Jews and the city
THERE’S a new kid in town for city workers wanting to connect with their Judaism.
THERE’S a new kid in town for city workers wanting to connect with their Judaism.
While operating unofficially for some years, Jews of the CBD, or JBD, has now formalised its existence, appointing a founding president, treasurer and executive officer, and connecting its community through a regularly updated website.
“The ‘community’ of city workers and visitors is one that exists, but hasn’t been recognised as such. There are probably 1000-plus Jews spending most of their day in and around the city, with very few services and resources for them,” JBD president David Werdiger said.
“Our aim is to increase the amount and quality of services, and use the internet to build a sense of community, and provide valuable resources.”
Among the regular activities organised are weekly shiurim, guest speakers and daily minyanim, including afternoon mincha sessions, which will resume this week.
Events are held at corporate offices in and around the city, including at legal and accounting firms.
“We have significantly increased the number of shiurim and lectures in and around the city, and have done this with the help of several locations besides my own office,” Werdiger said.
“We are very much about collaboration as a way to tap into the huge Jewish resources that are already there. We have introduced a new weekly shiur featuring Rabbi Avrohom Jacks of Toorak shul, which was been very well accepted, and we also have a business networking group under development.”
Werdiger is encouraging others to become involved with the group at a committee level, saying that the group intends to offer membership and will hold elections down the track.
And these are not the group’s only aspirations.
“In the future, we will be putting up lots of useful resources on the site, for example a guide to getting kosher food, and to be a facilitator of much more,” Werdiger said.
Among the ideas are lunchtime krav maga classes and an association for Jewish lawyers.
“These are just small examples of what the network/community can cause to sprout forth.”
DALIA SABLE
comments