As a reminder, the goal of the 2019@$1,000 campaign is to close as many gifts of $1,000 or more during our second fiscal quarter, which is January through March. Our General Campaign division covers gifts of $1,000 to $4,999. It is a critical division, as these donors, with proper relationship building and cultivation, often become major donors.  We need to continue to expand this pipeline of donors for the overall vitality of our donor base.

These communities have closed a minimum of 50 gift units at $1,000 or more:

• Greater Los Angeles
• Mid-Atlantic
• Nevada
• New England
• Northern Florida
• South Florida
• Tri-State (Greater New York area)

These communities have closed a minimum of 30 gift units at $1,000 or more: 

• Arizona
• Central New Jersey
• Illinois
• Mountain States
• New England
• Northern CA
• San Diego

Tuesday, March 19 is NATIONAL JNF CLOSING DAY. As part of our 2019@$1,000 campaign, all JNF offices will limit outside meetings and work the phones to close outstanding gifts. You can help. Please offer to spend an hour in your local office and make some phone calls.

JEWISH DISABILITIES AWARENESS, ACCEPTANCE & INCLUSION MONTH

I am thrilled to report the success of Jewish Disabilities Awareness & Inclusion Month. In the month of February we raised $1,043,000 from 518 donors. I'm really happy that 100 of these were first time donors to Jewish National Fund. Great work by JNF’s Task Force on Disabilities and the Marketing/Communications department.

MAJOR DONOR WEEKEND

Please join us in Las Vegas for our annual Major Donor Weekend April 5 – 8 at the Four Seasons Hotel. Many fun and interesting programs are planned, including a wonderful Shabbat Dinner with JNFuture leaders from around the country, VIP tickets to the Cirque du Soleil show Mystere, a visit to the MOB Museum and a book signing with former mobster Myron Sugarman, the author of The Chronicles of the Last Jewish Gangster. You are also invited to attend an open meeting of JNF’s National Board of Directors on Monday morning, April 8th.  To register for major donor weekend, click here:  www.jnf.org/majordonorweekend

Please note that the JNF Room Block ends on March 11, so book today!

CAMPAIGN PLANNING SUMMIT AND NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Because this year’s National Conference is taking place so early on the calendar, September 13-15, we have decided to schedule the annual Campaign Planning Summit for the Monday immediately after the conference on September 16. The Summit will be a one day meeting from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm and is open to any lay leader serving on a JNF board, committee or task force.

Registration for the Campaign Planning Summit is included on the National Conference registration page. Please be sure to register for the National Conference and on the drop down menu there is a place to indicate you will attend the Campaign Summit. Click here to register for National Conference:  https://www.jnf.org/events-landing-pages/2019-national-conference

LAY LEADER TRAINING SEMINAR

The next training session will take place March 27 and will focus on solicitation training.

If you missed any of our previous training sessions, you may click below to watch the videos.

Leadership Training Seminar #1 (9/13/18) – History of Zionism and Jewish National Fund

Leadership Training Seminar #2 (11/14/18) – The Power of the JNF Brand and Brand Management

JNF Organizational Overview and Financial Structure #3 (1/16/19)

Shabbat Shalom!

Bruce K. Gould
President Elect and Vice President, Campaign

The most recent issue of B'Yachad is out, celebrating the accomplishments of Powerful Women Creating Change. Read it here. 

This week on IsraelCast, we hear from Orit Rome, Co-CEO of Alexander Muss High School in Israel. Don't miss this fascinating conversation - listen at jnf.org/israelcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The latest edition of the Speakers Bureau newsletter is now available. Read here for updates on upcoming partner visits, featured speakers, and Makor assignments. 

Read more of Leor’s philosophy you read this, Alexander Muss High School in Israel is filled to capacity! With day school groups, our spring semester, and our February mini-mester all in session, we are proof that, as our Co-CEO Rabbi Leor Sinai puts it, “American and global Jewish youth are craving an immersive Israel experience for high school students, and simply put, there is no better way to facilitate a deep understanding and love for Israel than bringing Jewish teens to the Jewish homeland for a long-term program.” Read more of Leor’s philosophy on this topic in his latest piece on the Times of Israel blog. Stateside, conference and travel season is still active, and we are looking forward to presenting at the Prizmah (Center for Jewish Day Schools) conference this weekend. If you will be there, check out our DreamLab!

U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and Chair of the Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities Chris Neeley, visited Jewish National Fund partner Special in Uniform in Palmachim Air Force base together with JNF Task force members. Friedman and Neeley were both very impressed with the organization and expressed their wishes to try to establish a similar project in the United States.

You've heard of this tiny company called Intel, right? They've had a plant in the Negev since 1999 and have continued building and creating in the region ever since. Last week, leaders from Jewish National Fund and the Lauder Center met with Intel to learn more about the developing local hi-tech market, and opportunities for collaboration ahead of the future Israel Education and Technology Campus in Be’er Sheva.

Last week, as part of JNF's Mega Mission, the JNF Israel Independence Experience Task Force and chair Ben Gutmann visited heritage sites around the country, from south to north, learning about the important stories of Israel’s history and brainstorming ways to improve heritage site experiences. From the Ayalon Institute Bullet Factory in Rehovot, to Atlit Detention Camp south of Haifa, Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem, and to Kfar Masaryk Kibbutz and more, the task force visited 14 sites altogether. Together, JNF and SPIHS are working to ensure that the stories of the heritage sites and Israel’s history are shared with the world.

This week, 500 women from the Eshkol Regional Council joined together to celebrate Purim and International Women's Day. It was so powerful to see women from all backgrounds get together to celebrate. The sense of unity was strong. It is thanks to Jewish National Fund and Charlene Vener for these opportunities to get together, especially after a rocket attack this week.

Carole Shnier from Los Angeles took part in the Mega Mission last week. She wrote: “I am beyond thrilled to be part of the historic groundbreaking of JNF-USA's huge undertaking- The Israel Education and Technology Center in Be'er Sheva. Please join us as we begin this incredible journey and make this project a reality!”

This week we finish the reading of the book of Exodus, also known in the commentaries as the Book of Redemption because of its description of the people of Israel leaving Egypt. A great endeavor comes to a successful conclusion in the Parshah of Pekudei. The Sanctuary is completed by Moses and the Children of Israel.

This beautiful prototype of the Temple was built by everyone. The leading artist, craftsman and architect was Betzalel, but everyone else helped. The Torah mentions the men and women, with special emphasis on the skill and artistry of the women; the Sages add that also the children took part.

Let us look at this from the eyes of each individual. Each person felt that through the fact the he or she was taking part in the construction of the Sanctuary, whatever his or her individual contribution, the entire structure was built. It is true that without all the other hundreds of thousands of people also taking part, the Sanctuary could not have been completed. Nonetheless, each person felt that he had succeeded in the task to bring the entire Sanctuary into being.

The Sages tell us that at the end of the work Moses gave a blessing: "May G‑d grant that His Divine Presence will dwell in the work of your hands." The Sanctuary is called "the work of your hands," applying to the entire nation collectively as well as to each person individually.

How does an individual feel this sense of achievement not just in the tiny part he or she actually created but in the whole? The Lubavitcher Rebbe suggests: When one's participation is to the maximum of one's ability to fulfill the Divine expectation. You do your utmost, however much or little that is, then you can justly feel that the entire sacred structure is the product of your efforts.

This idea about the role of the individual applies not only in the building of the Sanctuary thousands of years ago, but in all our collective endeavors today as the Jewish people. There are great tasks which face us. Not only do we need to "preserve" Judaism; we, the Jewish people acting together have to bring ourselves and the world into the next stage of history.

This is a task which involves all of us. Yet following the logic applied to the Sanctuary, if each of us gives our "all," we can each feel that the total task is our particular, individual achievement. It is in our hands!

Oh, and yes, Carole took the shovel, dug in the ground and said to everyone: “Join me and change the future of Israel, one day at a time, one shovel at a time”

Shabbat Shalom,

Yossi