Click here to watch the opening montage of JCRC Celebrates! Dear Friends, Ten years ago this very morning, I entered (what is now) the Kraft Family Building for the very first time as the new director of JCRC. On that first morning, when I turned the corner onto High Street, waiting for me outside the building was our board chair, Bill Gabovitch, who ceremoniously held … Continue reading Reflecting on my decade at JCRC
The twentieth anniversary of 9/11 is a time to commemorate, as people will in places around the Commonwealth tomorrow. Over these two decades, more often than not – at least for me – the conversation this time of year has been one of sharing experience. Where were you? When did we know? Did you lose anyone? And so on. But twenty years clarifies that as … Continue reading Remembering 9/11
A message from Deputy Director Nahma Nadich: Though each season in New England has its unique pleasures (Colorful leaves! Snowshoeing! Flowers in bloom!) I must admit to loving summer most of all. Yes, I’m an unapologetic beach bum, but I also just appreciate the generally slower pace, the opportunity to get away, to read more novels and to socialize. Summer 2021 was one that began … Continue reading Standing in the valley
This was a week that challenged our capacity to absorb the horrors of the world. Like so many of you, I wanted to avert my eyes watching some of the videos coming out of Kabul. While we may have a diversity of strongly held views regarding the 20 years of U.S. presence in Afghanistan, I am reminded, once again, how deeply and broadly our Jewish community’s commitment is to those seeking refuge and asylum in our … Continue reading Our community’s commitment to those seeking refuge
One of the most traumatic experiences of the past decade here in Boston was the Marathon Bombing, on April 15th, 2013. I think back to the many meaningful moments of interfaith collaboration in the weeks that followed: Working with Governor Patrick’s team on the interfaith healing service with President Obama; then the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization pivoting (not the word we used in those days) … Continue reading When Community Memorials Fall on Shabbat
A message from Deputy Director Nahma Nadich: I may be revealing my age when I share a vivid childhood memory of visiting my grandmother, of blessed memory. After a hearty meal of her delicious kasha (it was almost always kasha – her culinary repertoire was not vast) we’d settle down to watch her favorite TV program: the Lawrence Welk show. She loved the kitschy bandleader … Continue reading Can the Olympics really be universal?
With my friend and teacher Mohammad Darawshe, of the Givat Haviva Center for Equality and Shared Society. Yesterday I returned from 10 days of travel in Israel, made possible thanks to a CJP solidarity mission last week. I was privileged to participate and grateful that I could extend my time – when so few are fortunate enough to be able to travel – visiting with many of our … Continue reading Wisdom from our partners in Israel
A message from Deputy Director Nahma Nadich: This week, testifying on behalf of JCRC at a hearing for a bill called the “Community Immunity Act,” I got a glimpse of the deeply troubling rhetoric and toxic divide plaguing our country and threatening our health as a nation. In 2019, when JCRC was first approached to support this act, the term “herd immunity” was new to … Continue reading Vaccines and a Glimpse of the Divide
L-R Governor Baker, Mayor Janey, Addison Dion (grandaughter of NEHM founder Steve Ross), Survivor Janet Singer Applefield, Jeremy Burton In 1995, Holocaust survivor Steve Ross (z”l) had a dream: to honor his family and every other victim of the Holocaust with a memorial in downtown Boston that would serve as a lesson to future generations. He brought together his Jewish and Christian neighbors and fellow … Continue reading Enhancing the New England Holocaust Memorial at a Critical Time
Boston has a long and vibrant Jewish history. And while the greater Boston Jewish community is now spread across the towns and cities that make up our region, the city itself has some 30,000 Jewish residents, some 4% of the population – double the national average. They are also an incredibly diverse community, spread across different neighborhoods: A 2Life senior living community and a vibrant … Continue reading The Prosperity of Our City