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From Crisis to Courage: Choosing Light, Choosing Joy, Choosing One Another.
Posted by: Lisa Long on January 22, 2026
In recent weeks, I have found myself thinking deeply about what it means to lead, and to belong, during complicated times.
Across our community, and across the Jewish world, we are living with a mix of gratitude and grief, pride, and pain. Our institutions are strong, our people are resilient and yet many of us are tired. I know I am.
Since 2020, we have been operating in what I can only describe as crisis mode: responding to COVID, mounting emergency campaigns, supporting Israel and Ukraine, mourning losses in Pittsburgh, Israel, Australia, and elsewhere. Each moment has demanded urgency, focus, and heart and we rose to meet every one of them.
At the recent Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly, a question was posed that has stayed with me: How do we shift from crisis mode to dream mode? How do we move from survival to vision? How do we reclaim Jewish Joy without ignoring the very real challenges that remain? For me, the answer begins with community. When we choose connection over fear, we build something far stronger than any one institution or moment. At the same time, we must acknowledge the heaviness many are carrying. Antisemitism is not theoretical or historical, it is present, personal and painful.
My tenure at Federation hasn’t been easy, and I sometimes ask myself: Are you ready to throw in the towel, or are you ready to get back in the ring?
I am not ready to throw in the towel. My work here is not just operational; it is sacred. This moment calls not for retreat, but for courage. For joy that is intentional and communal. Jewish Joy does not mean ignoring pain; it means refusing to let pain be the final word. The work ahead will not always be easy. But it is meaningful. And it is ours.
So I’ll ask the question again, this time to all of you:
Who’s ready to get in the ring with me?
If we choose vision over fear, joy over despair and community over isolation, I am confident the light we create together will reach far beyond ourselves.
And that, especially now, is something worth fighting for.
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Read past LISA'S LONG VIEW columns HERE.