The Phoenix is a mythical golden bird that is associated with renewal and regeneration; a symbol of hope and rebirth after total destruction, of life and of better things to come, born from the knowledge and experience of difficult times and challenging circumstances. This is the story of the Jacksonville Jewish Center Men’s Club, a once dynamic organization that burned bright, burned out and went dormant. However, like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, the Jacksonville Jewish Center Men’s Club has come back to life.
The Jacksonville Jewish Center Men’s Club is an organization dedicated to the enrichment of life in the Jacksonville Jewish community. The Men’s Club provides an opportunity for the men of Jacksonville Jewish Center to work together supporting, sponsoring, and participating in programs that bring meaning to our slogan, “Involving Jewish Men in Jewish Life”. The Men’s Club is a great way to make friends, have fun, and meet people from the synagogue as well as the regional Jewish community.
The Jacksonville Jewish Center Men’s Club is also an active member of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs (FJMC), an international organization dedicated to the ideals, philosophy and traditions of Conservative Judaism. Their level of activity and participation have earned the Jacksonville Jewish Center Men’s Club both First Place and Honorable Mention Torch Awards from FJMC in years past, and their Yad Shel Chai program has been implemented in Men’s Clubs across the nation. Men’s Club participates in a wide range of FJMC programs including distributing Yellow Holocaust Memorial candles, enabling every congregant to honor the memory of the Holocaust on Yom HaShoah. Men’s Club also takes part in the annual FJMC World Wide Wrap, which brings together congregants, clergy and Center youth on Super Bowl Sunday to participate in the mitzvah of wrapping tefillin.
The Jacksonville Jewish Center Men’s Club works closely with Youth and Education leaders to support our youth, lending a helping hand with local activities and regional USY and Kadima conventions. Men’s Club sponsors the Yad Shel Chai (Hand of Life) and Double Yad Shel Chai awards that recognize our youth for reading Torah in our synagogue services and building on the success of the Yad Shel Chai program. The Men’s Club Martin J. Gottlieb Brit Hinukh award is given each Spring one Teacher in the Center schools who best represents the life commitment necessary to bring a quality learning experience to Jewish children. Men’s Club provides a metal finished “Kiddush Cup” for Bar and Bat Mitzvah students and gifts for 12th graders that complete the Siyyum program. Men’s Club also sponsors and raises funds for the Horty T. Gendzier Summer Scholarship Fund, which provides the opportunity for children to attend Camp Ramah and other Jewish enrichment programs who otherwise would not have been able to do so.
The new and improved Jacksonville Jewish Center Men’s Club inaugural event was a general meeting on September 10 followed by a Tailgate and Football Viewing Party to watch see the Jacksonville Jags play the Indianapolis Colts; a splendid time was had by one an all. Looking ahead, the Jacksonville Jewish Center Men’s Club is planning a full year of engaging programs and events, and invites all Jewish men in northeast Florida to join them in their mission, to involve Jewish Men in Jewish life (and have fun).
Men’s Club is Brotherhood; 2023/2024 Club Co-Presidents Bryan Bell and Daniel Smith invite you to learn more about the new and improved Jacksonville Jewish Center Men’s Club at https://www.jaxjewishcenter.org/engage/mens-club/ or email Bryan Bell at b.e.bell1978@gmail.com or Daniel Smith at dssmith07@gmail.com.
The Jacksonville Jewish Center Men’s Club is a proud member of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs (FJMC), an international confederation of over 200 Jewish Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods located throughout the United States, Canada, Central and South America and beyond. Learn more about how your Men’s Club or Brotherhood can affiliate at: https://fjmc.org/for-clubs/affiliating-with-the-fjmc/.
The Florida Region of FJMC serves the needs of our affiliated network of Jewish Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods throughout the State of Florida. If you are not yet affiliated with the Federation, then today is the day to join us. Get to know more about the FJMC Florida Region and our growing network of Jewish Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods at www.FloridaRegionFJMC.org and please visit and LIKE our Florida Region FJMC Facebook Group at www.facebook.com/FloridaRegionFJMC.
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