My wife and I spent Rosh Hashana in Skokie, Illinois, with our daughter and her family. While I’m not usually one to brag, I managed to play five rounds of Jewish Geography—and won every single one. Undefeated!

At Tot Shabbat, an Israeli dad working in Chicago on a two-year medical project said, “Albany? My wife has an aunt and uncle in Albany…”

At the first-day Rosh Hashana lunch, another guest leaned over and said, “Albany? My gap-year roommate was from Albany…”

At a friend’s home, the friend’s son-in-law mentioned, “Schenectady? My mother is from Schenectady…”

And the connections kept coming like that all week. I talk about it as if I had some special skill, but really, the credit goes to the incredible, tight-knit Jewish community we are all part of—and proud of.

Meanwhile, my son, away at college in Ohio, discovered a twist on the game. He won a round of Jewish-Adjacent Geography. His non-Jewish psychology professor turned out to be a graduate of Bethlehem High School. When he asked her maiden name, he realized he’d gone to Hebrew school with her nieces.

People often say, “It’s a small world.” But I think for the Jewish community, it’s something more: it’s a big world, beautifully connected, where no matter where we go, we find each other.

What about you? What’s the best round of Jewish Geography you’ve ever played? I’d love to hear your stories.