As I sit here writing my final note, I can’t help reflecting on how the world has changed in the six and a half years since I began my tenure as your editor. Tornadoes, global pandemic, two presidential elections, unrest in Israel, October 7th, hostages, Iran…I sound like a Billy Joel song.
It would be so easy to look at all that happened and chalk it up to a challenging time in human history. But the fact is life, humanity, is always challenging and the world can be a difficult and often tragic place. And, of course, it depends on your perspective. As a natural optimist, I look at the many ways our human development helps us weather the challenges. Technology, education, and medical advances just to name a few, provide tools to better navigate what mother nature throws at us.
For the past 92 years, The Jewish Observer has documented the history of our Jewish community. What began during the rise of Hitler and the Nazis in Europe, bringing important news from around the world, now also documents the intense growth and development of our community here at home. And rather than merely delivering the news in print, we can now ensure you are informed in real time, as events unfold, thanks to email, text, cell phones, and a website. What was only a glimmer of an idea in 1934 is now common practice. Who knows what is already being dreamed up for future generations?
I’ve said before that I was born and raised as a newspaper reader. Growing up, I sat at our kitchen table, a mug of hot tea with milk (mom wouldn’t allow coffee at that age), and the LA Times spread out in front of me. Most mornings I read it as fast as I could before school, and when I got home, I would try and finish the rest. I wrote letters to my favorite columnist, the legendary Jack Smith, who would sometimes answer me! When he died, I wrote to his wife expressing my condolences. I even subscribed to the Times when I went away to college in San Diego, waiting every day for the issue to arrive.
I am passionate about newspapers and their ability to connect people and communities, and to be a living document of their life and times. In fact, if you’re ever curious or looking for historic information about Jewish Nashville, contact Lynn Fleischer, our local archivist, who has almost every issue since the first one on March 1, 1934. In those pages you will see many familiar names of families still contributing to our Jewish community’s rich history.
Thanks to all of you who read and appreciate local journalism, this newspaper has endured, thrived, and survived to tell our stories. There have been many editors during those 92 years, and I have been so honored and humbled to add my name to the list.
I am pleased to share that I am passing the editor’s pen to someone I both admire and trust for her integrity, judgement, and boundless energy. Erin Wides, a current member of the Federation’s development team, will be stepping into the role beginning in June. Erin is an experienced journalist with a background in broadcast and print news, and nonprofit communications. Originally from St. Louis, she graduated from the University of Central Missouri with a degree in digital media production with an emphasis on digital journalism. Some of you may also know her as the founder of the Nashville chapter of Nice Jewish Runners. She is an animal lover and dog mom of two and when she is not running around town, loves playing her guitar.
You will hear more from Erin in coming issues. And I promise I’m not going far. In fact, you may sometimes see my byline in these pages, covering a story or two, or lending an editorial voice. After all, words have been my stock in trade most of my life and I can’t stop talking now!
In the meantime, I encourage you to pull out the fundraising envelope in the middle of this newspaper and consider contributing whatever you can to ensure it stays alive amidst rising costs. It is up to all of us to ensure that future generations can know our stories and the experiences and events that moved and inspired us. It is up to us to write our own history and leave our legacy.
And finally, each one of you has touched my life in ways you cannot imagine. You have changed me for the better and enriched my Jewish journey by opening yourselves up when I’ve reached out or our paths crossed. It has truly been a labor of love to be part of your lives, to tell your stories, and to be a link in the chain that keeps the Observer alive.
As we like to say, this is not goodbye, it is l’hitraot, see you soon. As always, thanks for reading.
The Jewish Observer is published by The Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville and made possible by funds raised in the Jewish Federation Annual Campaign. Become a supporter today.
Barbara Dab, editor, Jewish Observer Nashville
