I find myself in a deeply reflective mood this week -- on June 1, I celebrated 32 years working within the Jewish Federation system. Thirty-two years of board and committee meetings, annual campaigns, community crises, and, most importantly, witnessing the profound resilience of the Jewish people.

When I look back on more than three decades in this work, I pause and ask, “What is the true nature of this institution we call the Jewish Federation?”

I want to reinforce a foundational truth that has guided my entire career -- the Jewish Federation is about Community (yes, with a capital C). I mean that in the broadest sense possible. There are no membership requirements. No minimum contribution. You do not even have to participate. Our sole purpose is to strengthen and enrich Jewish life for everyone -- today and long into the future.

When I started as a young professional, I had to unlearn one important thing -- Jewish Federations were labeled a fundraising organization. That was seemingly our reason for being. Yes, the campaigns are central. Yes, the fundraising matters. And we are no different from every other non-profit that needs to raise funds to fulfill its mission.

I recall early in my career, my supervisor handed me a large mug and said, “Your job is to fill this with money. At the end of the year, the allocations people will empty it and hand you an even larger mug. Make sure that one overflows, too.” That was their way of expressing how the annual campaign worked. Raise more money year after year -- that was apparently all that mattered. I spent too many of my early years thinking she was right.

What I eventually understood is that the mug metaphor is true only on the surface. The dollars are never the point. As I mentioned last week, it is what the dollars do. The money is what makes everything possible -- Jewish education, mental health resources, support for college students, the fight against antisemitism, community security, interest-free loans, immersions at Rachel’s Well Mikvah, natural disaster emergency support, and the list goes on and on.

I grew up knowing the word tzedakah the way most of us did -- each Shabbat you add coins to the blue box. My work at the Jewish Federation taught me what it actually means. Not charity. Not generosity in the optional, feel-good sense. It means righteousness. Justice. Our Jewish tradition’s understanding that caring for one’s fellow human being is a collective responsibility, not an individual choice.

What counts in Jewish life is not so much what we profess to believe, but what we do with those beliefs.

The Torah teaches that tzedakah is more than a noble act, it is a religious obligation. “If your brother becomes impoverished and his means falter in your proximity, you shall strengthen him.” (Lev 25:35). These teachings form the foundation of Jewish philanthropy and social responsibility. Centuries ago, Jewish communities created the kuppah, a communal fund to which every Jew was expected to contribute and then distributed by responsible community leaders. The Jewish Federation is that kuppah, alive and adapted for modern North American Jewish life.

I started my career in the Planning and Allocations Department. You learn very quickly that it is much harder to spend the money than to raise it. Needs will always exceed resources. That is why where dollars go is a statement of values -- ones that must reflect the evolving interests and needs of the community.

Thinking towards the future, and after all these years, I am deeply optimistic about our work at the Jewish Federation. Yes, we will continue to provide vital resources to Jewish organizations throughout Jewish Portland. Plus, for generations, Federation has excelled in a climate of emergency: the Holocaust, the rescue of the remnants of European Jewry, the founding of the State of Israel and subsequent wars, the struggle for Soviet Jewry, and today's rising antisemitism and need for security.

We will also devote effort and resources to our serious local challenges: building robust Jewish identity and community connections, expanding educational and cultural concerns, fostering deeper relationships between Jewish organizations and the broader community, making Jewish life more affordable, and addressing the serious gaps in service for the vulnerable among us.

I believe that the next chapter for the Jewish Federation will be defined not by emergency, but by intention -- a conscious, sustained commitment to building Jewish life from the inside out, person by person, family by family -- one relationship at a time. This will require new thinking, data-informed decision-making, serious volunteer and professional leadership, and (perhaps the hardest) the embrace of change.

I see the Jewish Federation as the guardian and trustee of Jewish Portland. No other organization has that as its core mission and mandate. We act on your behalf, people who represent a broad spectrum of Jewish interests. It is the most broadly based Jewish communal structure able to transcend the numerous organizational, ideological, and religious differences that characterize Jewish life. I find that remarkable and it should never be taken for granted.

Community, too, is not a given. It has to be built, tended, and renewed by every generation. That is our work. That has always been our work. And I believe the Jewish Federation is equal to the moment.

I am deeply grateful for each of my 32 years in this field. For the colleagues who became family. For the volunteers who inspired me with your time and talents. For the donors who trust the Jewish Federation with their generosity. For the thousands of people across our community and around the world whose lives are better because of what we do together.

I am confident that our values, our partnership, and our commitment to clal Yisrael will continue to guide us from strength to strength. And I look forward to continuing with you on that journey.

Finally, earlier this week I had the honor of celebrating Holocaust Survivor Day with half our community's survivors along with their families, friends, and volunteers. It was a beautiful luncheon sponsored by Jewish Family and Child Service, Jewish Federation, and the Seed the Dream Foundation. This is a special group of people who remind us each and every day why we must never forget.

Shabbat Shalom.