Comments (0)This Rosh Hashanah
September 11, 2009Andrew A. Buerger
Publisher
Dear Readers, Advertisers and Friends:
Once again, the Jewish people are about to turn their calendars about three-and-a-half months before 98 percent of Americans and more than 99 percent of the world celebrates a new year.
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, starts at sundown on Friday, Sept. 18. This year, we usher in what our tradition tells us is year 5770 since creation itself.
For many, biting into that honey-dipped apple will taste especially sweet and seem especially emotionally beneficial after what has been an enormously difficult and challenging 12 months.
No one can question that the Great Recession has profoundly effected American Jewish life, as much as it has that for citizens everywhere across the globe. We, too, have been laid off and even had houses foreclosed. We have inundated our communal social services agency. The economic meltdown also put a serious hurt on our day schools, synagogues and other critical Jewish institutions.
Along the way, locally and nationally the Jewish community experienced some painful black eyes. Sadly, our high profile crimes included Bernie Madoff’s mega-billion rip-off of many people, including a high percentage of whom were donors to Jewish causes, and scandals involving Orthodox rabbis involved in a complicated scheme to sell kidneys on the black market. At home, we had to deal with the revelation that Rabbi Jacob A. Max was convicted of assault and concerns that some still did not comprehend how real of an issue sexual harassment is here.
Yet, despite the concerns some raised, this did not lead to a rash outbreak of anti-Semitism. We also should be comforted to know that no one blames all Jews for the acts of a few, just as no one blames all African Americans for the crimes of O.J. Simpson.
Besides, far from everything was bad this past year. Despite the 25 percent stock market drop, plunging assets of endowment funds and falling incomes, Baltimore area Jews stunned the philanthropic world with their generosity. The Associated was the only major Jewish federation to at least keep pace with the past year’s campaign. We should be relieved and proud that $30 million was donated to the system that helps so many of us.
So let’s give the Associated leadership team credit for making the hard decisions in recent years to downsize their operation’s management structure in the face of lowering endowment income. That more than $1 million annual in savings — planned before the economic crunch became truly horrible — combined with the strong annual campaign. Together, that allowed our community to fund an array of critical needs under the umbrella of the newly formed Jewish Community Services. Because of those moves, the kosher food pantry is stocked, and the employment-hunting workshops are humming.
Meanwhile, thanks to the incredibly brave and sometimes costly actions of American, Israeli and other soldiers, major terrorist events were somehow avoided this past year. As a result, our extended family in Israel and elsewhere enjoyed a greater sense of peace than in the previous year.
Let’s continue to pray for times when we can be more concerned about the Jewish people’s intramural political squabbles than external threats. At home, let us pray for success for our Jewish community and the broader community of which we are such an integral part.
From the entire Buerger and Alter Communications family, we wish you and your families health and prosperity this coming year.
Sincerely,
Andrew A. Buerger
Publisher