Now You Know

Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs
From the Office of the President

Now You Know
By Alan Budman, FJMC International President

September 1, 2024

Dear Friends,

Several people have asked me how and why I got involved in FJMC. Let’s talk about the “how” first.

I was a member of a small congregation, about 225 families. The Men’s Club at that synagogue was made up almost exclusively of guys my father’s age. In fact, my father had been a member. As a guy in my 30’s, I had zero interest in joining that group.

As our family expanded, we moved deeper into the suburbs, close to a large congregation of over 1,000 families. We attended services and soon were known as Shabbat regulars. One day, while shopping at the Shop and Bag Supermarket (known locally as “Shop and Brag” – lots of gossiping went on there!), a fellow I knew from services stopped and asked me to join the Men’s Club. I said I had no interest in joining a group of old guys and he said, no, they had leadership who was younger than me and I should check it out. I did and found that he was right – there were lots of guys my age and younger and they had some very interesting and fun activities. I volunteered to run an activity or two and people saw that I could get the job done.

I moved up in leadership and in a few years, was elected Club President. I attended the FJMC Convention solely to hear about programs and activities which could help my club – I had no interest in FJMC itself. While there, I heard of a new intuitive – Keruv, the movement to make the Masorti/Conservative Movement welcoming to interfaith families. That ignited my enthusiasm. I knew that this idea was of the highest importance to Judaism and I thought – this organization must have something on the ball to be so forward-thinking.

That caused me to get involved in a deeper level and after my Club Presidency ended, I moved up the Regional ladder to President, from there to FJMC Secretary, VP and now, President. Along the way, I became Co-Chair of Keruv.

That brings us to the “why”. At every stop of my FJMC journey, I met men who were smart, capable, friendly and who loved what they were doing! The combination of an outlet for my passion about Keruv and the people I met and became friends with gave me more than enough reasons to stick with FJMC and want to be a leader.

So, find your passion! Maybe it’s our Inclusion Initiative, or our Attracting Younger Members program, or Fighting Anti Semitism, or our traditional programs, whatever gets you interested – there’s a place for you in FJMC!

I wish you and your family good health and happiness.

Thank you.

In Brotherhood,
Alan Budman
International President, 2023 – 2025
abudman@fjmc.org