Holding Our Community Close: A Warm Hug for South Bend's Jewish Community
Moshe Kruger shares why our Jewish Federation Campus is a vibrant hub of connection and activity, offering a warm embrace to all who seek to learn, play, and thrive within our cherished community.
One of the most distinctive aspects of our Jewish Federation is our stunning campus. It is a joy to drive up the S-curved Shalom Way, through the enchanted forest, passing the Barney Zoss memorial stone near the ballfield, and then onward toward the arching windows of Dinah and the twelve sons of Jacob in the award-winning Kurt & Tessye Simon Community Building.
Above all, as I travel around the campus, it is a joy to see our community in action. From the laughter of PJ Library youngsters on the lawn to Camp Ideal campers mastering blacksmithing in the pavilion, our community is always buzzing with activity. Children eagerly prepare challah loaves and other treats for our Shi’Shuk Friday Market in the summer months, while the loyal ladies of mahjong gather faithfully every Monday and Wednesday in the library.
Adults engage in Forever Learning and Jewish Family Service Lunch & Learn programs, and young professionals unwind at NEXTGen game nights. Our blessed volunteers distribute mishloach manot (Purim gift baskets) to JFS clients, and visitors from around our broader community enjoy our seasonal art exhibitions.
Families and community members come together for holiday events, the Yoms, and new activities and clubs sprouting up every month. We share moments of condolence at funerals and celebrations of life. And, of course, our Temple Beth-El family gathers for Shabbat services and other enriching activities in our community room.
In conversations with community members, I am struck by the profound connections forged over the years through their cherished experiences with what many call their “other” Jewish home. At times, the Campus is a quiet retreat, and at others a cacophony of activity. I like to think of the Campus as giving our community a warm hug.
These stories and treasured memories illustrate how places and people intertwine, shaping ourselves and the future of our Jewish community.
Yet, I can’t help but think our Campus for Jewish Life can be much more.
What if we envisioned the Campus to be integral to the vitality of a flourishing Jewish South Bend—encapsulated with opportunities to reimagine our institutions and rethink the idea of community.
When fully developed, the Campus enterprise will be an oasis of learning, prayer, and respectful exchange—an incubator for arts and ideas, and a space to celebrate, engage in Jewish life, and intertwine with the broader Jewish world.
In addition, this shared Campus offers potential streamlining efficiencies for staffing and business operations, which would have a positive effect on our collective financial health.
This is our space. We honor and thank our donors for their generosity that enabled the Federation to exist in this place. Today, our Jewish community has an opportunity to reinvest in the very spaces that have sustained and enriched our community since the first Jews settled in the area in the 1840s.
We have already taken important steps to revitalize our Campus with capital investments including a new roof, HVAC system, and universal kitchen. In addition, we’ve reclaimed our nature trails and sand volleyball court. We’ve secured record-breaking grant funding to enhance Holocaust education in our local schools and have successfully partnered with local businesses and community members to sponsor the 15th season of the Michiana Jewish Film Festival.
We are pleased to announce that Omer Karavani, our Israeli Emissary, will stay in his role for a third year. New platforms like “Voices of the Future” engage young adults in innovative and creative ways. All of these developments build upon one another to ensure our Campus remains a place where the community comes together to learn, play, live, and thrive for generations to come.
In my five years at the Fed, my worldview has remained the same. I am, and have always been, an optimist who believes even the most intractable problems can be solved when people work together with compassion and creativity.
What is markedly different this year for me is that the stakes are much higher for how we shape the future of Jewish life in South Bend.
I, along with a very dedicated Federation professional staff, wake up every day with a mission to fulfill—to build and sustain the Jewish community through the power of warm hugs and infinite possibilities—which are humbling, daunting, and incredibly exciting.
As I approach my last year of service at the Federation, I am profoundly grateful to be part of this remarkable community. Your support, whether through advocacy, engagement, or philanthropy, has been and will remain instrumental in preserving our beloved community. Thank you for being a steward of Jewish life, past, present, and future.
Moshe Kruger
Executive Director
574-233-1164 x1802
MKruger@TheJewishFed.org