From the perspective of a rabbi serving in a variety of congregations across the region, I can tell you from my experience that the Westchester Jewish Council stands out as an exemplary resource for Temple Shaaray Tefila and the greater community.

WJC is composed of over 60 member synagogues and 60 other Jewish organizations, including Westchester/Fairfield chapters of Hadassah,  American Jewish Committee, AIPAC, JStreet, New Israel Fund, PJ Library, Plaza Jewish Community Chapel, Union for Reform Judaism, Westchester Board of Rabbis, Westchester Jewish Community Services and more. WJC offers a range of activities, such as Israel education, supportive security services, standing up to antisemitism, connecting with local and state officials, green initiatives, Holocaust commemoration and LGBTQ+ inclusion.

As your rabbi, I would like to highlight two points of personal connection. One is through the Westchester Board of Rabbis. Unlike my previous communities in Connecticut, Long Island, and New Jersey, the remarkable thing is that Westchester even has a functioning and thriving board of rabbis to begin with. The Board meets several times a year for study, collegiality, and more, a critical function during these very challenging times. The Board works with WJC to offer programs and invited me to speak about my books on Martin Buber in a county-wide “Night of Jewish Learning,” Saturday, November 8 at 7 PM. You can find out more and register here.

Secondly, during these times of uncertainty, as you likely know, our region has also been challenged by antisemitism, and the problem has appeared in community organizations and schools, even during my tenure at TST. WJC has been a strong, solid, and responsive partner in addressing these concerns and threats. In other communities, quite honestly, I have been hesitant to take direction from the local Jewish communal leadership, whose approach differed from what we were trying to achieve as a congregation. Yet, in each one of these times of need in our community here, WJC has stood by TST and our members with wisdom, courage, and strength, and shown great leadership.

The Westchester Jewish Council well serves TST and our great Jewish community each day, through challenges and celebrations. WJC provides valuable support to regional synagogue professionals in the clergy, executive directors, education, early childhood education, security, and more. Our Executive Director, Howard Greenstein, considers the WJC Executive Director cohort one of the best sources of peer information sharing and collaboration he’s seen in a 35-plus year business and nonprofit career.I encourage you to join their mailing list, keep informed, and attend their events with our TST members.

With best wishes,

Rabbi Dennis Ross