The Congregation Beth Shalom (CBS) Men’s Club of Clearwater, Florida recently received a Certificate of Honorable Mention as part of the 2023 “Torch Award” program before nearly 400 delegates at the 2023 Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs (FJMC) Biennial Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Certificate was presented for outstanding Club programming in relation to the CBS Brotherhood’s Men’s Study Group.
The FJMC Torch Award was created to encourage the development of innovative programming, to recognize Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods that develop quality programming, build community and support the growth and development of their clubs.
Blake Lenett, long time CBS Brotherhood member and Immediate Past President of Florida Region FJMC, explains the details of the Brotherhood’s award winning “Men’s Study Group” program:
“Our “Men’s Study Group” is a men’s only adult Education class focused on finding “relevancy” within Judaism. Giving men the opportunity to honestly discuss where they stand on basic theological issues such as: God, Prayer, Liturgy, Jewish Identity, Holy Living, Israel, Charity and anything else that the modern Jew is apt to wrestle with. Everything is on the table and the class promotes group participation, it’s not a lecture series followed by Q and A. We discuss in detail, a variety of subjects, which in most Congregations will not generally be addressed from the Bima. While the classes evolve around a text, the sessions are facilitated in such a way as to use the weekly readings as a segue into a variety of related topics. The classes and related questions, target a diverse adult audience with varying Judaic backgrounds. Anytime you can capture and retain an adult audience willing to invest the time to prepare for and attend classes on Judaic content – it’s clearly a win/win. We have succeeded in building a cadre of students who attend eagerly and with regularity. They actually look forward to the next book and class”.
“Our class at times calls for “soul searching” on core issues surrounding Jewish theology and identity. Our men at times share personal beliefs, concerns and experiences which serve to bond the participants in ways which was never anticipated when the class was conceived. The key to the class success hinges on the facilitators, who must be prepared and enthusiastic. They need to guide the session, encourage participation, and create challenging questions based on the designated readings for the week – which in turn stimulates discussion.”
Yasher Koach to the CBS Brotherhood on this well deserved honor.
Join the CBS Brotherhood and become part of the family. Brotherhood Co-Presidents Jeff Brown and Frank Rubin invite you to learn more about the CBS Brotherhood at https://www.cbsclearwater.org/cbs-brotherhood or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CongregationBethShalom. For more information, about the CBS Brotherhood please email Jeff Brown at jffbrwnjb@hotmail.com or Frank Rubin at fdr10049@gmail.com.
The CBS Brotherhood of Clearwater, Florida is a proud member of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs (FJMC). We are part of a confederation of over 200 Jewish Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods representing over 20,000 members across the United States, Canada, Latin America, and beyond. Learn more about how your Jewish Men’s Club or Brotherhood can affiliate with the FJMC at: https://fjmc.org/for-clubs/affiliating-with-the-fjmc/.
The Florida Region of the FJMC serves the needs of affiliated Jewish Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods throughout the State of Florida. Learn more about the Florida Region of FJMC and our growing network of dynamic Jewish Men’s Clubs on our website www.floridaregionfjmc.org and please visit and LIKE our Facebook Group at www.facebook.com/FloridaRegionFJMC.
About Post Author
