Shalom!
You’ve found Jewish Community North. Here, in our congregational home, you are welcome. Here is a place you can relax, reflect, and recharge.
When you are here, you are among friends, more so, among family. We are here to support you, to challenge you and to inspire you.
Here you will find people who are just like you. People who celebrate life’s gifts and must endure life’s challenges. People who are proud of their heritage and their history, and people who struggle with what that means to them in an ever-changing world. People who look to, and rely upon others for fellowship and strength. People who believe unfailingly in a Perfect God of Love and Justice, and some who come for the brownies.
Here you will find Jews and the people that love us, and those we love. Here you will find a place to worship God and serve humanity. Here you will find paths through a lush landscape of texts, traditions and practices that will bring you closer to your true self and nearer The One in whom we find The Ground Of our very Being. Here is a place and people who will help educate you and your children in our ways, and the ways of our ancestors.
Congregation Jewish Community North is a Reform Jewish Temple, Social Hall and Educational facility in Spring, Texas. It is a campus, a group of people, clergy and students, old folks and babies. We are united in our commitment to a modern, meaningful Judaism and to each other.
I hope you will join us and help us continue the work begun four thousand years ago by a shepherd and his wife. The work of making the world more complete, more perfect. It is no accident that the ancient rabbis called God, “The Place”. If you are searching, you have found it.
Welcome Home.
Jonathan Siger
Rabbi of Congregation Jewish Community North
Check out the Jewish Herald, online, at JHVONLINE.COM to see the Front page story on Rabbi Siger and CJCN!!
TO ACCESS OUR 2010 HIGH HOLY DAY FORMS & SCHEDULE, PLEASE CLICK ON DOCUMENTS (LEFT BLUE SIDEBAR) & THEN CLICK ON FORMS. EMAIL DONNA AT MEMBERSHIP@CJCN.ORG FOR MORE INFORMATION ON WORSHIPPING WITH US THIS YEAR.
Rabbi Jonathan Siger
leaves Florida Hillel for Congregation Jewish Community North in Spring
Texas
By Lyn Payne, Associate
Editor
Rabbi Jonathan
Siger, executive director of Central Florida Hillel, has accepted a position as
rabbi of Congregation Jewish Community North, a Reform synagogue in Spring,
Texas, near Houston. He and his wife Jennifer, along with three-year-old son Azi
and baby daughter Gavi, will be moving in May, and he’ll start his new job at
the beginning of June.
“I’m very sad to
be leaving Orlando,” Siger told the Heritage, “and very excited about this
opportunity to do what I’d gone to school for”—being a pulpit rabbi—“where I can
really apply everything I’ve learned, including the years at Hillel.” As a
student rabbi, he served congregations in Jerusalem and across the U.S., and
served as campus rabbi for the University of Florida’s Hillel before making the
move to the executive position in Orlando in 2007.
“It’s incredibly
rewarding working with students on campus and watching them take responsibility
and acting to build their community,” said Siger. “You’re watching the future
leaders of our people develop before your eyes. I was in particular very proud
of what we had done in terms of making Hillel at UCF relevant and
much-sought-after as a partner, with not only the university, but other student
groups. We were able to make Hillel into one of the premier student
organizations on the campus.”
“There are just wonderful people at UCF and Rollins that I’ve
gotten to work with, incredibly inspiring students and lay leaders and donors,”
yet he’s looking forward to “a tremendous opportunity for me in terms of
professional and personal growth as well” in Houston. He’s working on a book,
and blogs regularly at www.jewlistic.com.
While Siger
leaves with many positive feelings about Orlando’s Jewish community, he does
have some advice.
“For any Jewish
community, if you lose touch with Torah, you do so at great peril. By Torah, I
don’t necessarily mean the Five Books of Moses, but our wealth of sacred
literature. If we aren’t engaged in a meaningful way with what being a Jew means
to us, and what it means to those around us, we’re spinning our
wheels.
“I think
everyone sees the potential that Orlando has. You see it in the hard work people
at the federation and agencies and synagogues are doing to improve, to grow, and
to reach out more. My one real piece of advice for Orlando is the same thing we
say on campus: We must do a better job of outreach, of reaching people on the
periphery who do not feel comfortable or welcome or invited into Jewish
life.”
Congregation Jewish Community, home of the prestigious Jacques C.
Shure Religious School, was founded over 30 years ago. Also known as CJCN and a
covenant founding congregation of NAM, CJCN also enjoys the talents of Cantor
Renee Waghalter as Cantor Educator. "We feel blessed to have such a team in
place for the coming year." states President Elect Gale Saltzman. "Becoming
president in June is very intimidating, but with such talented professionals in
place, my job becomes so much easier".
Rabbi Siger's first service will be on June 4, 2010 at 7:45 pm. Check out his musings at Jewlistic.com.
(Representatives of the Irving L. Samuels family with the 2010 award recipients. Vic Samuels, Harris Pikus, Laurie Levy, Bobbi Samuels, Mitch Samuels, Ben Samuels and Ethan Samuels (in front).
The Jewish Federation of Greater Houston's Bureau of Jewish Education hosted the community's annual Teacher Appreciation Evening on Monday, May 24, at Seven Acres. Highlights included the presentation of the 19th annual Irving L. Samuels Outstanding Teacher Awards for Judaic Studies to Laurie Levy of The Shlenker School and Harris Pikus of Congregation Jewish Community North.
Levy teaches third grade at The Shlenker School. She has been a teacher for 33 years, most of it at the third-grade level. Her educational philosophy that guides her everyday teaching is based on the concept of "rowing your boat." She provides her students with the "oars to row," which she explains are the tools of learning, but she expects her students to "row their own boat" across Levy Lake. She also uses The Shlenker core values of tikkun olam, b'tselem el-him, faith, character, community, knowledge and k'lal Yisrael as a guide not only for Jewish learning for her classroom, but in her personal life as well.
Pikus has been teaching Hebrew and ninth-grade comparative religions classes at Congregation Jewish Community North for the past four years. Pikus considers teaching an honor and a privilege. Working with these amazing students and their families has left an everlasting image that he says he will cherish for the rest of his life
On May 22, at Congregation Jewish Community North's Annual Meeting and Dinner, we were blessed by the presence of having 3 Rabbis present. Outgoing Rabbi Seymour Rossel, incoming Rabbi Jonathan Siger and Rabbi Emeritus Robert Sharff blessed the challah while 130 congregants looked on while enjoying a complimentary dinner provided by the Board of Trustees as part of thanking and honoring the temple's volunteers.
Renowned, speaker, author, educator and editor Rabbi Rossel has been with the congregation for 5 years. The congregation fondly has enjoyed listening to his stories and is very grateful for his years of service to them. A framed gazelle skinned piece of Torah from circa 1725 was a parting gift to Rabbi Rossel as part of CJCN's tribute and thank you to him.
Rabbi Siger begins with the congregation on June 1, moving here from his position of Executive Director of Hillel in Orlando Florida. With Rabbi Siger as the congregation's new spiritual leader, CJCN anticipates exciting changes and ideas.
Rabbi Sharff served the congregation for 25 years and is still active in CJCN's life today. He is beloved by all. Cantor Renee Waghalter joined CJCN last year as Cantor and Educator and the congregation immediately felt like she'd been with them forever. "This is such an exciting time in the life of CJCN" states CJCN's President, Steve Natenberg. "We're really looking forward to this coming year".
Shalom!
Laurie Levy and Harris Pikus honored at BJE
