Dear friends,
In September, our beloved friend and JCOGS member, Edie Zfass, took my daughter and me out to dinner for our birthdays. She is close to my daughter, and they had much to discuss about politics, art, and feminism. However, my daughter did have to eat, so there was a brief lull in their conversation. Edie looked at me and asked: “Is it a great burden? What we ask of you?”
There is no space in my relationship with Edie for dissembling, so I answered her honestly. Being president of JCOGS isn’t easy, and there are times I do feel like our community asks a great deal. But, what Edie didn’t ask—because she knows me well and didn’t have to—was whether I get as much back as I put in.
JCOGS membership is a covenant. Anyone can come to services and events, so why do so many of us choose to take the formal step of being a member? Being a member of JCOGS means that a person or a family has committed to being responsible for the health and wellbeing of our Jewish community. It means they will contribute some part of themselves and their family to our community, whether it be attendance in educational programs, work on a committee, financial contributions, or myriad other forms of community support. We have over 200 members, and we have over 200 ways people choose to fulfill that commitment.
Shortly, you will get your membership renewal. I urge you to fill it out immediately. Be the very first person or family to say: “I am committing to my Jewish community this day.”
And if you’re not yet a member, here’s the link to join for next year.
The answer to Edie’s unasked question is unequivocal. JCOGS gives me back as much as I put in, and usually more. I have grown as a thinker and a writer in these last two years, and I have grown as a person. I know who I can turn to in moments of need, and I am given a space to help others. I have gained humility and confidence at the same time. As I grapple on a personal level with my complicity and participation in some of the darkest aspects of our society, I turn to Rabbi David for a Jewish lens through which to examine my responsibilities. I have entered into covenant with my Jewish community, and my Jewish community has fulfilled that covenant many times over.
Please do not take the gift of a Jewish community lightly; for it to be here for us, we will need to be here for it.
Best,
Emily Rosenbaum
JCOGS President
