Noam Fischman’s involvement in the local Jewish community comes in response to what he didn’t have growing up: thriving Jewish communal life.
“I had a phenomenal, idyllic childhood in a wonderful place,” Fischman said, adding that he sometimes returns to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, to “marvel at its beauty.” “My family was very cultural[ly Jewish], but I didn’t have the resources that are offered by a place like the Bender JCC or other JCCs.”
“I didn’t have a place” to be Jewish, the Bethesda resident said. “One year, I was one of only a handful of Jewish kids in my grade, [a] very small number in the entire school.”
Fischman, who belongs to Shaare Torah in Gaithersburg, serves as the chair of the Bender JCC of Greater Washington’s board of directors, the continuation of nearly a decade of lay leadership at the JCC. He is also a former board member at Shaare Torah. By day, Fischman works as a health care litigator at a national law firm based in Washington, D.C.
The grandson of Holocaust survivors, Fischman grew up in Holland, a small town outside of Philadelphia — the city where his mother emigrated from Israel as a teen.
“When I was growing up, [Holland, Pennsylvania] was a very small, small town,” Fischman said. “When I was really young, there were very few Jews. It’s certainly not like the D.C. area.”
His parents were founding members of Ohev Shalom of Bucks County in the early- to mid-1970s, around the time Fischman was born.
Judaism was more cultural than religious for Fischman and his family: “We certainly were raised in some of the traditions, but we didn’t go to services every week. It was more carrying on the family traditions that my grandparents — my grandmother [and great-aunt] in particular — brought with them from the old country.”
Instead of the Jewish summer camp experience that’s quintessential to Jewish life, Fischman attended non-religiously affiliated camps through the local YMCA. “I didn’t know that overnight camp existed,” he recalled.
While attending law school in the nation’s capital, Fischman first became involved with the JCC movement through a young professionals group offered at Edlavitch DCJCC.
“It just struck me how culturally rich the JCC movement really [is], the opportunities that it creates for people at every stage in life,” Fischman said.
Later, he and his wife — whom he met while attending The George Washington University Law School — settled in the D.C. area and sent their children to Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School.
“For them to have the opportunity to cross the street and have after-school programming that was complementary to what they were doing in day school and continue with all kinds of activities, but an ethos grounded in Jewish values, that was eye-opening to me that these opportunities exist in abundance in this area,” Fischman said.
At a friend’s suggestion, he offered to be a pro bono general counsel for the Bender JCC in 2017. Fischman’s career had granted him experience not only in litigation, but also in legal work for nonprofit organizations.
“I stayed involved [at the Bender JCC] on the legal level for a number of years, and ultimately, a few years ago, I was asked to be the chair-elect,” Fischman said.
He has served as the JCC’s board chair since July, overseeing the board and its operations. Fischman and his fellow board members help oversee the organization’s budget, policies and vision.
“Once [the Bender JCC’s senior leadership team comes] up with the path to achieve the vision, our job is to make sure that they have the resources to do what they need to do,” he said. “So there’s a fundraising component. There is an ambassador-like quality.”
Fischman sees his role as an ambassador for the Bender JCC, helping the organization “see beyond the short-term obstacles to long-term success.” Serving as board chair is more than a volunteer position for Fischman — it’s personal.
A space such as the JCC “allows you to be seen and embrace things in a way that you might not if you’re an outlier,” he said, referencing his upbringing as one of only a handful of Jewish kids in his class.
“The fact that someplace like [the Bender JCC] was available for my kids … and then subsequent generations of kids, that’s tremendously valuable,” Fischman said.
He’s had two revelations since joining the board of the Bender JCC: that the community center serves all ages and stages of life, not just children, and that the JCC is “not just for Jews.”
“It’s a community center that’s grounded in Jewish values, but the fundamental Jewish values have an open tent,” Fischman said. “A very significant percentage of members are not Jewish.”
He added that Josh Bender, the Bender JCC’s CEO, often says in any given week, a visitor to the JCC can hear “more than a dozen” different languages spoken in the hallways.
“Especially in a world where people are increasingly polarized, a place like the JCC brings different viewpoints and different cultures and different languages and different backgrounds,” Fischman said. “It brings it all together. I think that being involved in a place like this is hugely important in today’s world.”
