In our reading of Noah and the great flood, our Torah begins with describing Noah as “a righteous man. Perfect in his generations; Noah walked with God.” He is the only individual in the entire Torah to be awarded the title tzaddik – righteous person. But when told that there would be a flood that would wipe out mankind, knowing that his family would be saved on the Ark, he does not argue to save anyone else. He is concerned only for himself.

There is a Hasidic phrase to describe Noah. He was a tzaddik im peltz, “a righteous person in a fur coat.” What does this mean? When it is winter and it's freezing cold, there are two things one can do. One can build a fire, or one can wrap oneself in a fur coat. In both cases, the person is warm. But when one builds a fire, all who gather round will also be warmed. With the fur coat, the only one who is warmed is the one who wears the coat.

Our community in the Virginia Peninsula lights fires! We care about others and through your generosity, we do good that goes everywhere.

Meeting by the warmth of fire this week, our Pearl Society held their first meeting of the year and began discussing possibilities for giving this year. The Pearl Society is a giving circle of women who share a philanthropic vision. In addition to supporting the UJCVP’s Annual Campaign, these women make an impact through the power of collective giving. They discuss critical issues facing our world and through their combined work, make donations to support causes they believe will have the greatest impact.

Since its beginning in 2018, our Pearl Society has donated over $17,000 to different non-profit organizations on the Virginia Peninsula, across the United States and overseas. The Pearl Society is looking forward to adding to that list this year. If you are interested in joining the Pearl Society, you can contact Sara Traster for information about getting involved.

This Shabbat, we are pushed to ask ourselves: do we look out only for ourselves or do we have a collective responsibility to others? Do we want to be a person in a fur coat or one who lights a fire to warm others?

Shabbat Shalom,
Eric Maurer
Executive Director
emaurer@ujcvp.org