Sept. 3, 2021
Sitting here (virtually) with you right now, I am humbled by the generosity and kindness of our Western Massachusetts Jewish community. Over the past year, each of us has experienced uniquely challenging circumstances and responded with the grace, strength, and hope that has brought us to this new year. We have lost so many loved ones, friends, and neighbors, and yet we all continue to think not just about our own needs and worries but about the needs of many.
Thank you to all who have cared for the needs of the community and kept us healthy and safe. Thank you, too, to all who spoke up and asked for the support which we are grateful to have provided during this past year.
As the Jewish year 5781 comes to an end and we joyfully begin the new year, may 5782 bring with it renewed hope and togetherness. In this new year, the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts begins a new chapter. With five years remaining until our Federation celebrates its centennial, one hundred years of supporting the Jewish community, this is our time for reflection and action.
Over the next few months, we will embark on a process of addressing questions raised by the recent community study, assessing need locally and abroad, actively listening to everyone from community leaders to local residents who have not connected with Jewish community, and doing the work to prepare for a strategic planning process.
This is a time of change: May we embody the change we wish to see in the world and make it a reality through our actions.
Shabbat Shalom and L’Shana Tovah U’Metukah,
Nora Gorenstein
Interim Executive Director