Center for Jewish Life at Beth David

What's the Center?

An inclusive space where the diversity of Miami’s Jewish community can thrive. We believe our people are living Jewishly whether they pray or not, whether they were born Jewish, chose Judaism or simply love someone Jewish. There is an urgency of Jewish survival and sustainability that hinges on access to safe communal spaces that prioritize the idea of Jewish “and.” This is what we offer. 

We host Jewish traditions, like holiday celebrations and services, life cycle events and religious studies. And more secular activities, like athletics and fitness programs, language courses, and community gatherings for US holidays. We are a space for Jews and everyone. Often, our approach is a combination of both: The Gordon School teaches Judaics and Hebrew. We hold after-school enrichment programs and seasonal camps. The Tikvah Center’s specialization in autism and its facilitation of inclusive and intersectional interaction at the Gordon School fulfills Jewish values. Our community collaborates across Greater Miami for interfaith events and partnerships and spearheads social justice programs – fulfilling tikkun olam for the benefit of all. 

Typically, you’d belong to a synagogue, a community center, and your children would attend a school separate from both of those institutions. The Center is a community for all people and backgrounds, for all three areas of life where we are soul-searching, enriching our lives, and learning.

That last one, learning, is a significant motivation for this year’s campaign.

Vision and Ambition

We’ve learned that continuing our state-of-the-art education and community experience demands continuous investment in technology and tools that empower our offerings and – critically – keep us safe. We value our role in guiding our people to explore ways of thriving in Jewish life, and your contribution on Give Miami Day will amplify the ways our community learns, explores and plays.

LEARN 

At the Gordon School, infusing tech into classrooms has encouraged students to be critical and reflective thinkers. We are promoting a lifelong love of learning!

1.Digital Smart Boards don’t only make lessons visual, interactive, and engaging – they empower teachers to provide differentiated (individualized) learning to the whole class whether students are visual, auditory, or tactile learners.

2.A new system for monitoring academic growth has helped identify individual support needs in Language Arts and Math, and empowers teachers to quickly act. 

We need to go further, acquiring more of these tools we know are working and investing resources to develop a new STEAM program fitted with 3D printing, animation, graphic design, robotics and coding.

EXPLORE 

At the Center campus, anyone’s first touchpoint is with security and administration, and we’re investing in a smoother experience for our community members. Something as simple as an advanced reception phone and headset is already improving call clarity and creating stronger connections with our members.

Sometimes, the Center is wherever you are. Nothing beats the opportunity to come together in person, but by seizing the opportunity to livestream our services and events we are increasing accessibility and furthering our commitment to inclusivity. Your contribution ensures services and special occasions are accessible to those who might be immunocompromised, healing from injury, disabled, adjusting to parenthood, or homesick at college.

PLAY 

Throwing a ball. Saying a prayer. Baking challah. Mingling with your best friend's bubbe. By diversifying the experiences we consider holy, we're building a more inclusive space for multicultural, multigenerational interaction. 

A new check-in system boosts security and gets community members to their favorite programs faster! The refinished field ushered in a Tuesday night soccer league. It also makes PE class more exciting and attracts more attendees to on-field programs, like the ever-popular intergenerational dodgeball games. 

We’re seeing a growing interest in sports leagues, games and fitness classes, and we want to invest in more advanced equipment: 

1.Updating the basketball court will create another foundational space we could easily convert for other games like pickleball. 

2.A scoreboard is key to enhancing our current on-field games and hosting proper sports leagues for adults and kids alike. 

3.Pedometers for PE class to monitor steps give us data that teaches our students about endurance. We can show them that health isn’t about weight. It starts by associating movement and physical activity with joy, and building functional levels of strength and endurance.