December 8, 2023

By Solly Kane
President & CEO

Shalom,

This week, my second week at the Federation, I joined the first in-person gathering of this year’s Courageous Leadership Incubator cohort. CLI, a signature program of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, brings together a cohort of rising leaders for a year of learning, relationship building, and meaningful service on a local Jewish organization board. I shared some reflections with the group about leadership and wanted to share an excerpt of my remarks with you:

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks teaches that “at the heart of Judaism are three beliefs about leadership: We are free. We are responsible. And together we can change the world.”

We don’t get to choose the moment we live in but I believe we get to choose how we respond to it. I don’t know what moment you thought you were living in when you applied to this program just a few months ago, but I know that when we think about Jewish leadership, the world looks very different today than it did then. Since October 7, our lives have changed in significant ways as we have followed the news from Israel and watched with pain the global spread of antisemitism. 

For many of us, in the last two months we have been more self-aware of our Judaism than at any time in our lives. Perhaps you’ve asked yourself difficult questions, questions that two months ago would have been unfathomable. Is it safe to wear a Star of David necklace in public? Do I need to worry about sending my kid to school because they are Jewish? Is there enough security at my synagogue? Can I put my Hanukkah menorah in the window later this week, or will that attract attention I don’t want?

This time of crisis for the Jewish people has underscored the critical importance of courageous leadership. Being a courageous leader doesn’t mean you have aspired your whole life for a moment of leadership. Rather, it means that when the opportunity to lead presents itself, you take it. 

We see this throughout our people’s history. There are numerous stories of leaders who led because the moment demanded it, even when they were hesitant.

Frankly we need your leadership now more than ever. I encourage you throughout this year to not be a passive recipient but rather an active participant. Because that’s what leadership is all about.

We don’t get to choose the moment we live in but we do get to choose how we respond to it. Because we are free, we are responsible, and together we can change the world.

As we light the candles this evening for the Second Night of Chanukah, I’m reflecting on the importance of courageous leadership. Each of us can be a force for the greater good, especially in this moment of grave challenge. I believe we can all be a shamash—a helper candle—spreading light as we act to ensure Jewish continuity and our collective future. 

May the innocent captives in Gaza soon be reunited with their loved ones at home. May the days and weeks ahead be ones filled with light and may we all have the courage to lead us there.

Shabbat shalom and happy Hanukkah,