Everywhere I turn at our JCC lately, I see people building something together.

A few weeks ago, I asked many of you to share your stories. What came back was extraordinary: stories of friendship, healing, belonging, growth, tradition, and connection. Again and again, one truth emerged. In moments when life felt fractured or uncertain, people found something here that helped make them whole again. Connection at the JCC became a kind of balm for the soul.

This week, those stories seemed to come alive all around me.

Led by Indy-based artist Joani Rothenberg and Israeli artist Yael Buxbaum thanks to the generosity of Glick Philanthropies, our Community Mosaic project began earlier this week. Every day through May 15, you can walk past the Old Café area and witness something remarkable unfolding. Strangers and friends. Preschool children and nonprofit leaders. JCC staff, families, and colleagues from our sister Jewish agencies. People from every corner of our community are gathering around a shared work of art — each person adding a small but essential piece.

The mosaic is still unfinished. There are gaps between tiles. Uneven edges. Pieces waiting to find their place. And yet, even in the middle of the messiness, something beautiful is clearly beginning to emerge.

Later this week, I had the opportunity to welcome a group of leaders from Israel’s Western Galilee, invited by the Jewish Community Relations Council and the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis. These leaders are deeply committed to innovation, collaboration, and building bridges among Jews, Muslims, and Christians.

As we walked through the JCC together, we stopped beside our newly hung mosaic created in partnership with students from Hasten Hebrew Academy in the wake of October 7. That piece now hangs in the very hallway where photographs of the hostages hung for more than two years.

Standing there together, we reflected on what the mosaic represents: that even when we feel broken, fragmented, or painfully pieced together, we are still whole. Our Israeli guests were deeply moved — not only by the artwork itself, but by the way this community responded to heartbreak with creation, connection, and hope.

In many ways, that is the story of the JCC.

Right now, our JCC is also in the middle of becoming. As we begin implementing our new strategic plan and prepare for a full launch in 2027, we are building toward something new — not from scratch, but from a foundation shaped by decades of community, care, resilience, and vision.

Like any mosaic, this season is not perfectly polished. Change rarely is. Some pieces still feel unfinished. Others may not yet seem to fit. But slowly, intentionally, the picture is taking shape.

And perhaps that is the point.

A mosaic is not beautiful because every piece is flawless. It is beautiful because broken and imperfect pieces, when placed together with care, create something stronger, richer, and more meaningful than any one piece could alone.

Our JCC is a living mosaic of people, stories, traditions, perspectives, and relationships. Every person who walks through our doors adds something essential to the whole. And when we choose to build together — with intention, compassion, and community at the center — we create something extraordinary.

Thank you for continuing to build this place together, piece by piece, tile by tile.

Shabbat Shalom,

Sam Dubrinsky – JCC Indianapolis CEO