Before leaving for retreat, I was asked to bring an item that represented my Jewish leadership journey. I settled on a mezuzah that my father’s first cousin and his wife recently sent me. I talked about my journey from what my family lovingly called “Boca Jews” to becoming a “Mezuzah Jew” (In case you are wondering, you can be both simultaneously). The point here being that when I was growing up, we were the kind of Jews who wintered in Boca, but never and I mean never, put our Judaism on display. 

As I listened to the incredible stories this week of this organization that I, admittedly, know less about than most of you, I had this strange déjà vu. I was taken back to a time when my father and all his friends rented out the DC Holocaust Museum to raise funds.

It is one of my first memories, not only of being in a big, generous Jewish community and one of the only ones where my dad mentioned his parents’ and grandparents’ stories of escape, but also where I remember realizing we were resourced and therefore could and were obligated to do something because of it. 

“L’dor vador” is my favorite Hebrew phrase. From generation to generation. 

There is so much I look forward to and so much still to learn as I journey through Cabinet over the next five years. In the meantime, I’m glad to: 

Send my mom and her Tuesday mahjong squad a photo of me learning with new friends.
Have a meeting on the books with an incredible new friend with similar professional experience who is in rabbinical school currently to share and explore polarity
thinking, in hopes of sharing this wisdom with our chevre in meaningful ways.
Make my dad proud by staying curious about what it means to be a visible donor and learning more about how women having so much of the current wealth distribution continues to shift the conversations we’re having.
Offer my skill sets of conflict management and facilitation as young leaders seek to design new containers for big ideas.
Take solace in knowing there’s an entire WhatsApp chat in the world devoted to sharing the Hebrew names of pets and where I can find the best Rosh Hashanah décor.
And have the opportunity to meet so many more of you!