Continued hope and tradition at Rosh Hashanah

By Gavriel Siman-Tov
Community Shaliach

There is no better time in the year for a new beginning than Rosh Hashanah.

As said in the book Exodus 12:1-2:

“The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of the months; it shall be the first…

5 ways Federation fights antisemitism

By Aaron Gorodzinsky
Director of Campaign and Security Planning

This has been a very difficult year for our Jewish community, witnessing once again a rise in the number of antisemitic attacks happening across our nation. I want to share five things we are doing in our community to fight aga…

THE IMPACT ONE MAKES: Sheila Berg

By Stephanie Goodling
HAKOL Editor

Though she originally hails from Westbury, Long Island, Sheila Berg has made the Lehigh Valley her home for the past few decades. Active with the Jewish Federation, including Women’s Philanthropy, and as a former Jewish Day School parent, Berg also becam…

Reflecting on conflict in Israel from an ocean away

By Gavriel Siman-Tov
Community Shaliach

This month, everything going on in Israel and in the world affected me. I was glued to the news and to my phone, trying to know everything there is to know, to make sure everything is safe. To be so far away from home, you get to know what it’s like…

Remembering my grandmother and her backgammon board

By Gavriel Siman-Tov
Community shaliach

Backgammon, or as we call it in Israel, shes besh, is definitely in the top five of most Israelis’ games. You can find this game pretty much everywhere you go – at the beach, at the park, at the bar. Well, let’s just say it’s pretty common and…