CANDLE BEACH CANDLELIGHTING LIGHTING-- MIAMI BEACH AUG289 // אלול י”גט“ותמוז/ תבוא / פרשת כיבלק August פרשת
ISRAEL AT WAR DAY 308
CANDLE LIGHTING: 7:24 PM7:54 PM CANDLE LIGHTING: SHABBOS ENDS: 8:19 PM
SHABBOS ENDS: 8:51 PM
A U GAugust U S T 8 , 227, 024 / 4 AV, 7 8 4 5786 2026 / 14 5Elul, M AY - J U N E 2 0 2 3 / S I VA N - TA M U Z , 5 7 8 3 VO L U M E 1 , N U M B E R 1
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NEFESH B'NEFESH CELEBRATES ITS
100,000th Oleh!
We applaud every Oleh who has chosen to build their life and legacy in our homeland, leading the way for thousands more to follow. 100,000 Olim have put down roots, built families, and are thriving in Israel. Their impact extends far beyond this extraordinary milestone. They have built families and developed communities, and have grown to become hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens, strengthening Israel and helping shape its future for generations to come.
"I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation for the amazing work of Nefesh B'Nefesh who have changed the whole model of Aliyah." PRESIDENT OF ISRAEL, ISAAC HERZOG
WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP TO BUILD A STRONGER ISRAEL THROUGH ALIYAH
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Beyond the Headlines
A weekly glimpse into the Israel you won’t read about in the news By Sivan Rahav Meir
Yehuda Katz, of Blessed Memory, and Us After forty-four years, Yehuda Katz, who had been missing since the First Lebanon War, was finally laid to rest in Israel. That is a sentence worth reading twice. And in the very week when Yehuda, the last missing soldier from the Battle of Sultan Yacoub, was brought to burial, the Torah portion spoke about the mitzvah of hashavat aveidah, returning a lost object. Our commentators explain that the basic obligation is to return something that has been lost to its owner. But there is a broader idea here as well: to restore what is missing to its proper place — in the body, in the soul, in our people. To bring back what has been lost, in every sense. The Torah expresses this in three profound words: “You may not ignore it.” And indeed, the Jewish people did not look away. Even when decades have passed, even when the search is difficult, we do not say: “It’s lost. There’s no hope.”
This is also an opportunity to thank the many unsung heroes who made that possible. The Torah continues: “And so shall you do with anything your brother loses.” Last week, quite literally, a lost brother came home, to be buried in the soil of the Land of Israel. That moving commitment to those who are missing should shape the way we approach every area of life. May we continue to notice what is missing, to search, to restore, and never to give up on what has been lost. And may we be instrumental in returning everything to its rightful place. Selichot at the Kotel It took me a few seconds to realize who was standing beside me. I was in the women’s section on the balcony overlooking the Kotel plaza, watching the enormous crowd that had come for Selichot. Next to me stood Noa Argamani, who was rescued from captivity in Gaza in Operation Arnon, and Ziv
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Abud, who survived the Nova festival massacre and was married last week to Eliya Cohen, himself a returned hostage. Both women were deeply absorbed in the Selichot prayers, and I didn’t want to disturb them. I looked across at the men’s section. There was Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, Rabbi of the Kotel and the mekomot hakedoshim, leading the service. Around him stood Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov, Itay Regev and Bar Kupershtein. All of them had been held in Hamas tunnels. And now all of them were here, siddurim in hand, reciting Selichot with great emotion. “Aneinu.” “Adon HaSelichot.” Every word suddenly carried another layer of meaning. Then the chazan cried out: “Our God in Heaven, redeem us from the hands of all our enemies!” And I looked at them—men and women who had actually been redeemed from the hands of our enemies. That, I thought, was the message of this extraordinary evening: Sometimes you can actually see prayers being answered before your eyes. I remembered all the mass prayer gatherings held for them, here and around the world. I remembered their names being recited through tears. But the story doesn’t end there. Suli Eliav, director of the Kotel Heritage Foundation, happened to pass by us. He opened his siddur and showed me the words that come a little later: “Our God
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COMMUNITY NEWS in Heaven, bring the redemption near! Our God in Heaven, bring the day of salvation near!” “This is the goal,” he told me. “Geulah, yeshuah. I think we all need to dream bigger. “Look around you. There are 50,000 people here, most of them young. And young people are filling shuls all over the country. The Jewish people suffered a terrible blow. We paid a high price. But something else is happening too: We are rising to another level. We are finding our way back to ourselves. “So yes, we are grateful. We are moved. But we can’t stop there. We need to dream big—the biggest dreams of all. We need to believe, to aspire, to pray and to act. “May we merit to see all our prayers come true before our eyes.”
A New Look at the 13 Attributes of Mercy Since the beginning of the month of Elul, hundreds of thousands of people have been coming every night to recite the Selichot prayers. At the heart of Selichot is the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy. People pray, cry out, sing, and declare again and again these words that describe the way God governs the world: how He has mercy and gives sinners second chances, how He treats us with compassion. These words were first introduced after the sin of the Golden Calf when we expressed remorse for our sin and merited forgiveness. When our Sages discuss God’s Thirteen Attributes of Mercy they emphasize a different point: We recite these words not only to declare how much God is compassionate
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and gracious and how much He forgives and pardons us, but so that we should learn to imitate His ways. God is teaching us to emulate Him—to do acts of lovingkindness and to be more accepting of others. The way you judge others is the way you will be judged by God; God mirrors your behavior. Therefore, it is important that we not only recite the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, but that we strive to emulate them in our own lives. May we learn to forgive others and thus merit our own forgiveness. Translated by Yehoshua Siskin and Janine Muller Sherr Want to read more by Sivan Rahav Meir? Google The Daily Thought or visit sivanrahavmeir.com
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Jewish Key West: A Small Island With a Big Jewish History The election of Key West’s first Jewish mayor shines a new spotlight on one of South Florida’s oldest and most fascinating Jewish communities. Key West made history this month with the election of Sam Kaufman as the city’s first Jewish mayor. But perhaps the more surprising story is that Jews have been part of Key West for well over a century — long before Miami became the center of Jewish life in South Florida. In fact, Key West was South Florida’s first significant Jewish community. In the 1880s, while Miami was still largely undeveloped, Jewish immigrants were already settling in Key West, opening businesses and building communal life. One of the most colorful stories involves Joseph Wolfson, a Russian
Jewish immigrant whose ship ran aground near Key West in 1884. Instead of continuing his journey, Wolfson saw opportunity on the island, stayed and encouraged relatives to join him. Other Jewish
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immigrants soon followed, many coming from Russia, Romania and Poland. Most started out as peddlers, walking the streets and selling merchandise. They became so successful that in 1891 the city imposed a massive $1,000 license fee on pushcart peddlers. Instead of leaving, many Jewish merchants simply opened permanent stores. The result? Jewish-owned clothing, furniture, grocery and drygoods businesses became fixtures of Duval Street, helping shape Key West’s commercial center. Jewish Key West also has an unexpected connection to Cuban independence. With Cuba only about 90 miles away, some Jewish residents became supporters of revolutionary leader José Martí. Jewish business-
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COMMUNITY NEWS man Louis Fine hosted rallies and fundraising efforts, and Martí reportedly delivered speeches from Fine’s porch. Other Jewish residents provided Cuban revolutionaries with clothing, food and assistance. Key West also developed an early connection to Zionism. In 1899 — only two years after Theodor Herzl convened the First Zionist Congress — a Key West branch of the Federation of American Zionists was established to raise funds connected to the dream of a future Jewish homeland. Keeping Jewish traditions on a remote tropical island wasn’t easy. Families who kept kosher sometimes had to have kosher meat shipped all the way from Jacksonville, because Miami did not yet have a kosher butcher. Families expecting a baby boy sometimes traveled north because finding a mohel in Key West could be difficult.
The community established Congregation B’nai Zion in 1887. Today it is considered the oldest synagogue community in South Florida and the southernmost Jewish congregation in the continental United States. Jewish communal life continued to grow. In 1907, Key West Jews organized a Young Men’s Hebrew Association — the first in South Florida and one of only three in Florida at the time. The community later went through difficult years. During the Great Depression, Key West’s Jewish population declined so dramatically that by the 1930s only about 12 Jewish families remained. Yet Jewish life never disappeared. World War II brought new families, Congregation B’nai Zion continued operating, and Chabad of the Florida Keys & Key West was B”H
founded in 1995. A mikvah followed in 2015, serving both local Jews and the enormous number of Jewish visitors who vacation in the Keys. Jewish residents also played an important role in preserving the Key West visitors know today. Members of the Wolfson, Wolkowsky and Holtsberg families were involved in restoring historic properties and protecting the island’s architectural heritage. David Wolkowsky alone was associated with more than 200 restoration projects and helped develop the famous Pier House. So while the election of Key West’s first Jewish mayor is certainly historic, it is really the latest chapter in a much longer story. For more than 130 years, Jews have been merchants, activists, preservationists, community leaders and neighbors on America’s southernmost island — helping make Key West the unique city it is today.
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NBA Stars Visit Landow Jewish Academy in South Florida with LeBron James and Stephen Curry’s Trainer. It was a special day at Landow Jewish Academy as NBA players Andre Drummond, MarJon Beauchamp, and LeBron James and Stephen Curry's trainer Idan Ravin, visited the school’s sports complex for basketball training and took photos with Rabbi Chaim Albert. Drummond, one of the NBA’s most experienced centers, recently joined the New York Knicks, while Beauchamp has also competed at the highest level of professional basketball. Having NBA talent train at Landow gives students a unique opportunity to see professional athletes up close and brings even more excitement to the school’s growing basketball program. For Landow students, this was definitely not an ordinary day at school.
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Before Israel Votes:
Why American Political Labels Don’t Always Work in Israel PART FOUR OF A SERIES EXPLAINING ISRAEL’S POLITICAL SYSTEM BEFORE ISRAELIS GO TO THE POLLS
By Stephen M. Flatow
Ask an American Jew whether a particular Israeli politician is on the left or the right and you’ll usually get an immediate answer. Ask what those labels actually mean in Israel and the answer becomes much less certain. That is because Israeli politics developed differently from American politics. In the United States, political debates often revolve around taxes, government spending, regulation, social issues and the proper role of government. While those issues exist in Israel, they do not always define political identity. Historically, Israel’s political divide centered on questions of security, territory and relations with the Palestinians and neighboring Arab states. How much risk should Israel accept for peace? Should Israel withdraw from territory in exchange for security guarantees? Can Palestinian leaders be trusted to fulfill their commitments? Those questions often determined whether a party was considered left, center or right. As a result, an Israeli voter may hold views that seem contradictory to American observers. A politician may support a strong welfare state and extensive government involvement in the economy while also advocating a hard line on security issues.
Another may support free-market reforms while favoring territorial compromise. Neither fits neatly into an American political category. Religion creates another complication. In the United States, religious voters are often associated with political conservatism. In Israel, religious parties focus on a wide range of issues, including education, military service, conversion, marriage, Shabbat observance and the relationship between religion and state. Some religious parties are hawkish on security matters. Others are willing to support governments of the left or the right depending on the issues most im-
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portant to their constituents. Recent years have introduced still another dividing line: the role of Israel’s courts and legal institutions. Debates over judicial reform, the powers of the Supreme Court and the authority of unelected officials have created new political alliances and tensions that do not fit comfortably within traditional labels. This is one reason American Jews often become frustrated when discussing Israeli politics. We assume that “left” and “right” mean roughly the same thing in Jerusalem as they do in Washington. They do not. A voter who considers him-
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COMMUNITY NEWS self politically liberal in America may find himself agreeing with Israeli parties on some issues and disagreeing sharply on others. Likewise, an American conservative may discover that his Israeli counterparts support policies that would seem unusual in the United States. None of this means the labels are useless. They provide a shorthand for understanding political trends. But they should be viewed as approximations rather than precise descriptions. As Israel approaches another election, Americans would be wise to spend less time asking whether a party is left-wing or right-wing and more time asking what that party actually believes. That approach will lead to fewer misunderstandings and a clearer understanding of the choices facing Israeli voters. Next: Why do small parties seem to have so much influence—and why do Israeli governments fall so often?
Stephen M. Flatow, attorney, author and longtime writer on Israel and Jewish affairs who divides his time between Jerusalem and New Jersey.
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Operation Inspiration: A Short Growing Season By Rabbi Jonathan Gewirtz
For years, garden enthusiasts and home phytophiles have preached talking to your plants as a way of making them grow better. Some people play music for them, and while they may react to the sound waves of the music, or even of the speech, it’s hard to imagine these leafy, green friends actually understand the words people say to them. Others have explained the plant-talking growth phenomenon very simply. The people who care enough to talk to their plants are also the ones who will be sufficiently interested that they invest energy in making sure they are watered, fed, and given appropriate amounts of sunlight. It’s not the words that affect them, but the extra care afforded by those who are so motivated. What’s that got to do with this column? I’m glad you asked. You see, we’re in Elul now, and there’s a famous Chasidic parable about a King. All year he was ensconced in his palace, surrounded by numerous staff, guards, walls, and maybe a moat thrown in for good measure. Once a year, for a few weeks, he would go out and circulate amongst the populace, visiting the various lands he ruled. When he was doing this, no one needed an appointment to meet the King. They could simply approach him and ask for his help. Those weeks, said R’ Shneur Zalman of Liadi, are the weeks of Elul, when anyone can approach Hashem and ask for forgiveness,
guidance, and salvation. The King is in the field, he says, available and accessible. He comes down to earth, as it were, from His heavenly throne, and circulates amongst us. We should not miss such an opportunity to commune and connect with Him. This year, I was struck by a thought to further enhance this
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concept. I was learning Meseches Taanis with my son-in-law, and we were talking about the merit needed to bring rain. There is a difference of opinion as to whether rain falls for a single individual, as opposed to it being a communal need. Raish Lakish expounded that rain could fall for a single individual, on a single field, even on a single blade of grass. He cited the practice of Rav Daniel bar Katina. He had a garden and each day he would go inspect it. He would say, “This bed needs water; this bed does not need water.” The Gemara concludes by reporting that it rained solely on the beds that needed the water, and not on the others. It struck me that when “The King is in the field,” it’s not just any field. It is HIS field. Hashem comes to the world each Elul and
COMMUNITY NEWS inspects His garden, which is us. He says, “Sarah needs this; Eliyahu needs that; and this is what Dovid is missing.” Then, He sends us what we need, just as He sent the rain down to the garden of Rav Daniel bar Katina. The fact that Hashem comes to inspect us means that He cares about us. Like the person speaking to his or her plants, He is invested in our health and growth. He identifies what we need and makes sure we have enough water, but not too much; enough sun, but not too much. Hashem comes to check on us always, but in Elul we feel the closeness and care more than other times. The growing season of the year is coming to a close, and there’s
still time for us to reap a bountiful harvest. Until the end of the judgment, we can turn everything around and blossom. In the times of the prophet Yoel, the rains didn’t fall at the usual time. (Taanis 5a) The winter was dry and the first rains didn’t fall until the first of Nisan. Nevertheless, when they planted a few days later, it rained and the crops grew miraculously fast. Grain normally grown in six months grew and ripened (and surpassed usual plantings) in eleven days, in time for the Omer offering. [This is when the verse in Shir HaMaalos was fulfilled, “Those who sow in tears, in exultation will reap.”] That extremely short growing season accomplished what would
normally take a longer time, and we experience that every year. What we can achieve in Elul can make up for a lack of growth for many months. Even the last day of Elul, when the King is in the field, gives us 11 days to reach our potential before the final tally on Yom Kippur. In short, we are Hashem’s plants, and He is talking to us. If those vibrations permeate our souls, we can rise, flourish, and thrive, and reach our growth potential in no time at all. 2026 – All Rights Reserved Did you enjoy this column? Feedback is welcome and appreciated. E-mail info@ JewishSpeechWriter.com to share your thoughts. You never know when you may be the lamp that enlightens someone else.
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Election night may end with celebration for some and frustration for others, but morning has a way of clearing the scoreboard. The ballots have been counted. The speeches are over. And for those entrusted with representing our community, there is only one question left: WHO’S IN OFFICE?
NO ONE LIKES A NOVEMBER SURPRISE In politics, new faces keep showing up. Not always friendly ones. Yesterday’s fringe candidate becomes tomorrow’s elected official. After forging relationships for years, we suddenly have:
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Across the country, from Florida to Michigan, Illinois to Wisconsin, Minnesota to Missouri, Ohio to Maryland, New York City to Albany, and in communities in between, we mobilize our people.
Here’s what The Agudah is Doing:
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Î Getting our communities registered. Î Putting the ballot in their hands.
Î Getting them to the polls. Î Tracking turnout. Î Building numbers that get noticed. Î Representing Klal Yisroel.
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COMMUNITY NEWS The Agudah cannot stand by and wait for who or what shows up next.
We need to get yidden to show up.
Sometimes the candidate you’ve spent months supporting doesn’t make it across the finish line. That hurts. But advocacy does not have the luxury of lingering over yesterday’s results. It must show up again tomorrow morning.
The climb begins again. New relationships must be built. New conversations started. New trust earned. We get right back to work, building relationships with today’s elected officials and preparing for the new faces who show up tomorrow. The morning after an election, the task is no longer persuasion at the ballot box. It is persuasion across a conference table.
THAT’S WHY WE KEEP DOING.
“
WHEN ELECTIONS DON’T GO THE WAY WE HOPED, PEOPLE LOSE SOME OF THAT FIRE. OUR JOB IS TO REIGNITE IT.
RABBI EPHRIAM GURELL ASSOCIATE OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
WE KEEP DOING SEPTEMBER 7-8 CHARIDY.COM/WEDO Help us to continue to do for the Klal. Please donate generously to yourDstate community E C E or MB E R 6 , 2 0 2campaign. 4 / P.33 Agudath Israel of America 1 State Street Plaza 16th Floor New York, NY 10004/ 970-578-7664
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Inside the Transformation of Jewish Education in Florida For thousands of Jewish families across Florida, the start of a new school year comes with familiar routines: uniforms, carpools, school supplies, tuition bills, security guards at the front entrance, and the hope that every child will receive the education and support they need. What many parents may not realize is how much of that reality has been shaped by years of advocacy. Today, more than 95% of Florida Jewish day-school students receive state scholarship assistance. Jewish day-school enrollment has grown dramatically. Security funding helps protect schools facing rising antisemitic threats. Students with learning and developmental needs have greater access to services. And new legislation is making it easier for additional schools to open in communities where classrooms are already full. Behind much of that work is Teach Florida. Founded in 2016, Teach Florida advocates for safe, affordable and quality Jewish education throughout the state. The organization currently represents approximately 70 Jewish schools serving about 17,000 students. The Community Voice sat down with Teach Florida to understand how Jewish education in Florida has changed, what families are receiving today, and why the organization believes none of that progress should be taken for granted. Community Voice: If a parent knows the name Teach Florida but
does not really understand what the organization does, where do you begin? Teach Florida: We begin with a simple mission: to make sure every Jewish child whose parents want a Jewish education has the ability to receive one that is safe, affordable and high quality. A large part of what families see is scholarship funding. Right now, many families are receiving approximately $8,000 to $10,000 per child toward private-school education. That has completely changed the affordability of Jewish education in Florida. But those programs did not simply appear. They came through years of advocacy, relationships with elected officials, parents speaking up and the Jewish community showing that school choice matters. Community Voice: When Teach Florida was founded, only about 24% of Jewish day-school students were receiving state scholarship assistance. Today, that number exceeds 95%. How did that happen? Teach Florida: It happened step by step. Florida had scholarship programs before Teach Florida was founded, but eligibility was far more limited. Lower-income families were the primary beneficiaries, leaving many middle-income families struggling with the full cost of Jewish education. Teach Florida began advocating alongside coalition partners to ex-
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pand access. In 2021, we helped lead advocacy surrounding the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, or FES-UA, increasing access for students with disabilities and expanding opportunities for families who needed additional educational support. Income limits also expanded, helping more middle-income families qualify. Then, in 2023, Florida enacted universal school choice, opening scholarship eligibility regardless of family income. For Florida’s Jewish community, that was transformative. A benefit that had once been available to a minority of families became part of the educational landscape for almost everyone. Community Voice: Has that affected enrollment? Teach Florida: Yes. Since Teach Florida was founded in 2016, enrollment in Florida Jewish day schools has increased approximately 72%, averaging roughly 7% annual growth over the decade. Some of that growth reflects the migration of Jewish families to Florida from states including New York, New Jersey and California. But when families move, one of their biggest questions is: Where will our children go to school? The scholarship system has helped make Florida a realistic option for families who might otherwise have concluded that Jewish education was financially out of reach.
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COMMUNITY NEWS Community Voice: Has that growth created new challenges? Teach Florida: Absolutely. There are now communities where demand is exceeding capacity. Schools have waitlists. Some communities need entirely new schools. Others are adding grade levels or high-school programs because there simply are not enough seats. That is why affordability can no longer be viewed separately from access. It is not enough to help a family pay tuition if there is no classroom available for their child. Community Voice: How has Teach Florida addressed that? Teach Florida: One major example is SB 182. For years, small private schools could encounter significant local zoning, land-use and regulatory barriers when trying to open. A community might have students, teachers and a viable plan, but still be unable to launch a school because of local restrictions. Teach Florida advocated for legislation creating greater flexibility for smaller private schools. The new law, signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, allows qualifying private schools with fewer than 150 students greater ability to open in commercial and mixed-use areas without navigating some of the rezoning hurdles that previously stood in the way. Since the law took effect, approximately five schools have been able to move forward in situations where opening previously would have been much more difficult. We estimate that as many as 500 students could benefit this year alone. For some of those students, the alternative may have been homeschooling, small learning pods or no Jewish-school option at all. Community Voice: One criticism
South Florida Jewish Schools — By the Numbers 17,000 Jewish students represented by Teach Florida across approximately 70 Jewish schools statewide. 72% Growth in Florida Jewish day-school enrollment since Teach Florida was founded in 2016. 24% → 95%+ Share of Florida Jewish dayschool students receiving state scholarship assistance, from 2016 to today. $8,000–$10,000 Approximate state scholarship funding many Florida students can receive per child toward private-school education. 13% → 30% Growth in scholarship participation from 2012 to 2017. 9.2% Average annual increase in tuition paid by parents during that same 2012–2017 period. 30% → 59% Growth in scholarship participation from 2017 to 2022. 3.4% Average annual increase in tuition paid by parents during that same 2017–2022 period.
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$20 million Approximate annual state security funding Teach Florida advocates for to help protect Jewish day schools. 5 new schools Approximately five schools have been able to move forward following the new small-school legislation discussed by Teach Florida. 500 students Estimated number of students who could benefit this year from those new school openings. $12 million → $135 million Growth in state scholarship support accessed by Florida Jewish students from 2016 to 2026, according to Teach Florida’s impact chart. $155 million Combined 2026 impact shown on Teach Florida’s chart: approximately $135 million in scholarships, $10 million in security funding and $10 million in transportation funding. $1,700 Maximum federal tax credit per taxpayer under the new federal scholarship program beginning in 2027. 2027–28 Expected first school year in which scholarships from the new federal tax-credit program could become available.
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COMMUNITY NEWS sometimes raised is that scholarships simply cause schools to raise tuition. What does the data show? Teach Florida: The data tells a different story. We studied nine South Florida Jewish day schools serving approximately 5,000 students, or roughly 40% of Jewish day-school students in South Florida. Between 2012 and 2017, scholarship participation grew from approximately 13% to 30%. During those years, tuition paid by parents increased an average of 9.2% annually. From 2017 through 2022, scholarship participation nearly doubled, rising from 30% to 59%. But during that same period, tuition paid by parents rose at a much slower average rate of approximately 3.4% per year. In other words, the period when scholarship use grew most rapidly was also the period when parent-paid tuition increased most slowly. Schools still face rising costs such as teacher salaries, rent, buildings, insurance, security and other operational expenses. Scholarships have helped absorb some of those costs instead of placing the entire burden on parents. Community Voice: What does
that mean for a family with several children? Teach Florida: The difference can be substantial. A family receiving $8,000 to $10,000 per child could be receiving tens of thousands of dollars each year toward Jewish education. That is not an abstract policy issue. It is directly reflected in a family’s household budget. Community Voice: Affordability is one part of your work. How important has school security become? Teach Florida: Security has become increasingly urgent. Teach Florida advocates annually for approximately $20 million in state security funding to protect Jewish day schools. We work with lawmakers each year to explain why Jewish schools face security risks that require additional resources. Those risks are not theoretical. Schools have faced antisemitic harassment, threatening calls, swatting incidents and other alarming activity. We have also seen verbal attacks against Jewish students and drones being flown over schools. Security funding can help pay for guards, building hardening, improved infrastructure, secure
RABBI EZRIEL WILHELM עזריאל ווילהעלם CERTIFIED MOHEL
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transportation and other measures aimed at protecting students and staff. For a parent, it may simply look like a security guard standing at the school entrance each morning. Behind that guard may be years of advocacy and budget negotiations. Community Voice: Does Teach Florida also work on security at the federal level? Teach Florida: Yes. We support the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, commonly known as NSGP. The program provides security funding for nonprofit institutions facing elevated threats, including synagogues, Jewish schools and other communal organizations. We continue to advocate for increased federal funding so more Jewish institutions can qualify. Community Voice: What role does Teach Florida play when it comes to special education and student services? Teach Florida: That is another major part of our work. For families considering a move to Florida, access to speech therapy, occupational therapy and other services can be a deciding factor. Through our Services for All initiative, families can pursue evaluations through local school
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COMMUNITY NEWS districts, and eligible students can receive assistance in areas including reading, math, speech and language, occupational therapy and executive functioning. Over the past several years, access to services for students attending Jewish schools has improved significantly. For a child struggling academically or developmentally, that support can be just as important as the scholarship paying part of the tuition bill. Community Voice: What is the next major opportunity you are watching? Teach Florida: We are looking toward the new federal tax-credit scholarship program. Beginning in 2027, taxpayers will be able to contribute to approved Scholarship Granting Organizations and receive a 100% federal tax credit on contributions of up to $1,700 per taxpayer. Those organizations will then distribute scholarships to eligible students. Under the current federal framework, qualifying families generally must earn below 300% of their area’s median income. Scholarship funds may be used for qualified educational expenses that can include tuition, tutoring, educational technology, special-needs services, transportation and books. The first scholarships are expected to become available for the 2027–28 school year, with additional details still subject to federal regulations. We see this as another major opportunity for Jewish education and another potential layer of support for qualifying families. Community Voice: With schol-
arships now available to almost every Jewish-school student in Florida, why does advocacy still matter? Teach Florida: Because none of this should be viewed as permanent or automatic. Universal school choice is embedded in Florida law, but laws can change. Regulations can become more complicated. Budget priorities can shift. Every year, lawmakers debate how scholarship programs should operate, how they should be funded and what requirements families and schools must meet. Our role is to make sure accountability does not become so burdensome that families technically qualify for a scholarship but cannot realistically access it. Community Voice: How would you describe Teach Florida’s political approach? Teach Florida: We work with both Democrats and Republicans. Teach Florida is nonpartisan. Our relationships are built around school choice, Jewish education and the needs of Jewish families. Each year, we bring members of the community to Tallahassee to meet directly with legislators. Those meetings allow lawmakers to hear not only statistics but personal stories from parents, school leaders and communities. Community Voice: Your impact chart shows significant growth in funding. What do those numbers represent? Teach Florida: In 2016, Florida Jewish students were accessing approximately $12 million in state scholarship support. By 2026, our chart shows approximately $135 million in scholarship funding, along with anoth-
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er $10 million in security funding and $10 million in transportation funding. That brings the combined impact represented on the chart to approximately $155 million in a single year. Community Voice: What should families take away from that number? Teach Florida: The most important part is not the dollar amount. It is the families behind it. It is the parent who can afford Jewish school because of an $8,000 scholarship. It is the child receiving speech therapy while remaining in a Jewish classroom. It is the family moving to Florida knowing that Jewish education is financially possible. It is the student walking into a newly opened school. It is the security guard standing at the entrance each morning. And it is the nearly 17,000 students who are now part of a Jewish educational system that has grown 72% in just a decade. Community Voice: What message do you want parents to take away from Teach Florida’s work? Teach Florida: Don’t take it for granted. We are asking families to participate, attend events, join advocacy efforts, communicate with lawmakers and understand the policies affecting their children’s schools. Teach Florida has helped change the landscape of Jewish education in Florida, but the next decade will require the same thing the last one did: a community willing to show up and advocate for its children.
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COMMUNITY NEWS
I Expected to Find a Team in Panama City. I Did Not Expect to Find a Minyan. By Warren H. Cohn
The first time I flew down to Panama City to meet the people who work for me, I packed the way I pack for business travel to places I do not know. Protein bars. A couple of tuna packets. The working assumption that I would eat badly for three days and daven alone in a hotel room. I ate better than I do at home. I made a minyan without trying. By the second morning I had stopped planning around the problem, because there was no problem. That is not why I built a team in Panama. It is why I keep going back, and it is the part of this that no one tells business owners in my position, so I am going to tell it. Start with the boring version. I run a communications firm out of Hollywood, Florida. Small core team here in the States, people who have been with me for years, and I am not replacing a single one of them. But every seat I add from here goes to Panama City. The mechanics are unremarkable. A company recruits, hires and manages a dedicated full-time team for me out of a managed office down there, and handles HR, payroll, compliance, IT and the day-to-day, for one monthly fee. My team works for me and only for me. They sit together, at their own desks, in one room. The practical case is almost dull, which is usually how you know something is real. Panama runs one hour behind New York,
so there is full overlap with the East Coast day and nobody wakes up to a pile of questions that could have been answered at two in the afternoon. The dollar is legal tender, so there is no currency exposure anywhere in my contract. Americans need no visa. The flight from South Florida is three hours. The staff is bilingual and genuinely English-proficient. Yes, it runs roughly half the fully loaded cost of an equivalent American hire. No, that is not the part I would defend. Now the part I did not go looking for. Roughly 10,000 Jews live in Panama, the largest Jewish community in Central America, and nearly all of them are in Panama City. There are more than thirty-five kosher restaurants. Two full-service kosher supermarkets. Five Jewish day schools, which close to 98 percent of the Jewish children in the country attend. Sephardi and Ashkenazi shuls, both. I have been to American cities with a fraction of that infrastructure and a much louder reputation for having it. What that does to the calculation is hard to overstate for anyone who lives the way I live. Most of the arguments against putting work in another country come down to distance, in every sense of the word. You cannot get there. You will not go. If you go, you will be uncomfortable and out of rhythm, eating around the edges,
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counting the hours until the flight home. None of that applies here. I can fly down in the morning, spend a full day with my people, eat dinner somewhere I would happily bring my family, daven Shacharis with a minyan and be home the next night. I do not have to leave my life behind to go look at my own business. It also changes who is available to hire, and for a firm like mine that matters more than it probably should have to. I work almost entirely with Jewish organizations, Israel advocacy groups, day schools and mission-driven nonprofits. When someone on my team already understands the difference between an Orthodox youth movement and a federation, already knows why a story about a campus club in Ohio is a story, already understands the calendar and the sensitivities and what is actually at stake in a bad news cycle, I am not spending a quarter teaching context. They arrived with it. And the work is not what people assume when they hear that a team sits somewhere else. Mine is not answering phones. They are building and cleaning media lists, running one-to-one journalist outreach, doing research, handling campaign reporting. The actual practice, the kind an agency lives or dies on. Here is one of them, in her own words. “I don’t feel like I was hired just
COMMUNITY NEWS to fill a role. Warren and his team have given me the space to grow into it, take ownership and make it my own. They trust me with real responsibility, but also with bringing my own ideas, judgment and perspective to the work. That has allowed me to develop professionally while feeling that what I bring to the table genuinely matters. I think that’s what more companies should understand about Panama: there’s a lot of talent here that can become an important part of the business, not just support it.” I could not have written that on her behalf and I would not have tried. Read it again and notice what she is describing, because it is the entire argument. Ownership. Judgment. A career, not a task queue.
That is the real difference, and it has nothing to do with geography. For thirty years, moving work outside the United States meant chasing the cheapest available hour of labor, wherever on earth it happened to live that quarter. No office. No manager. No expectation that anyone would still be there in six months. What I have is the inverse. A permanent office. A dedicated team. Full-time employment with benefits, a manager and somewhere to go in the morning. People stay when they have a desk and a team, and turnover is the thing that quietly kills every distributed arrangement anyone has ever tried. Most business owners with work happening somewhere else in the world will never once meet the
human beings doing it. I have sat at the table with the people whose names are on my emails. I come back from every trip convinced I am running a better company than I was when I left, and about ten pounds heavier. If you have been told the choice is between American salaries you cannot carry and cheap hours from strangers, that is a false choice and it is a decade out of date. Go look at Panama. Bring an appetite.
Warren H. Cohn is the founder and CEO of RocketshipPR and co-founder and CEO of TAIPR AI. His team in Panama City is recruited and managed by Nessteams. He has no financial interest in the company.
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Why Our Children Do Not Read? By Dr. Chaim Botwinick
I recently asked a close colleague with thirty-plus years of leadership experience in education - “why are our children no longer reading as often as they used to?” His response, although tinged with a bit of sarcasm was “because many students can’t and those than can, are just not motivated to read.” Although he was being somewhat cynical, I quickly understood and appreciated that he was not cynical or sarcastic at all, but rather brutally honest and on point. Of course, there was much more to his response than he indicated. Today, we are witnessing an entire generation of children who no longer read, enjoy reading or have any interest or motivation to read. Of course there are many exceptions, but as a society our children spend an abysmal amount of time engaged in any form of reading – whether they be books, short stories, novels, or even newspaper and magazine articles. I’m even seeing fewer children reading fun-filled comics, like we did back in the day. This sad reality manifests itself by examining the amount of real time our children actually devote to reading, let alone their dismal and poor reading skills. When I used to visit classrooms as a principal or head of school, I vividly recall the growing number of students in middle and high school who demonstrated reading skills below the 5th grade level. I also vividly recall the numerous supervisory and staff meetings with language arts faculty who expressed continuous angst, frustration and dismay that their students (with rare exception)
well.
hated to read or complete their assignments that required reading. As a result, these teachers were forced to engage in professional development programs in order to improve their teaching and pedagogic skills, and try desperately to develop new and innovative motivational reading techniques. Alternatively, they would simply give up and leave the profession. Just image trying to understand and appreciate American, World or Jewish History without being able to read about it; or as an adult who must rely on his or her reading skills in order to get through the day. Reading is therefore one of the most basic rudimentary and fundament life skills at our disposal…not only for success but for daily living. This reality pertains to both limudei chol and limudei kodesh as
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How and Why Did this Happen? As I reflect on this sad phenomenon, I ask the question, at what point in history did we begin to devolve to such an extent that our children are now growing up completely lacking basic reading skills or any desire to read. How did this happen? Who was responsible? Where do we point the blame? And finally, how does our educational system and society remedy or respond to the current situation? Or, is it too late? Friends, as we know, there are literally hundreds of articles and papers that offer theories and opinions as to why we are experiencing an entire generation of illiterate youth. They run the gamut from poor instruction to a lack of student motivation due to heavy reliance on digital social media platforms and AI technology and finally the absence of familial modeling and motivation at home. Other Compelling Reasons and Factors As indicated, our children often struggle or refuse to read due to a combination of digital distractions, instructional gaps in schools, and/or a lack of early reading habits in the home. Each of these factors combined, can have a very profound and devastating long-term impact on our children’s motivation and/or their ability to read. As a result, our educational system is challenged to compensate for this growing deficit by introducing new reading man-
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COMMUNITY NEWS dates, revised curricular goals and expectations and a variety of new academic reading standards and benchmarks. But, at the end of the day, will these new educational requirements, mandates, modalities and reading standards really and truly have a measurable impact. From this writer’s perspective, until and unless the zeitgeist of our community and society changes dramatically, all of the new standards, mandates and pronouncements for increased reading skills will in all probability not make one iota of difference. Reading skills must be embedded from the time a child is in third grade. Impact of AI and Digital Technology on Reading Literacy Today, we are living in a society COMMUNITY NEWS
And be in the know: • New restaurant openings • Community events • Special sales • School and shul events • Activities for the family
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which is impacted and completely enveloped by AI and digital technology. To be sure, the impact and dependency on this technology is profound. This includes our increased reliance on AI technology to interpret, analyze and filter information digitally which under normal circumstances would require normative reading and reading skills. Unfortunately, apps like Tik Tok and You Tube train our brains to expect and anticipate fast, immediate and constant entertainment. In fact, phones and tablets make long-form reading feel boring and even exhausting by comparison. Finally, because our children read less for fun, their comprehension and focus fails to flourish and grow. Recently our government required guardrails against using social media platforms like Facebook
and meta to serve as primary portholes for literacy and information. But the impact of these guardrails are yet to be demonstrated. Impact of the Home on our Children’s Reading and on Jewish Literacy In a variety of studies, it was reported that children who grow up with parents or members of their household who are avid readers, have a far greater chance of embracing reading as they mature in age. Moreover, day schools and yeshivot that focus aggressively and assertively on reading skills at a very early age have far more reading success than those that try to “play catch-up in later grades The implications are evident. Language arts and reading skills specifically in our day schools and
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COMMUNITY NEWS yeshivot are essential. It builds basic core communication and critical thinking skills while assisting our students master subject matter, writing and analysis. These skills support success and anchor comprehension in Judaic studies, including chumash and gemara. Torah chinuch relies fundamentally on robust reading skills as text study forms the bedrock of lifelong Torah learning, not only as an academic milestone but as a spiritual necessity for tefilla and textual independence. This holds true for reading in the English language as well as in Hebrew. It is a fundamental skill which will impact our students for the rest of thier adult lives. Prospect for the Future The only way to respond to today’s
“reading skills crisis” is to confront it directly and to view the crisis with a sense of urgency. Unfortunately, our community have families who are unintentionally allowing reading skills to take a back-seat by allowing or permitting social media, AI and digital technology to substitute reading and to take over their children’s lives. Today, we are paying a very heavy price for this benign neglect, including the creation of a future generation of non-readers. It is now time to organize our schools, families and community leaders in order to improve reading and reading skills and to move this crisis to the top of our Jewish educational community’s agenda. By doing, we will not only ensure a more literate future generation but we will be forging one that also pos-
sess enhanced levels of understanding, knowledge and awareness – all critical for our society’s intellectual, spiritual, emotional and religious growth. At the end of the day, there is no substitute for reading or for developing reading skills. It always was and will be is a sine quo non About the Author: Dr. Chaim Y. Botwinick is an organizational consultant and senior executive coach. He served as president and ceo of the central agency for Jewish education in Baltimore and Miami in addition to head of school and principal for a variety of Jewish day schools and yeshivot. As an Influencer in education, he has lectured and published extensively on topics relating to strategic planning, leadership development and school change. Dr. Botwinick is cofounder of LEV Consulting Associates and is producer/host of the Chinuch Horizons podcast series. He is author of Think Excellence, Brown Books, 2011.
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10 COOL FUN FACTS ABOUT SLEEP & DREAMS 1. You spend about one-third of your life sleeping! Sleep occupies roughly one-third of human life. So if someone lived to 90, that would work out to about 30 years spent asleep. 2. You can have multiple dreams in one night. People typically cycle through several sleep stages multiple times each night, and dreams can happen during both REM and non-REM sleep. Many dreams are quickly forgotten after waking. 3. Your brain doesn’t simply switch off when you sleep. Your brain remains active while you sleep and moves through several different sleep stages. During REM sleep, brain activity can even resemble waking brain activity. 4. Your eyes really do move during REM sleep. REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement, and during this stage your eyes make rapid movements beneath your closed eyelids while your brain remains highly active. 5. Octopuses have an amazing “active sleep” stage. Researchers have observed sleeping octopuses rapidly changing their skin colors and patterns, moving their eyes and twitching during periods of active sleep. Scientists are studying whether this state shares similarities with dreaming, but we cannot yet say for certain that octopuses dream like humans do.
6. Your body has its own built-in clock. Your circadian rhythm follows an approximately 24-hour cycle and helps regulate when you feel awake and when you feel sleepy. Light and darkness are major signals that help keep this internal clock synchronized. 7. Dolphins can sleep with half their brain at a time! Dolphins can use something called unihemispheric sleep, allowing one side of the brain to rest while the other remains more alert. This helps them continue important behaviors associated with living and breathing in the water. 8. Sometimes your mind can wake up before your body can move. During sleep paralysis, a person may feel awake but temporarily be unable to move or speak while falling asleep or waking up. Episodes usually last from several seconds to a few minutes. 9. Cats are champion sleepers. Healthy adult cats commonly sleep around 12–16 hours every day, while kittens and older cats may sleep even longer. 10. You can realize you’re dreaming while you’re still asleep. This is called lucid dreaming. In a lucid dream, the dreamer becomes aware that they are dreaming. Some people can also influence or control parts of the dream, although dream control does not happen in every lucid dream.
K IDS Z ONE KIDS ZONE
UNSCRAMBLE THE FOLLOWING WORDS RELATED TO
SLEEP & DREAMS 1. PSELE
6. K O L C C
2. MDAER
7. H I L P D O N
3. NBRIA
8. Y S S P A R A I L
4. MRE
9. T A C
5. COPTUSO
10. C D L U I
6. CLOCK 7. DOLPHIN 8. PARALYSIS 9. CAT 10. LUCID
ANSWERS: 1. SLEEP 2. DREAM 3. BRAIN 4. REM 5. OCTOPUS
FOOD
7 Species Challah By Jamie Geller
• 50 MIN DURATION • 30 MIN COOK TIME • 20 MIN PREP TIME • 8 SERVINGS • Celebrate the New Year of the Trees with a gorgeous 7 Species Challah. Impressive and delicious, this challah recipe is truly a delicious way to celebrate nature and Israel. Modern bread making utilizes a sponge instead of old-fashioned “proofing yeast”. Modern yeast is mostly reliable, making that step unnecessary. A sponge yields a flavorful and better textured end result. Cultivated yeast is a “magnet” for wild yeast (which is literally everywhere) and adds flavor and density to loaves, also allowing you, the bread baker, to use less yeast in your recipe. Less yeast means your loaves won’t stale as quickly as commercial loaves or those that don’t utilize a sponge. Ingredients SPONGE • ½ cup warm water • ½ cup pomegranate juice at room temperature • 2½ teaspoons yeast • 1 cup bread flour • 2½ teaspoons kosher salt CHALLAH DOUGH • 1 cup barley flour • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil • ⅓ cup silan date (honey) syrup • 2 whole eggs • 3 egg yolks • 4 – 5 cups bread flour • ½ cup raisins • ½ cup dried figs stemmed and chopped EGG WASH • 1 whole egg • 1 tablespoon water
Preparation
SPONGE: 1. In a mixing bowl for a stand mixer, combine water, pomegranate juice, yeast, bread flour, and salt. Cover and allow to rise for 1 to 3 hours. The surface of the sponge will appear puffy and spongy in texture with bubbles and divots. The sponge will also smell rich and yeasty with a bit of an alcohol aroma. Those are the flavor building blocks for good bread! DOUGH: 1. Add barley flour, evoo, silan, whole eggs, yolks, flour, raisins, and figs to sponge. Knead until a dough that is slightly tacky forms. You don’t want to add too much flour to produce a dry dough. Flour needs to rehydrate and a tacky dough allows enough moisture to do that. 2. Either cover and refrigerate dough overnight or cover and allow to rise
about 2 to 3 hours in a warm spot before braiding. If you cover and refrigerate, the next day allow dough to come to room temperature before braiding. 3. Once dough has risen, braid or pan as desired on a greased baking sheet or pan. Cover and allow to rise at least 2 to 3 hours. A long second rise gives the dough better flavor, so do not rush the second rise! EGG WASH: 1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 2. Whisk egg and water. 3. Brush egg wash on challah. Allow to “set-up” on dough for 10 minutes. Brush dough a second time for a lacquered effect. 4. Bake at 350°F for 12 to 15 minutes, rotate baking pan, and bake an additional 12 to 15 minutes or until you hear a hollow sound when bread is thumped gently.
Jamie Geller is the Chief Media and Marketing Officer at Aish. She is also a bestselling cookbook author, celebrity chef, television producer, and businesswoman. She’s the author of eight cookbooks and the founder of Kosher Media Network. P.52 / T S F C O M M U N I T YVO I C E .C O M | +1 ( 9 5 4 ) 6 6 2 - 5 0 5 4 | I n f o @ t s f c o m m u n i t y v o i c e . c o m
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REAL ESTATE & FINANCE
A Different Kind of PMI By Shmuel Shayowitz
When my wife and I bought our first home, I deliberately chose to put only 5% down. That meant paying private mortgage insurance, or “PMI,” something many buyers try to avoid. But I had a reason. We knew the house needed work, and I wanted to preserve our cash for renovations and keep healthy reserves in our own account. I also believed there was a good chance rates would be better within the next few months, once the work was completed. I felt I could do more with the money in my pocket than to simply bury it in the equity of the house. Thankfully, as planned, the strategy worked out extremely well. Rates came down. The home appreciated. The improvements added value. When the time came, we refinanced, eliminated the PMI, and ended up in a much stronger financial position (and a better rate, too). But looking back, the most important PMI in that transaction was not the Private Mortgage Insurance. It was Presence, Mindfulness, and Intention. Presence means understanding where you are right now. Not where you wish you were, not where you think you should be, and not where someone on social media tells you to be. Mindfulness means paying attention to the variables around you, the risks, the opportunities, your cash flow, your obligations, and your goals. Intention means making a decision for a reason. Not because everyone else is doing it. Not because it feels safe. Not because it sounds impressive. Because it actually fits your plan. That is what good financial deci-
sion-making looks like. Sometimes putting 20% down is absolutely the right move. Sometimes putting less down and preserving liquidity is smarter. Sometimes paying off debt is the priority. Sometimes holding cash gives you more flexibility. Sometimes refinancing makes sense, and sometimes it does not. There is no one-size-fitsall answer because the smartest decision depends on what you are trying to accomplish and what resources you have available. And while we are on this topic - this is where I think much of the current conversation around ‘manifestation’ falls short. There are endless podcasts and videos telling people to visualize the life they want, think positively, believe it is coming, and picture themselves already there. I have no problem with vision. In fact, I think clarity of vision is critical to achieve anything. But vision without action is just imagination. You can manifest a stronger business all day long, but someone still has to make the calls, fix the systems, take the risks, and serve the clients. You can visualize financial freedom, but someone still has to make the money, invest intelligently, control spending, and make hard choices. You can dream about buying a home, building a portfolio, or becoming debt-free, but dreams do not execute themselves. That is why P.M.I. matters far beyond mortgages. Be present enough to see your reality clearly. Be mindful enough to understand the choices in front of you. Be intentional enough to decide where
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you want to go. And after you do all of that – you need to execute the plan. Too many people confuse intention with accomplishment. They think wanting something badly is movement. It is not. Action creates clarity. Action creates momentum. Even when the outcome is not what you expected, action gives you information, experience, and direction. My first-home strategy worked, but the lesson is not that everyone should put 5% down. The lesson is that money should be used thoughtfully, not mechanically. Every financial decision should serve a purpose. So before your next big money, business, or life decision, remember your PMI – Presence, Mindfulness, Intention and then make sure you do the one thing that turns all three into results: Take Action! [And as we enter the days before Rosh Hoshanah, there is no better time to apply these principles to our spiritual lives as well.] Shmuel Shayowitz (NMLS#19871) is a highly regarded Real Estate & Finance Executive, Writer, Speaker, Coach, and Advisor. He is President and Chief Lending Officer of Approved Funding, a privately held national mortgage banker and direct lender that has facilitated over $3 billion in mortgage funding. Shmuel has over twenty years of industry experience and holds numerous licenses and accreditations, including certified mortgage underwriter, licensed real estate agent, residential review appraiser, and accredited investor, to name a few. Shmuel has successfully navigated through many changing markets and business landscapes, making his market insights and experience well-coveted within the real estate industry. He can be reached via email at Shmuel@ approvedfunding.com.
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REAL ESTATE & FINANCE
Roth Conversions: Paying Taxes on Purpose By Glen R. Golish
Most people spend their lives trying to reduce taxes. So the idea of intentionally paying taxes today may sound strange. But in some retirement plans, that is exactly the point of a Roth conversion. A Roth conversion generally involves moving money from a traditional retirement account into a Roth account. The amount converted is usually taxable in the year of conversion but future qualified withdrawals from the Roth account may be tax-free. In simple terms, you may be choosing to pay taxes now in exchange for potential tax flexibility later. At G Wealth Strategies, we view Roth conversions as a planning conversation, not a one-size-fits-all recommendation. For some families, they can be helpful. For others, they may not make sense. The key is understanding the bigger picture. A Roth conversion may be worth considering if you expect your tax rate to be higher in the future, if you want more tax-free income later in retirement or if you want to reduce the size of tax-deferred accounts over time. It may also be useful during years when income is lower than usual, such as after retirement but before certain income sources begin. But Roth conversions must be handled carefully. Converting too much in one
year may create an unnecessarily high tax bill. It may also affect other parts of the financial picture. This is why it is important to coordinate with a qualified tax professional before taking action. The goal is not simply to convert money. The goal is to improve longterm flexibility. Many retirees enter retirement with most of their savings in tax-deferred accounts. That can create future tax pressure when withdrawals are needed. A Roth account may provide another source of income that can be used strategically. It can also provide flexibility for heirs, depending on family goals and estate planning structure. Like many financial strategies, timing matters. A Roth conversion should be evaluated alongside income needs, charitable giving, investment allocation, estate planning and future tax expectations. This is where coordinated plan-
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ning becomes so important. At G Wealth Strategies, we often say that financial planning should not happen in separate rooms. Investments, insurance, taxes and estate planning should all speak to each other. A final thought: Sometimes the best financial decision is not about avoiding taxes today. Sometimes it is about creating more control tomorrow. A Roth conversion is not right for everyone but for the right person, at the right time, it can be a powerful retirement planning tool. Because retirement planning is not only about growing assets. It is about creating choices. For more information call us, 5618694600 About the Author Glen R. Golish is the Founder and CEO of G Wealth Strategies and a Forbes-recognized Top Financial Security Professional. He works closely with families on comprehensive financial and estate planning, including cross-border considerations for those navigating U.S. and Israeli planning needs. Important Disclaimer Please seek qualified legal and tax advice before implementing any planning strategies, in conjunction with guidance from G Wealth Strategies. Contact Information 3010 N. Military Trail, Suite 318, Boca Raton, FL 33431 Office: 561-869-4600 | Cell: 561-239-9400 www.gwealthstrategies.com Investment Advisory Contact Yosef Benson yosef@gwealthstrategies.com 786-376-3548 Property & Casualty Insurance Contact Rafi Benzaquen rafi@gwealthstrategies.com
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