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Renewing the “Ruach”

Posted by Jason Haber on September 13, 2017

Although I have only been on the job for a short time as Department Director of Children, Youth and Family Services for the South Hills JCC, I have a number of new and exciting ideas that I would like to share with you. Renewing Ruach We are going to dramatically increase the energy, or ruach (spirit), in all of our programming. Take for example flagpole each morning …

Variety leads to happier and healthier athletes

Posted by Jeremy Kelley on September 1, 2017

As both a parent and a coach, nothing frustrates me more than specialization. Gone are the days of the two- or three-sport athlete. The trend over the past decade or two has been for young athletes to begin concentrating on one specific sport from a very young age all the way through their high school and college years as if this punches their ticket to playing …

Shabbat is The First Labor Law

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on September 1, 2017

I was struck by this Samuel Rosenberg Image entitled 'Rest' in the spring when Melissa Hiller, Director of our American Jewish Museum, brought me to the Heinz History Center to see the exhibit "The Gift of Art". "For 100 years, the Friends of Art has purchased art to be given to the Pittsburgh Public Schools and enjoyed by tens of thousands of school children. Seeking to …

The March on Washington – 54 Years Later in PGH

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on August 25, 2017

We are living in very challenging times. Protesters, advocates, and politicians are trying to spin our moral compasses in such a way so that we have little sense of which way to step. But we know in which direction we should march: the moral direction that is taught by all of our faith traditions, the direction of “love your neighbor as yourself” and “do not …

Moral Compass

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on August 17, 2017

Elie Weisel taught us: One of the Just Men came to Sodom, determined to save its inhabitants from sin and punishment. Night and day he walked the streets and markets protesting against greed and theft, falsehood and indifference. In the beginning, people listened and smiled ironically. Then they stopped listening; he no longer even amused them. The killers went on killing, the wise kept silent, as …

Early Childhood Development Center: The Sheva Journey Begins

Posted by Liza Baron on August 16, 2017

Sheva (the number seven in Hebrew) has amazing power in Jewish thought and practice. It is also the name of the JCCs of North America Early Learning Framework and represents the seven core elements of exemplary early childhood practice profoundly rooted in the latest research on child development seen through a Jewish lens. What does this mean for the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh and its two …

Sharing Ideas and History with Warsaw JCC

Posted by Brian Schreiber on August 9, 2017

This week the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh and Buncher Foundation gathered to celebrate 25 years of investing in an international leadership program for professionals and lay leadership through the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) that was launched in partnership with the Federation. In the past quarter century, hundreds of Buncher graduates in dozens of countries have helped build Jewish community. One of the …

Tisha B’Av: Our Eastern Walls

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on July 28, 2017

Each morning, as I leave my bedroom and head downstairs, I find myself facing east on the midpoint landing on my staircase. Just before I turn right to make it all the way downstairs, I come face to face with these eternally contemporary words: If I forget you, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget itself. Let my tongue cleave to my palate If I do not remember her; If …

Mindful Eating: An Experiment

Posted by Brittany Reese on July 12, 2017

Follow-Up - What I've Learned It has been a few weeks since I started my experiment with mindful eating. In that time, I’ve gone on vacation with friends, had multiple visitors to my home, and done lots of other summer activities. It has been a fun and enjoyable summer. And I must say, not having to painstakingly count every calorie that I’ve consumed has helped me enjoy …

Healthy Recipes for Summer

Posted by Deborah Brooks on June 29, 2017

The poet William Carlos Williams wrote: “In summer, the song sings itself." And it’s true, there is something effortless and bountiful about the colorful vegetables and fruits flowing into the market, and hopefully also our grocery carts and kitchens. Every time you turn around, something else is in season - sweet local strawberries, ruby red chard and glossy zucchinis have already made their appearance. Most of us don’t …

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Pittsburgh, PA 15217
P 412-521-8010

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345 Kane Boulevard
Pittsburgh, PA 15243
P 412-278-1975

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