Why NJC is the small congregation with the big heart

Steve McCloskey President

During my first tenure as president of Naples Jewish Congregation (NJC) from 2017 to 2021, I came to the realization, through my wonderful experience as NJC’s lay leader, that what makes NJC so special is its members. Our congregation truly is a family for all things spiritual, educational and social. Our source of strength is our wellspring of caring, our warm and welcoming embrace of our members and guests, and our deep and abiding commitment to each member of our NJC community.

We are so proud of our outstanding spiritual leader, Rabbi Howard Herman. He engages our congregation with intriguing, informative and lifelong learning, as well as thought provoking and quite topical sermons that cause us to ponder life and its many challenges. Rabbi Herman is not only our exceedingly learned leader but our friend. He is so approachable and so hamish that he epitomizes our “big heart.” He is a terrific listener and is a fount of sage advice. We are so fortunate to have Rabbi Herman leading our congregation. He was recently described by a couple in our congregation, as “… brilliant and gregarious …” I concur!

Music has always been at the core of NJC’s spirituality. Our anchor is our most accomplished Music and Choir Director and accompanist Alla Gorelik. We recently suffered the devastating loss of our beloved Jane Galler, our joyful and soulful cantorial soloist of over 25 years. Although we can never fill that void, our hardworking Music Committee and Board of Directors conducted an extensive search. We have arranged for Rabbi Cantor Mark Lipson, a commanding presence in song, guitar and on the bima, and Cantor Beth Schlossberg, a wonderful cantor who uplifts us in song, to be with us for many of our upcoming Shabbat services. Cheryl Eitman, an exceptional cantorial soloist, will join us for our High Holy Days services.

In addition to NJC serving as a spiritual sanctuary for our members, we provide social sustenance for our congregants. We gather for congregational meals throughout the year, including light dinners after lifelong learning sessions before our Shabbat services, Kiddush luncheons following our Saturday Shabbat services, light dinners before our Summer Shabbat services, Break the Fast and our always well-attended Chanukah dinner and Passover Seder.

Several years ago, one of our members, Bonnie Lechtner, came up with the idea of Flamingle. It is a concept rooted in congregational togetherness. We participate in Flamingle events every six weeks or so, such as miniature golf, a boat excursion, sharing stories over a pot luck lunch at Sugden Park and a tour of The Baker Museum.

Susan Falkenstein, who is quite creative, leads our Sisterhood, which holds engaging events on an almost monthly basis. One of these is our Sisterhood Book Club, led by one of our voracious readers, Ruth Simon. The eclectic list of books read and discussed are either written by a Jewish author or have a Jewish theme. That way, our readers stay close to their Jewish roots.

We are quite an active congregation with a high percentage of members participating in many events.

If you join us for one of our Shabbat services, you will be warmly embraced by our members and will never feel neglected. In fact, coming to NJC for one of our Shabbat services will conjure up memories of the theme song of that exceedingly popular sitcom, “Cheers.” At NJC, “… everyone knows your name and … everyone is glad you came.”

Please join us soon to experience the welcome you will get at “the small congregation with the big heart.”