JCA Today

Monthly Mensch
Steve Gluckman

Steve Gluckman has been extremely dedicated to our community and advocating for people of all abilities.

As the power behind the volunteer army that pulled Camp Sababa together for many, many years, Steve’s dedication and passion saw the camp go from strength to strength, giving endless joy to its participants as well as much needed respite to family and carers. 

Steve continued his work with JCA The Choice Foundation and is a fierce supporter of their programs, driving engagement and always telling people’s stories to share both their happiness and their journey.

In-between all his volunteer work Steve has also found time to get his medical degree and find the love of his life. We know that while he has already been heavily involved in community, this is just the beginning of what is a lifetime commitment to making a difference in the lives of others.

Kol Hakavod Steve.

Nosh Nook
Issy's Caramelised Onion Tart

"JCA is like the family that I don’t have here in Sydney. I love giving back to the community, a community that has been incredibly supportive to me and my family." 

Isabelle Stanton - Engagement Manager

Caramelised Onion Tart With Crumbed Feta & Basil

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 large red onions, trimmed at the root and cut into thin wedges
• 2 tbsp light raw sugar
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 375g sheet ready-rolled puff pastry
• 100g feta cheese, crumbled
• A handful of chopped basil
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Method:                                                 

Step 1: Pre-Heat oven to 220C. Heat the oil in a frying pan, then gently fry the onions for about 10 mins until golden and soft. Add the sugar and balsamic vinegar, rosemary or thyme then cook for a further 5 mins until the juices are reduced and syrupy. Leave to cool.

Step 2: Unroll the puff pastry onto a baking tray. Score a line a finger-width in from the edge all the way around, then cover the middle with the onion mix. Scatter the feta and olives over. Season and drizzle the extra virgin olive oil over the topping.

Step 3: Bake for 15 mins or until the pastry is risen and golden and the base is crisp. Add chopped basil, cut into wedges and serve with a green salad.

Voila, Bon Appetit!

New Opportunites

BJE Rosh Hashanah Cards

Jewish students in schools all across NSW got the opportunity to create Rosh Hashanah cards for the elderly and less fortunate. Students got to make it personal with their own creations, writing their favourite thing for Rosh Hashanah and their wish for the recipient.

Liora, age 10 writes ‘my wish for you is to have the absolute best Rosh Hashanah ever and to have a happy healthy sweet new year’. Jwave families volunteered with COA to help pack the Rosh Hashanah hampers and hand out the cards at a luncheon encouraging intergenerational community connection.

Sydney Jewish Museum 

Musings SJM Journal, Issue 2 - Reverberations
Call for papers for the next issue of the SJM online journal are now open. Musings: SJM Journal is a cross-disciplinary, scholarly and educational publication that promotes research into all topics relevant to the Sydney Jewish Museum’s exhibitions, collection and programming.

We invite contributions from scholars and practitioners working on original material relating to the issue theme to submit to the journal here.

Shaken to his core: Behind-the-scenes Curator’s Tour 
Head Curator, Roslyn Sugarman, takes us behind the scenes for a special evening Curator’s Tour of Shaken to his Core: The Untold Story of Nolan’s Auschwitz. Learn how this rare exhibition – uncovering 50 artworks by the iconic Sidney Nolan – was conceived, developed and curated for its Australian debut. Date & Time: 6th October 5:30pm, book here.

Bar and Bat Mitzvah Program:
The Museum offers students of Bar and Bat Mitzvah age a program that will unpack the history of this special mitzvah. Students will be introduced to a Holocaust survivor who will share their personal story, and will have the opportunity to be guided with their families through the Museum.
Date & Time: 6th November 2:30-4:30pm, book here.

COA Sydney

Spring Cleaning:
Spring is here, and in the best springtime tradition COA Sydney undertook a long awaited pre-High Holidays cleanse of their Centre in Woollahra. This was no small task.

So, with trepidation, a date was settled, and a trailer hired for clean-up. It took COA staff  and volunteers over a week to prepare for this, diving under stages, delving into large storage spaces, and emptying every cupboard in an effort to divest the COA Centre of unnecessary clutter; anything out of date, broken, or no longer required was marked ready for disposal.

It was a truly cathartic experience, and a great end to a challenging but successful year at COA. We look forward to welcoming 5783 with clear hearts and minds, and a very clean centre to enjoy!

Stand Up:

Come Together
Later this year Stand Up will be launching their First Nations and Jewish community partnership program Come Together in NSW. This program is designed around truth-telling, where they bring the voices, stories and histories of First Nations people into Jewish homes and organisations. They hope to build the capacity of our community to act as allies for First Nations peoples and create a dialogue and strong relationship between our communities. Come Together sessions are co-delivered by Jewish volunteers and First Nations speakers. This program is open to all ages. To get involved click here.

Derech Eretz
Stand Up’s relationship with First Nations communities in northern NSW have spanned over 17 years. Our next trip is happening in January 2023! If you are 18-30 years old and interested in forming new connections and learning about First Nations communities first hand, join our January 15 - 24 program. To apply for the 2023 program click here.

New Faces - We Welcome...

BJE NSW
Julie Kuris - Graphic Designer
Mia-Lee Warden & Jenna Gilbert-Kaplan - Youth Educators

NSW Jewish Board Of Deputies
David Ossip - President 

In mid-August we welcomed a new President to the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, David Ossip. David is no stranger to both communal and public life and has served as the organisation’s Vice President since 2018 and is a member of the Committee of Management of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry and a Director of the Council for Jewish Community Security. David also previously chaired the Board’s Public Affairs Committee.

Burger Centre
Christina Caddy-Gold - Executive Manager

Christina Caddy-Gold has been appointed the new Executive Manager for The Burger Centre – our community’s premier wellbeing day centre for 65+’s.  Christina is no stranger to our community and the broader Sydney community and has worked for over 30 years across a variety of sectors and feels extremely fortunate to offer her services to the wonderful senior members of our community, and their families.

Shalom
Miriam Hecthman - Program Manager for Sydney Jewish Writers Festival

Sydney-based Miriam is an Australian writer, creative producer and poet. She is the founder and director of Poetica, a live poetry and music initiative and editor of poetry anthology The Alphabet of Women (Ginninderra Press, 2022). Miriam loves everything about books, words and writing. From four lines to a hundred thousand words, book covers to author acknowledgements, intimate poetry readings in bookstores to grand author talks in magnificent halls – Miriam enjoys the whole process and thrives on the community experience that books create. We are delighted to have Miriam join the Shalom team.

Anna Kharzeeva - Program Manager 

Anna is new to Sydney and has lived in both Russia and Georgia. She has created a language immersion cooking school, written a cook book called The Soviet Diet Cookbook: exploring life, culture and history - one recipe at a time and created a social enterprise for Georgian crafters to develop their skills with leading designers and manufacturers. She creates communities and movements with her ideas and creativity, and we are delighted to have Anna join the Shalom team.

Stand Up
Speedy Shatari (they/them) - General Manager of Programs & Engagement

"I see this opportunity as a way to contribute to a wonderful organisation which has a clear focus on pursuing social justice and tikkun olam. I am looking forward to helping continue engaging and inspiring our Jewish community to achieve a more equitable internal and wider Australian community."

New Arrivals - Mazeltov To...

• Michael & Amanda Eisman's baby boy Jesse Jonah Eisman
• Yoni & Lisa Garson's baby girl Elyna Hanna Sarah Garson
  
• Vlad Blazek & Leah Greengarten's baby boy Raphael Jonothan Blazek
• Harry Goldberg & Qi's baby girl Olivia Goldberg
• Tom Levi & Bella Woodhouse's baby boy Charlie Levi
• D'leanne Lewis's baby girl Lyra Yvonne

And last but certainly not least, our CEO Alain Hasson and his wife Hannah have given birth to a beautiful baby boy Ezra David Hasson on the 20^th September weighing in at 3.32kg’s. The JCA office can't wait to nurture him – as we nurture and grow our community. 

Hopes For The New Year
CEO Edition

Gary Groves, CEO JewishCare NSW
"As we celebrate the Jewish New Year, we hope for increased health, peace and prosperity. This year has been one of the more challenging years coming out of COVID and supporting our community in every way possible. We know the year ahead will have is own set of challenges, but the importance of family, friendship and community is important and JewishCare is here to provide the social supports you need."

Darren Bark, CEO NSW Jewish Board of Deputies
"My hope for 5783 is to see greater respect, kindness and compassion in the world, particularly for our Jewish students. As we face greater challenges, it is vital for our community to unite in the face of adversity. The NSWJBD will continue to speak up for, represent and advocate on behalf of all of us. I wish you and your family a happy, healthy and sweet new year. Shana Tova."

Phil Roberts, Principal, Mount Sinai College
"My hopes for the new year are that we enjoy all that family has to offer and that we take time to reflect on how important it is to remain united as a community despite our differences. I wish everyone a Shana Tova U'Metuka!"

Rabbi Alon Meltzer, Director of Programs, Shalom
"As we enter a new year, I am hopeful that we will be granted the tools to continue to make impact and inspire and cultivate Jewish community, with relevant Jewish wisdom that intersects their secular lived experiences. Wishing you and your family a Shanah Tova, may we all be inscribed in the Book of Life, with health, joy and prosperity."

Karen Tatz, President, ACTJC
"The ACTJC sends best wishes to the JCA for the coming year. As an organisation you provide so much support for so many of the Jewish organisations in NSW as well as our small Canberra community. We hope that your good work continues, that the generous patrons continue to support you, and that you are able to continue to grow and develop, especially in the areas of education, care, culture, and supporting and bringing Jewish communities together by providing financial, communal, practical, and spiritual care to so many of us."

Mira Hasofer, Principal, Masada College
"We hope that the Jewish community in the North Shore will continue to build for future generations. We pray that our beautiful Jewish traditions, history, practices and learnings will enrich the lives of our students and their families and that the Masada College ruach will continue to inspire. May we all be inscribed in the Book of Life."

Peter Philippsohn OAM, President, AJHS
"Since a Jewish burial society was established in NSW in 1817 and the first reliably reported assembly by convict Joseph Marcus of Jews for worship in 1820, we Jews have been proud to be part of Australia’s history. While preserving our past, we also look to playing our part in ensuring our community’s future – one filled with peace and happiness. Wishing all L’Shana Tova."

Robert Orie, CEO, Montefiore
"As I look to the start of the Jewish New Year, it is a time for reflection on the strength of our achievements, whilst acknowledging the challenges our community has overcome in the past year. The resilience of Montefiore’s community continues to inspire me. I could not be prouder of how our staff have rallied to care and support our residents and their families.

Looking ahead, I am invigorated with a renewed sense of optimism as we plan for future developments and programs which will benefit the ageing community. To the wider Sydney Jewish community, thank for your ongoing support and solidarity, may the New Year be a sweet one for all."

Kevin Sumption, CEO, Sydney Jewish Museum
"Shana Tova to all the staff, volunteers and members of the Sydney Jewish Museum and may their dedication, passion and commitment continue to inspire us all for the year ahead."

Roy Steinman, College Principal of Kesser Torah College
"This Rosh Hashanah will be our last in Australia after 26 years, as my wife Carolyn and I prepare for our Aliyah and our joining all our children in Yerushalayim. It is my hope and prayer that Hashem will continue to guide the community in all its important decisions and endeavours. I particularly thank the JCA for their incredible contribution to the Jewish education of the so many children over so many years. When we teach the children sitting in our classrooms, we don’t only teach them - we teach their grandchildren too. Investing in the Jewish education of our children today - is an investment for the generations of tomorrow. Shana Tova."

Christina Caddy-Gold, Executive Manager, The Burger Centre
"My hopes for the new year are centred around connectedness, celebration, and joy. It has been such a tough couple of years for our older community. I hope my contribution will make a difference, unite our team and enhance our clients lives. I am hoping that nothing interferes with our ability to support the wonderful members of the community to feel a strong sense of belonging, meet, enjoy, eat, participate in our activities, outings, events and festivals without trepidation. I hope we continue to grow our services and offerings so that everyone can further enrich their lives and be touched in some way by The Burger Centre."

Rabbi Yehoshua Smukler, Principal, Moriah College
"In the new year I wish for all members of our community to find true Sippuk Hachaim - life satisfaction through purpose, and simchat hachaim - a deep sense of joy in life, with a fulfilment of their hearts desires. Good health and abundant Brachot for all!! Shanah Tovah U'metukah!"

Sabina Kovadlo, Chief Executive Officer, COA Sydney
"May the coming New Year allow us to build strong and meaningful connections with one another and give us the means to show kindness to each other."

Tina Boger, General Manager & Director Clinical Services, Wolper Jewish Hospital
"I’m hoping to see the lovely smiles on the faces of our staff, patients and visitors sometime in the future when we are no longer required to wear masks. I’m also hoping we can resume our Shabbat dinners as both the Jewish & non-Jewish patients really enjoyed these communal dinners. I’m hoping we can assist those who may have long COVID on their path to recovery by providing day services at Wolper. I’m hoping for more community events where we can get together as we missed out on social interactions for too long….."