Growing Number of JCCs Open on Shabbat Mornings, New Study Finds
Balance of JCCs Open and Closed on Shabbat Holds Steady Since 2002
NEW YORK, NY, November 6, 2006 –Nearly one-quarter – 23 percent – of JCCs are open on Shabbat morning, more than double the 10 percent that were open on Shabbat morning four years earlier. Meanwhile, two-thirds of JCCs are open at some point during Shabbat (Saturday morning or afternoon), a number that remains unchanged since 2002.
These findings emerged from a just-released survey of Jewish Community Centers (JCCs), conducted by the Florence G. Heller-JCC Association Research Center, a follow-up to a movement-wide study published in 2002. Led by the research center’s director, Prof. Steven M. Cohen, and its assistant director, Lauren Hradecky, the survey found the number of JCCs now open on Shabbat morning had more than doubled, and a liberalization of policies regarding holiday opening, even as the overall number of JCCs open on Shabbat has remained static.
Cohen commented, “The findings point to the diversity of practice, the wide range of ways JCCs balance the competing demands of tradition and modernity, or, more pointedly, honor the Sabbath while simultaneously meeting the needs of their local clientele. Over the years, engaged American Jews – and, parenthetically Israelis – have been redefining the meaning and practice of Shabbat to encompass family education, recreation and communal culture in a Jewish setting. So, JCCs have been evolving to reflect those emerging cultural patterns. In their Shabbat and holiday practices, JCCs continue to evolve to reflect and respond to sociological and cultural currents within North American Jewry.”
With this far-reaching survey, JCC Association has again taken the lead in processing information that is of central concern to its membership, and by extension, to North American Jewry. Executive directors of 110 JCCs out of 188 in the United States and Canada replied to the Web-based inquiry, constituting the vast majority of JCCs across the continent. They confirmed that within the past four years, more than forty percent of JCCs have changed their Shabbat and holiday policies in order to open or lengthen their hours of operation. They also said that such decisions were made with lengthy and reflective assessment. Volunteer leadership, in partnership with professional staff, conducted extensive research, discussion, formal processes and the drafting of thoughtful policies.
Remarking on the survey, JCC Association President Allan Finkelstein lauded JCCs for engaging in what he called “a healthy communal process.” It isn’t mostly a financial decision, Finkelstein added. “It’s clear that the decision to open on Shabbat is primarily a decision about how best to serve our community.”
In adapting to the needs and circumstances of different communities, JCCs, said Chair Alan Solow, “reflect the real strength of our movement. Local community leadership makes the determination of what’s best for them.”
Solow believes the continental trend to increase Shabbat opening is another positive development for those communities where it is acceptable. “I don’t view this as a sign of decreased Jewish affiliation, but rather as a reflection of how comfortable our members and participants feel in a Jewish environment and their desire to take advantage of another avenue to participate Jewishly.” Solow expressed hope that those JCCs open on Shabbat “create an intense Jewish feeling within their four walls to reinforce the value and beauty of our tradition.”
The study found that JCCs that are open on Shabbat and Jewish holidays generally offer special educational and cultural programming. Approximately one third of the JCCs participating in the survey indicated that their facilities are open on Jewish holidays, specifically on the second and final days of the festivals of Sukkoth, Simhat Torah and Passover.
Geographical patterns also emerged, with 85 percent of JCCs in the New York metropolitan area, with its large number of observant Jews, continuing to remain closed for Shabbat and holidays. Those in the Southwest and Midwest are most likely to be open for some portion of Shabbat. However, JCCs in the smaller towns in the South with established Jewish populations, as well as many in Canada, also tend to close on Saturday, reflecting the religious or cultural traditionalism of their surroundings.
The entire survey can be found at http://www.jcca.org/linkbar.lasso?link=http://www.fghjcca.org.
Among the survey’s additional highlights:
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JCCs of various size, from small to large metropolitan centers, do not systematically vary in terms of Shabbat policies
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Of those JCCs that are open for Shabbat, the vast majority offer such services as open fitness and aquatics facilities and personal training, massage or private swim lessons.
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Many open JCCs (75-90 percent) restrict such offerings as regular programming, cooking, theater, food service and babysitting.
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61 percent of JCCs, while open on Shabbat, do recognize it as a special day, providing Shabbat programming such as havdallah or Shabbat-oriented study or music.
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Most JCCs, 70 percent, have a written policy regarding Shabbat, and even more, 84 percent, have one in place for Jewish holidays
Cohen added, “JCCs have become places where Jews want to commune with other Jews. The diversity we identify in the study is an honest reflection of local conditions and JCCs desire to be in tune with them.”
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JCC Association
is the leadership network of, and central agency for the Jewish
Community Center Movement, which is comprised of 350 JCC,
YM-YWHA and camp sites in the U. S. and Canada. JCC Association
offers a wide range of services and resources to strengthen
the capacity of its affiliates to provide educational, cultural,
social, Jewish identity-building, and recreational programs
to enhance the lives of North American Jews of all ages and
backgrounds. Additionally, the movement fosters and strengthens
connections between North American Jews and Israel as well
as with world Jewry. JCC Association is also the U.S. government
accredited agency for serving the religious and social needs
of Jewish military personnel, their families, and patients
in VA hospitals through JWB Jewish Chaplains Council.
Miriam
Rinn
Communications Manager
JCC Association
15 E. 26 St., NY, NY 10010
212-786-5092
fax: 212-481-4174
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