Federations Do Not Close

The other day I walked out of our Federation building deeply depressed.

I know that closing the building was the right thing. I know that it’s important and necessary and justified. I just felt sad. I drove home sad, and I came into my house sad. It took me a while – and my kids – to …

Increasing in Matters of Holiness

There’s a fascinating debate in the Talmud, in Tractate Shabbat, between the House of Hillel and the House of Shammai.

The question that they’re debating is to how to light the chanukiya, the menorah that we use for Hanukkah.

Shammai says that the candles should be lit in descending or…

Our Family Is Under Fire

As you are probably aware, there has been a major flare-up in violence between Israel and Gaza in the last couple of days. Here are the major points, from our national Jewish Federations team in Israel:

On Sunday night, the IDF bombed a building in the Gaza Strip in a highly targeted strike…

Despite Election Results, Our Work Will Continue

I spoke last week at the JCC MetroWest about Israel, the upcoming elections tomorrow, Israeli society, and what to expect in the coming week (and weeks...). Here’s the gist of what I said:

Israel has proportional representation voting. Legislators are elected to parliament based on percen…

A Visit Is Worth a Million Words!

I’ve said it in these pages many times – there’s nothing, and I mean literally nothing like taking a Federation mission to experience the passion and dedication the Jewish community has for taking care of our own – whether locally, in Israel, or in the far corners of the world.

As a…