JCC to meet about opening on Saturday afternoons.

The members’ meeting at the JCC on Monday, May 12, at 6:30 PM presents the JCC membership with an opportunity to take stock of a number of issues.

The main question under review is the possibility of having the JCC open on Saturday afternoons for informal recreational activities. This is not a single issue question, but one that the JCC membership and board must address with sensitivity, and with commitment to the broader JCC mission of serving the community.

In the interests of full disclosure, the reader must know that I and my family are members of the JCC and of Brith Sholom Beth Israel Congregation. We currently attend synagogue services with the New West Ashley Minyan at the JCC, and we play a significant role in supporting that minyan. My family has benefited greatly from these affiliations, and my children all attended Addlestone Hebrew Academy, which is situated on the JCC campus. Having said all that, the opinions in this article are mine, and mine only. I do not speak as an official representative of anyone but myself. Now to return to the issues . . .

What we have and what we are continuing to develop, around the campus of the JCC, is a cluster of institutions that serve the Jewish Community. This is not something that is intended to occur in isolation. Tikun Olam, repairing the world, is a core Jewish value. We strengthen the Jewish community in order to bring its influence to bear on the larger community in the most positive ways possible. Our efforts in this regard are most effective, in each and every one of our institutions, when we make decisions that foster unity and active participation among all segments of our membership.

It is a characteristic of good leadership to recognize the diverse elements one is committed to serving, and it is the obligation of the leadership to exercise good faith and good judgment in making such decisions.

Here is how I answered the JCC questionnaire: 1) I do feel the Charleston JCC should be open for informal recreational activities on Saturday afternoons. 2) If the JCC were open on Saturday afternoons, would I and my family use the facilities at such times? Probably not.

My suggestion to the membership and board of the JCC is that if a significant number of people (even if they are a minority of the membership) wish to use the JCC facilities for informal recreation on Saturday afternoons, the center should be open.

Just as changes at AHA have been made for AHA to be an inclusive community day school, so we should ensure that the JCC serve as many of its members as possible. All we have to do is make good faith efforts to ensure that sizeable segments of the community are not excluded from participation in the JCC, or our other organizations, as a result of such actions. I believe we can do this in this instance.

The Sabbath observant segment of the Charleston community is very small, but they are no less important than any other segment. The JCC has greatly facilitated Sabbath observance in the area of the JCC by renting space for services for those who desire it. We need to keep our support for each other fair and balanced. I am not suggesting that the Sabbath observant among us must like the opening of the JCC on Saturday afternoons, but in the framework of the above principles, they should at least be willing not to stand in the way. The Jewish community of Charleston is already a leading light in the Jewish world for the way Orthodox, Conservative and Reform congregations work together. Let’s all make the effort to continue to do so, to the benefit Klal Yisrael, and all the communities we share in the wider world.

We owe a continuous vote of thanks to those who serve the JCC at all levels. We do not all need to attend the meeting, but we should at least send messages of support to the JCC leadership. I urge you to click on this link and email them to do just that.

Happy Mother’s Day, and Yom Ha’Atmaut Sameach.


Peter Rosenthal