FROM THE DESK OF JERI ZIMMERMAN

Bring on 2022!

A New Year filled with the promise of fresh starts and new beginnings. It’s also a time when many people take an opportunity to reflect inward and recommit to improving their circumstances both personally and communally.

In an article by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, of blessed memory, he shared some life-changing principles based on the notion that Judaism suggests how we invest our time. According to Rabbi Sacks, z”l, these are offered in the hope that they may help us reflect on the year that has passed and on the one that is to come. Below are just a few of the principles that we might want to consider as a new year is upon us. As I was reading the article, considering the challenges of 2021, and looking forward to 2022, the values below resonated with me, and I believe they make a difference for our community. I am pleased to share some of his wisdom that I could not have stated as eloquently as he did.

“Give thanks. Praying, we give thanks to God for all we have, and for life itself. This may sound simple, but it is life-transforming. It makes us notice what otherwise we would merely take for granted. It helps us see that we are surrounded by blessings. We are here, we are free, we have family, we have friends, we have opportunities our parents did not have and our grandparents could not even imagine. Yes, we have problems, fears, pains; but they can wait until we have finished giving thanks; and once we have given thanks, our problems seem a little smaller and we feel a little stronger. There is medical evidence that people who have an attitude of gratitude live longer and develop stronger immunities to illness. Be that as it may, the psychological evidence is incontrovertible: giving thanks brings happiness even in hard times.

Forgive. Emotional energy is too precious to waste on negative emotions. Resentment, grievance and hate have no part in the inner life of a Jew. The Torah teaches, ‘Don’t hate your brother (or sister) in your heart.’ Don’t take vengeance. Don’t bear a grudge. Those who forgive travel more lightly through life, freed of the burden of feelings that do no one any good.

Don’t talk lashon hara. The Talmudic Sages define lashon hara, ‘evil speech’, as saying negative things about other people even if they are true. They were harsh about it, regarding it as one of the worst interpersonal sins. Those who speak badly about others poison the atmosphere in families and communities. They undermine relationships and do great harm. See the good in people – and if you see the bad, be silent. No one whose respect matters respects those who speak badly of others.

Volunteer. Give of your time to others. There is no greater cure for depression than to bring happiness into the lives of others. Visit the sick. Invite someone lonely to your Shabbat or Yom Tov meal. Share your skills with someone who needs to acquire them. Join one of the many outstanding organizations in our community. Hebrew has a beautiful word for such acts: ‘chessed,’ meaning love-as-deed, love-as-kindness. The great Jewish psychotherapist Viktor Frankl used to say, ‘The door to happiness opens outward,’ meaning that feeling low often comes from feeling alone. Bring the gift of your presence to someone else, and you will no longer feel alone.

Create moments of joy. It can be as simple as a walk on a spring day, or watching an internet video of an old song that brings back warm memories, or paying someone an unanticipated compliment, or giving someone a spur-ofthe-moment gift. There is a place in Judaism for happiness, but the key positive emotion in the Torah and the Book of Psalms is simcha, ‘joy.’ Happiness often depends on external circumstances but you can experience joy even in tough times. Joy liberates the spirit and breaks the hold of sadness. Let yourself, in Wordsworth’s words, be ‘surprised by joy.’ Joy means opening your soul to the radiance of life, refusing to let age or time dull your sense of wonder.

Love. Judaism was the world’s first and greatest religion of love. Love God with all your heart, soul and might. Love your neighbor as yourself. Love the stranger, for you were once strangers. Love is the alchemy that turns life from base metal to gold; that etches our days with the radiance of the Divine presence. True happiness, whether in marriage or parenthood, friendship or career, is always the product of love. To live you have to learn to love. Do any of these things and slowly, gradually, you may begin to notice a change in your life. You will be less pressured, less anxious, less hurried and harried. You will find you have time for the things that are important but not urgent, which are what you most neglect now. The result will be more satisfaction, fulfilment, joy. You will feel yourself blessed.”

As a community, we are so blessed and we have so much for which to be thankful. I hope you and your families have a beautiful 2022 – a year filled with good health and abundant joy!

Shalom Lehigh Valley partnership with Made Possible continues

By now, your 2021-23 edition of Shalom Lehigh Valley should have arrived in your mailbox, and we hope you are enjoying the newest guide to Jewish life in the Valley!

The Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley’s partnership with the Made Possible in Lehigh Valley initiative continues as they released an article announcing the publication of the new magazine in The Lehigh Valley Insider, the weekly newsletter of the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation, one of the champions of the Made Possible regional branding and marketing initiative that promotes the growth of the wider Lehigh Valley community. (Read it at lehighvalley.org/shalom-lehighvalley-magazine-highlights-region-for-jewish-community/)

We’ve also kicked off a new Instagram account to reach newcomers at @shalomlehighvalley. Follow us and share with your out-of-town friends and family for an insider look at the new issue and updates on upcoming events and all that Jewish life in the Lehigh Valley has to offer!

The Lehigh Valley-Yoav Partnership Park in Blessed Memory of Mark L. Goldstein

We gratefully acknowledge those individuals who have offered expressions of friendship by requesting that trees be planted in the Mark L. Goldstein Friendship Park, a Yoav-Lehigh Valley Partnership Forest.

IN HONOR BOB BLACK In honor of your birthday Lisa, Barnet and Julie Fraenkel IN MEMORY ELI GLAZER (Father of Cynthia Wroclawski)

Jill and Jeff Blinder

Partnership2Gether Committee

HAKOL is published 11 times per year for the Jewish communities of Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton and vicinity by the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley.

COMMUNITY SUBMISSIONS

Submissions to HAKOL must be of interest to the entire Jewish community. HAKOL reserves all editorial rights including, but not limited to, the decision to print any submitted materials, the editing of submissions to conform to style and length requirements, and the placement of any printed material. Articles should be submitted by e-mail or presented as typed copy; “Community Calendar” listings must be submitted by e-mail to hakol@jflv.org or online at www.jewishlehighvalley.org. Please include your name and a daytime telephone number where you can be contacted in the event questions arise. We cannot guarantee publication or placement of submissions.

MAIL, FAX, OR E-MAIL TO: JFLV ATTN: HAKOL 702 N. 22nd St. Allentown, PA 18104 Phone: (610) 821-5500 Fax: (610) 821-8946 E-mail: hakol@jflv.org Member American Jewish Press Association

HAKOL STAFF

STEPHANIE GOODLING Editor/Marketing Associate ALLISON MEYERS Marketing Project Manager & Senior Graphic Designer DIANE MCKEE Account Representative TEL: 610-515-1391 hakolads@jflv.org BAYLEY CARL Marketing & Engagement Associate

JFLV EXECUTIVE STAFF

JERI ZIMMERMAN Executive Director

AARON GORODZINSKY Director of Campaign & Security Planning TEMPLE COLDREN Director of Finance & Administration

AMY ZYLBERMAN Director of Community Development JULIA UMANSKY Director of Gift Planning & EITC WENDY EDWARDS Office Manager

GARY FROMER JFLV President

All advertising is subject to review and approval by The Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley (JFLV). JFLV reserves the right to decline, withdraw and/or edit any ad. The appearance of any advertising in HAKOL does not represent an endorsement or kashrut certification. Paid political advertisements that appear in HAKOL do not represent an endorsement of any candidate by the JFLV.

JEWISH FEDERATION OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY MISSION STATEMENT

In order to unite, sustain, and enhance the Lehigh Valley Jewish community, and support Jewish communities in Israel and around the world, the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley is dedicated to the following core values:

• Supporting Jews in need wherever they may be. • Supporting Israel as a Jewish homeland. • Supporting and encouraging Jewish education in the Lehigh Valley as a means of strengthening Jewish life for individuals and families. • Supporting programs and services of organizations whose values and mission meet local Jewish needs.

To accomplish this mission the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley is committed to the following operating guidelines: • Raising and distributing funds to support the core values. • Developing Jewish leaders. • Building endowments to support implementation of core values. • Committing to ongoing Jewish community strategic planning. • Fostering cooperation among organizations and community building. • Evaluating all decisions with respect to fiscal responsibility. • Identifying unmet needs and investing in community initiatives to help get them started. • Coordinating and convening a community response as an issue or need arises. • Setting priorities for allocation and distribution of funds. • Acting as a central address for communication about events, programs and services of the Jewish community as a whole.

Registration open for Freestyle Older Adult Mission

If you’ve wanted to participate in the Spring 2022 Freestyle Mission to Israel specifically tailored to the needs and interests of older travelers, now is your chance to sign up.

Jewish Federation and Jewish Family Service have teamed up to create this trip with the input of a group of interested parties over the past year, and are hopeful to be able to go forward with the trip to Israel this May.

JFS Program Manager and Community Liaison for Older Adults Carol Wilson has been the facilitator of planning sessions along with Federation’s community shaliach, Gavriel Siman-Tov. Siman-Tov offers tips on conversational Hebrew and getting the most out of a visit to his home country.

“This is really an opportunity to go at your own pace and take part in the activities that interest you,” said Wilson of the unique format of the mission. “We want everyone to feel comfortable and excited about the trip that they have a part in planning.”

The goal of the trip is to build new and strengthen existing relationships within the older adult community, learn about partnerships in Israel as well as developing new relationships with Israelis in the Lehigh Valley’s partner community of Yoav.

Siman-Tov promises to ensure that participants won’t feel just like run-of-the-mill tourists.

“I’m giving them an insider’s perspective on how to get around and things off the beaten path they may want to see,” he said.

To join in on the Freestyle Mission, contact Carol Wilson at 610-8218722 or cwilson@jfslv.org or Jeri Zimmerman at 610-821-5500 or jeri@jflv.org. The Maimonides Society of the Lehigh Valley is marking its 35th anniversary this year in a variety of exciting ways.

On Sunday, Jan. 30, at 10:30 a.m. Eli Beer, president and founder of United Hatzalah of Israel, will address the Lehigh Valley Jewish community. Beer will speak about not only the origin story of his organization — the largest independent, non-profit, fully volunteer Emergency Medical Service organization providing the fastest emergency medical first response throughout Israel — but also about the connections that have formed because of it among their thousands of volunteers from all walks of life.

At this event, the Maimonides Society will also celebrate the purchase of the second ambucycle that they, with the support of the greater Jewish community, have been able to donate to United Hatzalah. The ambucycle will be on display in the lobby of the Jewish Community Center of the Lehigh Valley. These vehicles, which are able to maneuver through traffic and bring volunteers and basic medical supplies to emergencies within minutes, save lives in Israel every day.

A special PJ Library Goes to the Doctor event for families will follow this event at 12:30 p.m. Pediatrician Dr. Nicole Rosenthal will be there to teach kids about what a doctor is looking for when they examine you.

The anniversary year will continue to be marked with a Maimonides Journey Through Israel from March 23 through April 2. This mission is open to the entire community, who are invited to “choose their own adventures” with two different tracks — biking or touring. Many activities will bring the two tracks together, and highlights of the trip will include road bike trails through different landscapes, staying in five-star hotels and resorts, a visit to the Beit Guvrin caves in the Lehigh Valley’s Partnership2Gether region in Yoav, Shabbat in Jerusalem, visiting the Western Galilee Medical Center and donating the ambucycle to honor the memory of Dr. Mickey Ufberg, z”l, one of the founders of Maimonides Society.

To attend the event with Eli Beer, RSVP by Jan. 24 to www.jewishlehighvalley.org/ maimonides-anniversary. To learn more and register for the mission, visit viasabra.com/trip/ lehigh-valley-federation-march-2022. For questions, contact Aaron Gorodzinksy at aaron@ jflv.org or 610-821-5500.

To pre-register for the PJ Library event, visit www.jewishlehighvalley.org/pjlibraryevents. For questions, contact Abby Trachtman at abbyt@jflv.org or 610-821-5500.