Silver linings

Jeffrey Feld, Federation President/ CEO

These past 15 months or so have been very challenging. The coronavirus pandemic has caused all of us to change. Let me be very direct – the pandemic has been, and is, a very bad thing. Many of us know of family, friends and acquaintances who became quite ill and even some who may have lost the battle. Our routines were certainly interrupted and changed. There were times when we were forced to quarantine. Activities were suspended and canceled. It was lonely. Being isolated was horrible.

Fortunately, there were some “silver linings” during this cloud also. For me, personally, during this time, my son and daughter-in-law made Susan and me firsttime grandparents. And more recently, my daughter got married. These are two wonderful things that happened for my family during this timeframe. Hopefully, each of you can point to things that happened to you, or for you, that were bright spots during this very dark time.

Many good things happened at Federation, despite the pandemic. We all learned how to do things in a different way. Virtual became standard operating procedure. Our Jewish Federation was able to engage with our community members for a multitude of programs and events, with Zoom becoming a way of life.

In actuality, more people participated in more virtual activities then we could have imagined. Thousands of households participated in MCA, WCA, JCRC, CJD, IAC, PJ Library, Mix & Mingle, Young Jewish Professionals, Families with Young Children and, of course, Federation’s iconic program, the Jewish Book Festival, all 19 events with 22 authors. In addition, people stayed connected by participating in a myriad of board and committee meetings.

For some individuals, who are otherwise isolated, these virtual meetings and programs provided some opportunity for seeing and talking with other people. You may not have been able to shake hands or hug, but you could see and talk with other individuals. Zoom was and is a silver lining, allowing Federation to connect with you.

As we begin to emerge from this pandemic, I hope we will all try to find those good things that happened to us.

I am sure virtual programs and meetings will be a part of our future. Although we are creating in-person opportunities, some people, for a variety of reasons, may want or need to continue participating through virtual means. We look forward to connecting in person, but we know we are also capable of maintaining personal connections virtually. Federation will do everything we can to be “live, in person” while simultaneously providing virtual engagement opportunities.

The real silver lining to me is that even through challenging times, our vital and vibrant Jewish community found a way to sustain and build our community.

Thank you, each of you and all of you, for helping to be the silver lining for our Jewish community.