Reasons to hope

Editorial

Last year at this time, there was little good news to report. Our nation debated whether the public should receive smallpox inoculations in preparation for a bio-terror attack. Plans were underway to invade Iraq, to remove Saddam Hussein as a terrorist threat. U.S. soldiers were dying in Afghanistan.

We learned that North Korea had access to enough plutonium to produce at least five nuclear weapons within months. States across the country struggled with massive deficits. Citizens grappled with rising unemployment.

And the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that reservists would be compelled to serve in the disputed territories.

Today, with the exception of the invasion of Iraq and capture of Saddam Hussein, not much has changed. The shadow of terrorism darkens the optimism of the season. Fear is palpable. How else can the average citizen react when our Department of Homeland Security upgrades the terror threat advisory to orange?

Yet despite these unsettling realities in 2003 we had much to celebrate:

Our Valley communal organizations improved outreach for newcomers to ease their entry into the Valley's Jewish community.
Giving increased to the Jewish Community Day School Scholarship Fund, making Jewish education available to more families.
We welcomed Adam Schwartz as executive vice president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix.
To address the growing needs of our community, new synagogues formed: the Scottsdale Sepharadic Synagogue, the Sephardic Community of Arizona and Beth Hagivot of Fountain Hills.
The Arizona Jewish Historical Society secured the Culver Street Synagogue, to be renamed the Cutler_Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center.
When the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center Senior Center faced financial shortfalls, the community responded by raising funds to continue crucial programs and services.

We do not travel through the yearly cycle on a wheel of fate, destined to re-enact tragedy, pain and loss. Rather, we have control over most aspects of our lives.

We can choose to engage in the community, to volunteer, to donate our time and money. We can choose to reach out to a neighbor in need.

And as the secular year draws to a close, we can choose to take stock of our lives. Now is as good a time as any to bolster our hopes, celebrate the past year, and plan our future with confidence.

"Days are scrolls: write on them only what you want remembered," taught Bachya ibn Pakuda in the 11th century. His wisdom remains relevant today.

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