J Blog

Astros Celebration Camp at the J Congratulations Astros! Our World Series Champions are coming home and to match their epic win there will be an epic celebration Friday in Houston with a World Series Victory Parade. For a lot of you that means there’s no school tomorrow! So whether you’re a member of the J or not, we’re offering an Astros Celebration Day Camp on Friday, November 3. Activities include baseball themed ...

For the Love Of Books

If you have been to the Ann and Stephen Kaufman Jewish Book & Arts Festival at the J, chances are you have shopped the Bookstore. There is a dedicated group of volunteers responsible for it: Esther Chess, Linda Chess, Carol Emery, Ellen Gaber, Ann Glazier, Sandy Gomel, Robin Greenspan, Louise Kershman, Beulah Maltz, Ruth Morris, Claire Noll, Sheila Sack, Leenie Skolnik and Beverly Sufian set aside two weeks each fall and volunteer as book store managers at the Festival. Most of them have been doing it between 10-15 years.

Each lady will tell you there’s something about volunteering at the J, but they all agree that their love of books brings them to this place every fall. 

Shabbat Shalom,

Thank you for your patience as we continue to move forward with building repairs and work to resume as many programs and activities as possible. I wanted to provide you with a number of important updates and announcements.

Thank you Jewish Federation of Greater Houston 
I was informed earlier this week that the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston made a grant of $1 million to the J to support the repair and renovations costs for all of our facilities. More than $17 million has been raised to support Hurricane Harvey and relief efforts, and we are grateful to the Jewish Federation for its partnership and to all of the donors that have contributed to the fund.

There’s Something About this Place! and that includes the Ann and Stephen Kaufman Jewish Book & Arts Festival

The last few weeks have been a challenging and difficult time in Houston and especially in our Jewish community with so many individuals and institutions suffering significant damages that will take a long time to repair.

There is a silver lining… as a community, we are resilient.  We have strapped on our boots and resolved to rebuild - not only our homes and our beloved J, but our emotional well-being. One way forward is participating together in important community gatherings and events. 

There is a silver lining… as a community, we are resilient.  We have strapped on our boots and resolved to rebuild - not only our homes and our beloved J, but our emotional well-being. One way forward is participating together in important community gatherings and events.

It just so happens that at the end of October, the Evelyn Rubenstein JCC hosts one of the biggest community events of the year, the Ann and Stephen Kaufman Jewish Book & Arts Festival.  Yes, you read that right... it’s not just a “Fair” anymore.  This multi-week event has evolved over the years to encompass so much more than just books. The Festival has grown into a world class showcase for theatre, music and film, in addition to top notch authors.

 

A New Beginning This Shabbat we read the Torah portion B'reishit that tells the story of the seven days of creation as well as the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. This Torah portion is significant not just because it marks a new beginning in the Torah, but also because it has the ability to inspire new beginnings in our lives. As we approach a new beginning at the J, I am thrilled to share with you that we are planning to re-open ...

Thank you for your continued patience as we work through the necessary repairs to open our facilities on the Levit Family Campus. Please make note of the following important updates: Our goal is to open the Weingarten Building on Monday, October 16 and begin to resume business operations, daytime and evening classes and other programs. Further details on class programs and schedules will be announced next week. The Fitness Center flooring ...

Shana Tovah, I wanted to provide you with a number of facility and program updates as we continue to make progress on the required repairs and remediation of all of our facilities. The swimming pool at the Merfish Teen Center is now operational and is available to our members to swim laps beginning on Monday, September 25. Please click here for the schedule and additional information regarding the hours, parking, what to bring, etc. The ...

We have some good news to share in today's update. We have generators running and have AC and electricity in parts of the Weingarten Building. We are working area by area to check the mechanical systems. We've already had one air handler motor catch fire and burn out. We will have a much better idea in the next few days when we can re-open the Weingarten Building. We estimate it will be at least another 7+ days as we are waiting on ...

Shabbat Shalom from the J The world is a very different place than it was a month ago. A month ago, the J did not have each department successfully running programs without a building. We did not have a free two-week day camp created in partnership with Greene Family Camp. Our entire staff and teachers, along with our Board and community members, never gathered for Shabbat in the Tennis Center where we shed tears of joy and sadness while ...

As we continue to recover from Hurricane Harvey, our staff has worked diligently to get programs back up and running, both in the short term with the limited facilities available, and for the future as we get buildings operational. Today we wanted to provide you with an update on the programs we are currently running and looking forward to in the near future. We hope that you'll come out to show your support for the J at one or several of these ...