Our three day schools have been working together for the last year in a collaborative way which would make nearly every other community jealous.  Full trust and transparency are helping the schools to become better.  They formalized their relationship into something they call the Jewish Day School Council.  They are joint purchasing technology and working on joint marketing projects, including a recent Lag Ba’omer celebration sponsored by all three day schools for the benefit of everyone in our community. 

Agewell Pittsburgh, a collaborative of three of our Federation agencies, the Jewish Association on Aging, Jewish Community Center and Jewish Family and Children’s Service, has won national and local acclaim.  These three agencies have joined forces to focus not on their own agency needs, but the needs of their clients - our seniors.  They dropped duplication of services, streamlined the process of intake and care management and are working on developing technology to better manage care of our seniors. 

This Tuesday, the first night of Shavuot, for the third year in a row, our community will celebrate the Tikkun Leil Shavuot, a night of Jewish learning.  The program is a collaboration by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, the Agency for Jewish Learning and the Jewish Community Center.  But it doesn't stop there.  The following are participating organizations:  Adat Shalom, Beth Shalom, Chabad/Lubavitch, Dor Hadash, Kollel, Jewish2on2.com, New Light Congregation, Parkway Jewish Center, Poale Zedeck, Rodef Shalom, Temple David, Temple Sinai and Young Israel.  For more information, click here and remember, no prior knowledge necessary!

In an article in the Jewish Chronicle this past week, Toby Tabachnick wrote about the above program.  In the story she talks about some of the accommodations which were made to bring everyone together.  Over the last several weeks, there has been quite a buzz both locally and nationally about an article written by our very own Rabbi Aaron Bisno entitled "It's Time for a Courageous Conversation".   Rabbi Bisno correctly talks about the need to change our thinking as organizations and members of the community to do a better job at reaching more Jews.  One quote from Rabbi Bisno's piece which I think captures it all is  "And insofar as no single organization can solve its problems alone, like-minded Jewish leaders must insist we join together in common purpose".  He makes two critical points in this statement.  The first, that we have to develop those common purposes, or as we talk about in the nonprofit world, the vision. The vision is this place you want to get to, but may never.  Then, the second point is that we must join together to try and achieve the vision.  The vision is bigger than any organization, but it is through those organizations that we can reach for the vision.

Courageous Conversations are not easy.  Working together is not easy.  Like any relationship, it takes constant care and dialogue and some give and take.  But if these few great programs and initiatives which I outline here are just small examples of what we can accomplish, imagine where our courageous conversations can lead, especially in a community where the right atmosphere for collaboration already exists.

See you all on tonight at the JCC for the Tikkun Leil Shavuout!

Jeff Finkelstein

President / CEO, The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh