Tag: women’s leadership

While touring one of the oldest synagogues in Mexico City on our recent Women’s Philanthropy mission, our guide said something that has stayed with me.

“There are so many ways to be Jewish.”

That is the beauty of Judaism. There is no single way to feel connected, to be seen, or to create meaning within this religion and this community. There are countless ways. While I had heard that before, standing where I was standing, surrounded by the people I was traveling with, it landed differently. It felt truer than ever.

As co-chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington’s Women’s Philanthropy Mission to Mexico City, I had the privilege of helping lead a group of extraordinary women through an experience that moved between history and contemporary Jewish life—from walking through the historic center of Mexico City and visiting long-standing synagogues, to spending time at community institutions like the Centro Deportivo Israelita and Olami ORT, where Jewish life is actively being shaped for the future.

Everywhere we went, we saw that truth reflected back to us. We visited organizations and communities that have built something remarkable for the people they serve, each one shaped by its own history and its current needs. I left inspired by the reminder of what is possible when people decide to build.

Finding My Place

I have carried that feeling home, and it has me thinking about all the ways I can create my own Jewish identity within the communities I belong. As a parent raising three Jewish children. Within my close circle of friends. In my community here at home. And in the wider work of Federation, both in DC and at the national level. The trip gave me a new lens for seeing my own role, not as someone who simply participates, but as someone who can help build and shape what comes next.

And of course, what I will remember most is the people.

The Best Conversations Happened in Traffic

This trip was, at its heart, about building connection. And yes, we spent more than our fair share of time on the bus, moving between sites like Xochimilco, Casa Gilardi, and neighborhood community spaces, but even that became part of the experience. Those hours gave me the chance to truly get to know so many of the women on the trip.

To me, that is what being Jewish has always been about: relationships and connection.

I am deeply grateful to have served as a co-chair of this experience, and even more grateful for the people who made the journey alongside me. I returned home inspired to keep creating, and to keep building the connections that hold our community together.

There Are Countless Ways

One of the things I value most about Federation is that it creates space for each of us to explore our Jewish identity in ways that are meaningful to us. Whether through Women’s Philanthropy, travel experiences like this one, or the many opportunities to learn, connect, and give back throughout the year, there are countless ways to find your place and help shape our community.

If you’re curious about where your own Jewish journey might lead, I hope you’ll consider joining a future Women’s Philanthropy event or mission. You never know which conversation, which community, or which moment will stay with you long after you have returned home.

Looking to experience the power of Jewish community firsthand? Learn more about Federation’s giving societies like Women’s Philanthropy, or find a local event through our Community Calendar.

When I decided to co-chair the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington’s Women’s Philanthropy mission to Mexico City, I expected to learn more about another Jewish community. To see how Jewish life is lived in a different corner of the world, meet remarkable people, and better understand both the challenges and opportunities they face.

What I didn’t fully expect was how deeply connected our communities are, even separated by thousands of miles, different languages, and different histories.

Throughout our journey—from walking along Paseo de la Reforma and through the historic heart of Mexico City, to visiting synagogues, community centers, and cultural institutions—I kept seeing the same thread woven through every conversation and every organization we visited: a shared commitment to building Jewish life for the next generation.

In every place we visited, I found myself returning to the same profound question: What enables a people not only to survive but also to thrive, adapt, and continue creating in new contexts?

The Future Has Small Hands

Our visit to Olami’s Idea Lab offered a beautiful answer. There, children are not simply taught information. They are taught to see themselves as makers, capable of imagining, building, solving, and repairing. In a world that often encourages passive consumption, they are being empowered to believe that they can shape the future with their own minds, hands, and hearts.

It struck me how deeply Jewish this idea is.

Throughout Jewish history in the diaspora, we have rarely had the luxury of permanence or certainty. Communities were uprooted, dispersed, and compelled to begin again across continents and generations. Yet wherever Jews found refuge and opportunity, they built. They built homes, synagogues, schools, businesses, and communities rooted in values, belonging, learning, and shared responsibility.

Time and again, Jewish life became an act of sacred creation.

The Question That Followed Me Home

What moved me most in Mexico was witnessing a community continuing that tradition in its own unique context—vibrant, creative, deeply connected, and forward-looking. While preserving Jewish identity remains at its center, this community is also asking how to empower the next generation to contribute meaningfully to the world through that identity.

The children in the Idea Lab are not merely creating projects. They are practicing agency, imagination, collaboration, and repair. In many ways, they are inheriting one of the oldest Jewish callings: to take what exists and help shape it into something more whole, more compassionate, and more alive. Perhaps that is one of the great gifts of belonging to a people shaped by diaspora.

We learn that home is not merely a place we inherit; it is something we continually create. Community is not simply something we belong to; it is something we build together.

As I left Olami, I found myself wondering: How will we continue to use our divinely given gift of being makers to repair our aching, broken world? And, what’s possible if each of us embraces our responsibility not only to inherit the world, but to co-create it?

The Gift I Didn’t Expect

That may be the greatest gift of traveling with Federation and Women’s Philanthropy. We set out to learn about Jewish communities beyond our own, but along the way, we discover something about ourselves. We return home with a deeper appreciation for the many ways Jewish life flourishes around the world, and with a renewed sense of our own role in shaping its future.

Looking to experience the power of Jewish community firsthand? Learn more about Federation’s giving societies like Women’s Philanthropy, or find a local event through our Community Calendar.