The essence

I had lunch recently with my colleague Noga Maliniak, one of our Federation's representatives in Israel. Noga served in the army for over twenty years, and was a shlicha - an emissary - several times in the United States.

Many of those who work in federation have a 'back-story.' A reason why we came. A reason why we fell in love with the calling. I didn't need to ask Noga her reason*: she's been dedicated all her life to Israel and the Jewish People.

Over lunch we discussed the struggle for pluralism and religious choice in Israel. Greater MetroWest has a long and proud history of standing at the forefront of this struggle. And Noga's story is the essence of what we support. When her daughter was approaching Bat-Mitzvah age, she turned to Noga and said, "... and will I go up to read from the Torah?"

And Noga, born and raised in Israel, never having questioned what she was told was the 'only way' ... was about to say 'no.' And then she stopped and checked herself. "Let me find out," she said.
And she found out. And she learned.

Seeing that there was no viable alternative in Rosh Ha'ayin, Noga invited friends round. And the friends invited friends. And fifty people turned up for shabbat services. And those shabbat services became the progressive congregation of Rosh Ha'ayin - a pluralistic, egalitarian community that supports and upholds Jewish tradition and learning.

The kind of Jewish life we help build at home, in Israel and around the world.


* But you should. Take her out to lunch when she's next here, or when you go to Israel.

"Nobody can be exactly like me"*

One of the most interesting aspects of my pre-boarding process, as I get ready to assume the responsibilities of federation Exec, is learning about my colleagues.

So I asked all the professionals in federation to send me their bios and photos. This way I can at least say hello to people and know who they are as I roam the halls in search of coffee.

Reading through the bios has been a fascinating, humbling and rewarding experience. It taught me several things:

1)    We have an amazingly international professional team. We come from Israel, the UK, Russia, Ukraine, the Phillipines, Columbia, Azerbaijan and many States of the Union.

2)    Many of us are and have been ‘clients’ of our federated agencies. JVS, Jespy House, JFS and more are intertwined in our lives. Many of us have come through Camps, Hillels, JCCs, Synagogues and Jewish Schools.The relationships we have with our agencies are deep, meaningful and personal.

3)    Many of us have close family and friendship ties to Israel. Israel isn’t ‘somewhere else.’ It’s at the heart of the federation and its professional team.

*The quote is from the great actress Tallulah Bankhead, "Nobody can be exactly like me: sometimes even I have trouble doing it."