Like many of you, I have been glued to election coverage for weeks, all the way through the announcement of the final result. As we process that result, and head toward an uncertain next chapter as a country, our team at the JCC has been thinking about what it will look like for us to show up for our community during this time.
Throughout the past few years, the processes of strategic planning and navigating the aftermath of October 7 have enabled us to get really clear on what the JCC’s unique role is to play in our community. That clarity gives us the conviction to hold fast to what will still be true about our work regardless of the election’s outcome. No matter what, we know that:
Our core values are the center of all our work.
Joy, Belonging, Collaboration, and Transformation. Every day we work to reaffirm these values, which emerge from deep Jewish wisdom and traditions, and are good for everyone. In moments of polarization and anxiety, the JCC’s core values are not only counter-cultural, but provide an antidote to narratives of paralysis, division, and fear. We have the great privilege of serving individuals and families from infancy through old age, and every program we offer is meant to help people feel more connected to themselves and one another. We believe that leaning into our best selves and relationships gives us the opportunity to build communal resilience and transformation, and that belief animates all the work we do.
The JCC is a place for our community to gather.
We know both from the Surgeon General’s report and from our own experiences that loneliness and isolation present real challenges to our health and our social fabric. We also know that showing up, connecting with others, and developing enduring relationships in our communities is a powerful tool to meet that challenge. The JCC’s main Leventhal-Sidman campus in Newton, our Early Learning Centers in Sharon and Hingham, and our “without walls” programs for families throughout the Boston area are all places for people to gather, to be together in good times and bad, and to feel less alone. Gathering feels like a simple act, but creating the conditions in which it can happen is a profound gift that we offer our community every day.
We teach our children Jewish joy.
This election cycle, the Jewish community has been part of the national conversation more than in any time in recent memory. It can feel unsettling to be in the spotlight, and to see ourselves through the funhouse mirrors of other people’s perceptions. At the JCC, however, we get to be Jewish on our own terms, and to rejoice in that good fortune. Our goal is to seed, nurture, and grow an expansive, affirming, connected, and evolving vision for Jewish life that strengthens us all. Every day, we imbue the thousands of children in our care with the enduring truth that being Jewish is worth it. It makes our lives better, richer, and more meaningful, and teaches us that our responsibility is to make the world a better place. It is our ongoing privilege and commitment to pass on that legacy to the next generation.
I am so grateful to be rooted in this organization, in this community, and in the long history of the Jewish people. I, and we, are inspired to live up to our blessings in this uncertain time, and every day. It is my sincere hope and commitment that no matter what happens, our core values, the way we show up for our community, and the promise we make to our children will remain true here at the JCC. Thank you for being part of it.
