Dear friends,
Each year, as Rosh Hashanah approaches, my family heads to a nearby orchard to go apple picking. Like so many other Jewish children, my daughters love choosing the most delicious fruit, eating them straight from the tree, and bringing some home to make apple pie. This annual journey also ensures that we have apples to dip in honey to observe the Rosh Hashanah tradition symbolizing our hope for a sweet new year.
As parents, we make this annual journey as a way of raising our daughters to enjoy the traditions of our faith and find meaning and happiness within them. In a way, the orchard serves as grounds for us to plant seeds for their future as proud and knowledgeable members of the Jewish people - seeds that we will nurture together as they grow into tomorrow’s leaders.
At JCRC-NY, we believe that just like apple seeds, relationships must be nurtured in order to grow. Partners and allies do not grow on trees. By working alongside current and emerging leaders, JCRC-NY is instrumental in securing the future of the New York Jewish community.
Our Center for Shared Society continues to train and graduate cohorts of diverse emerging leaders from fellowships where they learn to work together across divisions to address issues of common concern. Our study tours to Israel welcome public officials, faith leaders, and community leaders to understand our love for and connection to Israel. Many alumni of our programs have attained public office at the federal, state, and local levels. Others have become heads of non-profit organizations providing a wide array of social services, and educational opportunities that benefit many diverse communities. They all become part of our vast network of partners and allies.
Time and time again, our alumni convey their gratitude to JCRC-NY for engaging with them, for investing in them, and for helping them to be agents of change that can propel our city forward.
The Jewish New Year is a time when we ask G-d for the strength and wisdom to navigate the challenges that lay ahead. As the sun sets on 5783 and our new year dawns, I wish our Jewish community Shanah Tovah U’Metuka – May we all merit a happy, healthy, and sweet new year!
