Did You Hear?

A tremendous Fundfest took place this past week. Despite some tough weather, hundreds came to the Federation offices to get on the phones to reach out and connect with other fellow community members to ask for their support of our 2015 Campaign.  Fundfest has propelled our campaign to $6 Million and added many new donors to our […]

The Centennial Fund for a Jewish Future, our Federation’s initiative to secure permanent endowment dollars to fund Jewish identity building programming, has had exceptional progress since its inception just five years ago.  To date, approximately $24 Million in commitments have been secured and with much of those commitments already being paid by generous donors, we […]

I had intended to write today about a visit during my family’s December vacation in Atlanta at the Ebenezer Baptist Church.  I wanted to tie that into this Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend when we recall King’s struggle for civil rights in this country.  However, recent events have unfortunately redirected my message. Nearly three years […]

Over the past few years, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh has sent several missions to Cuba.  We witnessed a small yet vibrant Jewish community and saw the work our dollars make possible with our own eyes.  As part of those missions, we visited the American Intersection.  As you know, the United States has not […]

Sunday night was the graduation of this year’s cohort of Diller Teen Fellows.  This group of 20, who have been together with a group of teens from our Partnership2Gether Region of Karmiel and Misgav as part of a leadership development program, will travel to Israel in a few weeks.  Their originally scheduled trip this summer had […]

I write today about our Jewish future and about two ways our Federation is looking and preparing for that destination. Monday was the first Pittsburgh Jewish Community Scorecard Roundtable.  Approximately 65 volunteer and professional leaders in our community came together to review some of the findings in our first round of collecting data as part […]

Last night, we held an incredibly successful, first ever, Men’s Night Out event.  A crowd beyond our expectations came out to hear ESPN star Herm Edwards.  The evening was fun and inspirational as we talked openly and directly about the needs of our Jewish community and the ways that these men can make a difference. […]

In my message last week, I mentioned that I was going to be at the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America.  The GA made international news with a panel discussion with two Jewish Supreme Court Justices, a session with Marlee Matlin “speaking” about inclusion for individuals with special needs, a live video […]

Sunday is the beginning of the three-day Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly.  Volunteer and professional leaders from all 153 Jewish Federations and 300 Network communities from throughout North America, along with representatives of both national and international Jewish agencies, will be on site to learn, network and be inspired. We are really proud […]

Jewish tradition speaks to the importance of treating others with kindness, honor and respect and is clear that domestic violence is contrary to Jewish values. The Talmud speaks of this imperative directly in how men should respect their domestic partners and children. In the Talmud (B. Yevamot 63a; B. Sanhedrin 76b) the Rabbis say: “Of […]