Here’s the good news. Jewish communal life has not come to a halt. We’re still right here with you in every possible way.
Yes. Our buildings are, for the most part, closed. Our events have been cancelled.
But Jewish communal life is still open for business, just as it has been for thousands of years. Gathering together continues. Praying together continues. Learning together continues. Talking and laughing and crying together continues. Pesach will come, and we will observe it together. Community continues…together.
The only thing that has changed in Jewish communal life is how those things continue. We are blessed to live in a time when virtual reality can be actual reality. When the miracle of technology can help us stay connected and support each other.
Physical spaces are important. Gathering in person is important. But those are not the things that define us as a community. It is our sense of connectedness that makes us a community. Our caring for each other. Our common values, our beliefs and our history. These things do not reside in physical places. They reside in our hearts. In our sense of who we are as a people — who we are as a community. Who we are as a community has not changed.
And now we have great opportunities. We have access to teachers and scholars and artists and all kinds of others who, through their own generosity, are offering their time, talent and expertise free to anyone sitting at a computer with an internet connection. People are reaching out, checking on their friends and neighbors. New social groups are forming.
And most importantly, we have professional leaders in this community, who, in partnership with our volunteer leadership, put community first, even before their own personal concerns. We are working in circumstances we never imagined to keep Jewish communal life as rich and fulfilling as possible. Our commitment to this community is all consuming.
Jewish communal life as we know it looks different today than it did a week ago. It also looks different than it did 100 years ago. Or a thousand years ago. Being a community now requires a new kind of intentionality. We can do this. We are doing this.
Jewish communal life has not come to a screeching halt. It’s about to get better.
Sincerely,
Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City
Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City
Jewish Family Services
Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City
Jewish Vocational Service
JCRB|AJC Kansas City
Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy
KU Hillel
Menorah Heritage Foundation
Midwest Center for Holocaust Education
Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City
Village Shalom