Shalom Chaverim (Dear Friends),
As an avid Boston Red Sox fan and a lifelong fan of Major League Baseball generally, I am really excited to see all the wheeling and dealing that I anticipate occurring over the next few days. It’s a fun time for baseball fans! It’s also been a fun summer weekend of movie-going for many, and Lori and I joined opening weekend crowds to see Oppenheimer. What an impressive cast and important movie.
Shalom Chaverim (Dear Friends),
Throughout this very hot and wet July, Lori and I have taken cover indoors, in the comfort of our AC. We just finished watching Daisy Jones & The Six, which we both enjoyed, and outside, I’ve spent time buying, transporting and laying rock in my back yard. I usually end up in the pool after working outside in this heat, and I’ve been getting back into a lap pool as well, which has been important for my body and my mind.
Shalom Chaverim (Dear Friends),
I am writing this message to you on my 59th and a half birthday. According to life insurance companies, that makes me 60 years old! As I approach the big 6-0, I’m focused on many wonderful things ahead both personally and professionally. I’m looking forward to my first visit to my brother’s home in Colorado, and my son’s wedding in early April, to name just a few. I am very aware of and grateful for the blessings of these opportunities.
Shalom Chaverim (Dear Friends),
I hope everyone enjoyed a great holiday – despite the excessive heat! To beat the heat, Lori and I have been spending many evenings binging “Ted Lasso” which we loved, and we just started “Shrinking.” It’s great to unwind and be immersed in an engaging story!
Shalom Chaverim (Dear Friends),
We haven’t quite entered into July, yet I have heard some people are already beginning to make their plans for Rosh Hashanah. Sometimes it’s just nice to have something wonderful to look forward to. On a personal note, Lori and I are looking forward to our 35th wedding anniversary in early October. We are excited to be returning to the same beautiful spot where we had our honeymoon all those years ago. With our son Noah’s wedding this coming April, we feel truly fortunate to have so many wonderful blessings.
Shalom Chaverim (Dear Friends),
I write this message to you on the first official day of summer – even though it has felt an awful lot like summer for some time now! One of the benefits to being in Florida in summer is the proximity to wonderful water-related recreational options. Twice this week I had the very good fortune to enjoy going boating, once on a beautiful motorboat and once on a sailboat. These opportunities don’t come up very often, so when they do, I really appreciate them. Out on the water, I once again experienced the joy I felt as a young boy when I did something exciting for the first time. I love that feeling, and I’ll bet most of you do as well!
Shalom Chaverim (Dear Friends),
Reflecting on the trip to St. Louis Lori and I made this past weekend, it really was everything I had hoped it would be. What a joy to have 13 family members come together to visit our daughter, son-in-law, and of course, our granddaughter, Emi Lou. Most of this group of extended family met Emi Lou, who is now 13 months old, for the very first time, and seeing my mother hold her great granddaughter was just priceless!
Shalom Chaverim (Dear Friends),
With Broward County schools coming to a close, summer is “officially” here! While South Florida sports fans remain in it to win it for the NBA & NHL championships, my mind is on St. Louis! This weekend, Lori and I will join 12 other family members there, where we will all enjoy spending time with our granddaughter, Emi Lou, who is now 13 months old…a toddler already. Where does the time fly?
Shalom Chaverim (Dear Friends),
It’s June 1st and that means we are at the halfway point of 2023. With so many wonderful events and accomplishments behind us, there is so much that we can all look forward to. As a sports fan, I couldn’t be more excited about our Miami Heat’s defeat of the venerable Boston Celtics and the upcoming final against the Denver Nuggets, and our Florida Panthers facing the Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL final. It will be an exciting couple of weeks ahead!
Shalom Chaverim (Dear Friends),
It’s beginning to feel a lot like summer here at the Adolph & Rose Levis Jewish Community Center. Phones are ringing with families making last minute plans for summer camp, and our Levis JCC Sandler Center is kicking off its “Summer of Culture” – a variety of fantastic in-person and virtual programs that will entertain, educate and delight! On Tuesday evening, our newly minted Executive Committee met for the second time, and it’s a pleasure to see relationships developing and deepening and big ideas being discussed as we map out the coming year at our Levis JCC.
Shalom Chaverim (Dear Friends),
What an exciting time of year! Florida sports fans are celebrating some major accomplishments -- our South Florida sports teams are on fire! Around our community and across the country, high school and college students are graduating, marking their achievements as they close one chapter of their lives and get ready to begin another. On a personal note, Lori and I look around the home we have made here in Boca with gratitude and pride.
Shalom Chaverim (Dear Friends),
I’m writing this on the heels of our Adolph & Rose Levis JCC’s Annual Meeting, a wonderful reminder of just how much has happened in the last year. On a personal level, it’s been a journey of home renovations, wonderful family events, and forging new friendships in our community. On a professional level, it’s been an incredible time of growth and building relationships with many leaders, including our incredible Past Board Chair Emily Grabelsky, who just passed the gavel to the equally incredible new Board Chair, Steven Clarfield. It’s been a full season.
Shalom Chaverim (Dear Friends),
It is the first week in May which means I have sent out weekly Shabbat messages for more than one year. Each week it is an honor to connect with this wonderful community and share my observations about life, family, and of course, about the many ways our Adolph & Rose Levis Jewish Community Center touches the lives of so many. I enjoy hearing the thoughts some of you have shared with me, and I encourage each of you to let me know if these are meaningful for you and particularly when something resonates with you. On a personal note, I am really enjoying the National Hockey League playoffs this year, during which the underdogs have knocked out the favorites to win in so many matches in the series. Our very own Florida Panthers eliminated the mighty Boston Bruins who had the best regular season record in the history of the sport! Go Cats!
Shalom Chaverim (Dear Friends),
This week, a nearly year-long labor of love comes to a close: Lori and I are just about finished with major home improvements that have truly made this new house our home. We are now focused on making arrangements to head to St. Louis in June for a visit with our granddaughter, Emi Lou, who turned one year old today! Many family members will be coming together in St. Louis to meet her for the very first time, and we really can’t wait for this special reunion.
Shalom Chaverim (Dear Friends),
On Tuesday I spent considerably more time than usual hunting down gas for my car. I assume many of you are experiencing this as well—I had no idea that the rains that flooded Broward County caused such a gas crisis throughout the state. I was pleased to find that most people who were at the station were keeping their cool while waiting on long lines and tried to keep others in their consideration by only filling their tanks partially so others could get some gas as well. I did the same. It reminded me that we must always try to take care of one another.
Shalom Chaverim (Dear Friends),
This week, I am writing my message to you in the air, leaving Arizona after 9 wonderful days with our son Noah, his fiancée and two daughters, and their 2 dogs. We also had the chance to meet our soon to be in-laws who joined us for our first family interfaith Seder. It could not have gone better or been more meaningful. We enjoyed dinner a few days later at their lovely and warm home, and I am so happy that we are all off to a great beginning together as we join as one family.
Shalom Chaverim (Dear Friends),
With Passover upon us, I am writing this message to you from my son’s house in Arizona, and I am feeling full of emotion. This is my first trip back to Phoenix, where Lori, Noah and I spent 7 wonderful years. Last year at this time Lori and I were on a journey, driving cross country to make a new life in South Palm Beach County and for me to start work as President & CEO of the Adolph & Rose Levis JCC. Exactly one year later, we have the joy of celebrating Passover back in a city that meant a lot to our family, with our son and his new family. Reflecting over the past year, it’s been a journey of wonderful accomplishments and growth both for my family and for my new South Palm Beach County community.
Shalom Chaverim (Dear friends),
I just returned home from Tampa, where I attended a Jewish Community Center Association (JCCA) Southeast Regional Conference this past weekend along with several colleagues representing our Adolph & Rose Levis Jewish Community Center. It was so inspiring to be with more than 100 colleagues from JCCs across our region, learning with and from each other about a variety of topics all connected to the theme of “The Power of Out-sight.” It was a wonderful few days of professional development for all of us. Lori and I are now preparing for a long-awaited family visit to Phoenix to celebrate Passover with our son, Noah, and his family.
Shalom Chaverim (Dear friends),
This week is one of celebration in my family; both my son Noah and my brother Stefan have birthdays. Professionally, I celebrated the opportunity to meet up with Steven Nasatir, the retired long-time professional leader of the Jewish United Fund in Chicago. What a joy to have his undivided attention and learn from his vast experience gleaned from a long and storied career. We discussed many topics, but a key takeaway was how powerful the strong partnership between lay and professional leadership can be.
Shalom Chaverim (Dear friends),
This week in particular I am reminded of how fast time flies. A little under one year ago, I flew to Florida from Arizona to attend a Special Night for Special Needs, my very first Adolph & Rose Levis JCC event. I recall being deeply impressed with the professionalism of the staff running the program that evening, as well as the warm and caring community that came together in support of the Levis JCC’s Helene & Roy Schwedelson Special Needs Department and its programs. I’ve come full-circle at the Levis JCC – this past week I attended that same event, and one year later, it was just as wonderful, welcoming, and indicative of the special community we all call home. Speaking of home, Lori and I continue to work on improvements on and around our house, and with each project, we are reminded of how fortunate we are to be at home here in Boca Raton.
