From the CEO

Partner, not competitor

By now, everyone should know how I feel about Federation and competition. Simply put, we have none. I joke with people when arriving in Israel that when they see a crane, those are their Israel Bond dollars at work. When they see a new playground, those are their JNF dollars at work. And, wh…

Regards from Israel

I just arrived in Israel this morning, so I don’t have much to tell you yet, other than a few observations from the trip over.

From a spiritual perspective, touchdown at the airport begins the “Holy Land experience.” From a legal perspective, crossing through border control begins the…

Water Cooler

I’ve been enjoying virtual group meetings. They are efficient, effective, convenient, and inexpensive, and we get much accomplished at them. I can meet with extended family, co-workers, committees, local colleagues, national colleagues, and overseas colleagues and, in fact, I could argue t…

An Excerpt from Mark Wilf's Final Community Message

Mark Wilf wraps up his tenure as the chair of the Jewish Federations of North America on Monday. Below, I bring you an excerpt of his final message to our communities. Mark, I thank you for your tremendous leadership and wish you the best as you move on to your next role as the chair of the …

Preparation

Preparation is important. It’s also time consuming.

To prove this point, we need not look any further than to the Jewish holidays.

After the High Holidays, the three Pilgrimage Festivals—Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot—are our next tier holy days. All are Biblically established during …