I hope you’ve had a great week. As we end 2023, I am feeling a mix of emotions. In many ways this has been an incredibly difficult year for our Jewish community, especially the last few months. But in other ways, it has been remarkable to see our community come together, and to see the impact we have made here at home, and across the world.

I’ve expressed my gratitude to you all in past messages for the fact that our community raised more than $1 million so far to support our Israel Emergency Fund. But I’m even more grateful after hearing the direct impact that support has had on everyday Israelis as they seek to rebuild their lives and return to a sense of some normalcy.

I think about Tamar, a 15-year-old who lives and goes to school at the Beit Ruth Youth Village, who said, “Suddenly I can think about the future, and not only how I will survive the night.” Tamar is able to do that because our support helped Beit Ruth to increase their security. It helped provide training to all of the teachers and staff at the village on how to address trauma in children and youth. It provides ongoing mental health services to the students and staff. And it allowed the school to retrofit their shelters so that students know they have a safe place to go should rockets be fired toward their area.

This is just one of many examples of the impact that you make. And I look forward to sharing many more with you in the new year.

May 2024 bring us all good health, joy, a stronger community, and perhaps most importantly, peace. Until next time, I wish you all a safe, peaceful, and joyous Shabbat, and a happy new year.

Shabbat Shalom,
Adam Greenman
President & CEO