Tag: federation programs

Tu B’Av is a time to celebrate love, connection, and the bonds that bring us together. This year, we’re highlighting a Jewish love story from our Federation community—showcasing the ways Judaism continues to shape the lives we build together.

Looking for Community

When Vanessa Sax moved to DC after college, she wasn’t looking for love. She was looking for community.

After settling into her first apartment on her own, she sought out ways to connect with Jewish life in her new city. So, she found and signed up for a DCJCC softball team.

It turned out Vanessa wasn’t the only newcomer.

Among the returning teammates was just one other new player: the man who would later become her husband.

One ‘Shalom’ Changed Everything

Like many great love stories, Vanessa and Kasey’s story didn’t begin with a grand romantic gesture. It began over post-game happy hours, where teammates gathered after each softball game.

During one of those happy hours, the two found themselves deep in conversation about Otter Pops (Freeze Ice if you’re on the east coast) and $1 beers and $2 grilled cheese sandwiches at a bar in Adams Morgan. “We spent the rest of the happy hour talking about many, many different topics,” she recalls.

As he walked her back to her car, a passing cab driver rolled down his window and enthusiastically shouted, “SHALOM!”. The unexpected greeting gave her exactly the opening she needed. Vanessa sent Kasey an email that simply began, “Shalom!” and invited him out to hunt for Otter Pops and for more $1 beers and $2 grilled cheese.

“He claims he was going to ask me out,” she laughs, “but I beat him to it!”.

Twenty-two years later, she says the story proves what they’ve both known all along: she’s the risk-taker in the relationship. That willingness to take chances led to a partnership built on curiosity, encouragement, and a shared commitment to growing together.

Vanessa admires Kasey’s endless desire to learn. Whether he’s mastering a new recipe, tackling a home repair, or teaching himself how to make Rummikub tiles by hand (mahjong tiles are next, she says), he approaches each new challenge with creativity and enthusiasm. “He loves learning and trying new things”.

Building a Jewish Home

That same spirit has shaped the Jewish life they’ve built together.

Today, celebrating Jewish holidays and passing along Jewish traditions to their daughters are at the heart of their family. Like many families, their extended relatives observe Judaism in different ways. Yet together, they have created traditions that belong uniquely to their own household while remaining deeply connected to generations that came before them.

A Chuppah Stitched with Love

One of those traditions quite literally surrounded them on their wedding day.

Instead of purchasing a chuppah, they created one together with the people they loved. Family members and friends each designed a fabric square, while her mother-in-law and sister-in-law lovingly stitched them together into the canopy beneath which they were married.

The chuppah still hangs in their home today.

“I would love for our girls to get married under it if that is their path in the future,” she says.

For Vanessa, sharing a Jewish life with her husband is about more than celebrating holidays or observing traditions. It is about sharing a history, a language of experiences, and a sense of belonging that continues to grow as their family grows.

She grew up in New York. He grew up in Los Angeles. Together, they built a life in DC. Although they came from opposite sides of the country, they quickly discovered that the Jewish community has a way of making the world feel smaller.

Finding Purpose Through Community

Years later, that same sense of belonging inspired Vanessa to make Jewish community-building her career. After working in commercial real estate, she took a leap of faith into Jewish communal life, deciding to join The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington—a move Kasey supported wholeheartedly.

Today, she serves as Federation’s Senior Director for Strategy and Community Building in Northern Virginia, helping others find the same sense of connection that first brought her to a softball field all those years ago. Learn more about Federation’s work in NoVA.

Weaving the Next Generation

“Jewish geography is a wonderful tapestry to be a part of,” she says.

It’s a tapestry she hopes her daughters will continue weaving as they build lives of their own: carrying with them the traditions, relationships, and sense of belonging that began with one decision to join a Jewish softball team.

This Tu B’Av, we celebrate not only the moments that bring people together, but the Jewish communities that help those moments become lifelong stories. Sometimes, finding your place in the Jewish community can lead to finding the person with whom you’ll build a Jewish future. And sometimes, it inspires a career dedicated to helping others find that sense of belonging, too.

I’ve spent a lifetime experiencing the incredible, vibrant diversity of the Jewish world. I grew up Conservative in Toronto, navigated Reform spaces in Anaheim after my family moved there when I was nine, engaged with Chabad, and even spent time backpacking through Israel, staying on my family’s kibbutz.

Moving around as much as I have, I’ve seen just about every model of Jewish community layout imaginable, from tiny, 20-family pockets with a traveling rabbi to massive communities where people only show up for the High Holidays. Experiencing that full spectrum also gave me a deeper understanding about what makes a Jewish community thrive.

When my family and I moved to Alexandria right before the pandemic, we knew it was time to finally put down deep roots and find a true home in our local community. I jumped into leadership, eventually chairing several committees at Beth El Hebrew Congregation. But while I loved my synagogue, I couldn’t shake a familiar feeling: NoVA’s Jewish community was missing out on key opportunities to come together.

The structures we’ve inherited naturally build walls between community leaders throughout our region. But the reality is, leaders across our different NoVA organizations actually want to work together. At our core, we are facing the same challenges and chasing the same goals. We are more alike than we realize and are stronger and more effective together. We just needed the space, the trust, and the opportunity to do it.

That opportunity came for me when I learned about Federation’s Northern Virginia Leadership Cohort from Carly Rubenstein, Board President at Beth El. She told me it was something I’d find fascinating and impactful for my work in the community. I didn’t know a single other person who had signed up for it, but I decided to take the leap.

Professional-Grade Tools for Community Transformation

I recently took six months off from the corporate world to dedicate myself fully to volunteering as a leader in Jewish communal work, so I wasn’t looking for a casual networking mixer. I wanted something substantial. To my surprise, the caliber of this Federation program ranked right up there with the absolute best professional development trainings I’ve ever done in the corporate sector.

Led by renowned leadership consultant Rae Ringel, the program is entirely about giving you tools, learning by doing, and doing in a group of leaders who have the same mission and values. Through a dynamic mix of in-person and virtual sessions, Rae guided us through “connection modalities” that taught us how to surface differing perspectives, navigate difficult conversations, and truly articulate both our personal stories and our organizations’ missions.

For me, the most tangible takeaway was learning structured, innovative frameworks to pull apart larger, sometimes overwhelming community challenges into manageable, actionable pieces, building the concrete skills to execute your vision.

The Power of Coalition: “Shipbuilding” in NoVA

What surprised me most, though, was the sheer willingness of everyone in the room to work together.

There is a distinct difference between standard corporate or nonprofit experience and Jewish nonprofit experience. To me, the main difference is “shipbuilding,” learning how to build lasting coalitions across different denominations, synagogues, and grassroots organizations in a casual, high-trust environment.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington understands this, explicitly designing the program to facilitate these deep connections by assigning us to smaller “coffee groups,” which became the foundation for real collaboration.

Just this week I was texting with another participant from my cohort. We recreate those coffee groups all the time. We are constantly leaning on one another, bouncing ideas off each other, and using the exact problem-solving structures we learned together to figure out how to best serve Jewish NoVA.

By bringing together leaders from across the Jewish communal space in NoVA, Federation is actively weaving a powerful network of friends and collaborators. The cohort has allowed lay leaders and professionals across the region to realize we are not facing our challenges alone.

Now’s The Time: Join the Third NoVA Leadership Cohort

If you are reading this and feeling even a little bit intrigued, my advice to you is simple: don’t be afraid to give it a shot.

Whether you are a seasoned board member, a dedicated committee chair, an engaged volunteer, or someone who hasn’t held a formal leadership role yet but has a passionate desire to grow, this cohort will give you the tools to decide how you want to be involved and the lifelong network to back you up.

Federation is launching the third Northern Virginia Leadership Cohort this fall. From August 2026 through May 2027, a new group of 16–20 lay leaders will come together for a kickoff event, a closing celebration, and 8 monthly sessions (alternating between in-person and Zoom) led once again by Rae Ringel. To learn more and nominate a talented and dedicated individual with a desire to grow in their Jewish leadership journey (including yourself), please see here.

We need a diverse set of organizations, ages, and perspectives to make a truly strong, vibrant, and unified NoVA Jewish community a reality.

Take it from me—it is entirely worth the investment.

On any given day in Northern Virginia, there may be a young professionals happy hour in Arlington, a family challah bake in Fairfax, a food packing event in Alexandria, or an Israeli dance class in Reston.

The challenge isn’t whether Jewish life exists across Northern Virginia. It’s whether people know how to find it.

When someone decides they want to get more connected, if they’re new to the area, looking to meet other young families, searching for Jewish experiences for their children, or simply hoping to find community the next question is often:

“Where do I even start???”

Do you Google? Scroll Instagram? Check three different community websites? Or find out about something amazing an hour after it already happened?

Making Jewish Life Easier to Find

That’s the opportunity behind JLive, a new digital platform coming to Northern Virginia later this year through a partnership between the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and the Pozez Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia.

Launching first in Northern Virginia before a future rollout across Washington D.C. and Maryland, JLive is designed to make discovering and sharing Jewish programs, events, and experiences easier than ever before. From Shabbat dinners and cultural events to volunteer opportunities, family programs, and young adult gatherings, the platform will serve as a centralized hub for Jewish life across the region.

Building Connection Across Northern Virginia

“Our community spans a wide geographic area, and JLive has the potential to make Jewish life feel more connected, accessible, and visible than ever before,” said Vanessa Sax, Federation’s Senior Director of Strategy and Community Building for Northern Virginia. “It’s not only about helping people find events, but also about helping people find one another and discover the incredible Jewish experiences already happening across Northern Virginia every day.”

For years, Pozez JCC Executive Director Jeff Dannick has been thinking deeply about how to make Jewish life easier to navigate and more accessible. While the region is home to a thriving Jewish ecosystem, many residents still experience Jewish life in silos, connected to one organization, neighborhood, or stage of life without visibility into the broader community around them.

JLive can help change that.

“One of my greatest hopes has always been to make Jewish life across Northern Virginia easier to access, easier to navigate, and easier to feel part of, no matter your zip code, background, or stage of life,” said Dannick. “Northern Virginia is home to a dynamic and growing Jewish community, and JLive will help shine a brighter light on all that’s already happening while creating new opportunities for connection and belonging.”

Creating More Pathways into Jewish Life

The initiative reflects Federation’s broader role as a connector, convener, and community builder across Greater Washington: investing in tools and partnerships that help lower barriers to participation, amplify the work of local organizations, and create more pathways into Jewish life.

“JLive is a powerful tool to amplify the incredible work happening across our community,” said Gil Preuss, Federation CEO. “Jeff’s leadership and vision have been instrumental in bringing this initiative forward, and we are proud to partner with the Pozez JCC to launch a platform that strengthens connections, lowers barriers to participation, and helps more people find meaningful pathways into Jewish community.”

There’s a whole community out there waiting to be discovered—opportunities to learn, try something new, meet new people, and build lasting friendships. Through initiatives like JLive, Federation is helping more people find their place within it.

See what’s happening in our community and how you can get involved through Federation’s Community Calendar.

How do we build a healthier Jewish community rooted in respect, trust, and constructive dialogue, when it feels like we can barely agree on anything?

That’s the one million dollar question, and it’s exactly what brought 22 local leaders from throughout Greater Washington together over the last four months. From February through May, this group took part in the Courageous Leadership Fellowship, a partnership between Federation and the Shalom Hartman Institute, to sharpen their ability to lead with empathy, courage, and respect in a world that feels increasingly polarized.

Grounded in shared values of mutual understanding and encouraging belonging, participants explored what courageous leadership looks like in practice and left better equipped to lead meaningful change and foster constructive conversations across our community.

Instead of just talking about these ideas in theory, the sessions got down to the intricate reality of community work. Led by Hartman scholars Sara Labaton, Elana Stein Hain, and Masua Sagiv, the group explored various themes, including finding inner clarity, leadership in polarities, the challenges and importance of maintaining a big tent community, and finally the future through two lenses: repair and transformation. Through a “where do you stand” activity, they moved past case studies and tackled real communal dilemmas, followed by small group discussions.

By the time the fellowship wrapped up, these leaders walked away feeling far more confident in their ability to facilitate difficult dialogues and communal decision-making, and just as importantly, deeply connected to the leaders and institutions who are actively shaping the future of Jewish life across Greater Washington.

This work gets to the heart of one of Federation’s core commitments: creating a community where everyone feels like they belong, that they’re listened to, and that they can contribute to a vibrant Jewish future, not in spite of our differences, but with them.

A strong community doesn’t require us to always see eye-to-eye. It requires us to know how to talk to each other when we don’t. By investing in leaders and relationships across our communal landscape, Federation is helping cultivate the trust, respect, and connection our community needs to stick together and thrive.

Learn more about Federation’s work to build a strong, inclusive community here.

The air inside Bialik 26 was thick with excitement. It was May 2018, seven years before the world as we knew it would fracture on October 7, and the popular Be’er Sheva neighborhood spot was packed to the brim. That night, the student cafe was the beating heart of the city’s queer community. Everyone was crammed shoulder-to-shoulder, eyes glued to the glowing screens broadcasting the world’s largest music competition, the Eurovision Song Contest.

Netta Barzilai was onstage singing “Toy,” an unapologetic, feminist anthem wrapped in quirky pop brilliance and thousands of shining lucky cats (see them in all their magnificence here). When the final votes came in and Israel was declared the winner, the whole place burst into tears and cheers.

We couldn’t believe it had actually happened. Israel had won the contest exactly 20 years after its last win in 1998!

It was one of the most powerful, unforgettable moments of my life. That night, the entire country felt unified in an overwhelming wave of pure, unadulterated joy.

The Reality of Being a Shlicha Today

Fast forward to nearly a year ago, when I packed up my life in Israel and moved to the U.S. to begin as a shlicha (Israeli emissary) at The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. At a time when so many are navigating their relationship with Israel, Federation’s shlichim program brings Israelis into local classrooms, synagogues, and living rooms, creating a space for real conversation and connection.

Shortly after I arrived, I quickly realized that being an Israeli emissary today looks radically different than it did in the past. In our post-October 7 reality, discussions about Israel and Jewish life are heavier, more emotional, and infinitely more complex. At the same time, they are deeply rooted in something essential: Jewish peoplehood, shared identity, and joy.

From the beginning, I felt a strong responsibility to show up for difficult conversations about Israel wherever they happened. But, over time, I’ve come to understand that my role is also to offer something broader, to reflect the full story of Israel and the Jewish people. Not only complexity and challenge, but also resilience, pride, and (even) fun.

That understanding came together this month in a very natural way with one of the most unifying cultural moments in Jewish and Israeli life-Eurovision season!

For anyone here in America, you might not have even heard of Eurovision, or maybe you’re just noticing it pop up on your feeds now that it’s finally having a breakout moment on TikTok. But in Israel? It’s like the Super Bowl, but for musicians. It’s a massive song contest combining fierce cultural pride, voting drama, and representation on the global stage.

With Israel proudly taking home second-place just last week, it was the perfect moment for me to help our Greater Washington community look at Israel through a different soundtrack.

A Nation’s Story, Written in Song

Ever since October 7, it is incredibly easy for our relationship with Israel to be entirely defined by trauma, crisis, and anxiety. But relationships can’t survive on the negative. If we only look at Israel through the lens of heartbreak, we lose sight of the very thing we are trying to protect.

Through Federation’s Hands On Israel workshops, I get to move past headlines and bring the real, lived reality of my home directly into local spaces. Over the past few weeks, I traveled across multiple communities in Greater Washington, using the lens of Eurovision to open a portal into Israeli society.

I shared how Israel celebrated its first historic win in 1978 with Izhar Cohen’s “A Ba Ni Bi” just five years after we entered the contest in 1973. Then, just a year later in 1979, “Hallelujah” captured the magic of hosting the contest in Jerusalem for the first time, launching us to a back-to-back victory. By 1983, the tone shifted to one of profound historical weight, when Ofra Haza sang “Chai” (alive) defiantly in Munich, Germany. The song became a breathtaking symbol of Jewish resilience in the shadow of a horrifying past.

As the decades marched on, the music mirrored a rapidly modernizing society. In 1998, Dana International’s historic win with “Diva” reflected a 1990s Israel that was embracing groundbreaking LGBTQ+ inclusion, female empowerment, and cultural openness.

Twenty years later, that legacy of radical representation culminated in Netta’s “Toy,” bringing a bold, global feminist voice back to the stage that I felt reverberate firsthand that night at Bialik 26.

The most recent chapters of our Eurovision journey allowed us to share the raw, immediate grief of our current era on the global stage. Eden Golan’s “Hurricane” in 2024 is deeply tied to the post-October 7 reality, capturing a nation’s immediate trauma and its stubborn insistence on standing tall despite the storm. The music looks forward with “A New Day Will Rise” in 2025, speaking directly to our collective yearning for renewal and rebuilding.

And just a week ago, we were able to experience the thrill in real time, as we listened to Noam Bettan capture hearts across the world (and a second-place win) with his powerful song, “Michelle.”

Shared Identity Over Debate

One of the most moving parts of this journey was watching the transformation inside the rooms here in Greater Washington. Across different synagogues, community centers, and living rooms, local American Jews and Israeli expats sat together in the same space. This kind of programming creates an exciting entry point into Jewish peoplehood. It moves the conversation into the heart, allowing people to connect emotionally. I am so grateful to be part of this work and to Federation for making this, and so many other meaningful Israel programs, available right here in our region.

Looking back at that euphoric night in Be’er Sheva in 2018, I am reminded that joy is a form of resilience. And as I continue my work here, I carry that music with me, always hoping, of course, to one day bring the trophy home again.

Interested in bringing similar experiential Israel education to your local community? Check out Federation’s Hands On Israel workshops to get started.

Learn more about Federation’s work strengthening Jewish peoplehood and sharing Israeli culture here.

There’s a consensus brewing. Emerging across opinion pages, podcasts, and dinner tables is the idea that we’ve strayed too far from one another. The question driving many of our national and communal conversations is how do we renew our obligations to each other?

Just this week, I’ve listened to discussions about how generosity was meant to be one of liberalism’s founding principles. How our educational pursuits were meant to prepare us to be good citizens and servant leaders. How we were meant to talk to strangers. How we were never meant to bowl alone.

All these ideas are swirling within our Jewish community as well. For all our differences, the thing people want most is to connect—to feel like they belong and that the Jewish people would not be complete without them and what they have to offer. And, indeed, we are not. I believe wholeheartedly the Jewish community is incomplete without everyone at the table.

Which makes now a perfect moment to double down on the sacred, timeless work of community building. Next week is Giving Week and I am asking everyone who cares about the Jewish community and values the Jewish future to contribute. Your gift—of any amount—matters. Your participation matters. You matter.

Giving is a vote of confidence in our shared efforts to build a strong and joyful Jewish community, one that supports and brings together the full breath of Jewish life. It’s also what supports our work as a Federation to bolster a network of Jewish agencies and programs that care for people in need, engage people in every life stage in meaningful Jewish experiences, perpetuate and strengthen Jewish identity and peoplehood, and look after the safety of the Jewish people.

What’s more, the simple act of giving collectively, alongside so many others who care about Jewish life, makes its own powerful statement that we are here and that we believe in the promise of community and acting together to the benefit of others.

I lament the challenges and the tumult of our times. But I find incredible comfort and hope in the fact that our path to a brighter future involves so many beautiful things: connection, participation, curiosity, debate, and a love for Jewish wisdom and tradition.

It’s notable that in this era of hyper-individualism, people are hungry for mutual obligation. But that’s the punchline of responsibility and interdependence: it’s only in being tied to each other that we find the transcendence we seek. Obligations are on offer, I invite you to come claim them.

As Federation begins to look ahead to the priorities that will guide our work in the coming months and years, we are taking stock of what we’re hearing from our community. In fact, our Community Leadership Council recently concluded a monthslong listening tour to surface views and insights from across the community.

What they found was a widespread desire for Jewish life to be more accessible, affordable, and easily navigable. Just as we saw in our 2025 Community Impact Survey, people across almost all demographic, geographic, and socio-economic backgrounds want to be more engaged in Jewish life and community, but many aren’t sure where to turn or feel discouraged by barriers to entry. This is a sentiment we take seriously at Federation and one that will inform our continued efforts to ensure anyone who is interested in Jewish life can easily find what they’re looking for.

One project that is already underway is our work to make Jewish day school more affordable by taking advantage of a new Federal Tax Credit Scholarship Program. We expect this program to complement and amplify Jewish day school’s current tuition assistance and fundraising efforts and provide opportunities for more students to pursue a Jewish education, which we know also has positive ripple effects on families looking to dive deeper into Jewish life.

Starting in January 2027, eligible taxpayers may receive a federal tax credit of up to $1,700 per year by contributing to an approved Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO). Unlike a taxable donation, a tax credit provides a 1:1 reduction in taxes owed. These SGOs, which will operate as independent 501(c)(3)s, will then distribute need-based scholarships to participating schools and eligible families, who can then use those funds toward tuition or other education-related expenses.

Federation is working in close partnership with local day schools to set up SGOs in our region to ensure our community can benefit from this new program. We are also working with other Jewish organizations, public school leaders, and community non-profits to help them understand the changes and opportunities that come with the legislation.

Our work in this arena is only one part of a broader agenda to make sure that all members of the Jewish community seeking to engage in Jewish life are able to do so. As we consider the future, we can’t let a lack of information or inability to pay keep anyone from participating.

There is a lot of coordination going on behind the scenes, bringing together schools, partners, and community leaders to tackle crucial communal issues. Ultimately, this is where Federation thrives, aligning efforts, building and strengthening infrastructure, and helping turn opportunity into access. We don’t consider any of our work finished—far from it—but we are confident that as we move forward with a clearer sense of what’s getting in the way, and what it will take to address it, we can do so with an ear to the ground and eye toward progress.

A special thank you to the inaugural members of the Community Leadership Council. More to come on their findings from the listening tour!

Northern Virginia is one of the fastest-growing centers of Jewish life in our region. With more than 120,000 Jewish residents, a rich and vibrant fabric of Jewish life is already taking shape. But for this community to truly thrive, leaders need to be connected, supported, and equipped to work together to tackle shared challenges. That’s where Federation’s experience in developing leaders and strengthening community-wide connections plays a critical role.

Bringing Leaders Together Across NoVA

In April, Federation marked the completion of its second Northern Virginia Leadership Cohort, bringing together 16 leaders from across the region, representing synagogues, Jewish communal organizations, social service agencies, campus groups, and other institutions serving Jewish life across NoVA. While these leaders come from different institutions and backgrounds, they share a common goal: strengthening Jewish life in Northern Virginia together.

Over the course of the program, participants built their leadership skills, deepened relationships, and explored new ways to collaborate across their organizations. But the true impact goes beyond any single session or workshop. The cohort was facilitated by executive leadership consultant Rae Ringel, whose approach helped participants translate these conversations into practical leadership strategies.

From Parallel Work to Shared Vision

Federation’s NoVA leadership initiative brings leaders together to help them move from parallel work to shared vision. By creating space for connection and coordination, the cohort helps leaders better understand one another’s challenges, identify opportunities for partnership, and align around the broader needs of the community.

“[The program] was really great and helped me better understand what I need to work on,” shared one participant. “It’s diverse enough that you have people from all parts of NoVA Jewish life.” Another noted, “It helped introduce me to other community leaders who are experiencing the same challenges and are already thinking about ways to resolve them.”

Looking Ahead: Sustaining Momentum

This year’s program built on previous momentum by bringing together participants from both the 2025 and 2026 leadership cohorts for a shared evening of connection and future visioning. In that room, leaders weren’t just reflecting, they were imagining what the future of Jewish life in Northern Virginia could look like.

That continuity is intentional. As Federation prepares to launch a third cohort this fall, participants from past cohorts will remain connected as an alumni network, continuing to collaborate, support one another, and help shape what comes next.

Through initiatives like the Northern Virginia Leadership Cohort, Federation is helping to cultivate a more connected, collaborative, and forward-looking network of leaders—ensuring that as Northern Virginia grows, it does so with the vision and coordination needed to support a thriving Jewish future.