December 26, 2024
The 5785 Jacksonville Jewish Center Yearbook featured an article about the Jacksonville Jewish Center Men's Club

The Jacksonville Jewish Center is a multi-generational congregation with many families whose ties to the congregation span the better part of a century, blended with families who recently relocated to the greater Jacksonville area. As Florida’s First Coast continues to grow in population, the Jacksonville Jewish Center remains committed to the Jewish precept of welcoming all who enter our doors.

It has been a tradition for over 120 years that the Jacksonville Jewish Center distributes an annual keepsake “Yearbook” to all congregants during the High Holy Days. The 5785 Jacksonville Jewish Center Yearbook featured information to highlight the activities of the the Jacksonville Jewish Center Men’s Club:

“The Jacksonville Jewish Center, Men’s Club dedicates itself to enriching life at the Center and in the Jewish community. Members work together to bring meaning to our mission of involving Jewish men in Jewish life.

The Men’s Club belongs to the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs (FJMC), an international organization dedicated to upholding the ideals, philosophy, and traditions of Conservative Judaism. FJMC awarded our club first place and honorable mention in years past and now offers nationwide the Yad Shel Chai (Hand of Life) program, first developed by our Men’s Club, which recognizes youth in the congregation who have read from the Torah 18 times since their Bar or Bat Mitzvah. We also distribute yellow Holocaust Memorial candles so every congregant can honor the memory of the Holocaust on Yom HaShoah. And we join in World Wide Wrap — wrapping tefillin with congregants, clergy, and Center students on Super Bowl Sunday.

The club works with Center Youth and Education leaders to support the Center’s children and youth organizations. We help out during local and regional USY and Kadima conventions. We sponsor the Yad Shel Chai (Hand of Life) and Double Yad Shel Chai awards. We give the Martin J. Gottlieb Brit Hinukh award (Covenant of Education) each spring to a teacher at the day school who offers students the highest quality of learning. We also sponsor and raise money for the Summer Scholarship Fund for children to attend Camp Ramah and other Jewish enrichment programs.

The Men’s Club is a great place to make friends. Preparing meals at the I.M. Sulzbacher Center for the Homeless is a highlight. We kick off fall with a party for members and watch the Jacksonville Jaguars play on a big-screen TV. Men’s Club members help with Sukkot and Purim celebrations. We are your children’s teachers, community volunteers, and spiritual lay leaders.

We invite you to join the Men’s Club if you are at least 18, male, and a member of the Jacksonville Jewish Center. For more information, contact the Men’s Club at jjcmensclub@gmail.com.

Kol Hakavod to the Jacksonville Jewish Center Men’s Club on another exciting year, and many thanks to the Jacksonville Jewish Center for publicly posting their 5785 Yearbook at: https://www.jaxjewishcenter.org/about/yearbook/.

On Superbowl Sunday February 9, 2025 the Jacksonville Jewish Center will take part in the FJMC World Wide Wrap, an international, coordinated minyan encouraging Jewish men and women to learn about and participate in one of the basic commandments in the Torah: the wrapping of tefillin. 

Save the Dates: Thursday July 3 to Sunday July 6, 2025 to be part of the Jacksonville Jewish Center / Florida Region FJMC delegation to attend the FJMC International Biennial Convention in Chicago !! More information coming soon.

Looking ahead, the Jacksonville Jewish Center is looking for a few good men to join the Men’s Club leadership team. PLEASE Email Jacksonville Jewish Center Executive Director Jennifer Smith at membership@jaxjewishcenter.org for more information.

Men’s Club is Brotherhood. The Jacksonville Jewish Center Men’s Club invites ALL Jewish men in northeast Florida to join them in their mission, to involve Jewish Men in Jewish life (and have fun). Learn more about the Jacksonville Jewish Center Men’s Club at: https://www.jaxjewishcenter.org/engage/mens-club/. For more information, please email Jacksonville Jewish Center Executive Director Jennifer Smith at membership@jaxjewishcenter.org or jjcmensclub@gmail.com.

The Jacksonville Jewish Center Men’s Club is a proud member of 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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