Looking back prepares us for our future
I have always supported “stopping to smell the roses” and taking time to reflect. I think this exercise has real power because instead of just going, going, going, one can actually appreciate what they have accomplished or experienced by stopping. We seem to live in a current culture of feeling like we must hurry onto the next “thing” instead of appreciating what we just did. It reminds me of the song Coffee in a Cardboard Cup. It is a song I first heard sung by Mandy Patinkin on one of his early albums, and I have kept it in my mind and refer back to it occasionally.
I bring this idea up because over the last year, our Jewish Federation has celebrated its 30th anniversary as an organization. Our year of festivities, which included our 25th Annual Jewish Book Festival, our inaugural Ladies of Laughter Comedy Fest: Celebrating Funny Jewish Women, and a production of Fiddler on the Roof by our JFed Players, concluded in June with our 30th Anniversary Celebration brunch, attended by over 170 people.
During remarks I gave as part of our 30th Anniversary Celebration. I reflected on the myriad of ways our Jewish Federation worked to build community by strengthening and enhancing Jewish life right here in the greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys. I reminded attendees of some of our past events, some history of our work, how we strove to remain as relevant as we could, which led to the program expansion that has taken place over the last 12+ years, and shared how I feel like we grew into being looked at as THE Jewish voice in our community,
I also spent several moments sharing what I foresaw the next thirty years would look like for our Jewish Federation. Here is a brief snapshot:
• Continuing our push to ensure that people are aware that there is a strong and vibrant Jewish community east of Los Angeles.
• Furthering our work as a member of the Southern California Jewish Security Alliance. This group aims to increase the coordination, information sharing, and security implementation from Santa Barbara to Palm Springs.
• Expanding our involvement as a Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California (JPAC) member. JPAC ensures Jewish interests and issues are heard and conveyed to our state legislature and works closely with the California Legislative Jewish Caucus on issues ranging from security, Ethnic Studies, Holocaust education, and more.
• Re-establishing a Jewish Community Relations Council so there can be a coordinated and strategic community approach to the ongoing and sadly growing anti-Jewish and anti-Israel sentiment throughout our area
• Working to bring back both our annual 3rd – 9th grade Shabbaton and our Jewish Food Festival
• Bringing One Happy Camper to our community. This national program provides $1,000 scholarships to families sending their children to a Jewish overnight summer camp for the first time.
• Lastly, one of our long-term goals is for our Jewish Federation to purchase a building so we have a permanent home that can serve as a community center.
In some ways, looking back on our past helps us better understand what we need to do to fulfill our dreams and visions for the future. So here is to our first thirty years, and thank you to everyone who helped make them possible as we begin our next thirty years.
Jason Moss is executive director of the Jewish Federation of the Greater
San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys.
