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I was recently on the train in the city when an older woman sat down next to me and we began talking. At some point, she mentioned that her father was a Holocaust survivor and she told me he always used to say that when the tide turns, everyone has their role in history: some people will turn against the Jewish community, some will stand up and help, and some will simply stand idly by.

After I told her a little about the Jewish Grad Organization (JGO) and the work we do supporting Jewish grad students across the country, she looked me straight in the eye and said firmly, but simply: “I know what my role is. What can I do to help?”

Over the past few years, as the challenges facing our Jewish community have surged on campus, I have noticed something else happening at the same time; friends from all over have been reaching out and asking that very same question: How can I help?

Some want to speak with and mentor students, while some ask how they can step up for us publicly or support the work financially. Across the country, Jewish grad students are searching for community, leadership, and the reassurance that they are not alone during a moment that has become increasingly challenging on campus.

Jewish history has always moved in waves. There are times when Jewish life feels calm and stable, when our communities are building and flourishing; and then there are moments when the tide shifts and things feel uncertain, a bit topsy-turvy. Our history is filled with these cycles. Periods of growth followed by moments that call on the Jewish community to step forward and strengthen the foundations of Jewish life.

Whenever those waves come, something remarkable also happens: the Jewish community rallies.

Our very own Director of Executive Leadership, Jamie Kleinman, wrote about this in eJewishPhilanthropy this week, reflecting on how many successful professionals are beginning to rethink what success means right now. After nearly two decades as a litigation attorney, Jamie chose to leave her firm and dedicate herself to Jewish communal work at JGO!

Of course, not everyone needs to leave their career and enter nonprofit work. But the Jewish community does need engagement and support. It needs people who are willing to stand behind the institutions strengthening Jewish life and shaping the next generation.

At JGO, we see every day how meaningful that support can be. When leaders mentor students, support programs, and invest in Jewish life on campus, it changes the trajectory of our community’s future. Students who might have felt isolated find community, and young leaders gain the confidence to live proudly as Jews in the world they are entering.

The strength of Jewish life has always depended on people who step forward when the wave arrives.

So let me ask you the same question many people have asked me: In a moment like this, what’s your role?

Warmly,

Dave

P.S. I hope you’ll take the time to read Jamie’s full article here.