Thank you, Ellen Renee. And Mazel Tov and thank you to our honorees, Sara and Hedy, and of course to Amy for all of their hard work in furthering the mission of the Federation.
To those of you who don’t know me, my name is Josh Goldberg, and I am honored to be the next President of Federation. There are many worthy candidates who could serve in this role, so I am truly honored to be chosen. I want to give a brief background to my Federation journey. I was born in Richmond, and I have lived here for most of my 42 years.
Growing up I went to the Weinstein JCC, before it had Weinstein on it, and I attended RTA for 9 years. I also grew up in KBI. So of course I was aware of the Federation, after all they were the largest donor to RTA until very recently. But as an adult I look back on my childhood as having grown up in my own little Jewish bubble.
Sara and I joke about how we’re the same age, and both grew up in Richmond, but we didn’t meet until I started getting involved in Federation. And there are plenty of others that I have gotten to meet, many of you here, that now exist in my expanded bubble, which is fantastic.
So as soon as I started getting involved, I jumped in with both feet and learned all of the Federation lingo, man do they love their acronyms, and I got involved with the Allocations Committee, the National Young Leadership Cabinet, and I spent a year as a board observer for the JDC, Joint Distribution Committee.
All of those have given me a much greater understanding of the work that we do in Federation, and where the dollars we raise go. Recently, with the events of October 7th, I also co-chaired the Israel Emergency Campaign with Nannette Shor where we raised over $2.2 Million dollars. And that brings us to today.
Today is an interesting time. Amy has assured me that she and Ellen Renee have taken care of all of the emergencies, so I get to focus on the opportunity that lays ahead.
JFNA, Jewish Federations of North America, recently did a study around Jewish engagement post October 7th. And I love data, so indulge me with the statistics for a minute. The study found that “of the 83% of Jews who were “only somewhat,” “not very” or “not at all engaged” prior to October 7th, a whopping 40% are now showing up in larger numbers in Jewish life.
This group — equal to 30% of all Jewish adults and nearly double the proportion of Jews who identify as “deeply-engaged” — represents the greatest opportunity for broadening and deepening Jewish life.” And this study just reinforces what we already know and see; People are searching for that stronger Jewish connection, if for no other reason than to be with other people who understand what they’re going through and the broad range of emotions that we are all experiencing for the last 243 days. Jewish day school enrollment is up, Jewish camp attendance is up, Synagogue membership is up.
So how do we meet this need? I believe it comes through community collaboration. Every agency and synagogue has a role to play, and by working together we can better assure that everyone has access to the level of engagement that they are looking for, and ensure that the gaps that are missing are filled in. Collaboration also means each of you reaching out to a few people who may not be here tonight and inviting them to be more engaged. Invite them for a Shabbat meal or to attend a Jewish event with you that you’re going to anyway. Something, anything.
I believe it comes from a vision; a vision of what our community could be. I think if we all sat down and imagined a Jewish Community we were building from scratch it would likely have a Jewish Community Center for us all to gather at.
It would almost certainly have a Jewish Family Services to take care of those in need. It would have an educational institution to give our children the strong Jewish background to become the next generation of Jewish leaders.
It would have a way of taking care of the needs of the elderly. It would have synagogues that fit everyone’s religious needs. And it would have a Federation-like agency to be the central cog in that communal wheel.
So that is what I’d like to do with you all. Not tonight, of course, but over the next two years. Let’s have those conversations about what we could be. Let’s start to think long term with big aspirational goals. Let’s dream of what could be. We might not get everything we talk about, but I would bet that if we try and get there, we will end off better for it.
So I look forward to a phone call, a cup of coffee or other type of drink, or lunch or dinner with each and every one of you and let’s dare to dream. Thank you all for your time, your involvement, and here’s to a bright future.
