Friday, October 9

 

21 Tishrei 5770

 

Shabbat Shalom -

This week we have been celebrating the holiday of Sukkot.  As with many holidays, there is significant meaning in the symbolism we use to observe the celebration.  In particular the lulav and the etrog hold a very relevant meaning in regard to our Federation work.  The lulav is actually made up of three parts, the palm (lulav), the hadasim (myrtle) and the aravot (willow).  These, combined with the etrog, represent the following:

The etrog, also known as the citron, has a lovely smell and a strong taste and represents a person who studies and performs good deeds.  Some also say that the etrog represents the heart of a person. 

The lulav, or branch of a palm, has a taste, but does not smell.  It is said to represent someone who studies, but does not perform good deeds.  And, the lulav stands for the spine of the body.

The hadasim, myrtle, has a distinct smell but absolutely no taste and symbolizes one who does not study, but does good deeds.  The myrtle represents the eyes of a person.

Last is the, aravot, or willow, which has no taste and no smell representing someone who neither studies nor does good deeds.  The willow also represents the mouth of a person.

All of the these four species are required to be together to make the blessing for Sukkot and all are given equal status as a part of the whole.  For a person, all of the four parts make up the whole human body and we need all four parts to exist.  Furthermore, we can extrapolate that our community is made up of all types of people and each person brings his or her own interests, strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, but all serve an important part in making a complete community.

In looking at the mission of Federation and working with our donors to help them meet their philanthropic desires we can also take the symbolism of the lulav and the etrog and apply it to our constituency.  Some of our donors are like the lulav - they understand our mission, they volunteer on our boards and committees, they work on campaign and they are deeply committed to and involved with our efforts. 

Others are like the lulav - they are philanthropists, donors, and they support the effort, but maybe they are not involved in the day to day efforts.  Some are like the hadasim, they are involved in the efforts of our work, but maybe are not inspired to be donors.  In addition, there are some who do not contribute philanthropically or by volunteering time, and they are like the aravot or willows.  It is our responsibility to make sure that we embrace all of these different parts.

For our most involved donors and volunteers, we must honor their involvement and continue to provide positive philanthropic experiences.  For our donors who give but are not involved, we must keep our message fresh and exciting.  For those who are involved but perhaps are not donors, we need to make sure we are presenting an opportunity to inspire philanthropy.  And, for those who are not involved at all, we must reach out to nurture and engage those who have not found us on their own.  Creatively we need to share our message of connecting their interests with philanthropic aspirations.

All of these different types of donors make up the whole of our constituents and each deserves time and attention.  It is our job to make sure that we are reaching everyone in meaningful and interesting ways.  Each group has different needs, but the services that we provide offer a complete picture of how, with creativity, ingenuity, determination and most importantly, hard work, we can achieve success. 

Shabbat shalom and chag sameach.