Hi everyone! I hope you’ve had a great week. Throughout our lives there are moments when our personal and our professional selves align. For me, this year is one of those years.  

In November, my daughter Norah will be called to the Torah as she celebrates her Bat Mitzvah. We are deep in the preparation, learning the Torah portion, inviting friends and family to join us for the day, and everything else that comes with planning a major milestone. I couldn’t be prouder of Norah, and I cannot wait to celebrate her later this fall.

Another moment of pride after thirteen years of existence is happening in my professional life.  This year the Jewish Alliance is celebrating our thirteenth year since the merger of the Jewish Federation, Jewish Community Center, and Bureau of Jewish Education. There is so much to celebrate and look back on in those thirteen years. So the Alliance is going to do just that. We want to celebrate this milestone with all of you! 

On Saturday December 7^th, the Alliance will be throwing a B’nai Mitzvah to honor all of those who helped us to reach this day. I’m so grateful that Stacy and Doug Emanuel, Lesley and Bob Landau, and Roanne and Richard Licht are co-chairing this event for us. And I’m grateful to our staff, the host committee who have been working hard to plan the event, and the community businesses and families who have already agreed to support and sponsor this exciting celebration.  

Like all B'nai Mitzvahs, it’s a party, and we would love for you to join us! It's also so much more. It's an event that will celebrate the coming together of three critical organizations thirteen years ago. And it's an affair that promises to bring hundreds of us together and lift up the many accomplishments we’ve created together in thirteen years!  

You can find more information on this gala event here. And if you are interested in sponsoring a part of the evening or helping the Alliance to support the great programs and services offered by our community, you can find information for that at the link as well. Either way, mark your calendars now! 

There has been a lot of focus recently on the negative things impacting our community. It is equally vital to find joy and celebration, which are so important to the Jewish people’s long and continued survival.  I hope you’ll join us to celebrate the joy later this fall. Until next time, I wish you a safe, peaceful, and joyous Shabbat. Shabbat Shalom!