As I close out my first week on the job, I want to share a few thoughts and observations with you about tzedakah and the natural overlap between donors and recipients.  

First, I am very proud to be a product of this community, and it is great to be back and closer to family. Edmonton has always felt to me like a tight-knit Jewish community, but one that is incredibly welcoming of newcomers (and returnees like my family and me), and where inroads into community life are abundant. That isn’t the case in every community, and we are very fortunate to have that spirit here.  

Second, it is truly a privilege to be serving our community in a professional capacity. This week, I had the chance to confer with our United Jewish Appeal (UJA) co-chairs, Farrel Shadlyn and Josh Raizman, to connect with donors, and to see how dedicated our staff team is. I was also able to touch base with Susan Schiffman, who has done wonderful work in this role over the years and for whom I have immense respect.  

When I was in high school, the Jewish Federation of Edmonton provided the entire March of the Living cohort with scholarships to offset part of the cost of participating in the program. The March shaped how I think about my personal responsibility to community, and the scholarship influenced my outlook on tzedakah. Because with that act of generosity, we were no longer donors. We were recipients, too.   

During my years at the Vancouver Federation, I witnessed tzedakah on an unprecedented scale: transformational philanthropic investments with generational impact. It’s also where I met a woman, during my first campaign, who could not make ends meet.   

She received rental and grocery subsidies, and a myriad of other supports. But she still couldn’t always pay for the full dose of prescription medications she needed. As I sat with her in her living room, I saw a thank-you card on her bookcase. It was from a charity she had donated to. This frail, elderly woman who did not have enough for herself was giving tzedakah. She told me how important it was to her to contribute what she could. Seeing her stretch to make this gift has stayed with me ever since.   

It’s a very Jewish perspective to believe that each person must play their part and support community. We saw that two weeks ago in Parshah Ki Tisa in which we recount the half shekel that each Jew contributed toward the building of the Mishkan. It’s interesting to me that while Ki Tisa means “When you take”, many of us associate the parsha with a time “when you give”.   

As we wrap up one UJA campaign and prepare for the next, it is a natural moment to reflect on how our contributions strengthen the very community that benefits not just others but also ourselves. Because a stronger, more vibrant community is good for all of us. Collective giving, rooted in thousands of years of Jewish tradition, demonstrates that beautifully. It is something that I take to heart, that we teach our son, and which guides my work every day.  

Shabbat shalom,

Becky