June 20, 2000
The
Jacksonville 5
An
Inside Look at Five Leaders who have Revamped the Jacksonville Jewish
Community
For
teenagers, finding a proper role model is critical.
In our current age of television and media, the values of public
athletes, actors and myriad other professionals are involuntarily forced
upon our youth every day. The
challenge for many parents is finding proper role models who embody the
ideals and morals of their community and family.
For the Jews of Jacksonville, Rabbi Aaron Goldscheider, Rabbi Chaim
Neiditch, Karen Goldscheider, Beverly Brinn and Samantha Brinn are the
answer to their prayers, or rather the people who have renewed their love
of prayer.
Observant Jews in Jacksonville? Well, the
truth is, Jacksonville is no ordinary community.
With a Jewish population one-tenth the size of the Boca Raton
Jewish community, the commitment and dedication exhibited by this enclave
of Jewish life is a response to a search for greater spirituality.
When
Beverly Brinn, the current NCSY advisor, moved to Jacksonville from
Pittsburgh with her husband and young children in July 1996, the Jewish
community was in a transitional stage.
The rabbi of the Etz Chaim Synagogue was leaving and his successor
was only in the interview stage. At
the time, the community was experiencing a lull in participation and
enthusiasm. The Jews of
Jacksonville were looking for someone who would energize the
community; the vibrant Rabbi Aaron and Karen Goldscheider did just that.
With
a strong core of observant families led by the Brinns, the new rabbi and
his wife infused excitement into Judaism.
Eager to jump-start and revamp the community, Rabbi Goldscheider
initiated a slew of new programs. Even
before he arrived in Jacksonville, he began the process of starting an
NCSY chapter. The Rabbi
initiated the custom of having a “Carlebach” style service once a
month and, within a short time, the Friday night prayer service in
Jacksonville was transformed into a beautiful ceremony that could be the
envy of any Jewish community. The Goldscheiders opened their home on a regular basis and
instituted many family programming and holiday events.
In
addition, Karen Goldscheider began teaching, including a weekly class
geared specifically toward teenagers.
The attendance has grown exponentially over the past few years.
Beverly Brinn explained, “Many of these kids are enrolled in
intense academic programs. When
they experience Jewish learning, it needs to be just as rigorous and
stimulating. Karen provides
that intellectual grappling in her classes and the kids appreciate it.”
Rabbi Goldscheider also teaches in the community, including a class
on Rambam, a bible class and a Gemara
shiur. When asked why
they moved to Jacksonville, Karen replied, “My husband and I knew that
we wanted to go to a somewhere small where we could help build the
community almost from scratch. We
chose Jacksonville because of the overwhelming enthusiasm and generosity
of the synagogue’s members. We
knew right away that we would be dealing with a special group of
people.”
Jacksonville
does not come pre-assembled with all of the Jewish accouterments that are
synonymous with the larger Orthodox communities such as an abundance of
kosher restaurants, educational programs, Jewish schools and support
resources. Everything the
community has acquired is a result of the hard work of its leaders.
Rabbi Goldscheider credits a large portion of their success to CAP
(Community Assistance Program), a division of the Orthodox Union’s
National Conference of Synagogue Youth
(NCSY), led by Rabbi Chaim
Neiditch.
The
purpose of CAP is to go into small communities where Jewish life is either
lacking or particularly weak and
bring people a taste of Judaism through the Shabbat experience. With the help of Rabbi Neiditch, CAP has brought the
community of Jacksonville programs such as
Shabbatonim, classes, kosher food and countless holiday events.
Beverly explained, “Rabbi Neiditch is unbelievable.
He finds a kid and within a day the teen receives an email, the
next day he or she gets a phone call, then an invite for a Shabbos meal.
No one falls through the cracks.
Once he meets a kid, he develops a close bond -- not the
superficial kind, but one based on genuine caring and interest.”
Rabbi Neiditch can identify with the
conflicts being faced by today’s non-observant youth because he grew up
in a non-religious household detached from his Jewish roots.
Throughout his childhood he felt as if something was missing from
his life. After discovering
religion and investing a significant amount of time in Torah study,
Neiditch decided to devote his life to helping others discover religion.
He became a chapter leader for NCSY in the Bronx, but found that the
Jewish community was already so established that very few people were
concerned with pulling in new kids. He
explained, “If you have three hundred kids in shul on Shabbos, that’s
enough. Why do we need to
reach out to another three hundred?”
When one of his roommates suggested that
he come along on a Shabbaton in Charleston, SC, Neiditch jumped at the
chance. He found that in that
one weekend he had a profound influence on the 12 kids who had
participated. From then on,
Neiditch knew that his calling was to work in the South in cities where
the Jewish community was small, if it existed at all.
The indefatigable Neiditch infused CAP with his endless energy and
brought this new program to Jacksonville.
One CAP success story is Beverly
Brinn’s daughter, Samantha. In
addition to writing a monthly column in the local Jewish newspaper,
running the youth program at the Etz Chaim Synagogue and participating in
the Jacksonville symphony orchestra as a first chair
violinist, Samantha is also a leader in the NCSY southern region.
Along with Rabbi Neiditch,
she was instrumental in developing the first-ever Jacksonville chapter of
NCSY, which received the Chapter Growth Award at the Spring Regional
Convention in 1999. From a
modest group of three, the membership has grown to 28 strongly committed
members. Samantha has also
assisted Rabbi Neiditch in developing new NCSY chapters in small
Jewishcommunities throughout the South.
As
a result of her hard work and leadership abilities, Samantha has been
chosen to be
one of the participants in the Senator Joseph Lieberman
Scholars Program,
a project of the
Orthodox Union’s Institute for Public Affairs (IPA) and NCSY.
The Lieberman Scholars Program takes the brightest and most
ambitious minds of today’s Jewish youth and molds them into tomorrow’s
leaders who can invigorate and revitalize their Jewish communities.
National Director of NCSY Rabbi David Kaminetsky explained, “Samantha
has already proven that she is committed to serving the needs of the
Jewish community. We believe
that she will be an excellent asset to our program and, hopefully, we will
provide her with an unforgettable learning and growing opportunity.”
Living in a community where observant
Jewish life does not come easily is challenging and often trying.
The “Jacksonville five” have joined together to help provide a
community where kids can grow up proud of their heritage. Samantha sums it
up in one of her articles, “Even if we think our actions cannot possibly
succeed, we must try anyway. Our
belief in God gives us an absolute sense of hope and possibility.”
Since
it was founded in 1954, NCSY has
pioneered the Jewish outreach movement and today is the world’s largest
Jewish youth program. With
chapters in 39 states, 215 communities across the nation and 3 Canadian
provinces, NCSY reaches 40,000 boys and girls annually by offering 750
major educational events and programs and 10 summer camps – in the U.S.,
Israel and the Ukraine.
The Orthodox
Union, now in its
second century of service to the Jewish
community of America and beyond, is the world leader in youth
work, advocacy for the disabled,
synagogue services, adult
education and political action.
Its kosher supervision
label, the
 , is the world’s most
recognized kosher symbol and can be found on over 250,000 products in 68
countries around the globe.
###
www.ou.org
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