A moment of clarity, a leap forward, and a redefinition of community across distance.

Last night, standing in front of our community at our 2026 Annual General Meeting, I said something I had never said before:

We are the Jewish Federation of British Columbia.

And in that moment, it was clear that something fundamental had shifted.

Sometimes it is hard to recognize when history is being made. Moments pass, words are spoken, and only later do we fully understand their meaning.

But this was different.

In that moment, it was unmistakable. Standing behind the podium, looking out across our community, something had changed. Not just in name, but in identity, in scope, and in how we understand ourselves.

What does it mean to stand at a podium and gaze beyond the horizon of a community?

It means seeing not only those in front of you, but those who are not in the room. It means recognizing communities spread across distance, connected not by proximity, but by shared purpose and shared responsibility.

To be seen is to move from the periphery to the center of a shared vision. It is when a community no longer feels distant, but recognized, included, and essential to what comes next.

That name was approved at our last AGM. But standing before our community as JFBC, it became something more than symbolic. Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver built something extraordinary, and what we built became bigger than any one city could contain.

We followed our community wherever it went. To Richmond. To White Rock. To Coquitlam. That is what a Federation does. It shows up. It builds infrastructure. It ensures that no Jewish family, no matter where they live, feels alone.

Now, we are a provincial federation.

More than 30 communities. 164 events. Thousands of people connected across British Columbia, from the Lower Mainland to Kelowna to Victoria and beyond. This spring, at our expanded Regional Communities Summit in Whistler, 275 participants gathered from across the province and even the Northwest Territories.

That is what JFBC looks like.

This matters deeply in a post‑October 7 world. We have seen what happens when Jewish communities pull together, and what happens when they feel isolated. Our answer cannot be to retreat. It must be to reach further. Every Jewish family we connect to is another family that does not have to navigate this moment alone.

Those words were written for a room. But in that moment, they became something larger.

They captured not just what we are, but how we got here.

And stepping into something larger is never without hesitation.

Fear of the unknown is powerful. It can paralyze. A flood of what ifs, a surge of unanswered questions, and suddenly, forward motion feels impossible.

I have always had a healthy fear of heights. If I pause too long on the edge of a high dive, my mind takes over. The doubts come quickly. The height seems to triple.

So I don’t pause.

For me, it has to be one continuous movement from the stairs to the water.

Doing big things in British Columbia feels much the same.

We don’t wait for perfect clarity. We move forward knowing that understanding often comes in motion. We will deal with the temperature of the water when we are in it.

There is a well‑known idea that most success is simply showing up.

Showing up is everything.

That is what drives us.

At its core, the Jewish Federation of British Columbia is about showing up. Showing up for communities across this province, regardless of distance. Showing up not only when it is comfortable, but especially when it is not.

And in many ways, this instinct is deeply Jewish.

From the very beginning of our story, we are taught not to close ourselves in, but to open outward. Abraham’s tent, our tradition teaches, was open on all sides, so that no one had to search for an entrance.

The Torah pushes us further, commanding us not only to care for those closest to us, but to love the stranger, to recognize those who might otherwise remain at the edges.

To reach our arms wide is not a modern instinct. It is a Jewish one.

It reflects a simple truth: community is not defined by proximity, but by responsibility. The more we see, the more we are called to respond.

The name did not create the change.

The change created the name.

For years, Jewish life in British Columbia has been evolving. Communities have grown, connections have deepened, and a provincial vision has taken shape. This moment did not begin that process. It gave it voice.

In our tradition, names mark transformation. They turn possibility into responsibility.

To become the Jewish Federation of British Columbia is to accept that responsibility fully. To think beyond city lines. To connect across distance. To ensure that no community stands alone.

Last night, I stood in front of our community and said something I had never said before.

We are the Jewish Federation of British Columbia.

Now we must live up to it.