Keeping Our Eyes on the Prize

By Keith Krivitzky, Managing Director Jewish Federation of Ocean County keith@ocjf.org

www.jewishoceancounty.org

www.jewishoceancounty.org/donate 732.363.0530

Our Jewish Federation has two fundraising campaigns underway at the moment.

These include:

A) A push for our annual campaign, which will also help meet a match from the Claims Conference to support services for Holocaust survivors.

B) And an effort to continue our Israel campaign, which will help augment the funding provided to needy, often highly effective niche programs in Israel, that help those most affected by October 7 be able to rebuild their lives, grapple with PTSD, and recover.

I am leading with these activities, not

just because they are happening now and we want to encourage your contributions – which is true – but because this reflects our approach at the Jewish Federation of Ocean County. We are focused on a few core priorities and efforts – and we try our best not to get distracted.

That is difficult in the world we live in today, with endless news cycles and nonstop efforts to capture our attention, eyeballs, and mindshare. It seems that often the only way to make it through the day without a scrambled mind is to wear blinders or bury your head in the sand.

Or…to keep your “eyes on the prize” and stay focused on what’s really important. That’s what we try and do.

Our priorities are to help those Jews most in need locally, in Israel, and around the world; to strengthen and instill pride in our community; and to respond to those crises that put our community and our people at risk, such as combatting hate and antisemitism.

We highlight the ways in which your contribution helps enable smart impact and makes a meaningful difference in our communications. Visit www.jewishoceancounty.org/impact. You can feel confident that your funds are put to good use and are leveraged as much as possible – such as through the match from the Claims Conference or the support of the Ocean County Cultural and Heritage Commission, the Ocean County Prosecutor, and our elected officials for working together to counter hate and antisemitism.

Staying focused and keeping our eyes on the prize isn’t easy and didn’t originate with us. This idea is central to the holiday of Shavuot, which we will soon be celebrating.

Shavuot marks the giving of the Torah. This didn’t happen suddenly but was the culmination of a process which began with the Exodus from Egypt. As has been said by Rav Joseph Soloveitchik and other thinkers, Mt. Sinai wasn’t just the destination of the Jewish people, it

was their destiny. There was a goal, a focal point, which the children of Israel and their leaders tried to stay homed in on –though, as we see in the Torah and our history, it has often been difficult to stick to the path and avoid other temptations and distractions.

We commemorate that today as we count the Omer between Passover and Shavuot. And, today as well, it is sometimes hard to stay focused and avoid potential distractions that can seem compelling at the time.

Thanks to our leadership, we are doing our best and, in part as a result, have an outsized impact for a small Federation and community. You help make that possible.

Thank you.

To donate to our annual campaigns and meet a match to help local Holocaust survivors, visit: www.jewishoceancounty.org/HolocaustFund. To support our ongoing Israel efforts post October 7, visit: www.jewishoceancounty.org/israelresponse.

P.S. Don’t forget you can do both!