Each month, the JCC is featuring one of our many Group Exercise classes. With classes for people of all ages and fitness levels, we know there’s something for everyone but still, taking that first step can be intimidating. We want to help get you started so we’ve enlisted staff and friends who want to try […]
The menorah is perhaps one of the most widely recognized symbols of Jewish culture and is the centerpiece of the Chanukah celebration. But how much do you really know about it? We’re sharing the fast facts you need to know about the Chanukkiah – from its history and meaning to the logistics of lighting yours – because
8 Nights of Light: A Chanukah Menorah Infographic Read More »
I’d been making latkes for many years before I finally realized something about this food tradition: Chanukah is the oil holiday – a celebration of miraculous oil that lasted 8 days. For me, good latkes are a small miracle too. Over the years, I’ve learned a few tricks to making (what I think are) the
It's about the oil Read More »
Even before we start talking about Yom Kippur, I want to have a conversation with you about what I do on a daily basis. I am not sure how I did this, but I have become one of those people that works out almost every day of the week. I know, I know, you’re thinking
My/Our Body and My/Our Soul: Caring for Both Every Day and on Yom Kippur, Too Read More »
I contend that this recipe, shared many years ago at an NCJW meeting by Charlotte Sadofsky, is the best challah recipe, ever. It has all the eggs, oil, honey and sugar to make it the richest of all challahs. I add cinnamon for brightness and use lots of seeds – sesame and poppy – to
Bake the Best Challah! Read More »
Welcome to our vision of community. It will be a strong fabric made up of threads of love and support. What do we mean when we say “love your neighbor as yourself”? How can we possibly love someone as much as ourselves? Isn’t that self-defeating? Rabbi Louis Jacobs (Jewish Personal and Social Ethics) teaches us
Our Vision of Community Read More »
It has been five years and counting since we launched the Center for Loving Kindness and Civic Engagement (CFLK) at the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh. While our work was accelerated in the immediate aftermath of the 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, VA, we had started planning for the Center for Loving Kindness during
Five Years and Counting: So Much More Kindness To Do Read More »
As our neighbors celebrate Juneteenth, we stand in solidarity as we work to redefine “neighbor” from a geographic term to a moral concept. We invite you to virtually attend this event in Atlanta on June 17 and revisit our north star framing of how we work for civil rights for all. View the virtual event here.
Center for Loving Kindness – Standing in Solidarity on Juneteenth Read More »
While the punch line has changed over the years, the joke (and the underlying societal impression) is unfortunately still the same. While we were growing up, when we were asked what we would be getting Dad for Father’s Day, we always answered, “A tie.” Inevitably, that tie was either store bought with intentions of either
Father's Day Pledge Read More »
Manny Gold Humanitarian Award BILL PEDUTO Ziggy Kahn Award ANDY PAKLER Inductees ERIC ANISHTrack & Field JOSH HELMRICHNFL Executive MIKE LEVYTennis DR. ROBERT MARCUSSoccer Scholastic Athletic Awards JESSICA BALK, Fox ChapelField Hockey & Lacrosse BENJAMIN BEALE, Taylor Allderdice High SchoolSoccer ALYANA CHILDS, Upper St. Clair High SchoolTennis COLE FELDSTEIN, Central Catholic High SchoolFootball, Baseball &
Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Western Pennsylvania 2022 Awards Read More »
Even though our democracy is only 246 years old, we can look back in Jewish values from 2,000 years ago to guide our understanding of what so many of us understand as the ‘sacred right’ (or is it ‘sacred rite’; or both) to vote. Hillel, an early architect of rabbinic thinking who lived
Recovery… to regain, rehab, repair, self-care: all fitness industry buzzwords. However, if you’ve taken Group Centergy at the JCC then you’ve heard the importance of Recovery countless times. The yoga, pilates-fusion based class ends with 5-10 minutes of guided meditation grounded in the philosophy that what you do after a workout, is as important as what you
Why We Focus on Recovery Read More »
In our new Spotlight blog, we will be highlighting some of our lovely JCC members, community, and their amazing stories. Billy Carney – “B’man” Being inclusive and welcoming to people of all abilities is at the forefront of what we do. Seventeen-year-old Bill Carney, better known as B’man, has cerebral palsy. B’man and his family
The JCC’s Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) adopts an approach for the education of young children which is inspired by the ideas and practices in Reggio Emilia, Italy. The principles of the Reggio Approach resonate with the JCC’s mission to create an environment that nurtures people and connects community each day, through every age, inspired
ECDC Children Learn and Explore Through Art Read More »
December 2021 “I believe that our faith could influence our civic engagement.” I am hoping that for some of us, the above statement raises at least one eyebrow. After all, we know each other well enough to understand how precious I hold the rights explicated in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights that
Loving Kindness and Civic Engagement – Faith and Politics – Our Fifth Calendar Year Read More »
Initiatives include The Second Floor Wellness Room and Virtual Teen Resource Room The Second Floor Teen Department at the JCC has made teen mental health and wellness a much larger priority in an effort to curb the teen mental health crisis that has emerged over the last several years. Through the generosity of the Jewish
The JCC's Second Floor Teen Department Promotes Mental Wellness Read More »
The mitzvah of preserving life taking precedence over other Jewish laws has been at the forefront of our minds these past weeks It has not been an easy ride for the JCC field these past 18 months. Mandated closures, partial re-openings, staff layoffs, workforce shortages, capacity limitations, new operating protocols, contract tracing, mask requirements and
Sunday was a win for teens, teen mental health advocates, mental health organizations, and the community-at-large. Teens who are a part of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation’s PA Youth Advocacy Network wrote a proclamation that recognized May 23, 2021, as Teen Mental Health Awareness Day in the city and in the commonwealth. The proclamation, written for teens and
Teens Bring About The First Teen Mental Health Awareness Day Read More »
The South Hills Pool will be closed Monday, August 17 through Saturday, August 29 for annual maintenance and improvements.
We anticipate reopening on Sunday, August 30.