We Need Both the Ark and the Sea

NECHAMA volunteers in Western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene

Barry Finestone’s recent piece in eJewishPhilanthropy speaks to a critical point: Jewish life should be built on meaning, pride, and joy and not solely on fear or reaction. I couldn’t agree more. As a Jewish mother and a board member at N.E. Miles Jewish Day School, I’m deeply invested in the kind of Jewish future we’re building for our children. But as the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, I know too well where silence and isolation can lead. It’s not enough to teach our children to love being Jewish, we must also teach them to live as Jews in the world: visible, courageous, and engaged.

If we only focus inward on strengthening ourselves without engaging the broader society around us, we risk isolating our community in a kind of modern-day shtetl. Safe, perhaps, but disconnected and ultimately vulnerable. Antisemitism won’t go away if we ignore it or focus elsewhere. And in today’s climate, it’s not just about ignorance –  it’s about misinformation, politics, and deep societal divides.

Antisemitism might not be something we can fix on our own but we still have a responsibility to show up, speak out, and make sure the Jewish voice is part of the larger conversation. That means teaching our neighbors, working with allies, joining partnerships, and helping shape the stories and policies that affect our safety and how we’re seen in the world.

That’s why I’m proud of the work we’re doing at NECHAMA – Jewish Response to Disaster. Since October 2024, 450 volunteers have donated over 6,200 hours across 37 disaster relief projects. We help people recover from disasters – no matter their background – because that’s what Jewish values are all about. As our CEO, Stephan Kline, says: “We do this work not because our clients are Jewish, but because we are.”

This work matters. In communities that may never have met Jewish people, our volunteers are a living example of Jewish values in action. We’re helping families in crisis, yes, but we’re also breaking down stereotypes, building bridges, and showing up in ways that matter.

This month, we’re hosting both Good Deeds Day and Yom HaShoah events. These programs bring together Jews and non-Jews alike to serve those in need, challenge harmful stereotypes, promote understanding, and build bridges through action and education. On Yom HaShoah, we’re partnering with the North Carolina Council of Churches to honor Holocaust survivors like Renée Fink, who will share her powerful story of survival and resilience. At the same time, Jewish and Christian volunteers in North Carolina will come together to assemble relief packages for victims of Hurricane Helene.

These acts of service are helping communities heal and showing that Jewish presence can mean care, partnership, and solidarity. Through service, education, and shared values, we are working together to build a more inclusive and compassionate world.

Barry asks an important and tough question: “Do the costly ad campaigns, high-profile gatherings, and social media efforts actually make a difference? Are they reaching the people who need to hear them — and are those people’s opinions changing?” He points out that we don’t yet have the data to say they are.

That’s exactly why we need more research, better evaluation, and creative thinking. We need to be sure our efforts are working — not just well-intentioned. And we need to invest in the tools to measure that.

Let’s invest in Jewish camps and day schools and also in programs that train teens to speak confidently about who they are. Let’s send young people to Israel and give them the tools to handle tough conversations when they get back to campus. Let’s deepen our Jewish knowledge  and share it with our neighbors, educators, and civic leaders so they better understand the antisemitism we face today.

We can’t solve antisemitism on our own.
But we also can’t afford to ignore it.

We need both: the ark – that strong, joyful space where we grow and thrive as Jews – and the sea – the complex, challenging world we live in. Let’s build the ark. And let’s teach our people how to steer it. With strength. With pride. And with the courage to step into the world and help repair it – through Tikkun Olam, through allyship, and through action. Because creating a better world for everyone is one of the most powerful ways we can combat antisemitism.