This message has 991 words and has taken 11.5 years to gestate.

Parashat Ki Tavo
This past Shabbat we read Parashat Ki Tavo, and I found it had much to offer in helping frame my final message to the community.

Moses is in his final phase of leadership and nearing the conclusion of his closing oration to the Israelites – passing on laws and instructions while he still has a short bit of time. God forbid I should compare myself to Moses, the greatest leader in all Jewish history. But, I have been musing over the summer about the coincident timing of the conclusion of my tenure here in Vancouver with the closing of our annual Torah reading cycle. One important thing our tradition teaches us is that the closing of one cycle marks the beginning of the next. Many people have voiced their concern, in relation to my departure, that I can’t be replaced. But, of course, the reality is that no one is irreplaceable. The transition ahead will bring new ideas, new opportunities, new relationships and new dreams.

Moses relays the commandment “When you enter the land that God is giving you, and you settle it and cultivate it, bring the first-ripened fruits of your orchard…” We are directed to remember our good fortune, and to share in gratitude. It has truly been my good fortune to have had the opportunity to serve this community. Together, we have enabled our Jewish Federation to make many strides forward. Perhaps most obvious is the growth in our annual fundraising and other financial resource development efforts. But fundraising is only a tool to greater goals – building, nurturing and strengthening our community, taking care of those in need, cultivating the Jewish identity and commitment of the next generation and so much more. On all those fronts we are a stronger, more vital and cohesive community. And as examples of the first-fruits we have been able to bring to the community as offerings, I point to the following:

• Together, we have introduced or expanded important pathways to Jewish connections such as Birthright Israel, our Jewish schools, PJ Library, and Moishe House.
• Together, we have expanded Jewish housing options for seniors, adults with disabilities and those on limited incomes, and brought new resources to support people with chronic mental health issues in our community.
• Together, we have served as a catalyst for the evolution of the Eastern Galilee in Israel as a biotechnology hub, through the creation of the Bar Ilan Medical School in Safed, and the Sidney Warren Science Education Centre at Tel Hai Academic College.
• Together, we have met our global responsibilities, bringing increased resources from Vancouver to help those in need in the Former Soviet Union, Ethiopia and Argentina.
• Together, we have strengthened the place of Israel in the social, cultural and educational life of our community through our Partnership2Gether people-to-people exchange programs with the community in the Upper Galilee, our annual Yom Ha’atzmaut and Yom HaZikaron programs, and through the JCC Chutzpah Festival.

There are many more examples I could have cited. We are blessed to be part of a vibrant, exciting and growing Jewish community, and I have been proud to make my contribution through my leadership role at Jewish Federation.

For most of the past 11 and a half years this message has become my platform for sharing news about Jewish Federation, our community and our Jewish world. Most of what I have written has literally been from my desk – a reflection of a portion of whatever our Jewish Federation was dealing with that week. On occasion it provided a vehicle to respond to events in our community and beyond that I knew people were thinking about, upset about, or celebrating. The not so subliminal subtext, at least for me, was to convey the breadth of Jewish Federation’s impact. To make it explicit, in case you missed the point, 80-90% of what I wrote about was directly related to the impact of the funds raised through our Annual Campaign, Jewish Community Foundation and related fundraising efforts.

I mention this, of course, because we are just about to launch our next Jewish Federation Annual Campaign. To all of you have been contributors, I thank you for joining us in the holy task of building and nurturing Jewish life in our community and beyond. And if you have been riding along on the journey of these messages these past many years, but aren’t yet participating in the Annual Campaign, or perhaps have stopped for some reason, I urge you to step up and be counted. Contribute to the incredible collective impact we have already had, and the greater impact we can have together in the future. You can make your gift online today.

Coming back to the parasha, Moses concludes by telling the people that only today, forty years after their birth as a people, have they attained “a heart to know, eyes to see, and ears to hear.” (Deuteronomy 29:3) It is one of those beautiful quotes from our Torah that reflects extraordinary human wisdom. When we come fresh to a situation we cannot possibly know everything we need to know to make the right decisions and take the right steps. It takes time and perspective, and not a little bit of struggling, to emerge wiser and ready to face the challenges at hand. So an ending is also a beginning, and my prayer for our community here in Greater Vancouver is to look at the journey we have been on together over these past eleven and a half years, and to face the future with your heart, your eyes and your ears attuned to the magnificent opportunities and possibilities ahead.

Thank you for the opportunity to be part of and serve this wonderful community. It is an experience I will carry with me for the rest of my days.

Shana tova!