Posts
This week, the Jewish Federations of North America held its annual General Assembly in Washington, DC. This GA, as it is commonly called, was really special for those of us from Pittsburgh. It was chaired by Cindy and David Shapira and we brought a great delegation of 42 participants, the largest in my time in […]
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It’s been a week filled with Israel for me. The beginning of the week I was in Jerusalem for the Jewish Agency for Israel Board of Governors meeting. The Jewish Agency (JAFI) is our largest recipient of dollars from our Annual Campaign. Their work around the world is nothing less than stunning. While much of […]
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The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh announced a major community-wide study of Jewish life and needs in the greater Pittsburgh area Jewish community. Planning for the study will start immediately. The purpose of the study, the first such effort since 2002, will be to estimate the current number and geographic distribution of individuals and households […]
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Much of our Federation’s communications are handled through social media, such as Facebook. These platforms allow us to quickly and quite often, communicate about things happening in our community and our Jewish world. If you are not on Facebook or if you do not follow the Federation on Facebook, you may have missed these few […]
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Opportunities and challenges. That’s what I see as we close one Jewish year and enter another. It’s the same every year. We have to look at where we can make a positive impact while also keeping an eye on pressures that can work against us as a Jewish community and as a Jewish people. As […]
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This Sunday, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Shalom Pittsburgh program that conducts outreach and engagement to young adults will hold its 6th Annual Apples and Honey Festival in Schenley Park. The weather forecast looks absolutely fantastic. For those coming in from the South Hills – traffic should be much lighter than it has been […]
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Community cosponsors: Jewish Community Center, Temple Sinai, Rodef Shalom, BBYO, Community Relations Council Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education. – Franklin D. Roosevelt Two thousand years ago, when seeking a new public leader, the Talmud mandated that the right […]
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This past week, I had the experience of being surrounded by women who are inspired to be a part of something bigger than themselves. I traveled to Washington, DC with a group of 20 women from our community to be a part of the International Lion of Judah Conference, which convenes more than 1,300 women […]
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Five members of Knesset (MK’s) have been in Pittsburgh for the last day. They came as part of a program of the Jewish Agency for Israel (one of our main overseas partners) and the Jewish Federations of North America in order to expose Israeli lawmakers to Jewish North American life. They visited Toronto, Cleveland and […]
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We had a magical Annual meeting this year. Just as we do every year, we honored over 35 volunteers from organizations and synagogues. These individual dedicate their time and talent to strengthen those institutions and to help further their missions. In the end, each helps us reach more Jews and serve their needs. In addition […]
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In just a few weeks, several members of Knesset will be traveling to Pittsburgh as part of a delegation of the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Jewish Federations of North America. They will visit Toronto and Detroit, in addition to Pittsburgh. The goal of this journey is to educate Knesset members about our Jewish […]
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This week, I am proud that Jessica Smith, our Director of Campaign and Financial Resource Development, has asked to share thoughts about an experience she had this summer: The interesting thing about the Annual Campaign is that it is, by its very nature, ANNUAL. It is cyclical. It is virtually, the same each and every […]
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Through the year, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh has invited the community to “Do Good in the ’Burgh and Around the World” by contributing to the Federation’s Annual Campaign. Now the organization invites the community to the Federation’s annual meeting, to see the good that has resulted through Federation participation. The meeting — Tuesday, […]
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I’ve been writing pretty much weekly for the last 12 years. I enjoy taking a little bit of time as Shabbat approaches to reflect on what I experience and to share my impressions and thoughts about our Federation, our Jewish community and our Jewish world. Often times, I receive feedback, luckily, almost always positive. It’s […]
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I love this time of year. Sure, the weather is pretty nice and the number of night meetings/events in the Jewish community drops over the summer, but what I really love is seeing Jewish camp updates all over my Facebook feed. From the camp where my son is, to the Jewish camps where my friends’ […]
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I spent about 5 1/2 days in France this past week. The first few days were spent in Sarcelles as part of a seminar for a group of Federation CEO’s and the second part was in Paris as a participant in the Jewish Agency for Israel’s Board of Governors meetings. I learned a tremendous amount […]
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The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh will provide more than $22 million in allocations and grants to human services and community-building programs in 2016. The allocations, announced by the Federation’s Board of Directors, will support programs in Pittsburgh and in Jewish communities around the world. The allocations and grants consist of resources from the Federation’s […]
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The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh is pleased to announce that Rachel Lipkin has joined the organization as development associate in charge of the women’s philanthropy of the Federation’s Annual Campaign. Ms. Lipkin earned her master of public administration degree from The Ohio State University. While interning at the Jewish Federation of Columbus, she was […]
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Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh has named Susan G. Berman, PhD, the recipient of the Gerald S. Ostrow (z”l) Volunteer of the Year Award. This award recognizes the special efforts of a volunteer leader who has dedicated significant service to the community and has fostered partnerships among the Jewish Federation and its agencies. Dr. Berman […]
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The Federation’s Vision Statement exclaims that we are striving “to build a thriving, vibrant and engaged Jewish community”. Another way to say that is we are trying to build a strong Jewish community. This past Saturday night, we were able to build community by bringing the diversity of our community together for our annual Tikkun […]
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