It’s that time of year when we see signs and banners, social media posts and TV ads. No, I’m not talking about Black Friday sales. Those will come soon enough. I’m talking about elections. This year, Israel’s election day will be followed about a week later by our local, state and fe…
When my older children come to visit from Canada, one of our usual running jokes is how I am now pronouncing things differently, or spelling things ‘incorrectly’, or using Fahrenheit instead of Celsius. There are many overt and some subtle - and humorous - differences between Canadian an…
As we prepare to celebrate the wonderful holiday of Sukkot, I am hopeful that those in our community looking for ways to respond to those who arrogate the right to define Zionism - Jewish self-determination in our ancestral homeland - as something evil or illegitimate, will read this…
Today I’m sharing a short history lesson. Wednesday marked what is a little known footnote in the Jewish calendar, the Fast of Gedaliah. Who was Gedaliah, you may ask? Well, he was installed by the Babylonian conquerors of Jerusalem after they sacked the First Temple in 586 BCE. His role…
A few days ago I read an op/ed by Abe Foxman, Director Emeritus of the Anti Defamation League. In it, he wrote that what keeps him up at night, after decades of fighting antisemitism and hate, is the vulnerability of synagogues and communal spaces in our communities.
Last weekend, scattered reports of a Ukrainian breakthrough in their 6 month long war pushing back the Russian invasion took shape as a broad and successful counteroffensive driving the invaders out of Kharkiv Oblast. As a student of military history and a news junkie for the last 30+…
Reflecting on the passing of Queen Elizabeth II yesterday, I am reminded of several instances where the Queen left an impression and perhaps a lesson for us. I know that the relationship Americans have with the British monarchy is complex, but I was born and lived most of my life in Canada.
Two years ago the only way some of us could celebrate and observe our most ancient traditions was outside, spread out, under a tent to hopefully keep out the rain. Many of us could not even do that. We remained at home, alone or at best on zoom. No handshakes, no hugs. No after-shul…
This week, I received a message from Dov Oliver, Executive Director of Hillel of Rockland. Hillel Rockland is one of the Jewish Federation & Foundation of Rockland County's beneficiary agencies. Dov had just returned from bringing a group of Jewish students to Poland on a heritage and…
I usually don't write with a focus on Israel or her adversaries in my weekly message. There is so much to address here in Rockland, and also many themes that include Israel, but don't focus exclusively on it. Ironically, for many years researching, training, teaching, lobbying,…
I was recently speaking with someone I had met from overseas. This individual had asked me what I do for a living, and I began to explain my role at Federation. He asked several questions, and I described how we raise funds annually to support local and overseas agencies, especially those…
Sometimes our tradition makes clear to us that there is an intersection between the actions of the Jewish people and the events that befall them. Most often, these can be seen in the biblical or prophetic descriptions of reward or punishment, of transgression and result. The inference of…
As we shared earlier this month, we have been preparing to roll out our Community Security Initiative, and yesterday, we were pleased to announce that Rockland’s Jewish Community is the first of over 145 Jewish Federations and communities across North America to create a new security infra…
As you may have heard or seen, last Saturday night four young adults attacked several Jewish pedestrians with bb guns, eggs and other projectiles in Ramapo. With tremendous thanks to law enforcement, including Chief Reilly, Sheriff Falco and their dedicated investigators, the perpetrators…
Since I joined Federation at the end of 2021, I've reached out to speak with many members of our community, to hear what their priorities and concerns are for Jewish life in Rockland. As well, many of you participated in our community survey in May, asking similar questions. With clarity, I…
