Friends, as a scholarly nerd this is my most wonderful time of the year. I get excited by fresh new school supplies and the prospect of learning and so do many of you.  Please donate to your local Jewish Federation or Jewish Family and Child Services School Supplies Campaigns!

The need is greater than ever before. Please be generous, and let’s make this an all-year-round endeavor in the way that we contribute to food banks and toiletries for the homeless all year round.

We are all facing extraordinary economic challenges, around the world. In Canada, Jewish Boards of Education and Hebrew day schools are struggling to accommodate many new families and students who are fleeing antisemitism in public schools and school boards. We are also accommodating many new immigrants to our communities, who need our support.

As it is, in most Jewish communities of all sizes, about one-fifth of us are living below the poverty line. People don’t like to talk about that too much, because our Jewish community is generally successful and so oriented toward success and ‘naches’ (pride) in our achievements, but it’s a fact. And it’s not their fault. These are structural economic factors.

And, this is an expensive........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)