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13 December 2024
As this year draws to a close, I’ve been thinking a lot about unity.
Many of us are eager to be part of a community strong enough to address the challenges and seize the opportunities that come our way, and unity plays a key role.
Unity has seen us through countless tests, from our people’s earliest days to the aftermath of Hamas’ attack on Israel. I will never forget our community’s resolve this year in being there for the Jewish people and for each other. Unity, once again, helped us find the way forward.
But unity does not mean uniformity. Just as we are committed to ensuring our community’s strength, we must also ensure its flexibility to encompass a wide range of views.
After all, our community is home to significant differences of opinion. Our views diverge on core issues, including what it means to be Jewish, our hopes and dreams for what comes next, and, most recently, the situation in Israel and the war in Gaza. Add to that our political leanings, life stages, and life experiences, and we have a community brimming with different perspectives.
And yet, people often tell me how hesitant they are to articulate views they fear diverge from the norm. They ask, what if I express discomfort with the conduct of the war? Thoughts about the current Israeli government? How I voted in the recent elections? Will I be judged? Will I be shunned?
That is why, as we step into a new year, we at Federation are asking how we can best support honest conversations. How do we create mechanisms to help more people express their views and engage with one another?
If you have not yet given to Federation’s Annual Campaign, I hope you will consider a gift to help us facilitate the connections that will shape the future of Jewish life.
Unity is not just about a commitment to building a shared Jewish future. It’s about a commitment to seeing and understanding each other today. The better we are at exploring and honoring one another’s perspectives in real time, the stronger our outlook as a people will be.
We are each here because we believe Judaism has a role to play in a life well lived and Jewish peoplehood in a world well served. What a blessing it is that we get to bask in our common ties and the multitude of perspectives they inspire.