Shabbat Shalom from Sam: Rabbi Hal Schevitz’s Thoughts on our JCC

Earlier this week, our JCC gathered for its 113th Annual Meeting. It was a special evening to recognize the extraordinary contributions of our staff and volunteers and to elect the next slate of officers and directors who will help lead our organization in the year ahead. It was also a meaningful celebration of all we have accomplished together. I was proud to share the progress we’ve made, progress that is only possible because of the dedication, passion, and hard work of our staff, volunteers, and community.

Each year, we begin our Annual Meeting with a D’var Torah. This year, Rabbi Hal Schevitz of Congregation Beth-El Zedeck, a JCC member and proud camp parent, shared remarks that so beautifully captured the spirit and purpose of our JCC that I asked if I could share them with our broader community.

I hope his words resonate with you as deeply as they did with me.

Shabbat Shalom,

Sam Dubrinsky
Chief Executive Officer

Read Rabbi Hal’s thoughts here…

There are some verses of Torah that have evolved beyond their original appearance in our holiest book. We might recall the famous verse from Deuteronomy 6:4 –
שְׁמַ֖ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל יי אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ יי אֶחָֽד taken from one of Moses’ speeches to Israel to become our central statement of faith. Another well-known verse comes from the Song of the Sea in Exodus 15:11 –
מִֽי־כָמֹ֤כָה בָּֽאֵלִם֙ יי מִ֥י כָּמֹ֖כָה נֶאְדָּ֣ר בַּקֹּ֑דֶשׁ נוֹרָ֥א תְהִלֹּ֖ת עֹ֥שֵׂה פֶֽלֶא
“Who is like You, O Eternal One, among the divine beings? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, awesome in praises, doing wonders?”, which we recite as part of the morning and evening service in order to recall the Exodus from Egypt.

        In this week’s Torah portion, we find yet another statement that has migrated from Torah to daily prayer, which Jews recite upon entering a synagogue:
 מַה־טֹּבוּ אֹהָלֶיךָ יַעֲקֹב, מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל
“How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel.”

These words are not spoken by Moses, Aaron, or any of the prophets of Israel. Rather, this blessing is said by Balaam, an outsider who had been summoned to curse the Israelites. Looking down upon the Israelite camp from a distance, he found that he could not utter words of destruction. Instead, what he saw compelled him to bless.

        Tradition teaches that Balaam noticed, and was impressed by, the arrangement of the Israelites’ tents. He observed that holiness is created through the way people live together and organize themselves. He did not just see a collection of individual dwellings. He saw a community. We might imagine that he saw families raising children, elders sharing wisdom, and people gathering together to celebrate, study, and care for one another. Balaam saw a people whose strength came from the relationships that bound them together.

        Balaam’s blessing is phrased in the plural. Not one tent, but many tents. Not one dwelling place, but many dwelling places. Jewish life flourishes when different segments of the community work together to build something larger than themselves. This is what the Jewish Community Center strives to be.

A JCC is easy to describe in terms of programs. There’s the preschool and summer camp, the fitness classes and swimming lessons, the programs for seniors, cultural events, lectures, concerts, youth sports, and opportunities for volunteering. While all of these in their own way serve different demographics and different segments of the community, they are all part of the same institution. To put it in Balaam’s terms, they are all separate tents belonging to the same people, and that diversity under one roof is itself worthy of recognition and blessing.

The fact that these words come from Balaam matters just as much as the words themselves. Balaam was not an Israelite. He stood outside the camp and gazed upon it from afar. He was not part of the covenant of Sinai, and yet he recognized something beautiful when he encountered it. This is also an essential piece of the JCC.

The Jewish Community Center is first and foremost a Jewish institution. It is rooted in Jewish values and exists to strengthen Jewish life. But many of the people who walk through its doors are not Jewish. They come for preschool, the camp, the athletics, the programs, and because they have found friendship and belonging there. Like Balaam, they may come from outside the camp, but they see something good and want to participate in it.

This is perfectly in accord with Jewish tradition. Judaism has never understood itself as existing for its own sake alone. Our tradition speaks of being a blessing to others. A healthy Jewish community makes its best effort to radiate outward, creating spaces of dignity, kindness, learning, and human connection that others are naturally drawn toward.

This is what Balaam saw. The Israelites were not simply traveling together. They were building a society in which people could grow, connect, and find meaning. We recite Balaam’s words to remind us of the beauty of our communal space, in which so many people come together to do so many different things, guided by Jewish values and purpose.
מַה־טֹּבוּ אֹהָלֶיךָ יַעֲקֹב, מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל.
“How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel.”