Earlier this week, the Alliance held it’s 13th annual meeting. Thirteen is a major milestone in Jewish life. It is when our young people come of age. And in many ways, like the young people of our community who experience their Bar or Bat or B Mitzvahs each year, the Alliance is coming of age.

It has been thirteen years since the Alliance was born out of the merger of the Jewish Federation of Rhode Island, the Jewish Community Center, and the Bureau of Jewish Education. And in those thirteen years we’ve grown up.

Click here to read the transcribed version of the Shabbat message.

As any Rabbi will tell you, thirteen is when you come of age, but it is a beginning, not an end. In many ways, it is when our growing begins. And as a community, we are poised for tremendous growth, with the Alliance leading the way. As the Alliance goes forward through adulthood, there will be many ups and downs, there will be trials and tribulations, good times and harder times.

But our first thirteen years have prepared us for all of it. And like those children who become Jewish adults, our adulthood is rooted in our Jewish values, rooted in our desire for a vibrant, thriving Jewish community for all, rooted in our deep and abiding belief that even in tough times we must find and lift up and spread Jewish joy. With such strong roots, with such a strong foundation we go forward, together. And I’m excited to take this next step in our journey with all of you.

Until next time, I wish you a safe, peaceful, and joyous Shabbat.

Shabbat Shalom,
Adam Greenman
President & CEO