A New Dream - A Local Girl's Correspondence with Rachel Goldberg-Polin

Rachel Goldberg-Polin made many friends in the Jewish Berkshires in March 2023, when she worked in Jerusalem with members of Chabad of the Berkshires on a group visit to Israel. The community stayed in close touch with Rachel throughout her family's ordeal. On the morning before her son…

From My Place to Our Place - Young Israeli Evacuees Share Their Art

Our Federation's participation in the Afula-Gilboa Partnership2Gether program has forged connections between the Jewish Berkshires and this region in northeast Israel, now a place where evacuees are seeking refuge from the hostilities. Our friends at the Mishkan Museum in Ein Harod have…

BJVoices After Oct. 7 - “A Real Summer Camp and Not a Grief Summer Camp”

In this BJV Interview, Alon Parnas of Kimama's Camp Halfmoon in Monterey, MA, shares how his camp welcomed 33 Israeli children and teens from hostage families to the Berkshires this summer for "a real summer camp, not a grief summer camp."

A Rabbi's Reflections on October 7th and its Aftermath

Rabbi Neal Borovitz reflects on his lifelong connection to Israel and shares some thoughts on how the Jewish state might move forward following the Oct. 7 attacks. A Berkshire Jewish Voices After Oct. 7 essay.

Berkshire Jewish Voices After Oct. 7: For Such a Time As This

In this Berkshire Jewish Voices After Oct. 7 essay, Albert Stern draws on his experiences growing up among Holocaust survivors and living in Israel during the Yom Kippur War to reflect on Oct. 7.