I’m turning this Shabbat message over to Brian Eglash, our senior vice president and chief development officer, who recently returned from our Corazones Unidos: Mission to Mexico City.

On Thursday, October 15, we gathered for our final mission dinner, and the next day most of our group of 31 Pittsburghers returned home from an extraordinary Federation mission to Mexico City.

In this week’s Torah portion, Lech Lecha, God calls Abram to lech lecha (“go forth”), beginning a journey that will transform him into a source of blessing to others. Our mission reminded us that when we step beyond the familiar and encounter another Jewish community, we return with new memories and a renewed understanding of our shared responsibility to build community, practice tzedakah and strengthen the Jewish future.

We had the special opportunity to experience Mexico City—one of the world’s largest and most vibrant cities—through a Jewish lens. Its nearly 50,000-member Jewish community is unique and deeply inspiring in its passion for Jewish identity, connection to Israel and commitment to the future.

Consider a few remarkable examples: more than 95% of the community’s children attend Jewish day schools; more than 5,000 people actively volunteer with Jewish organizations; and nearly all young adults participate in a gap-year or longer-term Israel experience, such as Masa, after high school.

We visited the extraordinary Centro Deportivo Israelita (CDI), a Jewish community center, a sprawling campus serving more than 20,000 Jewish members, and ORT Olami, a Jewish day school with more than 1,200 students, which is not even the community’s largest (that one has over 3,000!). We also shared dinner with some of the Mexican Lions of Judah (women who contribute $5,000 and more to the campaign). They described the volunteer initiatives they lead and the community of 156 Lions they have built. Throughout the mission, we encountered Jews who are proudly and unapologetically committed to Jewish life, Israel, Zionism and one another.

We returned with countless stories from memorable Jewish, cultural and culinary experiences. I have often described Federation missions as “magic,” and this one truly was. Our participants, ranging in age from 25 to 84, formed meaningful bonds through their shared experiences, witnessed Federation’s impact in real time and returned inspired to deepen their own involvement in Jewish Pittsburgh.

Federation missions are far more than trips. They are immersive Jewish experiences that bring our values to life, connect us with communities around the world, deepen relationships among participants and help us see both Federation’s impact and our own role in shaping the Jewish future. As Lech Lecha reminds us, sometimes we must go forth to discover how we can become a greater source of blessing to others.

Wishing everyone a Shabbat shalom ve hasta la vista!

Warmly,
Brian Eglash
Senior Vice President & Chief Development Officer