You Are an Important Part!

by Jill Maidhof

I’m writing this on July 11 and for many of us, the news is not good. If you’re on the east coast, I
hope that you’re braving the rains and that your dams are holding strong. I wish those in the
south a respite from unrelenting sun and hope that your air conditioners are in working order. If
you’re in the west, I hope that you’re far from forest fires and that your homes are set on firm
ground. When developers created Rolling Hills Estates in California, they could not have known
that as of this writing a dozen homes are expected to be destroyed as the land beneath them
slides.

I offer heartfelt regards to you, not as students or co-learners whose names I don’t know, not to
you as anonymous faces on a screen, but as fellows of a tight-knit community who are
significant in my life. Yes, we learn from source texts, but more importantly, we learn from each
other. We share our joys, our sorrows and our fears, we challenge each other and lend support;
we form bonds that add meaning to our lives. And we put the strength and wisdom we receive to
use strengthening our local Jewish communities.

This may not be the way that many Jewish literacy programs do it, but it’s the Chai Mitzvah way.
Thank you for being such an important part!