The Power to Choose

The Power to Choose

Richard R. Marcus, Ph.D. | President, Jewish Long Beach & Alpert JCC Board of Directors

Jewish by choice. All four of my grandparents came from orthodox Ashkenazi families, so it might not seem like it, but, for me, it is Jewish by choice. I grew up in a town with a scant Jewish population. I studied at, and ultimately rebelled away from, the only shul.

Then, in my 20s, I realized something. I wasn’t just raised with Jewish values but with Jewish values instilled in me with great intentionality. I realized that I saw the world through a particular lens. I started reading Moses Mendelssohn and Hermann Cohen, Heinrich Graetz and Hannah Arendt. I could look inward but not yet outward.

I met my wife, Yael, in a passing moment in Nairobi, Kenya, and we have built a life on that moment. We found harmony in our common Jewish identity and negotiated the intercultural and linguistic dynamics of an American-Israeli household. We began raising our kids, Eitan (20) and Aravah (15), with a deep sense of Jewish values, a commitment to our community, and dedication to a home environment where anything and everything is fair game to debate. (To parents of young children: be careful what you wish for with this strategy!)

In 2014 a friend asked if I would consider joining the (then) Jewish Federation of Greater Long Beach and West Orange County Board of Directors. “Why?” I asked. He said: “you are a good fit.” He then commented on my … l will be kind to myself and replace ‘pedanticism’ with my ‘patience with process and tendency to accentuate nuances.’ (I’m that guy who creates a 5-year predictive model for his household electricity bill.) He said that change is coming and the organization could use someone with those proclivities.

Thus, my life transformed from one of Jewish abstentionism to Jewish internalization, from Jewish internalization to a Jewish state of being, and then from a Jewish state of being to Jewish engagement. Jewish by choice. For that I feel a deep need for Jewish spaces. Our campus and its associated programming are thus very special to me. More than that. A pool, a gym, an events space, even an Early Childhood Education center - those are everywhere. But, Jewish spaces for that pool, that gym, and those events are not. An Early Childhood Education center steeped in Jewish values is not. That isn’t just important. It is resonant.

We are a Jewish Federation, here to raise money and protect and enhance the well-being of Jews through, in the words of the Jewish Federations of North America, meaningful contributions to community, Israel and civil society.

Jewish Long Beach is now three organizations merged into one: We are a Jewish Community Center which, as put in the mission statement of the Jewish Community Centers of America (JCCA), is here for advancing and enriching North American Jewish life. We are a Jewish Federation, here to raise money and protect and enhance the well-being of Jews through, in the words of the Jewish Federations of North America, meaningful contributions to community, Israel and civil society. And, we are a Jewish Community Foundation here to safeguard the funds for grantmaking and improve the lives of Jewish peoples in Long Beach, Israel, and the world.

These three pillars – a Jewish Community Center, a Jewish Federation and a Jewish Community Foundation – are what informed the writing of our mission statement: Guided by Jewish values and culture, we seek to inspire community by improving lives, building bridges of understanding and inclusion, and supporting the Jewish people here, in Israel, and around the world. Now they are at the center of our new strategic planning process as we look not just to replicate the activities of the past but build on this new strength to rethink, reimagine, and reenergize our community throughout Greater Long Beach and West Orange County.

I am humbled. My predecessors (Edie Brodsky and Barry Zamost), and the presidents immediately before them (Laurie Raykoff and Matt Davis), moved mountains to bring together the divergent organizations and create a foundation for the Jewish future of our region. Jewish Long Beach CEO Zach Benjamin somehow managed to run a new organization while building a new staff structure and new staff at the same time, and now we have this effective capacity.

The next steps are to build on this solid foundation to grow our mission: educating our children, telling our story, engaging community in common spaces, celebrating our faith, serving seniors in need of assistance, helping the growing numbers in the Jewish community who are economically struggling, supporting young parents wrestling with Jewish identity – particularly in interfaith families, expanding our reach and influence, weaving our intersectionality, working with Israel and the world as partners in business, cultural engagement, advocacy, and the furtherment of our humanity.

I would love to say that is my goal as president to achieve this. The reality is that a president is merely a steward. We have an inspiring group of vice presidents and a Board of Governors who are thoughtful, engaging, passionate, committed, and deeply knowledgeable, but aspirations this high require your help. It requires the energy of the 38,900 individuals living in 17,700 Jewish households throughout our community. This is the age of the growth of engagement. We Jewish Long Beach can’t imagine a more auspicious moment to work with the Jewish agencies and synagogues, with leaders in our broader Long Beach community, with the global Jewish world, and, most importantly, with you so that our children have the same opportunity I did to choose their Jewish future.