Joyce and Stanford A. Zeldin

Joyce and Stanford A. Zeldin

Judaism has many definitions.  Are we a race, a religion, a nation, a culture, etc.?  We probably are all of the above, but we define it as a way of life.  We firmly believe we have the best ethics and morals ever conceived in the history of mankind, and this strength has allowed us to survive the ages of our suffering.  Our role today is to perpetuate that way of life, and we do it by living in the present and future simultaneously.  The good that we do in giving to charity not only dignifies our own lives, but sets a paradigm for our children and grandchildren to emulate.

As generations have done before us, it is our obligation to ensure the security and activity of our Jewish community.  If we only leave our estates to our children, but do not support the structure of our Jewish community as well, there may not be a secure place for our future generations to live freely and securely as Jews. Winston Churchill stated, “We make a living by what we do; we make a life by what we give.” Dennis Prager said, “Act and let the feeling catch up.  If we wait for the feeling, we may never act!”  These two statements sum up our thoughts for our community and its future.  It is incumbent upon us to act for future generations.