MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Happy Hanukkah! As families come together and bring the light of the menorah, the smell of cooking latkes and the sounds of children playing dreidel into our homes, we are reminded of our connection to our people and to our history. All over the world Jewish families will join together for the festive holiday celebrating the triumph of Maccabees so long ago. It is powerful and touching to celebrate our ancient traditions passed down through generations. 

Much more than the presents we give one another, the true gift of Hanukkah is our connection to our families and to Jewish peoplehood. This year I encourage you to consider helping to support the lives of fellow Jews, by making a donation to Jewish Federation. Your gift touches lives here in our community, around the world and in Israel. We fund the most important programs at our community’s congregations, community-wide events like Torathon and the JCC film fest, and the Young Emissary & Shaliach Program. We provide funding for young people including Birthright and PJ Library and much more.  Federation may have even helped send a member of your own family to a Jewish summer camp, helped them in a time of need, or supported them in some other way . Federation certainly has touched the lives of many people you know.

We began our fundraising campaign at the start of the Jewish New Year with Rosh Hashanah, and we want to remind you now, during this holiday season, of the importance of making a gift to support our community.

Thank you so much for your support and generosity

What’s Happening in Central Mass.

Sherri Levin of college basketball fame shares her journey on leadership with members of YAD at our LEAD program

YAD breaks bread together at November’s Shabbat

Over 100 community members came out for a night out at the Central Mass Jewish Theater for “My Son the Waiter”, followed by a dessert reception, hosted by Federation.

Children gathering for our PJ Library Story Times as Hanukkah at The Worcester Art Museum

Grafton Jewish Community members, along with JFED Outreach Director Mindy Hall, present a new community menorah at Grafton Center Holiday Festival.

Lighting the Way: a Gift for Generations

Just as a person lights one candle from another and the original flame is not diminished, so too, we are never lessened when we pass on our eternal “flame” to another person. (Bamidbar Rabbah 13:20) 

Our family received PJ Library books.  My kids were so excited each month when their personal package arrived.  I was always excited, too!  I wasn’t raised Jewish, and PJ Library books gave our family a fun way to learn about Jewish holiday, life, and history together.  Now that my kids are grown, I continue to support our local PJ Library program so that every Jewish child can have the experience of owning Jewish books.

This year JFCM will launch an exciting program to grow an endowment for our PJ Library program.  The Harold Grinspoon Foundation will give our community incentive grants and matching funds to help us.  Our goal is to raise $1M in 2 years to sustain PJ Library for Jewish kids in Central Mass for decades to come.

I look forward to speaking more about this amazing opportunity with you all in the coming months.  In the meantime, have a wonderful Hanukah and New Year, and enjoy this reflection by Rachel Berezin, Director of Endowment, PJ Library at the Harold Grinspoon Foundation on legacy and PJ Library. 

When my mother stood up in front of our friends and family on the afternoon of my bat mitzvah, she proudly gave me one of the most special, meaningful gifts I have ever received: my great-grandmother’s necklace. 

My great-grandmother survived the Khmelnytsky pogroms (which occurred from 1917-1921 in modern-day Ukraine and represented the largest and most violent antisemitic massacres prior to the Holocaust) and immigrated to the United States in 1921. When she arrived in this country, her father gave her a necklace to celebrate her bravery. This necklace is now a family heirloom that has been handed down to the oldest daughter in every generation. It signifies the importance of carrying on the beautiful traditions and values of the Jewish people and reminds me that each generation plays a key role in passing down our stories and sharing our values with those who come after us.

In 2005, the Harold Grinspoon Foundation launched a children’s book program called PJ Library to bring Jewish stories and traditions into the homes of families raising Jewish children. In the ensuing 16 years, tens of thousands of people have joined with Harold Grinspoon to support PJ Library, and together we have gifted more than 49 million PJ Library books to families around the world. With each book read to a child, we keep alive our unique Jewish experience. The stories of the Jewish community are a precious gift to be preserved and passed on, like a cherished family heirloom. 

Today, PJ Library reaches the homes of more than 670,000 Jewish children around the globe. It is an exciting milestone, but it highlights that there are still many Jewish children yet to serve. To ensure that PJ Library continues to stand as a pillar of Jewish family engagement for more families, we will need to increase our investment today and into the future. 

If you have ever met Harold Grinspoon, you’ve heard him express his love of the Jewish people and his commitment to ensuring that our stories and traditions are shared with future generations. He continues to invest in PJ Library to advance its important mission. Now Harold Grinspoon is making another groundbreaking investment in PJ Library to help secure its future. 

I am excited to share news of a new initiative to help PJ Library community partners build endowments to ensure the future of PJ Library for the families they serve. This two-year pilot initiative offers matching funds to inspire current and after-lifetime gifts of any size for building a PJ Library endowment fund in participating communities. Our hope is that Harold’s lead gift and continued generosity will inspire communities to secure endowment funds for PJ Library so that families continue to receive books and resources for generations to come. 

This year, as I reflect on the celebration of Hanukkah, the tradition of lighting the menorah hits me in a different way. The miracle of Hanukkah was not just that the oil lasted for eight days; the true miracle was that the Maccabees chose to light the menorah. Their act was a testament to the Jewish future. When I think about Harold Grinspoon and the many generous PJ Library endowment donors, I am touched by the number of children and families who will continue sharing our Jewish stories for many years and generations to come. I hope you will be inspired to help pass on our stories.