabbat, almost the entire [boys] high

school comes here to play basketball orgo swimming, Miller says.

Because o the communitys modest

incomes and large amilies, the Park

Heights JCC has ound that their

camps have been put out o business

by a phenomenon that Miller calls backyard camps. Teenage

girls or young mothers organize summer playgroups in their

homes or very little mon ey. We do programming or these

backyard camps, and we charge three bucks a kid. The JCC

rents out the pool and gym to them too. This is a model we

invented because we really didnt have a choice, Miller says.

Were sold out or the summer.

The JCCs o Chicago has instituted similar programs,

according to Emily Minkow, director o the North Central

Region, which draws people rom West Rogers Park, Skokie,

and Lincolnwood. We have very large league programs, with

350 kids pl aying basketball, she says. We have special kollel

memberships or young men who are spending several years

in Talmud study ater leaving the yeshiva. We want to try to

help everyone out to be a member o the JCC. In the winter,

the JCC has motzeh Shabbos hours ater Shabbat has ended.

They are completely open or gym and sw im, says Minkow.

Those JCCs successully serving ultra-Orthodox Jews investtime and eort in getting to know their communities and

truly understanding their needs. It can be challenging, no

doubt. I spend a lot o time meeting with people in the rum

community, talking to them, Miller says, who adds that he

cant imagine that anyone not Orthodox could succeed. There

are so many nuances to appreciate, he believes. But the

mission o serving klal Israel is central to the JCC Movement,

and many JCCs are providing valuable and necessary services

to their ultra-Orthodox members.

JWB Asks Rabbis to Be

All Tat Te Can Beby Miriam Rinn

www.jcca.org jcc

We want to try to helpeverone out to be amember of the JCC.

To discuss funding a JW

contact Fani Magnus Mon

[email protected].


5/15


agreed to donate a signed bike and a unique

LeMond Experiencethe purchaser could choose

either dinner or himsel and eight to ten riends

with LeMond and his wie, Kathy, or a two-hour

bike ride through Livermore Valley wine country

or hersel and six to eight othersto be auctioned

o at CC-JCCs annual gala in June. Angel donors,

Hyams promised, would get to meet LeMond in a

separate, private event.

She got two corporate sponsors on board as well: Club

One Inc., a Bay Area itness company that runs CC-JCCs

aquatics program, gave a cash git, and Cyclepath Bicycles

o San Francisco provided discounts to the cyclists on bike

service and cycling products and underwrote the cost o the

TEAM JCC T-shirts.

Hyams has always looked or novel and unconventional ways

to undraise. A number o years ago, she started the Foothill

Century, the only kosher ride in the West, complete with

rugelach at rest stops and a kosher barbecue and deli lunch

break, or the South Peninsula Hebrew Day School , an event

that has since become popular with the Peninsulas Jewish

and non-Jewish communities alike.

JCC o San Francisco supported the AIDS ride by making its

personal trainers and itness acility available to TEAM JCC

members. Six others Addison-Penzak JCC o the Silicon

Valley; Albert L. Schultz JCC o Palo Alto; JCC East Bay;

JCC o Sonoma County; Osher Marin JCC; and Peninsula

JCC did internal promotion to encourage cyclists in their

communities to join the team.

TEAM JCC riders applaud Hyams initiative, saying i

a wonderul relection o the Jewish value o tzedakah

in action, certain to generate good will or the Jewish

community, over and above the money raised. There

dierent ways o doing tzedakah. One way is just givi

money, while another way is to demonstrate you are

to ride 545 miles on a bike, saying, I care enough ab

this cause to put mysel through this torture, said Yi

Santis, laughing. Santis is director o the Middle East

project o the Jewish Community Relations Council

Francisco. Another cyclist, Laurel Sgro (pronounced

who is treasurer o the CC-JCC, was excited to be par

undraiser that involved her athletic prowess. Becaus

an athlete, I ind it personally motivating to use that

way to give back to the JCC and to the AIDS commun

she said. This is a new idea or us, and it looks to be

evolving into a great undraiser or us.

Hyams believes she has hit on a sure-ire ormula. W

we did in creating TEAM JCC would work or any

athletic or other event where the structure is already s

she contended. All thats needed is someone with the

enthusiasm to go to potential donors and say, Im goto ride (or walk or play) my a-- o, and please suppo

JCC through my craziness. There are no invitations, n

logistics. This will raise more money or the CC-JCC

running our own gol tournament, which would take

months to plan.

Jane Calem Rosen is a freelance writer based in New Jers

What came next, however, has created a whole newmodel or JCCs to raise money, both or themselvesand other charitable causes, and build Jewish communitya

triple mitzvah, as Hyams described it. Her ideato tie an

established undraiser or AIDS/HIV to a drive or the Contra

Costa JCC in Walnut Creek, Caliornia, where Hyams is

executive directorraised $31,500 or the JCC and upwards o

ity thousand dollars or the San Francisco AIDS Foundationand the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center.

The plan was simple. First, Hyams announced the ormation o

TEAM JCC, to expand the circle o cyclists riding with her to

include members o CC-JCC and other Bay Area JCCs. In their

colorul team T-shirts, Hyams hoped they would stand out

rom the pack o 2,200 cyclists on the road rom San Francisco

to L.A., raising the proile o the Bay Area Jewish community

along the way. (AIDS/LieCycle, which took place in early June,

was co-sponsored by the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and

the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center. Each participant had to raise at

least $2,500 or the sponsoring organizations, which provide

public education on the disease as well as social and healthcare

programs and services to those alicted by AIDS and HIV. The

total ride raised $11.6 million.)

Then, Hyams approached those she called angel donors,

CC-JCC members and other local residents who would agree

to match each TEAM JCC cyclists donation to AIDS/LieCycle

and contribute those matching unds directly to CC-JCC.

Finally, Hyams was able to line up three-time Tour De

France winner Greg LeMond to serve as honorary co-chair

o TEAM JCC. LeMond, a real mensch, said Hyams, who

oten lends his name to charitable causes, helped nurture

team spirit and attract additional support. TEAM JCC

bikers met LeMond in March or a photo session and some

valuable training tips. The champion cyclist meanwhile

Out-of-te-BoxFundraiser EnergizesBa Area JewisCommunitby Jane Calem Rosen

When Jamie Hyams, a serious

cyclist, decided she wanted to

do the AIDS/LifeCycle race this

yeara 545-mile, week-long

ride from San Francisco to Los

Angelesit was natural for her

to invite her regular cycling

buddies to join her...Hyams was able to line up three-time Tour De France winner Greg LeMon

to serve as honorary co-chair of TEAM JCC


6/15


audit. Certi ied energy contractors took a thorough look at

our building including heating and cooling systems, lighting,

insulation, and drainage. Their inal written report includes

recommendations or acility upgrades and estimates o how

long it would take or those upgrades to pay or themselves in

energy savings. So, or example, replacing existing light bulbs

with high eiciency CFLs will pay or itsel much more quickly

than a new HVAC system. This au dit has helped us to identiy

low hanging ruit and to plan or uture, more ambitious

capital improvements with energy eiciency in mind.

Similarly, in partnership with the Council on the

Environments Oice o Recycling Outreach and Education

(OROE), we conducted a recycling audit, determining

where recycling bins should be placed in the acility and

even arranging a special Friday pick-up with the sanitation

department (we are closed on Shabbat, their regular pick-up

day). OROE also conducted recycling trainings or our sta,

nursery school, and seniors. In addition, we recently switched

to green cleaning products, which according to our acilities

manager cost less and work better. We are currently planning

to incorporate waterless urinals into a bathroom renovation.

Green Jewis and Interfait Programming

In the middle o Sukkot, the Riverdale Y sponsored a program

called To Green and To Grow. Several hou ses o worship,

including the Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel o

Riverdale and the New Lie International Church, discussed

their own aiths perspective on stewardship o the earth

during services. Then Sunday aternoon, joined by Hebrew

school students, Y members and other volunteers, we headed

to a local urban park where we planted bulbs, mulched, and

raked. As Pastor Cabrera o New Lie Church put it, It was

a tremendous experience or our church and community

members. . . thank you or the opportunity to join orces

together and work toward a worthwhile goal.

In partnership with the Y, the Riverdale Green Team, a

town-wide group o diverse concerned Jewish individuals,

developed a template or a green Kiddush. Our Green

Kiddush in a Box includes key Jewish environmental texts to

display on onegtables and resources or making green choices

like serving vegetarian ood, air trade coee, and using

biodegradable plates or, better yet, glass!

Creating New Communit Partnersips

In addition to our new relationships with partners in citygovernment, we recognized a shared concern or addressing

environmental issues among local social service agencies. In

partnership with the Riverdale Neighborhood House (a local

community center) and the Council on the Environment o

New York City (CENYC), we launched a Youthmarket. This

arm stand, run by local teenagers, trained teens in business

skills and provided locally grown produce to our community

every Thursday during the growing season.

JCCs Can Make a Difference

JCCs and Ys are uniquely poised to conront the global

warming crisis. We are in a position to lead by example

through greening our own acilities; to raise awareness o

young children, older adults and everyone in between; t

create service-learning programs that green our commu

and those o our neighbors; and to organize our comm

resources to cut back overall consumption . We have a wo Jewish texts and teachings at our disposal that under

obligation to be stewards o the earth and partners with

in the ongoing work o creation. We have a model, in S

o what it means to rerain rom creating and consumin

one day a week. Now each o us needs to ind a reason

leadership in reducing consumption, despite the overwh

nature o the problem, and we need to start now. Do it

because it saves money. Do it because it builds commu

Do it because its a mitzvah. Do it or your children or

grandchildren. Find the reason that opens your eyes ju

enough to see what needs to be done and do it!

Rachel Jacoby Rosenfield is the director for program

development and Jewish life at the Riverdale YM-YWHA

in Bronx, New York. Look for tips on environmentally

friendly living at www.jcca.org.

An Ee-Opening Experience

In October 2006, the Riverdale YM-YWHA screenedAn

Inconvenient Truth, Al Gores illuminating and disturbing

documentary about the rightening eect global warming,

generated by human activity, is having on the planet. At least

one hundred people rom our community showed up at short

notice to watch the ilm, and I was among them. Like many o

the viewers, I elt (and still do) terriied, almost paralyzed, by

the idea o rising ocean levels, violent weather, and the threat

to the natural world. But what took my breath away was the

recognition o what this global crisis could mean or human

civilization and lie. As a human being and a Jew, I elt obligated

to act, to do whatever I couldeven i the gesture seemed small

compared with the gargantuan nature o the problemto save

human lie.

Getting Started

In an eort to educate ourselves and to build awareness in

our community, my colleague, Faye Lieman, and I began to

work with representatives o the Sierra Club and the New

York State Energy and Resource Development Association

(NYSERDA) to plan an Earth Day Fair. With over thirty local

environmental groups and green businesses participating,

our air attracted more than three hundred people who

were eager to learn what meaningul steps they could take in

response to global warming. We were subsequently awarded

a grant rom our local energy provider, Consolidated Edison,

to grow our greening initiative.

Ater a year o internal and external action, we reined our

understanding o the communitys needs, and at our second

annual Environmental Fair this year, we oered opportunities

to responsibly recycle worn textiles, electronics, compact

luorescent bulbs, hard-cover books, and even set up an

industrial shredder to destroy and recycle personal documents.

Greening our Facilit

From NYSERDA, we learned that the irst step to making

our building more energy eicient is to conduct an energy

Abba Binyamin says:If the eye had thepower to see, no humanbeing could handle allof the harmful thingsin the world.Berakhot 6a

A[Compact Fluorescent]LigtUnto te Communit

by Rachel Jacoby Rosenfield

Do it because itsaves money.

Do it because itbuilds community.

Do it because

its a mitzvah.


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8/15

Man groups lead tours,but our seminars offer teopportunit for intensiveand intensepersonal andprofessional Jewis learning

experiences in Israel.

Let JCC Association customize your JCCs trip to meetthe expectations of your group. For instance, staffmembers from the JCC in Rochester met with Jewish

and Arab Israeli parents who had lost children to violenceand heard how they cope with their shattering loss. A groupfrom the Michael-Ann Russell JCC in Miami had lunch ina Moroccan womans home and learned more about theprogram of her matnas to encourage women entrepreneurs.

Such transformative Jewish experiences have enrichedthe Judaic quality of North American JCCs, from programcontent to ambience to mission. Most seminars are staffedby an experienced tour educator and an informal scholar-in-residence. To incorporate the Jewish educational visionof your JCC, we develop the seminars through an ongoingexchange of ideas. Our collaborative process includesextensive preparation and follow-up for all the participants.JCC Association, together with our Israeli partners, develops

and implements the seminars. They are unlike any otherIsrael experience, even for the seasoned traveler.

For our teen and young-adult groups, we make sure theprogram is informal and fun without giving up substance.It focuses on themes such as Jewish history and Israel,the Israel-Diaspora dialogue, leadership training, Judaismand spirituality, and the role of community in Jewishlife. A central component of the experience is a mifgash(encounter) with Israeli youth. Often this project is organized

with a sister city or a Partnership 2000 community in Israel,so your teens can develop deeper connections.

A group of Merrin Teen Professional Fellows spent twodays with their Israeli counterparts and shared the joysand challenges of working with youth. A group of graduatestudents took a behind-the-scenes tour of a Tel Avivmuseum and explored with museum staff how to makecultural institutions contemporary and meaningful for youngpeople. Young staffers from Bay Area JCCs met with apopular Israeli rapper and talked about the music scene.

Our staff works to create bridges between Israel and theJewish community of North America. A bridge goes bothways, bringing the Jewish community to Israel and bringingIsrael to Jewish communities overseas. As effective as anIsrael experience within your community can be, nothing cancompare to the impact of an actual visit to Israel, and whenyour JCC leadership or staff or teens are ready to come,were here to make sure their visit will be unforgettable.

Our Israel Office:

yOUR hOMEIN ISRAEL

JCC ASSOCIATIONS OFFICE IN JERUSALEM:

Plans Jewish educational seminars and other special programs for JCCleadership and JCC professionals.

Oversees JCC Maccabi Israel programs for teens so that the speciallydesigned Israel trip becomes a memorable event that bui lds Jewish identity.

Guides JCC Maccabi Israel Taglit-Birthright free 10-day trips for collegestudents and young adults, ages 18-26. The JCC Maccabi Israel programsare operated by IsraelExperts, a leading Israeli educational travel company.

Cultivates ongoing people-to-people partnerships between North AmericanJCCs and Israeli matnasim (community centers), often under the auspicesof Partnership 2000.

Represents the interests of JCC Association and North American JewishCommunity Centers in Israel.

Houses the office of the World Confederation of JCCs.

The executive seminar explored our relationshipwith Israel at an in-depth and comprehensive level,

with experiences that both the new and veterantraveler can appreciate. The JCC A ssociationIsrael Office provided sophisticated and thought-provoking content that challenged the executiveleadership of the JCC field to explore a new, morecomplex relationship with Israel. The seminarbroke many of the traditional rules of the typicalmission. My first JCC Association experiencein Israel (my 23rd overall) left me engaged atthe highest level and determined for more lay/professional seminars in the future.

Brian Schreiber, executive director, JCC of Pittsburgh

Weve plannedextraordinaryexperiencesfor many JCCgroupsandwe can do thesame for you.

Eight Michael Ann Russell JCC staff members returned highlyenergized from an inspiring 10-day training seminar in Israel.Through their experience, they hope to give the MAR-JCC aplan to enhance our agencys and communitys connection toEretz Yisrael.

According to Scott Ehrlich, group leader, A real highlight of thetrip was our visit to Yerucham, where the community laid out thred carpet for us and made us feel so warm and welcome. Notonly were we inspired by the residents who are building a vibrancommunity in the middle of the Negev, but we each gained somuch from our meetings with colleagues from early childhoodeducation to caring for the environment, from the dailyoperations of their community center, to working with youth.The relationships that we have started will continue through theInternet, and we hope, with further one-on-one encounters.

Dror Gershoni, community shaliach, Miami, Florida

This Shabbat was very different. We lit candles in the lobbyof our hotel in the heart of Tel Aviv as Birthright groups fromthe U.S. and basketball teams from Uganda and Turkey walkedand talked nearby. A hum came from the crowd in this room.As we were each taking a turn to light a candle, I momentarilygot lost in the din. This is such an international city. Thereis so much happening here, so many wonderful things thatpeople need to see and experience for themselves. Where willI be next Friday at the start of Shabbat? Who will I be with? Iwill miss this place, but I know Ill be back soon, maybe withanother group. I want to bring as many people here as I can.

participant, Interfaith Couples Israel trip, JCC of San Francisco

so much happening

warm and welcome

sophisticated

L


9/15

www.jcca.org jcc c

Camp is in my blood, says 27-year-old Meredith

Fine, who last summer worked as a unit head at the

day camp run by the Bernard & Ruth Siegel JCC in

Wilmington, Delaware. Thats why when her camp

director orwarded her an e-mail about a winter Taglit-Birthright

Israel trip being organized by JCC Maccabi Israel or camp sta

rom JCCs around the country, Meredith knew it was time to go.

She registered without hesitation or the group that let in

December, led by Hagar Ben-Eliezer, director o Jewish cultural

programs at the Osher Marin JCC in San Raael, Caliornia.

That Meredith, a biology and

environmental science teacherat Montgomery High School in

Skillman, New Jersey and an EMT,

had an amazing time was no

surprise. Because the participants

were all camp-involved, it was so easy

to meet people quickly. There was a

very riendly eeling among everyone,

just like there is at any J CC, said

Meredith.

Furthermore, everything she did and saw in Israel inspired

pride in her Jewish identity and eelings o connection to the

Jewish people. In Israel I didnt need to explain w hy I wear

a Star [o David] or a chai around my neck. Everyone there

celebrates the holidays I do, understands the sa me culture I

grew up with and appreciates what it means to be Jewish.

When she got home, she was glowing, and her parents,

Nanette and Alan Fine, who had never been to Israel, were

jealous, she recalled.

So, when Meredith heard about Taglit-Birthright Israels

video contest or birthright alumni, Let My Parents Go,

conceived in honor o Israels 60 th anniversary, she knew she

had to entereven though she had never made a video beore.

Thank God or the tech guy at school who showed me what to

do, she laughed. I had so much un.

In the video, Meredith catches her ather eating a hamand cheese sandwich with a glass o milk (Its skim milk, he

protests.) and aixing a mezuzah to the wrong side o the ront

door o their home upside down. Her mother is discovered

lighting menorah candles backwards and placing an apple on a

Seder plate. (Dont we eat apples on one o the holidays, she

wonders.) Ater Meredith inds each o them, she asks, What are

you doing? instructing, You reallyneed to go back to your roots.

In May, when Taglit-Birthright Israel announced the nine

contest winners, Meredith and her parents were thrilled to learn

the Fines were among them. The trip was scheduled to depart

July 14, and her parents couldnt have been more excit

Now its Merediths turn to be jealous. My parent

in dierent places than I got to see; or example, they

the Galilee wine country; and our tour didnt get to d

Id love to go back to some o the places I did go, like

Sea, which was so cool, and Masada, which I absolutel

To view Merediths video and the other winners of Let

Go, log onto www.birthrightisrael.com/contestwinner

All over the world, culinary tours are gaining popularity; so

why not combine a great nine-day tour of Israel together withother JCC memberswith the fabulous food expedition youvebeen contemplating?

Israels wineries are now world-renowned, and thecuisines of Israels various ethnic groups have combined tocreate spectacular and exotic dishes. We will explore placeswhere Israeli farmers, chefs, and vintners are creating thisextraordinary food and wine, and combine that with a history-through-food view of our country. Youll come home a real foodmaven with a much deeper understanding of todays diverseIsrael.

here are some of te tings oull do:

Visit kitchens in the Ethiopian, Moroccan, Russian, and Arabcommunities to learn about their history and culture

Breakfast at an organic dairy and goat cheese farm Sample Israels best olive oil Enjoy wine tastings throughout Israel Shadow and cook with a top Israeli chef Shop with an Israeli and prepare a meal together Visit Machane Yehuda, Jerusalems outdoor fruit, vegetable,

and spice market Lunch in a Druze home and learn about Druze culture Indulge at a boutique chocolate shop Volunteer at a soup kitchen Take a jeep tour of the gigantic Ramon Crater Stop at the Nabatean village of Ovdat Visit the Bedouin market (in case you want to buy a camel) Attend optional Shabbat services at local ethnic synagogues Relax at an Israeli spa For night owls: Participate in a Hebrew karaoke night

Please, let my parents go, too!

When families discover their heritage together, they share

a bond forever. Our 10-day Israel family adventure programis designed to open the door for you and your wholefamilyincluding children from ages ve and up and activegrandparentsto enjoy an adventurous, fun-lled learningexperience in Israel. A special bonus is the madrich noar (youthcounselor) who will travel with your group. This young Israeliwill supervise age-appropriate programming for your childrenat the places you visit and allow you the time to explore on yourown. This really IS what memories are made of!

here are just a few of man igligts:

Float in the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth, and coveryourself in its skin-replenishing mud

Help with food delivery and preparation at Table to Table,Israels version of Second Harvest

Take a donkey or camel rideits more fun than you think! Party in Tel AvivThe Big Orangethe Israeli city that

never sleeps Hike, raft, and train outdoors Take part in a scavenger hunt in an Israeli marketand then

eat what you nd! Experience an interactive encounter with Israeli Arab culture

in a drum circle with Bishara Hang out at an Israeli community center and nd out what

Israeli daily life is really all about

And besides all this, well visit the sites youve alwaysdreamed of seeingthe Kotel, Yad Vashem, Masada, andmoreand youll feel like youve nally come home.

Will your family be celebrating a bar or bat mitzvahduring your Israel trip? We can help you plan a ceremony andcelebration your child will never forget.

ntroducing new inspiring Israel journes for JCC members!What could be more exciting than planning our rst trip to Israel? What could be morenjoyable than a return trip to see things you missed or revisit places tat touced oureart? What could be more inspiring than bringing your children to learn about teirewis eritage? Te answer is: doing it wit our JCC friends. And now you can, with

hese two great opportunities from JCC Association, coming your way in 2009!

JCC Association is working in conjunction with IsraelExperts (IsraelExpertsnitiatives in Education, Ltd), and together we will create the custom-made tourto Israel that you have been waiting for. We know you and what youre looking for.Come with us for an inspired Jewish journey.

To plan a trip for our JCC, contact:Leah Garber [email protected] or Sara Sless [email protected]

Tis winter, bring o

friends and travelto Israel FOR FREE

Registration begins September 10, 20

www.jccmaccabiisrael.o

amilyAdventure

CulinaryE

xpedition

Eligible participants18-26, Jewish, and hnever been to Israela peer group tour.

This trip is a gift from Taglit-Birthright Israel.

In the video,Meredith discovers

her mother lighting

menorah candles

backwards and

placing an apple

on a Seder plate.


10/15


11/15


how do ou involve Gen X and Millennialsin meetings tat focus on visioning and

brainstorming for te future of our JCC?

Since 2001, JCC Association has emphasized the need or

a healthy balance between work and personal lie, and has

reminded JCC leaders o the importance this carries or JCC

sta. Unlike the soon-to-be-retiring Boomers, who put a

high priority on their careers, oten sacricing their amily

obligations, todays youngest workers are more interested in

making their jobs accommodate their amily and personal lives.

They want jobs with fexibility, telecommuting options, and the

ability to go part time or leave the workorce temporarily when

children are in the picture. They want to be able to aord to

live in the communities where they work, and to attend events

and participate in unctions in their home Jewish community.

JCC boards must develop policies, and executive directors must

enorce those policies, to make working at a JCC and living in

the community an attractive option.

Are our staff adequatel compensated toallow tem to live in te communit werete work and enjo te programmingoptions available?

JCC recruitment has always emphasized longevity in the JCC

world, and entry-level sta understood they could move rom

JCC to JCC to advance in their careers. Millennial employees

dont enter the JCC eld with a career in mind. They dont

expect to stay in a job or too great a period o time. They dont

like to stick with any one assignment or too long. This is a

generation o multi-taskers; they can juggle e-mail on their

BlackBerrys while talking on cell phones and trolling online.

We must accept this as the norm in our young proessionals

behavior. We must also help Millennials move within the JCC

and when possible help them stay in the eld by encouraging

them to move to other JCCs to advance the scope o their work.

Underwood cautions JCC leaders, Do not all into the trap

o older generationsand do not insist it be done in 2009 the

way it was done in 1979. JCC leaders today need to be more

receptive to change than prior leaders. Millennial workers are

looking or ways to be socially active and make a dierence.

Helping people and doing good is what JCCs are all about,Underwood says. Jewish Community Centers can attract this

group o workers i we market our positions to their interests

and talents.

Do ou ave an internal sstem for growtand advancement witin our JCC? Do

staff ave mentors te can speak witabout teir professional goals?

Unlike previous generations who have in large part grown

accustomed to the annual review, Millennials have grown

up getting constant eedback and recognition rom teachers,

parents, and coaches. This generation may resent it or eel less

valued i communication and recognition rom supervisors

and executive sta isnt more requent.

how are ou giving feedback andevaluating te staff at te JCC?

When looking or intergenerational communication

opportunities, a great place to start is by thinking about

leadership versus management. Generation X and Millennials

crave leadership, but do not like to be micromanaged.

Supervisors should set out clear, concise goals and thenget out o the way. Leaders could implement mentoring

programs so that younger sta can learn rom more

experienced sta, and older sta may learn rom younger

employees as well. The generations should be learning rom

each other. Just as with age comes experience, so youth

brings enthusiasm and energy. Open communication is the

key. It is important to discuss things when they happen and

not allow generational miscommunication and possible

misunderstanding to get in the way.

Keep in mind the importance o training and growth

opportunities or all JCC proessionals. Conducting

JCC in-service trainings, having sta participate in JCC

Association sponsored regional and continental conerences

and tradespeciic learning opportunities helps keep sta

motivated and current and underlines the JCCs desire to

help them grow as proessionals.

Wat percent of our operating budgetis allocated for staff training? EffectiveJCCs tat ave mentoring programs in

place are more likel to ave iger staffentusiasm and lower staff turnover. **

Despite the many dierences, it is important to recognize

the commonalities between the generations. All people who

choose to work in the JCC eld have a passion and desire

to enrich the lives o others. They are not motivated by

money, but they expect to be airly compensated. To attract

these idealistic young people, JCCs need to be sensitive to

the values and preerences o their new proessionals while

remaining steadast in their mission and conviction. Younger

proessionals may want to jump in and out o their work in

the Jewish community, and oten return to the JCC eld lateron. These employees made a positive contribution to the JCC

while they were there, and their experiences outside o the JCC

Movement could be a benet in the long run. JCC executives

should consider these applicants as viable candidates or

advanced positions, appreciating the skills and experiences

they bring with them.

All JCC proessionals need to eel respected and worthwhile,

need to know what is expected o them through specic job

descriptions, and need to have the tools to do those jobs. They

need understanding and compassion, too, when they must

conront the inevitable issues, both personal and proessional,

lie presents.

As we move orward, we need to recognize that generational

dierences are an unavoidable challenge in todays workplace,

and JCCs must understand and address this issue in

developing current sta and leaders or the uture.

What are you doing at your JCC to address these dierences?

Joy Brand is associate director of the professional development

services department at JCC Association.

Sarah Levithan contributed research and organizational help.

JCC Associations professional development services departmentis available to help you with your stafng concerns or to offercareer counseling. Contact us at [email protected], or 212-786-5114.

** JCC Excellence: The Benchmarking Project

ThE GENERATIONS

ShOULD BE LEARNING

FROM EACh OThER.

Bab Boomers,heres how to Make

Generational Differenin your JCC Work:

Set up and manage expectatiote time of iring

Millenials may need training on howork within the culture of your JC

Open communication is te ke

Good communication and ofcerelations are a two-way street. Diwhat you will do to keep the linescommunications open.

Involve all levels of staff in discusregarding canges and callenges

Ideas for improvement can begleaned from everyone, regardlesof age or position.

Give feedback often

All staff like to know when they hdone a good job, and all staff neeknow where they can improve. Beshow others you care by giving fe

www.jcca.org jcc c


12/15


the desire to see relations with the United Statesnormalized, the better to foster closer ties with theAmerican Jewish community, said Steve Rubin, a St.Paul, Minnesota attorney who went on the trip with hiswife, Wendy.

The larger of the two Ashkenazi congregations, knownas the Patronata, with a fitness center on the premises,functions as much like a JCC as a house of worship.Moreover, it is an open secret throughout Havana thatthe synagogue operates a pharmacy where shelves arestocked with prescription medications, over-the-counterdrugs, medical supplies, toiletries and cosmetics. Thepharmacy, which serves the entire community, is whollysupported by donations from abroad, hand-delivered byreligious-cultural missions and in care packages sent bythe American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.

We came with suitcases filled with Tylenol, Advil, Band-Aids and more, said Rubin. The pharmacy, he observed,is run by an incredible woman, a physician whovolunteers her time. (The group also brought books and

baseball cards for the children. Cubans are crazy aboutbaseball, and the island has produced some spectacularplayers.) While Cubas national health care system doesprovide free high-quality care and exports doctors to therest of Latin America, a combination of factors, includingthe U.S. embargo (which covers some food and medicine),

the merger of large pharmaceutical companies, and thecollapse of Cubas patron the Soviet Union, makes itdifficult for ordinary citizens to obtain medications and

other common medical supplies.

The group also visited the small Orthodox congregationin Havanas historic district. Learning that thesynagogue serves breakfast after the morning minyan,but sometimes finds it hard to feed everyone who showsup, Sablotsky, a Miami resident, suggested that missionparticipants do something hands-on to help. Becausetourists have a separate currency and access to goodsand services not available to Cubans, she explained, wewere able to buy five to six dozen eggs, coffee, milk and

cookies right on the street. Cubans are not alloweddo that.

It is important, suggested Rubin, for those who madethe trip to bring the story of Cuban Jewry home witthem. As active leaders in our communities, we cantry to persuade everyone [including Congressionalrepresentatives] of the importance of re-opening theborders to further cultural and other types of excha

Added Arlene Fickler, a Philadelphia lawyer who haserved on the JCC Association board for the past twyears: American Jews have always reached out to in other countries when they are at risk, politically economically. It was clearly important for us as a boto go to Cuba and let Cuban Jewry know that we viethem as brothers and sisters and are there to advofor them. In the 1960s, when the Cold War with Ruswas hot and we were at war in Vietnam and had norelations with China, it may have made sense for usfreeze out Cuba as well. Today, in a very different wthat isolationist policy no longer makes sense.

Finally, the mission proved to be a wonderful bondinexperience for the board. Said Jane Gellman of Milwa board member since the mid-80s, This was a grefor us to get to know each other better.

Jane Calem Rosen is a freelance writer based in New Jerse

Afaded beauty whose magnificent architecture is allbut crumbling, Havana greets travelers with openarms. The warm, outgoing Cuban people eagerlyshare stories of their lives against a backdrop of

poverty and deprivation. Residents subsist on meager foodrations, unable to obtain or afford modern conveniences.Private homeownership is prohibited. Until recently,

cell phones were unavailable. The Jewish community inCuba, along with everyone else, suffers from these harsheconomic realities. But cultural and communal life is richand vibrant. Three Havana synagogues, two Ashkenaziand one Sephardic, continue to attract crowds to weeklyShabbat services and other programs. One thousand Jewsremain of a community that numbered fifteen thousand

before the 1959 revolution that put Fidel Castroscommunist government in power.

Those are some of the impressions a group of JCCAssociation board members and staff took away with themafter they visited Cuba in the spring. The group toured thenational art museum and took in a performance by theCuban National Ballet. It was spectacular, said HonoraryJCC Association Chair Ann Kaufman, from Houston. Eventhough the carpet was torn and the seats were broken [inthe performance hall], the dancers were A-plus.

The idea for the trip was generated at a BiennialCommittee meeting chaired by Noreen Gordon Sablotsky

and quickly took hold. So instead of heading home whenthe JCCs of North America Biennial concluded in Miami,a group of 45board members, JCC presidents, andexecutive directors and spousesboarded a plane atMiami International Airport bound for Jose Marti Airportin Havana.

This first mission to Cuba was led by Arnie Sohinki,

senior vice-president for program services, whoarranged for the required license from the U.S.Department of Treasury for travel to Cuba under theState Departments People-to-People exchangeprogram. (Although the United States and Cuba stilldo not have diplomatic relations, since 1999, the U.S.

government has encouraged educational, cultural,religious, humanitarian and athletic missions, as well aslimited business and professional contacts.)

Perhaps the most surprising discovery was the lackof anti-Semitism and the degree to which Jews mayopenly practice their religion. Although Castro has beenoutspoken in his condemnation of Israel and Zionism,a picture of his visit to a Havana synagogue hangsprominently in the congregations lobby, and CubasJews are proud of their countrys history of welcomingJewish refugees. Today, mission participants were told,there are no barriers to anyone who wishes to makealiyah. Cuban Jewish community leaders expressed

Jcc association is organizing

another mission to cubanovember 9-16, 2008

op y ld w Jcc. F , ld ppl, d , pl :

cpp h pd p [email protected] a520 e a, 4 fnw Yk, nY 10018.

www.jcca.org

JCC Association Board BringsSupportandSupplies to Cuban Jews

b Jane Calem Rosen


13/15

22 jcc circle autumn 2008 www.jcca.org jcc ci

Twelve-Week TriatletesJCC of Mid-Westcester

Scarsdale, Ny

Christine Verna described herself as amiddle-aged housewife. Ive jogged thesame three miles for over thirty yearsand never pushed myself, she admitted.Michael Steinman, on the other hand,is a veteran of the New York Marathon.Ned Bakelman wanted to be as gracefulin the water as a dancer on the stage,and Helene Walisever set a fortiethbirthday challenge for herself.

What brought these four Scarsdaleresidents together poolside withseveral other participants on a Tuesdayevening? A 12-week pilot program forrst-time triathletesa partnershipbetween the JCC of Mid-Westchesterand Race with Purpose, a nationalorganization that provides opportunitiesto combine community service withathletic performance.

One night, Triathlon Club membershad an hour to practice their kicks,strokes and breathing in a supportiveatmosphere at the JCC pool. Othersessions were devoted to bicycling

and running. The coaching has beenamazingso professional with lots ofpersonal attention, said Dr. Walisever.They are taking us seriously, addedMs. Verna, who especially wanted toimprove her 3.2 mile/40-minute jogs, sonow I really have to do this.

Adam Krajchir of Race with Purpose washead coach for the triathlon training.He aims to help adults break past their

personal boundaries one workout at atime. A successful athletic experience,he believes, can lead to achievementin additional, seemingly unrelatedendeavors. The other coaches wereRoger Kahn and John OBrien, JCCsports and tness director.

Kahn, a nationally ranked swimmer whohas competed for 40 years, is a memberof the JCC. He volunteered his time asa coach to help group members developtechnique and increase strength andendurance. Swimming is in my blood,he asserted.

The program, which began in March,culminated in a half-mile swim, a 12-milebike, and 3.1 mile run on Fathers Day atthe Long Island Gold Coast Triathlon.

Aseville JCCs FirsAnnual Falafel 5KRun/Walk & Fun Run

Aseville JCC, Aseville,

To celebrate Yom Haazmaut, theAsheville Jewish Community Centits rst annual Falafel 5K Run/WalkOne Mile Fun Run in May. This famoriented race was held in conjunctwith neighboring Congregation BeIsraels annual event, Celebration

Race participants had a great timeenjoying live music, plenty of falafand a post race party sponsored bAsheville Pizza and Brewing CompThe event drew more than 150 runand promises to become an Ashevtradition. Proceeds from the race benet the scholarship funds of thAsheville JCC.

Older PaintersExpress Temselves

Aaron Famil JCC, Dallas, TX

Clarice Post says in amazement,I had never held a paintbrush in mylife until I was inspired to take this artclass at the J. Just look at what I haveaccomplished! Thirteen members ofthe senior adult department displayedartwork in the JCC main lobby duringa May art show. When the art classstarted about ve years ago, many ofthe students had never painted b efore.Now they enthusiastically tackledifferent media, experimenting withcolor and texture in paintingsand collages.

Book Festival Focuseson Peer harassmentMandell JCC, West hartford, CT

School bullying. Victimization.Harassment. Violence. The MandellJCCs The New Jewish Book Festivalfeatured New York Times best-sellingauthor Jodi Picoult, whose latest novelNineteen Minutes documents a shootingin a small-town high school. Afterreading the book, it became clear toExecutive Director David Jacobs thatMs. Picoults talk presents a uniqueopportunity to engage and sensitize thevery people who could have a positiveimpact on school climatethe highschool students and faculty themselves.

To throw more light on this pervasiveproblem, the JCC conducted a studentleaders forum entitled ImprovingSchool Climates before Picoultspresentation. The session was led byDr. Jo Ann Frieberg, the associateeducational consultant for bullying,improving school climate, and charactereducation at the Connecticut StateDepartment of Education. Fourteenarea high schools each sent threestudent leaders and a faculty memberto the event. Just before Picoultstalk, Dr. Frieberg led an interactivediscussion about school climates andhelped students to identify action stepsthey could take to support one another.Ms. Picoult also met with the studentsbefore the lecture and providedautographed copies of her book.

Eac Butter a SoulJoan & Alan Bernikow JCC,Staten Island, Ny

Shai Bar, a community shaliachworking for a year as an emissary atthe Staten Island JCC, heard froma friend in Israel about a project atthe Holocaust Museum of Houston.The museum wanted to collect oneand a half million butteries tocommemorate the number of Jewishchildren killed in the Holocaust.As the word spread, Staten Islandschoolspublic and private,elementary to collegeresponded, asdid many individuals, and eventuallyfour thousand butteries painted inwatercolor and crayon, made withcrepe, construction paper, and evena foam plate, came into the JCC.Two thousand of them were thecenterpiece of a Yom HaShoah serviceat the Bernikow JCC, hung from achain-link curtain.

Every single buttery representsa child, said Bar, who said he wasamazed by so many people from all

over putting their hearts into arts andcrafts butteries. The memorial endedwith a siren, as is traditional in Israel.

jccappeningswhats going on in the north american

jewish community center movement

West Point cadets visit with Russian-speaking members of the ShorefroYM-YWHA to practice their foreign language skills.

Photograph by Alice Longworth

Paul Bierbriar with his paintingWoman with the Lilies

Sorefront yM-yWhA, Brookln, Ny


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.j.g j

MarvinGelfandGothookedon

JewishcoMMunallifeearlyon.

As a teenager living in the SanFernando Valley, he was an activeparticipant in the Bnai Brith YouthOrganization. I started my ownchapter of AZA, he recalled. Theorganization was very vibrant then.Superb athletic programsand thesocial part was, of course, wonderful.While he attended the University ofSouthern California School of Law,Gelfand worked as a field supervisorfor BBYO, and then became chair oftheir advisory board. At the same time,he was participating in a federation-led leadership training program. As aresult of that, you joined a board, andGelfand became a member of the BayCities JCC board of directors. After heand his wife moved, and their childrenstarted preschool, he happened to sitnext to the executive director of theNorth Valley JCC at an event. I foundmyself on the board and never lookedback, Gelfand said, and hes remaineddeeply interested in Jewish life and inthe JCC Movement ever since.

Ironically, both Bay Cities and NorthValley JCCs have since closed, andGelfand served on the committeethat made the decision they were notviable. Sensitive to the dynamic natureof the JCC Movement, Gelfand said,Organizations change on a constantbasis. We see that in the businesscommunity too. Thats why planningis so important. Are you serving theneeds of the community? What willthe future needs be? What are thetrends? Looking at Los Angeles,Gelfand sees a diverse and widely

dispersed Jewish community. Althoughit is one of the largest in the world, ithas a very low affiliation rate, aroundtwenty percent. According to Gelfand,there is not the same sense of acohesive Jewish community in theWest as in the Northeast. He makesthe point that adventurous Jewishimmigrants left their homes in Europeto come to New York, where they gotto know gentiles, many for the firsttime; and then there was the groupwho continued West, even fartheraway from the close-knit and perhapsclaustrophobic Jewish neighborhood.The feeling of neighborhood, whatpeople get out of being part of a JCC, Ithink people are missing here, Gelfandsaid, rather ruefully. That doesnt existin L.A.

While he believes that there isdefinitely room for relevant JCCprogramming, Gelfand is a realist. Foreducational programming, youre notgoing to get someone to travel formore than 15 minutes. The challengeis to discern and provide the particularservice that appeals to a targeted area.The way that JCC services will survivein L.A. is within creative partnerships,both Jewish and non-Jewish. Forinstance, the JCC could offer an artclass in conjunction with a YMCA, or aJewish literature class in a synagogue.Gelfand believes that JCCs withoutwallsnot tied to a building or facility,in other wordsmay be expandingin the future. According to Gelfand,JCC Association has recognized thisdevelopment and adjusted its by-lawsaccordingly by removing the wordfacility. Thats one of the strengths of

the organization, he said. Weveto stay ahead of the curve.

As deeply rooted as he is in LosAngeles, Gelfand was actually boon the East Coast, in the Bronx. Hfather was stationed in Fresno dWorld War II and fell in love withCalifornia lifestyle. As soon as heearned his business degree fromCollege, he packed up the familydrove cross country, Gelfand saidfather was a founder of CongregNer Tamid of the San FernandoValley, and although the synagogwas Conservative I was the firstbar mitzvah to read the entire Toportion, Gelfand said, along witHaftorah, a task thats usually reto Orthodox boys.

Gelfand has been highly active aproductive during his tenure onthe JCC Association board. Amoother responsibilities, he chairedthe Governance Task Force and Metro Presidents Council. He fothat project particularly interesthe said, and he also headed theWestern Task Force of the Beyo2000 strategic plan. His next massignment is to chair the conticommittee for the 2010 Biennia

Atlanta, with host-community chLisa Brill and Laura Dinerstein.

Gelfand believes that the challenfor any organization is to remato who we are and what we stanThats at the top of the list for eJCCs. And for individuals too, doubt.

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Lisa Elliott, an early childhood educatorat the Peninsula Jewish CommunityCenter (PJCC) has been selected asa winner of the 2008 Helen DillerFamily Awards for Excellence in JewishEducation. For the past eight years,the award, which is sponsored by TheJewish Community Endowment Fund,has recognized outstanding teacherswho imbue youth with a strong senseof Jewish identity, encouraging themto explore their rich Jewish heritagewhile incorporating Jewish valuesand building Jewish community. Theprestigious award carries a prize of$10,000 for the educator and $2,500for the educators institution.

For Elliott, the award is all the moreprofound, given that she is not Jewish.In her nominating letter, PJCC EarlyChildhood Education Director EllieRosenberg wrote, Lisa is a model ofa non-Jewish teacher working in aJewish setting. She has embracedJewish values and is always willing

to participate in workshops andconferences that will further enhanceher knowledge of Judaism. Lisaeagerly accepted an opportunity tovisit Israel last yearshe researchedand read everything she could get herhands on in preparation for this trip,which ultimately transformed her lifeboth personally and professionally.This educational experience furtheradded to her knowledge and

understanding of the Jewish cultureand helped enhance her work withchildren, teachers and parents.

From organizing a preschool shuk(an Israeli marketplace), to settingup a biblical preschool garden, tospearheading camp and scoutingprograms, as well as An EthicalStart (a JCC Association programthat explores Jewish values basedon the classic Jewish text, PirkeiAvot), Elliot serves as a key force inthe ECE community. Currently, the12-year PJCC teaching veteran isleading a special project between thePJCC preschool and a sister schooloutside of Tel Aviv. She established aconnection with this school during her2007 trip to Israel.

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Good health habits start at home.The Louisville JCC received a $3,500Mayors Healthy Hometown grant fromthe Metro Department of Public Health& Wellness to improve the health of theJCCs community. The grant supportsa new program developed by Sports &Wellness Director Dotty Battoe calledthe J Fit Challenge, a comprehensivetness and wellness program for peopleages 18 and over. Participants will beoffered exercise activities to promotevariety in tness routines, alleviateexercise boredom, and establish healthypatterns of behavior toward life-longtness. Those who attend 20 sessionsper month will be rewarded with internalincentives, such as program discounts.

Sixty group tness classes will beavailable each week for a 16-weekprogram for 100 clients. In addition,four health and wellness seminars willbe offered. In this win-win situation, theJCC helps Louisville residents improvetheir health while introducing itself tothose who may not know what the JCCoffers.

In support of the Cherry Hill,

New Jersey Betty & Milton Katz

JCCs Going Green initiative,

students at the Sari Isdaner

Early Childhood Center havebeen using recycled material all

year to make their special class

projects. Menorahs, piggy banks

and Mothers Day gifts are

just a few of the projects that

have come to life from recycled

materials brought from home.


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