J Blog

A Jewish couple is shipwrecked on a desert island, stranded for years. Using materials from around the island, they build a house, a store, and a synagogue. Eventually, they've made a whole neighborhood.

One day, they are rescued by a passing ship. The sailors help them collect their few possessions and get ready to leave the island forever. Just before they depart, one of the sailors notices a second synagogue and asks, “Hey! Why’d you build two synagogues?”

With two weeks into social distancing and the city’s new stay at home order, we wanted to share some entertainment you can enjoy from the comfort of your own home. We know it doesn’t compare to being together in the theatre – greeting friends, catching up, and giving hugs, but we hope it helps provide a distraction in this challenging time. Until we can reconvene in person, we hope you enjoy these suggestions for books, movies, TV shows, and other ways to enjoy the arts all through a Jewish or Israeli lens.

All of us that work at the Evelyn Rubenstein JCC and call it our second home look forward to each and every day. The J is defined by you, our members, and driving up to an empty parking lot and dark building is both difficult and heartbreaking. On behalf of our entire staff team, our Board President, Lauren Kaufman Blachman, and our Board of Trustees, we hope that you are faring as well as possible during this difficult time. We thank you for your unwavering support and know we will get through this together.   

Join us as we do our part to help our community in this time of need. The J is partnering with the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center for a Community Blood Drive. The Blood Center's mobile coach will be stationed at the J at 5601 S. Braeswood, and those interested in donating should schedule an appointment. 

We have made the difficult decision to cancel all non-essential programs and close all facilities of the Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, which includes the Merfish Teen Center, Bertha Alyce Early Childhood School, Ellen Boniuk Early Childhood Center, Houston Gymnastics Center, Fitness Center and Boniuk Family Tennis Center beginning Monday, March 16 through Sunday, March 29. 

Program Updates
Thursday, March 12 | 9:30 PM 

I apologize for the timing of this email, but we are facing unprecedented circumstances that none of us have ever experienced. We continue to search for the best path to take in regard to our programs and services and providing for your continued health and safety.
Please make note of the following:

As a follow up to our email from last week about Covid-19, and given the latest headlines regarding the spread of the virus in Houston, I wanted to update you about the status of our programs as well as share some critical health-related resources.

Our staff and lay leaders will continue to balance providing critical social services, child care and maintaining other programs while fulfilling other needs while ensuring that your health and safety is our top priority. We continue to increase cleaning throughout the J and ask you to be mindful of the CDC recommended published guidelines before participating in any J related activities.

The Coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, is one of the top headlines in almost every nightly news broadcast and the top subject in a majority of public and private conversations throughout the world. This virus attacks the respiratory system and is highly contagious. The virus was first detected in China but has now spread to much of Europe, Asia and the United States.

As we hear news stories of the continuous spread of this virus on a daily basis, it is important to understand the facts about how to best prevent it from affecting you and your family and community.

The Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center is committed to the safety, health and well-being of our staff, members and participants. As the world community monitors the news about the spread of the new Coronavirus (COVID-19), I want to assure you that the senior leadership team at the J is keeping up to date on the situation, listening to recommendations from appropriate authorities, and taking proactive steps to minimize disease transmission. In fact, members of our senior leadership team participated in a call recently with the CDC specifically for JCCs to discuss this global concern facilitated by the JCC Association.

We Are Renovating the J!

We are so excited to finally share that after four years in the making, the J will be undergoing a major renovation this September! Let’s take you back to how this all got started…

In 2016, we developed a master plan that would engage our members and the community in exciting and dynamic ways. Unfortunately, our plan was cut short in 2017 due to Hurricane Harvey. At that point, we knew that before moving forward, we had an obligation to revitalize our community first.