Shabbat Shalom,
This week I've been thinking about doorways.
Most of us walk through dozens of doorways every day without giving them much thought. We leave our homes, enter our offices, visit friends, attend meetings, or walk into the Bonnie and Donald Dwares JCC. A doorway is simply a passage from one place to another.
But every once in a while, a doorway represents something more. It represents the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. The Jewish Alliance finds itself standing in such a doorway.
This week we announced the hiring of Steven Baker as our new President and CEO. As we stand in the doorway, we have an opportunity to pause for a moment, look behind us at the path that brought us here, and look ahead at the possibilities that lie before us.
Our history is filled with moments of Jews stepping through doorways. Abraham stood at a doorway when he left everything familiar behind and set out for a destination he did not know. The Israelites stood at a doorway as they prepared to cross into the Promised Land after forty years in the wilderness. Time and again, our tradition reminds us that growth often begins when we have the courage to step through a doorway into the unknown.
Of course, stepping through a doorway can be both exciting and unsettling. We naturally wonder what awaits us on the other side. What gives me confidence is knowing who is making this journey together.
The Jewish Alliance is blessed with passionate dedicated professional staff, volunteers, generous donors, committed agency partners, and a community that believes deeply in Jewish life in Rhode Island. Every day, together, we strengthen Jewish education, support those in need, care for our seniors, combat antisemitism, support Israel partners, and create opportunities for people of all ages to connect to Jewish life. Those things do not change when we walk through a new doorway. What changes is the opportunity to see new possibilities.
I am excited to welcome Steven to our community and to see the ideas, energy, and leadership he will bring to the Jewish Alliance. At the same time, I know he will quickly discover what I have learned over many years: there is something special about the Rhode Island Jewish community. People care. People show up. People volunteer. People give. And people understand that our future depends on all of us working together.
It has been an honor and a privilege serving as the interim President and CEO. (I will be here until June 30, and I have a few more Shabbat messages left in me.) It has given me an even greater appreciation for this community and for the many individuals who work every day to make Jewish Rhode Island stronger, safer, and more vibrant.
As we stand in this doorway between chapters, I hope we do so with gratitude for those who helped build the foundation upon which we stand, confidence in the leadership to come, and excitement for what we can accomplish together. After all, a doorway is not a place where we remain. It is a place through which we pass as we continue our journey.
May we step forward together with optimism, purpose, and a renewed commitment to one another and to the future of Jewish life in Rhode Island.
Shabbat Shalom,
Harris Chorney
Interim President and CEO
