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What is Jewish Community? That was a question posed to me by a group of students in Temple Sholom's Jewish Information Class on Tuesday night. It is deeply inspiring, at a time when our affiliation rates are not what they used to be, to have these vibrant, energetic and excited individuals coming to the table and saying that they see themselves benefiting from living a Jewish life.

“What is Jewish Community” may seem to be a simple question, but when I was asked I realized that there was no simple answer. I replied to the class that the students assembled represent Jewish community. Jewish community is the 24 Israeli teens I joined for Kabbalat Shabbat last Friday at King David High School (KHDS). It is also the great Israeli author, Zeruya Shalev, who kicked off our Jewish Book Festival and all who came to hear her. It is the group of volunteers who sit on our Board, inspired by the wisdom imparted by Rabbi Berger in his dvar at our meeting on Monday. It is the Taglit-Birthright Israel participants who completed their orientation this week, as well as those being honored for their service at the many Jewish agency AGM’s at this time of year.

There are many ways to understand community and we are fortunate to have recent data from the 2011 National Household Survey at our disposal. This past week, our board, congregational Rabbis and many communal professionals had the opportunity to see the completed data for the first time. It is heartening to learn that our community is growing – over the past ten years we have grown by 1.4% per year. Another exciting statistic that we are seeing is an increase in the number of children between the ages of 0 – 14. Sadly, poverty is also growing in our community – with approximately 4,200 people living in poverty, many of whom are children growing up in families that do not have resources to meet their basic needs. This important information guides our communal planning processes and informs our funding decisions.

Federation Annual Campaign
The theme of this year’s Federation Annual Campaign is “Your Heart’s in the Right Place.” With our campaign on pace to achieve its $8 million goal, your generous gifts demonstrate our shared commitment to providing a safety net for our most vulnerable and building a strong, enduring community at home, in Israel and throughout the word. It’s not too late for you to follow your heart and make a gift to this year’s campaign.

“The Call Out” for Jewish Youth
“The Call Out” is a new youth oriented website developed and managed by the Jewish Community Centre. The website is another result of the “Youth at Risk” report and was designed with input from youth. The website will serve as a place to promote youth oriented community activities and events, provide information on relevant resources and feature material and blogs prepared by young people themselves. The Call Out will also provide youth with an opportunity to raise questions and seek support in a confidential on-line environment. We are grateful to the Ralph and Barbara James Family Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation for the financial support of this initiative.

Ukraine Relief Fund
As the crisis continues to unfold in Ukraine, our partner agency, the Jewish Agency, continues to provide much-needed support on the ground. Since January of this year, 4,465 Ukrainian Jews have made Aliyah (an increase of 178%), with hundreds more are awaiting their Aliyah date in Jewish Agency refugee centers. And, over 4,000 Jewish students attend Jewish Agency’s Heftzibah day school system throughout the country. The Ukrainian Jewish community is grateful for your continued support in this time of need.

Parshat Vayeitzei

We continue to share reflections on the week’s parsha by young professionals from across North America. This week's Shabbat message was written by Jewish Federations of North America National Young Leadership Planned Giving & Endowment Co-Chair Cintra Pollack from Denver.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ezra S. Shanken
CEO, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver