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8 Nights of Light: A Chanukah Menorah Infographic

Posted by JCC of Greater Pittsburgh on December 1, 2022

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 it’s so much more than just a candelabra!

It’s about the oil

Posted by Roberta Levine on November 20, 2022

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 best latkes. The recipe: Joan Nathan's from her classic book, The …

My/Our Body and My/Our Soul: Caring for Both Every Day and on Yom Kippur, Too

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on September 28, 2022

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 how easy it is for me given that the fitness …

Bake the Best Challah!

Posted by Roberta Levine on September 10, 2022

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 coat. I usually stick to a simple 3-strand braid, but if …

Our Vision of Community

Posted by JCC Center for Loving Kindness on July 8, 2022

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 that the meaning is not "love your neighbor like yourself”, but rather …

Five Years and Counting: So Much More Kindness To Do

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on July 1, 2022

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 2016 as we became acutely aware of the changing nature …

Center for Loving Kindness – Standing in Solidarity on Juneteenth

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on June 15, 2022

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. Throughout the 125 year history of the Jewish Community Center of Greater …

Father’s Day Pledge

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on June 14, 2022

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 meeting, stretching, or countering Dad’s fashion sense; or homemade out …

Ready, Set, Vote!

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on April 29, 2022

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 in the first century before the turn of the era commented "Al tifros …

Why We Focus on Recovery

Posted by Jennifer Goldston on April 28, 2022

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 are doing during one. But what is Recovery? Is it only …

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