s we head into Shabbat, I find myself thinking about the incredible week we just shared across the Valley. Our community has been carrying a lot: the heavy weight of memory, but also the exciting promise of what we’re building together.
This past week, we gathered for Yom HaShoah in two very different but equally moving ways. Whether it was the 225 of us at Congregation B’nai Torah in Longmeadow or the 75 people who met at the Jewish Community of Amherst, the feeling was the same: a shared, sacred commitment to never forget.
In Longmeadow, we spent time honoring survivors from our own Springfield community. Watching the documentary that evening was a powerful reminder of what resilience actually looks like. I was especially moved thinking about Gerald Steinberg, whose lifelong work in Holocaust education has done so much to shape how we remember our history today. We don’t just remember the loss; we remember the strength of people who insisted on bearing witness.
In Amherst, we looked at memory through the lens of language. Professor Hannah Pollin-Galay shared something I found fascinating: even in the camps, people fought to preserve Yiddish idioms. The fact that some of the first acts of liberation involved creating dictionaries tells you everything you need to know about the Jewish spirit. It’s a reminder that our culture and our voices are, themselves, acts of resistance.
Perhaps the most hopeful moment was hearing Eden Polk, a 17-year-old who spoke with such poise about her great-grandparents’ experience at liberation. In her voice, you could literally hear the future. That is L’dor V’dor in action—passing the torch from one generation to the next.
That sense of continuity is exactly where this moment meets Shabbat. While we honor the past, we are also busily nurturing a vibrant Jewish life right here in Western Massachusetts.
We just wrapped up our second monthly gathering of Tribe 413 in Easthampton. Seeing so many young Jewish adults coming together to find connection and meaning is a clear sign that the next generation is ready to lead.
I’m also constantly inspired by the women in our community. From education to outreach, the Women’s Philanthropy Committee is full of leaders at every stage of life who are stepping up to build something that lasts.
This is what community is all about. We honor those who came before us by making sure Jewish life doesn't just survive, but thrives.
As we enter Shabbat, I hope we can all hold onto these two truths: the sacred duty to remember where we came from, and the wonderful privilege of deciding where we go next.
