Our Mission

Our Mission The mission of the Israelite Men’s Association is to promote physical, emotional and spiritual health among African American men and their children through the transmission of educational, vocational, and cultural values. The mission is advanced through youth development activities, mentoring programs, and systematic intersections with American cultural institutions.
 

Community Board

IMA membership dues

A bank account has been set up to receive IMA membership dues via a NC bank account. Funds can be received via Zelle, ACH and CashApp. More info .. Membership dues will be $10/month and processing will begin in November. A debit card is also included for deposits through the ATM.

2024 IMA Retreat

The annual Israelite Mens Association Retreat will be held from Thursday June 6th, 2024 to Sunday June 9th, 2024
The retreat will include:

  • Spiritual services on Shabbat, June 8th
  • Kosher meals
  • Breakout sessions to discuss important topics
  • Tee shirts for the event
  • Sports venue including basketball
  • Offsite bowling competition

See the What to expect page

Raffle to subsidize retreat for youths

A. Uzziah will be mailing out raffle tickets soon.
The prizes are being donated as follows:

  • 1st Prize - $400 by M. Ithamar
  • 2nd Prize of $200 by A. Emmanuel
  • 3rd Prize of $100 by R. Buna

About Us

The Israelite Men’s Association is a membership-based organization. It began as a health initiative in March 2014, when 25 men met at Congregation HaShabah Yisrael, in Charlotte, North Carolina. The mission at that time was to encourage Israelite men to take more responsibility for the management and treatment of their health. The goals were threefold:

  1. Create a culture of cooperation and collaboration.
  2. Develop a national framework and platform for ongoing dialogue.
  3. Draw spiritual strength through Shabbat observance.

As a result of that weekend experience, the group agreed to establish an Israelite Men’s Retreat, beginning March 2015, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The goals for the retreat were the following:

  • Discuss common concerns.
  • Identify projects and programs that would be of mutual interests to Israelite men.
  • Draw spiritual strength through Shabbat observance.
  • Establish a time-line to develop organizational by-laws.

The Israelite Men’s Association annual retreat is an initiative of the Israelite Men’s Association (IMA). The IMA is currently governed by a seven- member steering committee.

The IMA is founded by:
Rabbi Earl Bowen, Jr., PhD
Congregation Temple Beth El
Philadelphia, PA
E-mail:EarlBowenJr@aol.com

Sar Aharon
Congregation HaShabah Yisrael
Charlotte, NC
Aharon0222@gmail.com

Israelite Men's Association.

The IMA's mission to promote fellowship and personal growth among Israelite men operating within the guidelines of Torah teachings and principles.

  • Began as a health initiative in March 2014.
  • Israelite Men’s Retreats began March 2015.
  • Israelite Men’s Retreats, 2017, had over 100 attendees.
  • The IMA was officially incorporated as a non-profit organization in July of 2019..

The mission of the Israelite Men’s Association is to promote physical, emotional and spiritual health among African American men and their children through the transmission of educational, vocational, and cultural values.

Our Achievements

Israelite Men’s Association Past, Present and Future

The Israelite Men’s Association (IMA) began in March of 2014
with a mission to promote physical, emotional, and spiritual health among African American men.
At that time, a few men gathered to develop a plan to encourage Israelite men
to take more responsibility for the management and treatment of their health. Since that time, the IMA has grown in number and through their initiatives in youth development activities, mentoring programs, and developing a national framework and platform for ongoing dialogue for likeminded men.
The steering committee began with 7 men and has grown to 16 men from various Israelite communities. We have more than 500 men, and counting, following us on Facebook and other social media sites. The IMA was officially incorporated as a non-profit organization in July of 2019.
Although, due to COVID 19, the past 2 years have prevented us from gathering, it hasn’t prevented us from progressing.
From the IMA’s inception until now, there has been continuous progress and growth. We are happy to present all the achievements throughout the past 8 years.

Achievements

  • 2014 – Health Initiative – Charlotte, NC
  • 2015 – 1st IMA Retreat – Myrtle Beach, SC
  • 2016 – Virginia Beach, VA
  • 2017 – Harrisonburg, VA
  • 2018 – 2019 – Cascade, MD

Virtual Retreats

  • June 2020 - Theme: " Connecting Generations in Righteousness: Passing the Baton 
  • September 2020 – Theme: “United From Afar; Building a Nation During the Pandemic 
  • January 2021 - Theme: "Rebuilding an Autonomous Nation. 
  • June 2021 – Theme: “From Generation to Generation; Preparing for the Future” 
  • January 2022 - Theme: " Building Today for Tomorrow: The Future is Now." 

Collaborations

  • October 16, 2023 - Men's Health 
  • October 17, 2023 - Relationships 
  • October 18, 2023 - PIW Event 
  • October 19, 2023 - Cook-A-Thon (Three peat) 
  • October 20, 2023 - Erev Shabbat (Youth) 
  • October 22, 2023 - "In-person" Benefit Gala 

Israelite Leadership Academy

  • Israelite Leadership Academy – established January 2022
  • Israelite Leadership Academy – Information sessions

Notable Accomplishments

  • IMA Newsletter – 1st issue drafted in 2017
  • IMA Facebook Page – Created 2016 
  • IMA Website – Created 2016 
  • IMA Apparel 
  • The Shop – Health and Wellness Virtual Series (Weekly) 
  • IMA Sponsored Events 
    • June 2020 - IMA sponsored an essay written contest with the winner winning an iPad 
    • June 2021- IMA sponsored a Youth Debate Contest, $50 individual gift certificates were distributed to the winners totaling $300. 
    • January 2022 – IMA sponsored a youth Tik Tok Challenge, $100 award was given to the winner  

Future Achievements

Future achievements will come from a collaboration of the brotherhood of the Israelite Men's Association

Our Committees

Our committees have been formed to support the mission of the organization.
The committees work jointly to achieve IMA goals.

Israelite Leadership Acadaemy

Preparing young men for the future

Finance Committee

Fiscal Management

Outreach Committee

Connecting to the community

Marketing Committee

Spreading the word

IT Committee

Collecting, distributing, managing

Retreats

Retreats have provided major opportunities for gathering of Israelite men. Take a look at our 2024 Retreat Here

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to the most commonly asked questions.

Contact