Round Foods and Retreat for Rosh Hashana with Andy and Lorraine

Andy and Lorraine Ball might just have one of the most unique ways of beginning their JCC journey: They attended a JCC auction, bid on and won a one-year membership, and here they are 28 years later. In that time, Andy and Lorraine have participated in many areas of the J, from working out in the Mordoh Fitness Center (Andy is one of the first in the door in the mornings, four or five days a week) to attending arts programs, and from coaching basketball to showing artwork in the annual Member-Staff Art Show.

“There are other places I could go, but it’s like family back there,” Andy said of the early morning fitness center crew who’s been working out together for years. So much so that for Andy’s milestone birthday in July, he set a goal to ride 70 miles over the course of a day in the JCC’s Weiner Cycling Studio, and instructor Laurel created a sign-up form of shift times for people to ride alongside him or simply cheer him on. “I really appreciate the J allowing me to do it in the room so I could have fans and cooling!” Andy said. “Laurel and Debbie, they were just great.”

Ready for Rosh Hashana

When Rosh Hashana (the Jewish New Year) comes around (in early October in 2024), you’ll find Andy and Lorraine out at Goldman Union Camp Institute (GUCI) in Zionsville for Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation (IHC)’s Rosh Hashana retreat. “When we grew up, Rosh Hashana was either very traditional and in synagogue all day, or ‘get dressed, drive to temple, stay for two hours, drive back, get on with the rest of your life,'” Lorraine said. “What I love about the retreat is that it’s very leisurely and immersive.” They love the retreat setting so much that during the COVID-19 pandemic they recreated it in their backyard!

As a current member and former chair of the retreat committee, Lorraine receives the honor of reading the Rosh Hashana Torah portion at the retreat each year. “That was a really big thing for me personally, because I didn’t have a bat mitzvah, so I kind of set that challenge up for myself,” she said. “There are only two portions that they alternate between, so that’s all I have to know!” For their anniversary last year, Andy gave Lorraine a new tallit (prayer shawl) so she’d have it for the retreat; Lorraine got Andy a tallit as a wedding gift, so now they’ve come full circle.

Because they go to the retreat, Andy and Lorraine’s Rosh Hashana meals aren’t typically very large, but they do always make sure to get two round challahs, traditional loaves of bread that are round instead of braided to symbolize the circle of life. “I like them with raisins, she likes hers plain, so we get two!” Andy said. Lorraine’s favorite Jewish food is more associated with Passover but she makes it for Rosh Hashana anyway: “I have mastered the art of the fluffy matzah ball,” she said, “so matzah ball soup for Rosh Hashana it is.”