As we approach the start of a new year, we all feel a great confluence of emotions in our heart: enthusiasm, sadness, angst and pain. We also feel gratitude. While the world is far from perfect, we are fortunate that we can live a life of meaning and find ways to bring help and healing to those around us. Our lives continue to be shaped by the ongoing war in Israel. Since Oct 7, we have watched not only the painful events that unfold in Gaza each day, but the ways in which antisemitism has become the norm in too many places to count. It has been a very hard year and, perhaps, this coming year will be marked by greater peace and kindness.

Our theme for the year ahead will be “My Heart is in the East,” a phrase from a poem written nearly a millennium ago by Yehuda HaLevi in Spain. He was reflecting on the same pull that we feel, as he thought about Israel, worried about Israel, remained engaged with Israel and maintained a connection to the Israeli land and the people through it all. Even as he walked about his own day-to-day life, so much of his mind and his heart were elsewhere. We feel that as well.

“My Heart is in the East” is about wrestling with Israel, exploring Jewish identity in ways that are honest, seeking to challenge ourselves when it comes to questions around tradition, faith and heritage and no doubt nurturing a heart that remains hopeful and loving. It is a theme that we will turn to and return to, giving us direction, perspective and guidance as we go. I am so looking forward to sharing in this coming year with you and your family. May it be a good year for all of us.