A Friday Reflection: Celebrating our community’s unique spirit

On March 3^rd, Federation will hold its second Cornerstone event celebrating our community’s unique spirit and our enduring capacity for leadership and impact. Greater Washington plays a crucial role in shaping Jewish life in America, contributing to global Jewish peoplehood, and making a difference for our region and our country. People here care deeply about what happens next and want to be a part of bringing about a better future for our Jewish community, our country, and the world.

To highlight our community’s critical role, we will recognize seven indispensable leaders, Alma Gildenhorn, Carol and Gary Berman, Sophie and Bradley Buslik, and Rachel and Peter Federowicz, for their contributions to Jewish life and Greater Washington.

Our 2025 Cornerstone honorees looked at the challenges and opportunities facing our community and stepped up to do something about them. They applied their courage, vision, and tenacity to make a difference today and for generations to come. They found important ways to leave their mark, and we can draw inspiration from their example.

I know many have been feeling like the ground is moving beneath our feet for the past year and a half, but instability and consequence often go hand-in-hand. Be it the status of Jewish engagement, Israel, antisemitism, American culture, technological developments, or geopolitical trends, a lot is in flux. It’s tempting to simply take cover and ride out the tremors.

Our tradition, however, urges us to do more than shelter in place. As the tectonic plates of history shift around us, we are called to form our own solid ground. To root ourselves in our values and tether ourselves to one another and a larger vision for the future. The world is breaking open and each one of us has a role to play in determining its future contours. We cannot let this opportunity pass us by. Never has there been a more important time to step up, together, as leaders for the sake of our future.

Please join us on March 3^rd as we embrace each other and the possibility of this moment. What’s going on may feel disorienting, but we are as passionate as we are sturdy. We have what it takes to not only respond to the forces of change but to become them too, wielding our wisdom and determination for the benefit of our community and beyond.