Rosh Hashanah invites us to pause and reflect on the year that has passed, but it also asks us to look forward.

What kind of year do we want to create? What do we want to strengthen? Where can we make a difference?

As the Jewish Federation of Ottawa enters the second year of our strategic plan, these questions feel especially meaningful. Our vision is for a Jewish Ottawa that is vibrant, connected and resilient — a community where people can find their place, where organizations work together toward shared goals and where we continue to build for generations to come.

Our strategy for getting there is captured in three words: Catalyze. Convene. Connect.

Catalyze means helping good ideas become meaningful action. It means investing in innovation, strengthening our community organizations and developing the leaders who will shape Jewish Ottawa in the years ahead.

Convene means bringing people and organizations together. Federation has a unique role as a community builder, creating opportunities to share ideas, solve problems together and respond collectively to the issues facing Jewish Ottawa.

And Connect is perhaps the most personal. It means helping people find their way into Jewish life and to one another, whether that is a family receiving its first PJ Library book, a child entering Jewish school, a university student finding community on campus, a young adult looking for a place to belong, or an older adult staying active and connected.

We see the impact of that collective work every day.

Children are building strong Jewish identities through day schools and supplementary schools. Students and young adults are finding meaningful Jewish experiences and opportunities to lead. Seniors are receiving care and connection. Families facing financial or personal challenges have somewhere to turn. Our institutions are safer. We are standing up to antisemitism and advocating for the needs of our community. And we are investing in organizations, ideas and people who will carry Jewish Ottawa forward.

This is also the promise at the heart of this year’s Annual Community Campaign: Here for Good. Here for All.

We are here for every generation — from our youngest children beginning their Jewish journeys to the seniors who helped build the community we enjoy today.

We are here for when it matters most — when a family needs help, when an older adult needs care, when our institutions need protection, when antisemitism demands a strong response, and when our community or Israel faces a moment of crisis.

And we are here for our shared future — strengthening Jewish education, developing leaders, investing in innovation and ensuring the institutions at the heart of Jewish Ottawa remain strong.

None of this belongs to Federation alone.

It belongs to the donors who make it possible, the volunteers who give their time, the professionals who devote themselves to serving our community, our partner organizations and congregations, and every person who chooses to participate in Jewish life.

That may be one of the most powerful ideas to carry with us into a new year: community is something we create together.

This Rosh Hashanah, there are many ways to find that community. Across Ottawa, congregations and Jewish organizations are opening their doors for services, learning, meals, family programs, shofar gatherings and opportunities to celebrate. Some of us will return to the same synagogue we have attended for decades. Others may be looking for a place to experience the High Holidays for the first time. There is room in Jewish Ottawa for all of us.

Looking for High Holiday services, programs or celebrations? Visit Federation’s High Holidays resource page to explore what is happening across Jewish Ottawa.

As we welcome 5787, may we continue to catalyze new possibilities, convene around what matters and connect more deeply with one another.

May we be there for every generation, there when it matters most and there for the future we will build together.

And may the year ahead bring peace, health, sweetness and renewed hope to our community, to Israel and to Jewish communities everywhere.

Shanah Tovah U’metukah.