Beyt K'nesset - A Place to Gather & To Help Others

SJCC Bnai Aaron offers many social, cultural, and social action tikkun olam activities that provide opportunities for camaraderie and helping others. 

Youth Groups— Because children are our future, we are strongly committed to their involvement in informal youth activities with other members of the shul and the Jewish community.  Children in Grades 4-7 are invited to participate in Kadima. Children in Grades 8-12 are invited to participate in United Synagogue Youth (USY) at the chapter, regional, and national levels. Under the leadership of our Education Director and our pre-teen and teenage lay leaders, children in Kadima and USY are encouraged to participate in educational, social, religious, and social action tikkun olam activities. Activities include Shabbatons, leadership training, youth conventions, dances, bowling, skating, and community service projects. Our active USY chapter hosts its own website at www.freewebs.com/sjccbausy.

Sisterhood & Men’s Club— Our Sisterhood activities include monthly meetings, guest speakers, Bingo, book discussions, educational programs, community service, an annual fashion show, and Sisterhood Shabbat. There are also opportunities to become involved by volunteering to cook for Sisterhood Catering, by baking hamentashen for Shalach Manot, by chairing committees, and by working in our gift shop. Our Sisterhood also participates in the local branch of the Women’s League for Conservative Judaism.  The Men’s Club offers many opportunities for involvement, including Sunday morning breakfast programs, Men’s Club Shabbat, the Worldwide Wrap, the distribution of Yom HaShoah candles, the wine shop, and the Men’s Club softball team, which participates in a local league with members of other synagogues in the area.

Shabbos meals—Much of the communal socializing at SJCC Bnai Aaron is centered around Shabbos meals that feature home-cooked lunches and dinners prepared by our fabulous Sisterhood Catering volunteers, followed by communal singing, toasting “L’Chaims,” and benching (reciting Grace After Meals).  We take the mitzvah of “hachnassat orchim” (“welcoming guests”) very seriously. So, in addition to these communal Shabbat meals at the shul, we also open our homes to you. If you would like to be hosted for a Shabbos or holiday meal after services, just let us know!

Social Action Tikkun Olam (SATO)—We are engaged in a variety of community service projects and ongoing “deeds of loving kindness” (“gemilut chasadim”), serving our needy congregants, as well as those outside of our immediate synagogue community. The most recent SATO/Chesed project we have undertaken is the formation of a community-wide Chevra Kaddisha; we are proud that our synagogue’s lay-leaders and Rabbi are spearheading this initiative. We are also proud that we are able to provide meals for members of our shul during times of need, such as after the death of a family member, during or after hospitalization, and after the birth of a new baby. In cooperation with Rabbi Malik, our lay leaders also coordinate shiva minyans during the 7-day period following a funeral.  Since 2008, our SATO Committee has been active in the Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN). Along with several churches in our area, SJCC Bnai Aaron serves as a host site for families with children who are temporarily homeless.

SJCC Bnai Aaron serves all of the communities of the Main Line Philadelphia suburbs and Delaware County, including Wynnewood, Ardmore, Havertown, Haverford, Newtown Square, Broomall, Radnor, Upper Darby, Springfield, Bala Cynwyd, Bryn Mawr, Rosemont, Villanova, St. David’s, Wayne, Devon, Berwyn, Media, Wallingford and Swarthmore.