Houston JCC

Women's Self-Defense Workshop
2024-07-30 18:30 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
This women’s self-defense workshop is geared specifically towards women ages 13 and up. The workshop will leave participants feeling empowered and confident in their ability to protect oneself and learn skills, tactics and strategies to survive a threatening situation.
No experience is necessary. Wear something comfortable and bring water for hydration. The class will be done in bare feet.

JCC Maccabi Games® Host Family and Volunteer Orientation
2024-07-31 18:00 | Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
Host families and volunteers for the 2024 JCC Maccabi Games® and Access must attend one of the following mandatory orientations.

Wednesday, June 19 at 7:00 PM
Sunday, June 23 at 4:00 PM
Sunday, July 14 at 10:00 AM
Wednesday, July 17 at 7:00 PM
Wednesday, July 31 at 6:00 PM

Houston Maccabi Delegation Parent/Teen Meeting
2024-07-31 19:00 | Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
Before the Games, get together one last time for uniform pick up, team photo and information about what to expect. The meeting will take place on July 31 at 7:00 PM at the JCC.

2024 JCC Maccabi Games® & Access
2024-08-04 - 2024-08-09 | Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
The JCC Maccabi Games® & Access are coming to the Evelyn Rubenstein JCC in Houston, TX! From August 4 to August 9, 2024, we are proud to host 1,200 Jewish teen athletes from around the globe at the world’s largest Jewish youth sporting event.
Established in 1982, the JCC Maccabi Games®, an Olympic-style sorting competition held each summer, are five days that can change the lives of Jewish teens. During the program, teens are immersed in a sports and recreation program filled with Jewish values and experience, including opening and closing ceremonies; travel; community service; social and cultural events; and opportunities to make friends and memories to last a lifetime.
The goal of the JCC Maccabi Games® is to contribute to the maintenance and enrichment of Jewish identity in youth and the development of leadership through healthy competition and sportsmanship. Since its inception, the Games has now influenced and connected over 130,000 Jewish youth in North American and around the world. This energy and excitement of this vibrant program make it an unforgettable time for every participant.
Learn more now!

Meals on Wheels Orientation
2024-08-23 09:00 - 10:00, 2024-09-20 13:00 - 14:00 | Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
Are you looking for a meaningful way to give back to your community? Do you want to make a positive impact on the lives of homebound seniors? Meals on Wheels needs compassionate volunteers like you!
Attend our volunteer orientation to get more information and get started.

Family Fun Day
2024-08-25 10:00 - 13:00 | Merfish Family Recreational Pools @ the J, 5601 S Braeswood Blvd, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
Make a splash at the J at the annual family fun day! Bust a move with DJ EZ Bar Mitzvah, enjoy the fan-favorite foam party, get competitive with poolside games and contests and cool off with delicious treats. It’s the perfect way to wrap up summer and relax!

Houston Maccabi Delegation Award Ceremony
2024-08-25 15:00 | Kaplan Theatre @ the J, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096
Before the summer officially ends, come celebrate the accomplishments of the Houston Maccabi Delegation! Join us at the J for an awards presentation. This event is for athletes and coaches only.
Register here!

Teen Situational Awareness Training
2024-08-27 19:00 | Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
Join teens from the Greater Houston community to learn how to stay alert to your surroundings and recognize suspicious activities.

Toddler Tales: Story & Play Time
2024-09-05 10:00, 2024-09-12 10:00, 2024-09-19 10:00, 2024-09-26 10:00 | Indoor Playscape @ the J, 5601 S Braeswood Blvd, Houston, Texas, 77096
Join your friends for Toddler Tales: Story & Play Time in the J’s indoor playscape! Hear a children’s story and stay and play in the J’s indoor playscape!
These fun weekly story times will feature guest readers from the Houston Jewish Community.
Toddler Tales: Story & Play Time is FREE and open to the public, though spots are limited and reservations are required.
For questions and more information, please contact Andrea Wolfe at awolfe@erjcchouston.org or 713.792.3200 ext. 3109.

Open Gym & Tot Shabbat
2024-09-06 10:30, 2024-09-13 10:30, 2024-09-20 10:30, 2024-09-27 10:30 | Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
Celebrate Shabbat with your friends and family with open gym in the gymnastics center followed by Shabbat fun.
Open gym will begin at 10:30 AM in the gymnastics center, followed by music and services at 11:30 AM in the atrium of the Samuels Family Community Pavilion. RSVPs are required and spaces are limited.
Cost: $6/child for open gym
Space is limited and reservations are required.

Rice Lecture Series: Rice Institute and the Jews
2024-09-11 19:30 | Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
The Center for Jewish Lifelong Learning’s adult learning program and Rice University are set to launch the 16th annual Rice University Jewish Studies three-part evening lecture series. The series features lectures on September 11, 18 and 25.
This first lecture in the series, Rice Institute and the Jews, will take place on Wednesday, September 11.
As Jewish students at major universities continue to report exposure to antisemitism on U.S. campuses, retired Rice University Historian Melissa Kean will kick off the series by looking at Rice University and the ways in which Jewish students experienced campus life in Houston, dating back to the university’s founding. Since its opening in 1912, the Rice Institute was a rarity, an avowedly secular institution in a region dominated by Christian denominational colleges. But while the school was carefully non-sectarian in its official actions, like the rest of Houston, it was culturally and socially Protestant. Jewish students (and later faculty) participated freely in Rice’s intellectual and public life, but firm lines were drawn in private matters. This ambiguous environment quietly prevailed unless specific circumstances created stress. Then, in several instances, the latent antisemitism of the “half open door” burst into view.

Handstands & Havdalah
2024-09-14 16:00 | Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
Close out the end of Shabbat and welcome a new week with Handstands & Havdalah! Run, stretch and tumble in the gymnastics center followed by a musical Havdalah program in the Samuels Family Community Pavilion lobby.
For kids ages 0-10 and their families.
RSVPs are required and spaces are limited. Please RSVP PER CHILD.
Cost is $5 per child.

HC68 Main Event
2024-09-14 19:00 | Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
Come kick off our first HC68 event of the school year at Main Event! Spend your Saturday meeting new friends and battling in competitive games like Pac-Man, air hockey and even bowling! Teens will meet at the J before taking the bus to Main Event.

Harel Skaat Trio Music Concert
2024-09-14 20:30 | Kaplan Theatre @ the J, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096
Harel Skaat is an award-winning Israeli singer and songwriter who has received significant recognition and achievements in Israel. Skaat began his stellar career in music at the age of six, when he won a children’s song festival competition. His professional breakthrough came when he was a contestant on the second season of the esteemed competition “A Star is Born” where he was awarded second place. Harel Skaat has been recognized by experts and organizations for his remarkable talent and success in music. His albums have been certified platinum and gold and his songs have consistently reached the number one song of the year on both major Israeli year-end Hebrew song charts – Reshet Gimmel & Galgaltz.
Supported in part by Michelle Shwarzman and Rafi Zitvar.

Inside Out Grandparents & Friends Character Breakfast
2024-09-15 10:00 | Herzstein Foundation Multipurpose Room
Step into the whimsical world of Inside Out for a delightful character breakfast that brings the emotions from Disney and Pixar’s beloved film to life. This special event is designed for grandparents and their grandchildren, featuring character meet and greets, a pancake breakfast, crafts, games and more!
We love our grandparents! They bring us so much JOY! When we feel SADNESS, we may want to cheer up with some delicious treats. Decorate pancakes and don’t FEAR, there won’t be any DISGUSTing broccoli on the menu! Keep the ANGER away with fun crafts and games.
This Inside Out Character Breakfast is the perfect way for grandparents and grandchildren to create cherished memories and enjoy a morning of joy, laughter and emotional connection. Join us for a breakfast experience that celebrates family bonds and the enchanting world of Riley’s emotions!
Don’t miss our Inside Out Grandparents & Friends Character Breakfast, you will be the ENVY of all your friends!
For children ages 0-10 and their family members.
Presented in collaboration with PJ Library.
Price (includes fees):
$18 Family ticket (includes two adults and one child)
$8 Additional family members

Contesting the Legitimacy of a Jewish State: Towards a Second Century of a Modern Conflict
2024-09-17 19:30 | Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
The Bobbi & Vic Samuels Center for Jewish Living and Learning (CJLL) offers classes, lectures, programs, and other meaningful Jewish experiences for the Houston community, including rich, in-depth Jewish studies courses designed by local Jewish educators. This upcoming CJLL lecture features Ilan Troen.
Despite the expectation that modernity would inexorably lead to secularization, religious culture retains its power. This observation may apply to many societies, but it is poignantly pertinent to the nature and longevity of the Arab/Israeli conflict where resistance to Jews as a presence in Palestine, let alone to Jewish sovereignty, is anchored in secular as well as theological discourse. A similar mix has been employed to justify the Jewish state. Examining these multiple and opposing possibilities provides the substance of Ilan Troen’s Israel/Palestine in World Religions—Whose Holy Land?

Rice Lecture Series: U.S. Campus Antisemitism - How Did We Get Here?
2024-09-18 19:30 | Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
The Center for Jewish Lifelong Learning’s adult learning program and Rice University are set to launch the 16th annual Rice University Jewish Studies three-part evening lecture series. The series features lectures on September 11, 18 and 25.
This second lecture in the series, U.S. Campus Antisemitism – How Did We Get Here?, will take place on Wednesday, September 18.
The second lecture by Moshe Vardi, a Rice University professor for the past 30 years, will examine the wave of antisemitism on campuses after the horrific atrocities of October 7, 2023, in Israel and the ensuing Hamas-Israel war that has unleashed a wave of antisemitism on the campuses of elite U.S. universities, especially the private ones. The lecture will explain how we got here and tie the wave to a simplistic oppressor-oppressed morality that is common to two major social phenomena: the rise of identity politics as a dominant theme of U.S. liberalism and the rise of the Diversity-Equity-Inclusion agenda in elite American higher education. The lecture will also explore the argument that economic and political forces are at the root of these phenomena.

“Nobody is Perfect” by Natasha Kanevski Gallery Opening Reception
2024-09-22 16:00 - 18:00 | Zinn Boardroom / Art Gallery, 5601 S Braeswood Blvd, Houston, TX, 77096
Natasha Kanevski is a Belarus-born Israeli-American based in Austin, Texas. Kanevski sculpts meta-modernistic visions on canvas, favoring monochrome to accentuate texture.
She blends painting with sculpture, embedding the human condition into each coarse element. Her works resonate with the shared fragility and strength of humanity, revealing the intricate dance of our interconnected lives.
Natasha exhibits her work across the US and Europe, with pieces shown in selected galleries including Dolly And Oz Presents in Miami, Florida, Art and Artifact Gallery in New York City, and Gaudi Gallery in Madrid, Spain.

Les Mills Epic Event
2024-09-24 18:30 | Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
Come for an EPIC Les Mills Core and Les Mills Tone experience September 24 at 6:30 PM! This is your chance for a one-of-a-kind training experience led by the JCC’s three Les Mills instructors: Angela, Clarissa and Randi.

Rice Lecture Series: Reassessing Campus Antisemitism
2024-09-25 19:30 | Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
The Center for Jewish Lifelong Learning’s adult learning program and Rice University are set to launch the 16th annual Rice University Jewish Studies three-part evening lecture series. The series features lectures on September 11, 18 and 25.
This third lecture in the series, Reassessing Campus Antisemitism, will take place on Wednesday, September 25.
The final lecture by Mendel Kranz, a Samuel W. and Goldye Marian Spain Postdoctoral Fellow, will offer a sober assessment of antisemitism on campus with a focus on how this discourse has exploded far beyond any reasonable agenda to curb free speech and attach diversity initiatives across the U.S. Kranz will provide a critical reflection on the meaning and definition of antisemitism and suggest that the current push to see it everywhere has made it much harder to identify and combat its real causes.

Kids Nite Out
2024-09-28 18:30 | Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
Get ready for an exciting Kids Nite Out on September 28!

Happy Birthday to the World: A Rosh Hashanah Celebration
2024-09-29 15:00 | Merfish Teen Center, 9000 S. Rice, Houston, TX, 77096
Celebrate Rosh Hashanah with a “Happy Birthday to the World” party! This program is a collaboration between the J, PJ Library and the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston.
Welcome the Jewish New Year with a party packed with crafts, face painting, bounce houses, photobooth and more! With a special musical guest, visit from a real beekeeper and apple dipping bar, this is a family program you won’t want to miss!
Cost: Free, though advance registration is required! Please RSVP one time per family.

"Raising Healthy Eaters" with Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Brooke Reichek
2024-09-30 19:30 | Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, 5601 S. Braeswood, Houston, TX, 77096, United States
Learn how to raise children to be healthy eaters. From understanding the function of macronutrients to navigating “picky eating,” Brooke is here to help you problem solve and come up with strategies and solutions to make sense of nutrition and and help your children foster a healthy relationship with food.

For more information and to register please see the membership desk.

Cost: $15 registration fee
