JCRC celebrated Jewish American Heritage Month with fun facts and games

The Jewish Community Relations Council closed out Jewish American Heritage Month by hosting the first annual Jewish Trivia Night on May 31, at The Roth Family Jewish Community Center in Maitland.

Five teams competed for the "Avodet Tzevet" (teamwork) trophy. JCRC Co-chairs Dori Gerber and Michelle Zaltsberg organized the evening, which featured multiple rounds of trivia and even more laughs.

"Our goal for trivia night was two-fold: to celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month and to provide an opportunity for Jewish groups in the community to come together and do something fun, as one of JCRC's initiatives is to build bridges in our community," said Zaltsberg.

This year, the JCRC decided to put more of an emphasis on Jewish American Heritage Month. Every weekday for the month of May, JCRC put out a "fun fact" through social media about Jewish American heritage, encouraging others to share their thoughts on topics ranging from history and culture to veterans and inventors. After engaging the community to learn about Jewish history, the month concluded with an opportunity for people to show off their knowledge of all things Jewish at JCRC's first annual Jewish Trivia Night.

By all accounts, the evening was a smash hit, with 25 eager participants competing for the trophy. "It was great to see so many Jewish organizations represented, including the Federation, BBYO, Kinneret, the Jewish Academy, Hillel and JOIN Orlando," recounted co-chair Gerber, "the enthusiasm for the event exceeded our expectations – it was a great success and we are optimistic this will only get bigger and better every year."

The combined team of Kinneret and the Hillels of UCF, Rollins and Stetson took home the trophy, narrowly defeating a Jewish Academy of Orlando team, who came in second. "The theme of the night, including the trophy itself, was 'teamwork,' which is what JCRC is all about," said JCRC Director Ben Friedman. "We find ways to work together to accomplish shared goals for our community. If we can have fun along the way, that's a huge plus."

The Jewish Community Relations Council is a funded committee of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando, which works to amplify the Jewish voice in public discourse. You can stay in touch on Facebook and Twitter by following @OrlandoJCRC, or contact Friedman at BFriedman@jfgo.org.