COMMUNITY

COMMUNITY WHAT’S HAPPENING IN NORTHEAST FLORIDA BRIDGING THE WAY FOR LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

By Faye Hedrick, Jewish Federation & Foundation of Northeast Florida

Much has happened since The Jewish Federation & Foundation of Northeast Florida’s Leadership Development Initiative, BRIDGES, kicked off. The mission of BRIDGES is to expand the vision of nextgeneration Jewish volunteer leaders, deepen their Jewish knowledge of community, both locally and abroad, and inspire them to exercise transformative leadership. BRIDGES fulfills this mission by educating up-and-coming Jewish lay leaders in the history, thought, texts and contemporary leadership challenges of the Jewish People. The ten-month program is designed to develop the next generation of Jewish leaders in Northeast Florida, address the challenges and meet the needs of the community.

BRIDGES Chair Nicole Brown and I sought to create a program to help answer questions, prepare for the future, and become more educated on topics our Federation and our Jewish values support. At the beginning of each session, a member is invited to talk for a few minutes about their Jewish Journey and why they

BRIDGES session on Exploring Your Leadership Style at The Jewish Community Alliance.

chose to participate in the quickly are able to see how program. “It’s not just a these components intertwine leadership while program for Jews, it’s a program that explores leadership through a Jewish lens,” Nicole says. “We wanted to bring in components BRIDGES is so important to the longevity of our community. Nicole Brown, BRIDGES Chair ” “ sharing and listening to each others' journeys.” Several of the 28 participants have shared a bit about themselves and reasons of Judaism for joining as well as the group. personal and professional Class member Joe Young development. Participants asserts, “Hearing from members of my class and sharing my own personal story has made me realize just how different everyone’s Jewish story and identity can be, but yet we all have so much in common at the same time.”

At a class on Jewish identity Joe noted, “We may be Conservative, Reform or Hasidic, from the north or south, or from different countries, but we’re all Jews working towards the same goals. Our diversity, within this Jewish community, helps

BRIDGES cont. on pg. 6

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BRIDGES from pg. 5

us learn through other’s life experiences and 'Bridges' the cultural gap to bring us closer together as Jews.”

The group visited partner agencies and heard from many of our community leaders.

The program is funded through the NextGen B’Nai Tzedek grant awarded to BRIDGES from the Life and Legacy Division of Federation. BRIDGES will continue nurturing future leaders in their personal and professional lives, who will give back to our community now and into the future. At

BRIDGES session on Making an Impact Through Philanthropy at Martin J. Gottlieb Day School. the end of the program each candidate will be prepared and encouraged to engage in a meaningful way within our community. “BRIDGES is so important to the longevity of our community,” says chair, Nicole Brown.

BRIDGES runs every other year and includes monthly leadership sessions at different Jewish organizations in the area. We look forward to restarting the initiative in the near future and thank those who have contributed to ensure our ongoing success.

To learn more about the BRIDGES Leadership Development Initiative, reach out to Faye Hedrick at fayeh@ jewishjacksonville.org.

Brandon Sugg

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• WHAT’S HAPPENING IN NORTHEAST FLORIDA A MONTH OF HOLIDAYS AT RIVER GARDEN

By Leslie Held, River Garden Senior Services

The month of Elul, the final month prior to Rosh Hashanah, arrived and anticipation for the New Year, a Time of Awakening, was building.

Certainly, under COVID-19, the High Holidays were not observed at River Garden as previous years; yet we celebrated with a happy heart, praying to be sealed in the Book of Life, confident in our faith in G-d.

For holiday services, arrangements were made to create safe spaces in our Parker Chapel and at The Coves for those who wanted to pray together. We also televised for those who preferred to stay in their rooms and apartments.

We were deeply appreciative to the clergy of the Jacksonville Jewish Center for coming to River Garden to perform the mitzvah of blowing shofar. We may lack the words to express our innermost feelings but hearing the piercing sound calls to us and penetrates our heart.

We appreciated the many friends and families who shared their New Year video greetings with us. These added to the overall joy we felt with the sights, sounds, smells and sweet tastes of the season.

We are ever mindful of our supportive community. May we all be as full of mitzvot as the pomegranate is full of seeds.

We are on the other side of the High Holidays after having committed to a new beginning through our sincere repentance on Yom Kippur.

By the time you are reading this, we will all have

Steve Meisel prepares to lead Rosh Hashanah services for residents.

constructed our sukkahs and be in the midst of celebrating Sukkot; otherwise known as Z’man Simchateinu, The Time Of Our Joy.

Connecting Jewishly with technology has been a lifeline on our campus. Zoom has kept us connected to the local community and helped us view inspirational and educational programs from around the country.

May you all have a joyous Simchat Torah!

THE JOYS OF YIDDISH!

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE, LISTEN TO SOME FUNNY STORIES By Isabel Balotin, Jewish meanings are exact offer some interesting facts spoke it beautifully; but me, I Federation & Foundation of Northeast Florida translations, others have taken on new meanings. Nevertheless, it is a colorful and funny stories about the origins and the actual meanings of some of the am tsemisht! The program is sponsored by the Jewish Federation &

The Yiddish your parents language and one that brings words. Get ready for a fun Foundation of Northeast and grandparents spoke may back treasured memories. morning. Florida’s Shalom Jacksonville be a little different than it is Join us for a virtual Excerpt from a Yiddish and Rachel Sandler, Jewish today. It’s a language that program on Wednesday, Poem by Gene Wilder: Educator & Youth Services continues to grow and adapt, October 7 at 10:30 am, as Yiddish was a secret code, Director, Jewish Community incorporating more words Brooklyn-born Suzie Becker, therefore I don’t farshtaist Alliance (JCA). and ideas. In fact, some are who is fluent in Yiddish, and A bisseleh maybe here and RSVP to Rachel Sandler to now part of the “Yinglish” Isabel Balotin, who is famous there, the rest has gone to receive Zoom link at Rachel. language, e.g., shlep, klutz, for using Yiddish waste. Sandler@jcajax.org chutzpah, mensch, shtik, expressions, test your Sadly, when I hear it now, I tschotske and schmooze. Some knowledge of Yiddish and only get the gist, My Bubbe 7