JCC Blog

Sukkot

This Sunday evening we usher in the holiday of Sukkot, a week long harvest festival, in which we remember the exodus from Egypt and the 40 years of wondering in desert. Traditionally, each household will build a Sukkah – a ritual booth. This holiday has both historical and agricultural significance. A holiday with many names, it is known as the “Festival of Booths,” the “Festival of the Ingathering,” and the “Season of our Joy.” Sukkot starts this Sunday night October 13 and runs through October 20th. The temporary huts we build during this time remind us both of the abundance of nature, and the precariousness and preciousness of life on earth. We celebrate Jewish peoplehood and shared history and welcome ancestors and friends, dwelling in our Sukkot, eating festive meals, singing and reveling in the autumn sounds and smells. If you don’t have a Sukkah, please join us in ours!! Both the Park Heights and the Owings...

Meet Randi Buergenthal, JCC Chair of the Board 2019-21

Designing a J for the 21st century

As a longtime board member of the JCC, Randi Buergenthal is used to fielding questions. Usually, she knows the right professional to ask or where to find information.

But there’s one question that made her stop and think.

"Why should I belong to the JCC? What’s in it for me?"

Today, as the new chair of the JCC board, Randi partners with a board of directors and JCC staff to answer these questions. They recognize the JCC of today and tomorrow must reimagine the JCC experience. Fortunately, the group has done their homework. For several years, Randi worked with other board members and J professionals to take a hard look at what happens when someone participates in the J’s programs, whether at the Weinberg Park Heights JCC, Rosenbloom Owings Mills JCC,...

Remembering September 11

A Message From Barak Hermann, JCC CEO on 9/11

Today, on September 11,  Patriots Day, we remember the victims of the terrorist attacks that forever changed our country on September 11, 2001. 

I personally could not believe that planes hijacked by terrorists  would crash into the World Trade Centers, the pentagon in DC, and that a fourth plane was taken down in a field in Pennsylvania by the passengers trying to avoid additional bloodshed.  So many lives were tragically lost, families thrown into upheaval, and our country had to wrestle with a new level of  growing security concerns.  Xenophobia became a new word in my vocabulary and drove my thinking as a Program Director at the time on types of programs that could...

Exploring Judaism Together

My Tribe Families Make Connections to Each Other and Their Faith

When Beth and Dave Markowitz’s oldest son finished preschool, they realized that they wanted a new way to explore Jewish culture and traditions as a family. After doing some networking and searching, they landed on My Tribe. My Tribe is a nine month-long experiential, opportunity for families and communities to come together with others who want to explore fun, meaningful ways to tap into the rhythm of the Jewish calendar and experiences.

My Tribe operates on a “Come as you are” approach, welcoming families of all kinds, and all levels of Jewish observance, interest, and understanding. “My Tribe has been a strategic attempt to build something co-collaborative that resonates with the “New Jewish Family” explains My Tribe founder Rabbi Jessy Dressin, Senior Director of Jewish Life at...