As I write this message, I am cognizant of the fact that our Pittsburgh Jewish community is made up of a diverse population.  We have Jews from Pittsburgh and those from elsewhere.  We have young and old.  We have observant and non observant.  We have knowledgeable and less Jewishly knowledgeable.  We have those who are in-married and those who are intermarried.  We have those who live in the city and those that live in suburban areas.  We have those more concerned with social services and those more concerned with Jewish education.  We have Democrats, Republicans and Independents.  I, of course, can go on and on. 

Let's build a community to be blessed to be like Ephraim and Menashe.  A place where we will not all agree on everything, but where we all work together and stay focused on building the most "thriving, vibrant and engaged Jewish community."* 

Shabbat Shalom.

*the Federation's newly adopted Vision statement

P.S.  I hope to see many of you next Friday during the Federation's annual Mitzvah Day.