During the course of this past week, I also had the opportunity to attend a Federation virtual staff meeting where I offered my thankfulness, and more importantly the gratitude of our community, for the work that they do.
In the course of our incredibly busy year, it’s easy to overlook our daily gifts. I find Thanksgiving to be an opportune time for that important reminder: to take stock of the extraordinary efforts of our leaders, members, partners and stakeholders in the community where we invest, efforts that catalyze opportunity and help our Jewish community realize its fullest potential. This imperative work of being Here for Good, Here for the Vulnerable, Here for Jewish Learning, and Here for Life & Legacy enriches our community.
These are the efforts that drive both me and my Federation team-mates to produce leadership for a new age filled with “old-new” challenges and in doing so, by saying thank you for the past and giving blessings for the future. This includes developing the next generation of lay and professional leaders, something that I am passionate about and a factor that drew me to the blessings of this role as Board chair. While the phrase “Jewish leadership” might sometimes be ambiguous, it not only means leadership by Jews; it also means leadership in a Jewish way, according to Judaic principles and values.
In the opening words of this week’s Torah reading, Parashat Lech-Lecha, G-d speaks to Abraham commanding him to “Go forth from your homeland, from your birthplace and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you." There, G-d says that “I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great. I will bless those who bless you … All the families of the Earth shall be blessed through you.” From Abraham, the first Jew, G-d is commanding us to be constantly rising and to work towards a perpetual state of developing and elevating our inner selves and our community.