When I was asked to chair Tzedekah Tzunday, on Sunday, August 23, a flood of memories came rushing back. Memories of my early years in Nashville working for the Gordon Jewish Community Center (GJCC) and the Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville, and especially of coordinating this volunteer event, which I last staffed in January 2009.
This year’s campaign theme is Jewish Journeys, and I can’t imagine a more fitting description of my 21 years in Nashville. From brises and baby namings to Shabbat services with my grandparents in assisted living, and everything in between, Jewish life in Nashville has shaped me, as I know it has shaped so many of you. And it all begins with supporting the 2026 Jewish Federation Annual Campaign.
My own journey started in college, when I invited Jane Eskind to speak at a lunch and learn during my internship with the Tennessee Bicentennial Commission at the State Planning Office. She was then a Brandeis University board member, and I was awed by her political drive and commitment to Jewish leadership.
When I moved to Nashville in 2005, my siblings and their families were already deeply involved in the community, and my beloved Grandma Roz and Papa had relocated here to be closer to the grandkids. Papa had stayed with the Bubis family during WWII while passing through Nashville as a pilot, and later returned in the 1960s to open Midas shops around town. He walked the treadmill at the GJCC regularly, all five nieces and nephews attended the GJCC preschool and Akiva, and I became the GJCC teen director and BBYO city director.
Friends from Brandeis, BBYO, and Camp Ramah welcomed me immediately. I made new friends through young adult programming and through the network of Jewish communal professionals who helped me find my footing.
Over the years, I’ve been privileged to serve Jewish Nashville in many ways. I’ve sat on the Sherith Israel board, started a garden there, and taught Sunday School at both Sherith and Micah. I facilitated the Hadera teen program and still keep in touch with many of the teens I once shuttled around town. In December 2006, I led a Hurricane Katrina clean-up mission to New Orleans with 23 community members, and days later traveled to Kiryat Shemona to clean bomb shelters after the Second Lebanon War—where I spotted Federation-funded air-conditioning units keeping those shelters livable.
I’ve volunteered with the Nashville Jewish Film Festival, organized toiletries drives for Jewish Family Services (JFS), and received JFS financial assistance myself more than once. I’ve brought Jewish speakers, entertainers, and authors to Nashville, served on the Jewish Community Relations Council, helped organize the Black-Jewish Alliance, and participated in the GJCC’s Jewish Book Series.
I’ve spoken at Israeli peace rallies, collaborated with Rabbi Shana Mackler on a Purim shpiel, catered community events and simchas while working for SOVA, donated art and cooking skills to GJCC auctions, and enjoyed the outdoor pool as often as possible.
And here’s the truth: I am not unique. So many of us have been touched by the institutions, programs, and relationships that the Jewish Federation supports. Our lives are intertwined with the community we’ve built together.
That’s why I hope you will join me on August 23, from 9 a.m. -3 p.m., for Tzedekah Tzunday. By volunteering to make calls and send texts, by pledging to the 2026 Annual Campaign, and by supporting the day with your time, energy, or refreshments, your participation strengthens local, national, Israeli, and global Jewish needs.
I look forward to working together to sustain our Jewish institutions, nurture our programs, and ensure that Jewish Nashville remains a welcoming home for newcomers and long-time residents alike.
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.