This coming Shabbat, all across MetroWest, 12- and 13-year-old boys and girls will be called to the Torah for the first time. And all across MetroWest, dedicated volunteers will come to the bima on Saturday to remind their congregations that the next day is Super Sunday, the annual phonathon in support of our United Jewish Appeal Campaign (UJA). I know this because I will be one of those volunteers, at my home congregation of Oheb Shalom. 

 

What’s the connection — beside the fact that each of these volunteers is hoping that you in the pew will be paying attention? The connection is that because of what you will do on Sunday, December 4, that the B’nai Mitzvah children of Saturday, December 3, will have a strong Jewish community to grow into in the future.

 

And when you come to Super Sunday, you will see that the future for these B’nai Mitzvah children begins almost immediately and extends all the way to nonagenarians. Depending on what time of day you get to Whippany, you will see the 20-somethings of Jersey Tribe, and the 30- and 40-somethings of Young Leadership Division — and their kids — doing the Rock and Wrap to provide holiday gifts to those who otherwise wouldn’t have anything. You will see the baby boomer generation and many others making the calls that raise the funds that keep our community going. If you come around noon, you will get to meet some of our hardest working volunteers, the Margulies (Senior Center) seniors, who, in their 70s, 80s and 90s, continue to work the phones because they know that every dollar makes a difference.

 

What I really hope you can see is the last session, where the Bar and Bat Mitzvah kids of December 3 can be part of the teen and college session. This is when our teens from J-Serve, Iris Teen Tzedakah, Diller, and our synagogue youth groups come in, eager to do their part. They know that the programs they love are supported by the Annual UJA Campaign. They’ve participated in allocations decisions and have seen the difference we make here, in Israel, and around the world. Their enthusiasm is contagious and compelling. If the call you get comes from one of these teens, I know you will be impressed and that you will respond generously. 

 

Whether you can be there in person or not, it is because of YOU and your response on Super Sunday that makes the difference — for the Bar and Bat Mitzvah celebrants of this Shabbat and for everyone who depends on the success of the 2012 UJA Campaign — and that is all of us.

 

See you on Super Sunday!

Leslie