JDC Voices

The JDC Archives, one of the most important collections in the world for the study of modern Jewish history, holds the institutional records of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee since its founding in 1914, showcasing the organization’s key humanitarian work over the past 104 years. Now, after a major revamp, the JDC Archives website is being unveiled with a crisper and cleaner look. In addition, the site’s functionality has been modernized, making it more user and mobile friendly.

Beyond the latest headlines on Israel is an unseen world of people who make up the country, now celebrating its 70th birthday.

As we approach the building, we are greeted by the gleeful squeals of small children clad in colorful snowsuits, at play in mounds of bright Ukrainian snow. Kindergarten is in session!

On the 27th day in the month of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, Jewish people will begin to observe Yom HaShoah worldwide, known as Holocaust Remembrance Day. Yom Hashoah pays tribute to the lives and heroic efforts of Jewish people who died in the Holocaust during World War II through lighting memorial candles, reciting the kaddish (a prayer for the dead), and holding commemorative ceremonies or events.

When you think of famous stars who forever changed music like Bob Dylan and Bob Marley, do you also think of the Babylonian Talmud? If not, after reading about the various Jewish activities that just happened at the “Rock, Reggae, and Rebellious Royals: The Rhythms of Jewish Life as Seen through the Rhythms of Popular Song” international youth seminar, from March 15-18, in Timisoara, Romania, you just might.

From February 28 to March 1, vibrant festivals and events will be held globally to commemorate Purim, the holiday that recounts the heroic efforts of Mordecai and Esther, the twosome who foiled Haman’s evil plan to kill the Jews in the ancient Persian Empire.

For 30-year-old Israeli couple Lior and Lotem, who met on a dating website, Valentine’s Day is especially meaningful as it marks Lotem’s birthday, which is also the same day the couple got engaged. Lior, who works at a pharmacy, and Lotem, who works at her father’s business, were married this past September in an emotional ceremony with 300 guests in attendance.

In a 200-year-old home in the southern Ukrainian city of Nikolaev, an elderly woman sits alone, looking out the window at the passersby. Perhaps her mind has wandered to happier times as she’s watched the hustle and bustle of the last week when fellow Jews celebrated Chanukah.

As one of the few American participants, I felt a special bond and closeness with these amazing young people and their journey, which is far from over.

Each year we celebrate Chanukah by remembering the miracle of light. Left with only one day’s worth of oil, the Maccabees found themselves with eight days of light.