President’s Message

Bruchim Ha’Baim! We welcome everyone to the Bay Ridge Jewish Center! Now, when you enter our historic building, you will be walking through beautiful brand new doors! This is quite a change from the old doors which after decades of wear and tear and several break-ins, resembled a jig-saw puzzle with some missing pieces. You may also notice security cameras that have been installed throughout the perimeter and within the building. We are shaping up our building and our mission for the 21st century.

I am still asked fairly often, “Are you selling the Building? What are the plans?” No, we are not selling the building and our plans are to be here on the corner of 4th Avenue & 81st Street for generations to come. Our goal is for the Jewish people of Bay Ridge, friends and relatives, to continue to enjoy the BRJC as the center of Jewish life in our community, where they can socialize and participate in our Jewish culture and heritage far into the future.

The BRJC is headed in a new direction! Our choice of Rabbi Dina Rosenberg as our spiritual leader has proven to be a great move on our part. She has immersed herself in the Bay Ridge community and is committed to providing a Jewish connection for children, families, singles, inter-marrieds and seniors. In the four months since her arrival, there have been more and more young families and children at all of our events. Our membership has increased and we now have many more children in the Hebrew School.

We have new programs such as a Tot Shabbat Program and First Friday of the Month Family Service & Pot Luck Dinner. Rabbi Rosenberg has started a community service component in the Hebrew School and along with children and parents, she has attended the 9/11 Memorial Walk, given water to runners at the NYC Marathon and plans to visit the sick & elderly in our community. Both first time attendees and those who come to services regularly, agree that Rabbi Rosenberg’s services, which are in both English and Hebrew with many explanations interjected throughout are very ‘user-friendly’. Children are joyfully welcomed and invited onto the Bima to carry a toy Torah or sing along. Speaking of children, we all recently participated in the Simchat-Bat baby-naming of Jessica (Esther Malke) born to Marcy and Amy Kotler. We extend a hearty Mazal Tov and thank them and their families for sharing this special occasion with us!

I wish to thank all of the people who continue to work selflessly to fix our building, manage our finances, plan events, donate money and do whatever has to be done to make things work well. You are the life force of the BRJC. We need you, we depend on you and wish you a Ya’Sher Koach!

Happy Chanukah to all!
Ruth Masyr, President