Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is approaching quickly.  During these ten days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, we have the opportunity to repent for our sins, in other words, to say we are sorry.  Those sins are those committed both against God and our fellow humans.  They are sins we knowingly committed and those we did not realize we were committing. 
 
I believe the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh strives to always do what is right and fair.  We are run by human beings to help human beings and are therefore imperfect.  I know we have made mistakes.  For that I am sincerely sorry.

I also want to express more things for which I have regret.  I am sorry that while we had a very impressive year of fundraising, we left too many of our young people on a waiting list to participate in Birthright Israel.  While we raised record dollars from the state’s EITC program for day school scholarships, I am sorry that there are those who cannot take advantage of a Day School education because the costs are still too high.  I am sorry that while we are helping to feed over 160,000 elderly across the 11 timezones of the Former Soviet Union, there are still thousands we are unable to help.  I am sorry that there are still several thousand Ethiopians waiting to make aliyah from Israel and it is taking too long to complete their journey.  I am sorry that there are adults with disabilities who need housing and we do not have enough space.  I am sorry that there are members of our community who are unemployed and we have not yet been able to help them find a job.  I am sorry that there are too many in our community who have not yet been asked to be involved. 
 
While we may not be able to completely resolve all the challenges I mentioned in the above paragraph, we can surely make a dent in them in 5773...together.
 
G’mar Chatimah Tova.  May you be sealed for a good year.
 
Shabbat Shalom.