A Year of Growth, Resilience, and Investment in the Future

Plus building community partnerships across Berkshire County

Thank you so much to the more than 100 community members who attended Federation’s 86th annual meeting on June 22 to celebrate a year of growth, resilience, and impact while looking ahead to the opportunities and challenges facing Berkshire Jewish life. We also thank our hosts at Shakespeare & Company.

Federation President Arlene Schiff opened the evening by reflecting on the vital role Federation plays in sustaining and strengthening Jewish life across the region.

"When we gather as a community, we're reminded that Jewish life isn't something we inherit. It is something we actively build together," Schiff said. "It's shaped by shared responsibility, care for one another, and a commitment to ensuring that Jewish life in the Berkshires remains strong, welcoming, and meaningful for every generation."

Schiff noted that Federation's work continues to evolve in response to changing community needs and highlighted three areas that have become increasingly important over the past year: building a safer Jewish community, combating antisemitism, and supporting Israeli society.

Through the Jewish Berkshires LiveSecure Initiative, Federation expanded security training and preparedness efforts across local Jewish institutions. More than 675 community members, including clergy, educators, camp staff, and lay leaders, participated in security trainings designed to enhance emergency preparedness and strengthen coordination with local law enforcement.

Federation's security efforts have also extended beyond the Jewish community. Following violence at a Catholic school in Minnesota, Federation shared its expertise with local Catholic institutions, providing security assessments and training for clergy, teachers, and staff throughout Berkshire County.

Addressing the rise of antisemitism, Schiff highlighted Federation's advocacy efforts at both the local and state levels, including work to advance recommendations from the Massachusetts Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism. Through partnerships with elected officials, educators, law enforcement, and civic leaders, Federation has helped ensure that Jewish concerns are understood and addressed throughout the region.

Schiff also discussed Federation's continued support for Israel, including a strategic shift in allocations to deepen partnerships in the Afula-Gilboa region. During the past year, Federation distributed $74,000 in grants to nine organizations supporting vulnerable populations, including at-risk youth, Ethiopian immigrants, Russian-speaking women, and survivors of sexual violence.

Executive Director Dara Kaufman then presented Federation's broader community impact, emphasizing that Federation's mission extends beyond responding to crises.

"Our work is about building a Jewish community where people feel connected, cared for, proud, and inspired to be part of something larger than themselves," Kaufman said.

Over the past year, thousands of community members participated in more than 125 Federation programs and events. Federation also provided more than 3,300 kosher meals and a wide range of social services, educational programs, food assistance, and holiday care packages that supported hundreds of older adults and vulnerable community members.

Kaufman highlighted Federation's efforts to foster thoughtful dialogue during a period of increasing polarization. Programs such as Speaking Across Conflict, presented in partnership with Resetting the Table, helped community members develop skills for engaging across disagreement with empathy and respect.

The Federation's investment in Jewish youth and identity-building was another major focus of the evening. During the past year, Federation awarded more than $82,000 in camp scholarships, enabling 43 local children to attend Jewish overnight camps. Federation also provided funding to support Israeli teens attending URJ Eisner Camp and Camp Kimama Halfmoon this summer.

"Jewish camp remains one of the most effective ways to build Jewish identity, belonging, leadership, and pride," Kaufman said.

Kaufman also celebrated the continued growth of the Berkshire Jewish Collective, Federation's initiative for Jewish adults in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. Membership in the Collective's WhatsApp network grew by more than 150 percent over the past year, reaching 128 members, with many participants forming meaningful friendships and connections beyond organized programs.

The evening included the election of Federation's 2026–2027 Board of Directors.  The Federation also recognized outgoing board members Rebecca Cook Dubin, Rabbi Jodie Gordon, Gail Orenstein, Jen Sacon, and Tom Sawyer for their years of dedicated service.

Federation also recognized the 118 members of the organization's Legacy Circle, whose planned gifts and endowment commitments help ensure the long-term vitality of Jewish life in the Berkshires.

The program concluded with a community conversation focused on combating antisemitism, promoting Holocaust education, and strengthening partnerships with local schools. Featured speakers included longtime educator Bill Ballen, education consultant Phil Fogelman, and Mount Everett Regional School teacher Lindsey Berkowitz Brown. Together, they explored the importance of collaboration among schools, families, and community organizations in creating safe and inclusive learning environments for all students.

Looking ahead, Kaufman reported that Federation's 2026 Annual Campaign has already raised more than $835,000 toward its $1.6 million goal.

"What gives me the greatest hope is not any single program or initiative," Kaufman told attendees. "It is the people in this room and throughout our community who continue to show up for one another, invest in our future, and affirm that Jewish life matters."

The evening concluded with a reminder that Federation's strength comes from its unique role as the organization that brings the Berkshire Jewish community together to respond to emerging needs, support those who are vulnerable, and ensure a vibrant Jewish future for generations to come.

Star Students

Judith Cook introduced the recipients of the Henry Simkin and Frances Simkin Schiller and Dr. Stanley and Faye Simkin Scholarship, given to Jewish high school seniors who have demonstrated high academic achievement and leadership in the Jewish and broader communities. This year’s recipients are:

Jacob Klein

“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” Bob Dylan asserted, but self-proclaimed “weather warlock” Jacob Klein of Pittsfield would likely beg to differ. The Pittsfield High School grad for several years put out his daily Berkshire Weather newsletter and delivered forecasts on radio station WTBR. He writes that not only is he a proud Jew raised in the Conservative movement at Knesset Israel, as an avid genealogist he found out he is a Jew with some yichus – “I have discovered that some of my ancestors came from the famous shtetl Valozhyn. Others were early Zionists who moved to the Holy Land during the First Aliyah, and supposedly I am even descended from the Maharam of Rothenburg.”

Jacob is also overcoming a serious physical challenge, having suffered a brain injury that impacts his life. “It took many months for me to regain my ability to walk and speak without much impairment,” he shares. “I found G-d when I was suffering and I have been with Him ever since. I want to become a rabbi and even a posek [Jewish legal scholar].” Part of his journey led him to become more traditionally observant. “I am G-d's creation, and I want to devote my life, however long it is, to serving the Creator and Master of the Universe, as well as the Jewish people.”

He describes his efforts to ensure that when PHS formed its Model United Nations, Israel not be excluded as some in the student leadership insisted. “It is sad to hear certain things at school, not built by intentional hate, but by an ignorance that perpetuates antisemitism and anti-Zionism,” he writes about his efforts to voice a pro-Israel and pro-Jewish message. “I do my best, and try to inspire by building understanding through dialogue. I thank Hashem for my existence and for all the miracles of the world.”

A National Honors Society member at PHS, Jacob will attend Yeshiva University in the fall and will enroll in the Jewish Studies program on a rabbinic studies track.

Ava Mozian

“In kindergarten, one of my classmates asked me why Santa didn't come to my house as he did for all ‘the normal kids,’" writes Ava Mozian of Lenox. “Although I tried to argue that Hanukkah was basically eight straight days of Christmas, my big takeaway from that conversation was the feeling that I wasn't actually ‘normal.’” She adds that at first she reacted badly to her religious school classes at Hevreh of Southern Berkshire, which only emphasized the sense of difference she felt about her identity. Even Jewish summer camp – so often a touchstone in a young person’s Jewish journey – left her feeling left out, as her perception of its “tri-state subculture felt like yet another world where I – a Western Massachusetts kid – just didn't fit in.”

So, after her bat mitzvah, Ava took a step back from Jewish practice, but she was later persuaded by her father to try her hand at mentoring the younger students at Hevreh’s religious school. She remembers: “As I taught kids the Alef-Bet and the foundations of prayers that they would recite during their bar and bat mitzvahs, I was humbled to realize I was one link in a chain of cultural transmission that spanned millennia. In this role, I also took on a leadership position, guiding younger students through their early Jewish education and helping create a supportive and engaging classroom environment. Newly motivated, I began to attend a confirmation class at my synagogue where I could lend my voice to larger discussions about world events and Jewish traditions. The more I listened, the more I understood that everyone's relationship with Judaism with heritage, faith, and culture was complicated in some way. Ironically, my time spent feeling like an outsider helped me appreciate my place inside the Jewish community.”

At Lenox Memorial High School, Ava took many AP courses and was captain of the varsity track and cross-country teams. In the fall, she will attend Emory University, where she expects to study Law and Political Science.

Judith Cook also introduced the first recipient of the Sandra Kronick Smith College Scholarship, which supports a graduating female student attending college or vocational/technical school who demonstrates good character, is hard-working, and possesses a strong work ethic.

Sadie Honig-Briggs

“There's no part of my life that I can tell you about without also telling you about being Jewish,” asserts Sadie Honig-Briggs of Tyringham. There are “obvious things” she points to – working as a madricha at Hevreh of Southern Berkshire’s religious school, working in Hevreh’s office and playing violin at services, and giving a speech for Federation about her first visit to Israel.

“But then,” she adds, “there are the things that you wouldn't look at and say ‘that's her Judaism.’ Volunteering at Volunteers in Medicine Berkshires, taking vitals and making calls in Spanish. Teaching a recent immigrant how to read in English, how to order food at restaurants, how to get a library card. Working as a Restorative Justice facilitator at school, helping peers to see eye to eye. Helping a four-year-old violin student learn the notes to ‘Twinkle Twinkle.’ Studying chemistry until one in the morning. Writing and re-writing and editing essays, poems, applications for schools. Painting murals in the Dominican Republic. Acting in the school play. Reading the news. Holding the door for somebody. Joining hands at a barn dance. Telling someone they look beautiful. Planting flowers. Making food. Singing. Laughing. Reading. Protesting. Learning.”

Sadie’s busy schedule is guided by her belief in “tikkun olam – I believe that it is my duty to repair the world. I live Jewishly every single day. I am Jewish in everything I do because I never forget the value that my religion, my community, my culture has instilled in me.”

The Monument Mountain Regional High School grad will attend Bowdoin College next fall. She expects to study Music and Chemistry, in hopes of living a “life that is focused, whether it be through science, art, or simple human connection, to stitching everything that is broken around me into something beautiful and whole.”