Elise and I along with our son Micah (23) recently returned from a family heritage trip to Poland and Germany. We were there to follow the path of my mother’s family from the late-1700s up to the point where most where murdered in the Holocaust. While there are many stories to process, one stands out that I’d like to share.

We visited the Jewish cemetery in Wroclaw (Breslau), Poland where Micah had discovered I had two great-grandmothers buried. The headstones in this cemetery had been knocked down by the Nazis but were left in place rather than used for other purposes as was tragically common. We paid the groundskeeper in advance to dig down to uncover the markers, and when we arrived got down on our knees and brushed away the remaining soil and moss to reveal their names. Seeing the names of my great-grandmothers being revealed was extraordinary, but what happened next has me trembling to this day.

Minutes later, we met a German church group who spends one week every year uncovering and remounting headstones as a service project. Part of their mission is to do this selflessly and without any expectation of thanks. (I am writing this message during the High Holidays and the word that comes to mind for their motivation is teshuva.) We shared our story, showed them pictures of my ancestors, walked them to the graves, and they asked if they could help. Days later, we received pictures of the stones- now fully cleaned; one standing in place and the other promised to be similarly restored next year. I still don’t have the words to express how it makes me feel.

This story demonstrates to me that Together as One, our annual campaign theme this year, stretches far beyond the here and now. Back when my great-grandmothers were moving through Europe, Elise’s family was already living here in Indianapolis! Separated by an ocean and more, both families were active in their synagogues, were advocating for a Jewish state, gave their children a Jewish education, and were involved in community institutions to support those in need. Indeed, on both continents, theirs was the generation that brought the institutions of an active community together into what we now call Jewish Federations.

Even more, Together as One extends across generations, Dor l’Dor. In restoring their memories, I feel a renewed obligation to continue along the path they have laid. It’s important to remember that we truly are a link in a chain, that we have the responsibility of history to impart, to sustain, and to grow. Most of the needs of today are the same as those for our great-grandparents.

As we close out 2025, please join me in supporting our unrestricted Annual Campaign. My journey has reminded me that we do this not only for ourselves and not only for our own children. We also do this for those who came before, who worked and, in too many cases, sacrificed everything to provide for a thriving Jewish community now and in the future.