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LEADERSHIP MESSAGES TO THE COMMUNITY Moishe Bane, President
The pages of this report reflect the focus and achievements of the Orthodox Union over this very unusual year. Often overlooked, however, are the myriad partnerships critical to these achievements and essential to the OU’s role as a broadly focused, national organization. Most OU endeavors are composed of partnerships. American Orthodoxy’s many communities coordinate to elevate kashrus standards, and organizational coalitions address legislative and regulatory agendas, on both a state and national platform. The Orthodox Union’s partnerships with local shuls, educational institutions, rabbonim, and poskim form the essence of the OU’s identity. NCSY and Yachad operate in partnership with local shuls, and OU-JLIC partners with Hillel and World Mizrachi. We often address communal policy issues in conjunction with the Rabbinical Council of America. Rabbis and master teachers of Torah are integral to the OU’s burgeoning spectrum of Torah learning, such as All Daf, the Semichas Chaver Program, and the Women’s Initiative’s ever-growing range of Torah content. And thanks to our poskim’s wisdom and indefatigable commitment to the needs of the community, the OU is a conduit for the most crucial areas of halachic consultation and guidance.
But perhaps most significant is the Orthodox Union’s internal partnership between professional staff and lay volunteers. While the creativity, passion, and commitment of staff are clearly the engine that drives institutional success, volunteerism is core to the OU’s functioning and culture. OU lay involvement includes not only board and commission participation, and generous philanthropic support, but also hands-on involvement, such as the legions of student and adult volunteers essential to the magic of an NCSY or Yachad Shabbaton. The OU is truly a communal institution, and it is the community itself that forms and frames its achievements.
(l-r) Alan Fagin, former OU EVP, Moishe Bane, OU President, Rabbi Shmuel Marcus, Semichas Chaver Program Maggid Shiur Kew Garden Hills, Henry Orlinsky, Chair Torah of Initiatives at Torah NY.
