Passover in Israel is a wondrous experience. Israelis are on vacation, and in Tel Aviv, the outdoor cafes were filled. There was no indication of the difficult "situation." On the morning before Passover, the main street of Rehovot, where my son and his family live, was a kaleidoscope of people – from Ethiopians to Hasidim, women with sheitels to women with bare midriffs -- buying food, clothing and bushels of flowers.

At about 3 p.m., the stores closed, the streets emptied. In the evening, everyone was walking to seders. You could smell chicken soup and flowers everywhere. Our seder, with my daughter-in-law's family, was traditional, with lots of singing. As we looked out the windows, we could see other people in their apartments enjoying their seders. We were all united in this celebration of freedom and renewal – only in Israel!

Ellen Goldner
President
United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ

"I felt really safe the whole time," said Lonnie Monka of Morristown, who visited Israel last summer on a birthright israel trip for Jewish young adults. "And it was an amazing experience to be in Israel. There was a much more defined sense of connection among Jews. It feels like you're at home wherever you go."

Lonnie is among more than 60,000 young adults from all over the world who have been on a birthright israel trip. A unique partnership of the people of Israel through their government, United Jewish Communities, the Jewish Agency for Israel, and leading Jewish philanthropists, birthright israel provides free first-time, peer group, educational trips to Israel for Jewish young adults ages 18 to 26.

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Susan couldn't understand why her son, David, was doing so poorly in high school. "Poor attention in class... Inability to concentrate... Incomplete homework assignments.. Brooding behavior." How was this possible when he had been an "A" student throughout middle school?

At a loss to figure out the next steps, Susan contacted Jewish Family Service of MetroWest (JFS) and met with a clinical social worker, who also met with David alone.

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An engineer and former U.S. Air Force captain, Mindy Kahn came to MetroWest in 1995. The Jewish community she discovered here is quite different from the much smaller one that she knew in northern Virginia, near Washington, D.C.

Many of the people she knew were involved in government work, and among the members of her synagogue were military personnel at the Pentagon. "So it didn't seem so strange there for a nice Jewish girl from the suburbs to join the Air Force," she observed. She was on active duty for four and a half years, based in the United States and traveling the world.

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Only a few years ago, Marcelo, an architect, and Silvina, who led marketing seminars for business executives, were a thriving middle-class couple in Argentina. They supplemented their income with a family-owned company offering computer courses.

Now, they are struggling to put food on the table for themselves and their two children, three-year-old Jessica and eight-month-old Uriel.

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More than a thousand women, men, teens, and children from all parts of New Jersey are gearing up for the 4th Annual Run for Rachel to be held Sunday, May 23 at the Memorial Oval in Livingston. The three-part event includes a 5K race, which this year has been designated a USA Track and Field - New Jersey Women's Open Championship Race; a 3K walk; and a Kids' Run. The event, held rain or shine, begins at 10 a.m.; registration opens at 8 a.m. Highlights of the day include children's entertainment, a DJ, refreshments, goodie bags for all pre-registrants, and prize drawings.
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UJA Benefit Concert [Wednesday, May 5]: Honoring Lester and Judy Lieberman with the gift of music.

CHOICES [Thursday, May 13]: The largest UJC Women's event of the year.

Civil Rights Forum [Monday, May 17]: Commemorating the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education.

UJC Annual Meeting [Wednesday, May 19]: Celebrating another successful year in the MetroWest community.

MetroWest Wing [Thursday, June 3]: Closing the UJA Campaign with Joshua Malina from The West Wing.