I recently visited the Theater J in Washington, D.C. to see a sublime piece of theater—Ari’el Stachel’s “Out of Character.” While I cannot recommend the show enough, what truly surprised me was the fact that Theater J is a world class, state-of-the art theatrical venue embedded in the Edlavitch Jewish Community Center (JCC).
In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to realize that the entire Edlavitch complex is truly a dynamic “third place”—a social and communal space outside of home or workplace—that anchors communities and helps foster and sustain relationships and friendships. The way in which the D.C. JCC has been designed means that it has the capacity to build real, lasting social capital and anchor diverse communities.
I left the show with an important realization: The Edlavitch JCC in D.C. should be a model for other Jewish community centers nationwide.
Over the years, I’ve spent quite a bit of time in JCCs and, while they do vary quite a bit, I’m often disappointed that these “community centers” rarely offer much beyond narrow, used spaces and fail to create settings that can develop into vibrant third places. To be sure, these centers provide numerous offerings, serving millions of people nationwide in areas such as physical fitness, early childhood education, senior programming, summer camps, film festivals, public lectures and so much more. But too often JCCs are little more than spaces of consumption. In my experience, amid all their high-quality services and programming, few provide places where diverse cross-sections of Jews—different generational cohorts, levels of religiosity, or political preferences—and others can socialize and connect and create community; there is little for people to do and few places to simply spend unstructured time.
The fact is that many Jewish community centers rarely nurture dynamic connections between Jews and are not set up to promote informal gathering, solidarity, sociability across multiple generations and the varied and diverse needs of today’s Jewish Americans. In light of today’s widespread antisemitism, the Jewish community needs safe spaces for gathering and decompressing, places that are open and welcoming, spaces for social life and solidarity where networks can grow and develop.
In contrast with many centers (and synagogues for that matter), the Edlavitch Jewish Community Center stands out. As you enter, you are immediately welcomed into a living room space with couches, tables, and a café style bar for drinks, food and refreshments. There are quite a few areas to chat, unwind and socialize and the space serves as a vibrant third space and “public square” for the many generations of Jews and community members who are in the building. The space allows people to read or have a drink privately or engage in a larger conservation; it serves as a hub and pass through for all of the Center’s activities and is distinctive and unique.
The space is well-populated since, like many JCCs, Edlavitch platforms a programming schedule that takes place from morning to night. The varied and extensive classes, events and facilities ensure that there is always a mix of people and communities with varied needs and interests—some that overlap and many that live life in parallel—passing through this central square in the building. From parents dropping off their children for early childhood classes and preschool, to seniors taking fitness classes in the gym or pool in the morning, to hundreds attending a vibrant theater season in the evening along with countless other activities involving arts, music, family programming, and education, the Edlavitch has created a formula that brings diverse groups into their building and creates the conditions for so many to truly connect. And unlike so many other community-focused buildings like libraries, which are often closed when their communities may need or be free to actually use them, such as early mornings and late evenings, the Edlavitch building is open from 6 AM through 10 PM (as are other JCCs for that matter).
Without question, JCCs draw in large numbers of people from the community, which is a good thing. But we can do even better. With attention to space, food, ambiance and aesthetics—as demonstrated by Edlavitch—much more could be done to create, support and promote social connections in informal settings. Now would be a good time for many Jewish community centers to re-think their physical spaces and better serve those who need community and solidarity. Centers need to reimagine some of their spaces as public squares and offer food, drinks, and comfortable lounge, recreational and working spaces.
Now would be a good time for many Jewish community centers to re-think their physical spaces and better serve those who need community and solidarity.
Imagine what could happen if more JCCs had such facilities: Instead of dropping their young children off for school and leaving, parents could come in, have coffee, and connect with each other, older generations and young adults. New relationships won’t form overnight, but repeated interactions and time spent in the overlapping space with shared core Jewish values could create new and meaningful relationships of varying degrees and truly help push back against the loneliness and isolation that many of our community members experience.
The Jewish community collectively has the physical buildings and spaces across our country to help it thrive and become more vibrant. Now it needs to deliberately and thoughtfully repurpose those spaces and programming to help revive and fortify community.
Samuel J. Abrams is a professor of politics at Sarah Lawrence College and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
