Welcome to this special edition of “Spotlight On: Florida Region FJMC”, bringing you the latest and greatest news and information from from the Florida Region of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs.
The year 2024 was an exciting time of for the Florida Region FJMC; we expanded our regional Board of Directors, welcoming former FJMC Middle Atlantic Region Executive Board member Jason Waksman and Anshei Darom Region Past President Meir Niad to the Florida Region leadership team. We also continued to engage in outreach efforts, resulting in the affiliation of several new Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods. With Chanukah just around the corner and 2025 coming up fast, the November 2024 issue of “Spotlight On” is dedicated to the theme:
ELEVEN THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW !!!!
#1: Upcoming 2025 Florida Region FJMC Club Meetings and Training
Florida Region FJMC has a goal to deliver four regional Men’s Club & Brotherhood meetings and training sessions over the next six months. The first LIVE and in-person meeting of the new year will take place on Sunday morning January 12, 2025 at Temple Israel – Orlando, 50 S. Moss Road in Winter Springs, Florida for the convenience of all Central Florida Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods
ALL Florida Region FJMC Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods are encouraged to register for this Club meeting and training session. The morning will begin with 9:00 am minyan, followed by breakfast, Club meeting and training to follow. We have a lot of information to cover including updated Quality Club Award requirements, the World Wide Wrap, strategic planning for 2025, FJMC International Convention, July 3 to 6, 2025 in Chicago and more. We need your Men’s Club and Brotherhood’s participation in this meeting. Please call Temple Israel Men’s Club President Natan Brener at 407.435.8613 to RSVP so we can save a seat for your Men’s Club or Brotherhood members.
SAVE THE DATES: Future scheduled Florida Region FJMC club meetings and leadership training sessions are tentatively scheduled for all Southern Florida clubs on March 9, 2025 @ Temple Beth Am (Margate), for West Coast Florida clubs on April 6, 2025 at the Kol Ami Brotherhood – Tampa and for Space Coast/Palm Coast clubs in May 2025, date TBD.
- #2: The FJMC Sefer Haftarah is coming to Florida
The Florida Region FJMC dates on the Sefer Haftarah 5785 World Tour are official. The one and only FJMC Sefer Haftarah Scroll is scheduled to travel to Jewish Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods throughout the State of Florida during February and March of 2025. The FJMC Sefer Haftarah Scroll contains a collection of every Haftarah read during the year, including those from holidays and Rosh Chodesh. The Haftarot are scripted by a sofer on a parchment scroll in the same manner as a Torah. When rolled up and covered by its mantle, the Haftarah scroll looks exactly like a Torah scroll but not as thick. But unlike a Torah, the Haftarah scroll contains vowels and the trop. In addition, there are dedications of the various Haftarot in English and Hebrew. Since it was first unveiled during the 2003 FJMC Biennial Convention in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, the FJMC Sefer Haftarah scroll has travelled around North America to Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods, to regional retreats and to FJMC conventions., visiting synagogues from West Coast to East Coast, from Florida to Canada. At services, it is treated very much like a Torah. It is housed in the Ark, undressed and redressed like a Torah, and carried around the congregation in the Torah procession. Make a plan and save the date(s) to get up close and personal with the FJMC Sefer Haftarah Scroll at one of these Florida Region FJMC Men’s Clubs or Brotherhood near you:
- February 5 to February 12: Temple Torat Emet (Boynton Beach)
- February 12 to 19: Congregation Kol Ami (Tampa)
- February 19 to 26: Temple Israel (Orlando)
- February 26 to March 5: Temple Beth Sholom (Melbourne)
- March 5 to 12: Temple Beth Am (Margate)
- March 12 to 19: Congregation Ohev Shalom (Maitland)
- March 19 to 26: Congregation B’nai Torah (Ormond Beach)
- March 26 to April 2: Temple Beth El (West Palm Beach)
Florida Region FJMC wants every affiliated Men’s Club and Brotherhood in the State of Florida an opportunity to get up close and personal with the FJMC Sefer Haftarah scroll as it makes it way through the Sunshine State. For more information contact the Florida Region FJMC Sefer Haftarah Program Chair Richard Nebb at RichNebb@gmail.com.
- #3: November 2024 Club Recruitment Update
Mazal Tov! The FJMC family of affiliated Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods is growing. In Florida, we are very excited to introduce you to our three newest family members, the Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation, Congregation B’nai Torah of Ormond Beach and the Temple Beth Shalom Men’s Club of Palm Coast, Florida.
The Florida Region of FJMC serves the needs of affiliated Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods throughout the State of Florida; how can we help you succeed? We are part of a growing confederation of over 200 Jewish Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods representing over 20,000 members across the United States, Canada, Latin America, and beyond. For more information about how your Jewish Men’s Club or Brotherhood can affiliate with the FJMC, visit: https://fjmc.org/for-clubs/affiliating-with-the-fjmc/.
- #4: FJMC Convention 2025 Update
The clock is ticking; the 2025 FJMC International Convention is less than a year away. All Florida Region Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods are requested to SAVE THE DATE to take part in the 2025 FJMC International Convention, Thursday July 3 to Sunday July 6, 2025 in Chicago. Now that you have Chicago Convention on your mind, why not get a head start by enrolling in the convenient FJMC Installment plan. Learn more at: https://floridaregionfjmc.org/2024/04/register-for-2025-fjmc-international-convention/
- #5: World Wide Wrap 2025
Save the Date on your Men’s Club, Brotherhood, Sisterhood and Synagogue calendars, Superbowl Sunday morning February 9, 2025, to take part in FJMC’s World Wide Wrap 2025 and join tens of thousands of Jewish men, women and youth across Florida, the United States and around the world as they gather in Brotherhood to participate in a morning minyan and learn about the wonder and joy of Tefillin. The World Wide Wrap is an international, coordinated minyan encouraging Jewish men and women to learn about and participate in one of the basic mitzvot, or commandments, in the Torah: the wrapping of tefillin. The Babylonian Talmud (tractate Eruvin 96a-b) tells us that Michal, the daughter of King Saul and first wife of King David, wore tefillin without objection from the sages of her day. Be like Michal; strap on your Tefillin and join the World Wide Wrap.
The 2025 World Wide Wrap is for YOUR Men’s Club, Brotherhood, Sisterhood, Synagogue or JCC. Join the global tefillin connection. Learn more about World Wide Wrap 2025 and other FJMC programs at: https://wrap.fjmc.org/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FJMCWWW/.
- #6: Quality Club Award Requirements for 2025
The Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs (FJMC) Quality Club Award is one of the highest honors that can be earned by a Jewish Men’s Club or Brotherhood. The FJMC Quality Club Award says to both your club members, synagogue members and greater community that your Men’s Club or Brotherhood and its programs and activities demonstrate a level of excellence. The award, an engraved, 15 year, perpetual plaque, was developed to encourage Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods to offer specific types of activities at the local, regional, and international level. Qualification for the 2024 / 2025 FJMC Quality Club Award will be based upon the quality and diversity of YOUR Men’s Club or Brotherhood programs and activities for the period July 6, 2024 through May 23, 2025. For questions or comments, please contact the 2024/2025 Quality Club Committee Co-Chairs Scott Vineberg or Robert Cohen at fjmcqualityclubawards@gmail.com.
The requirements breakdown into three main categories, participation, programming and administration. Participation includes being a part of World Wide Wrap, Yellow Candle and Inclusion and attending Regional and International events. Programming allows you to choose a minimum of 10 out of 20 listed programs for your club to run. Administration includes paying your dues and updating your roster, including emails, having a successor lined up to be the next President, communicating with your members, seeking new members and having a budget and a calendar, things that you probably already or could do. View the full and updated 2024/2025 Quality Club Awards criteria at https://fjmc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/fjmc_2024-25_quality_club_award_criteria.pdf.
- #7: Yom Hashoah Yellow Candles
As time marches forward, it is our task to remember and teach about the Shoah. Each year, the FJMC Shoah Yellow Candle™ Program distributes tens of thousands Yellow Candles™ to Men’s Clubs, Brotherhoods and houses of worship to help remember the Holocaust. Each year, Men’s Clubs and other organizations around the world order Yellow Candles™ from the FJMC and distribute them to their membership with a short explanation of the program. On the night of Yom HaShoah, the candles are lit in homes across the globe to shine a light of memory, a light of education, and a light that we will never forget. By participating in this program, you are helping to keep the memory of the Shoah alive and to remember what could happen if we don’t stand up for ourselves. We’d like to give all our clubs in the Region a friendly reminder to place your order for your Yellow Candles™ at https://yellowcandle.fjmc.org/. Yom HaShoah begins at sundown Wednesday April 23, 2025 aka 27 Nisan 5785. We encourage all Men’s clubs and Brotherhoods to start planning your programs now and take the first step of ordering/replenishing your supply of Yellow Candles™ and mailers. For more information, please contact Florida Region FJMC 5785 Yellow Candle™ Chair David Yellin at Yellin55@aol.com.
- #8: FJMC Club Consultants 311
Is your club struggling to come out from under the post-pandemic bubble? Are you doing okay and still having trouble finding future leaders? Are you doing well and looking for an outside perspective to brainstorm ideas about getting even better? The life cycles of our clubs ebb and flow. Some are strong. Some are having challenges. All clubs go through good times and challenging times. The FJMC and our regional teams of FJMC 311 Club Consultants exist to help ALL our clubs thrive. Members of the FJMC 311 team are guys who have been around the FJMC for a while, experienced advisors, mentors, facilitators, and consultants whose job is to make your life easier and help your Men’s Club or Brotherhood succeed. We know what programs, events, and best leadership practices generally work well. We will make sure you have access to the secret sauce. We can help you with ideas or facilitate discussions with your leadership team. We work with your regional leadership before, during, and after consultations to make sure you have the ongoing support you need. Men’s Club is Brotherhood; how can FJMC 311 help you? For more information about FJMC 311 Club Consultants at https://fjmc.org/for-clubs/getting-help/ or email the FJMC 311 team at FJMC-311@FJMC.org.
- #9: Who will be your 2025 / 2026 Man of the Year?
The Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs (FJMC) Man of the Year Award is the highest recognition a Men’s Club or Brotherhood can give to one of its members. A decade ago Florida Region FJMC expanded this program to include a Youth of the Year Award, based on youth recommended by a club’s Rabbis or school administrators. Florida Region FJMC believes that each of our affiliated Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods are here today because the the dedicated volunteer work of the many, or the few, or the one. That person is your Keeper of the Flame, your Man of the Year. Every Men’s Club and Brotherhood has an annual opportunity to honor YOUR Keepers of the Flame – YOUR Man of the Year and Youth of the Year – for their leadership and participation within your Men’s Club, Brotherhood, Temple and the greater Jewish Community. Recognition and reward are keys to making a volunteer organization work. The Florida Region FJMC leadership team wants attend your Men’s Club or Brotherhood’s 5785 FJMC Man of the Year / Youth of the Year festivities and personally thank and honor your nominee(s). Florida Region FJMC is also planning to create an online Man of the Year / Youth of the Year Tribute Journal as fundraiser to help each of our affiliated clubs Please email Florida Region FJMC President Ed Kochman at EKochman@FJMC.org for more information.
- #10: Men’s Club / Brotherhood Shabbat 5785
Men’s Club is Brotherhood….. and Men’s Club / Brotherhood Shabbat 5785 is one of the best ways to raise visibility of your Men’s Club and highlight the participation of your Brotherhood in the religious and social fabric of your synagogue. This is a chance for your Men’s Club members to lead and participate in any or all aspects of the Shabbat service(s). It is a golden opportunity for your Brotherhood to connect, mobilize and re-energize its active membership base, as well as to engage inactive members who do not frequently participate or show up by giving them an honor such as Torah Reading or Aliyah, an Ark Opening, an English responsive reading, or offer them a role in planning the logistics of your Men’s Club / Brotherhood Shabbat. There are roles for every member of your Men’s Club or Brotherhood regardless of their level of observance; whether in Hebrew or English, in poetry or song, spoken word or non-speaking. In partnership with your Clergy, Men’s Club / Brotherhood Shabbat 5785 is a time for your members to take ownership of any or all aspects of the Shabbat service, whether Friday night, Shabbat morning, Ma’ariv, Havdalah or all of the above. Consider making it a “Men’s Club is Brotherhood Shabbat Weekend” celebration of everything Jewish, including Sunday morning Men’s Club / Brotherhood open house breakfast meeting and program / speaker to engage even more current and prospective members. Grow your club, embrace Men’s Club / Brotherhood Shabbat 5785.
- #11: FJMC Affinity Groups and Webinars:
Each month the FJMC offers a robust portfolio of affinity groups and a myriad timely webinars, all available FREE to help engage your Men’s Club and Brotherhood members throughout the year. Webinars cover religious topics, young family programing; Inclusion initiatives, Israel Advocacy, Sports, investment, Yiddish and more, offering a plethora of information, ideas, programs and links to help strengthen your club, develop new leaders and help our current leaders as well. For a complete schedule of upcoming Webinars, please visit: https://fjmc.org/initiatives/affinity-groups-webinars/.
This message is brought to you by the Florida Region of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs (FJMC). We serve the needs of affiliated Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods throughout the State of Florida. Learn more about the FJMC Florida Region and our growing network of Jewish Men’s Clubs and Brotherhoods at: www.floridaregionfjmc.org and please visit & LIKE our Facebook Group at: www.facebook.com/FloridaRegionFJMC.
The FJMC is 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 how YOUR Jewish Men’s Club or Brotherhood can affiliate with the FJMC at: https://fjmc.org/for-clubs/affiliating-with-the-fjmc/.
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