All too often around Chanukah we look around at the celebrations going on in our cultural surroundings - music, lights, decorations and greetings - and we do something a bit strange. Instead of appreciating the seasonal cheer on its own merits - deeply connected to the positive expression of…
Over the last month, I spent almost the entire four weeks away from home. First, I was privileged to bring a group of our Federation Allocations Committee members - for the first time in over ten years - to meet with nine vital organizations in Israel to help us determine how the Federation …
In Jewish tradition, there is a core belief that recognizing what you are grateful for should be an integral part of your daily living and your daily prayer. Here at the Jewish Federation and Foundation of Rockland County, we’ve asked three of our staffers what gratitude they are feeling a…
When I think of Hadar Goldin Z”L, I think about the terrible price we pay when we let ourselves become complacent. On August 1, 2014, at 9:00 A.M., just after the ceasefire during the 2014 conflict began, Hamas launched a surprise attack. They killed Hadar and two other soldiers, Major Ben…
It has been a privilege to spend the last week and a half in Israel, first bringing members of Federation’s allocations committee to meet with a number of Israeli amutot (charitable organizations) to inform our decisions on how we help support and meet the needs of Israeli society in the c…
