here are times when a simple expression of appreciation can change the course of another’s life. My own life has been filled with a treasure trove of feedback from such moments. A woman, whom I do not recognize, rushes up to me in the halls of a Council of Jewish Federations General Assembly and says, “I’m sure you don’t remember me, but 10 years ago at a GA you came up to me after a meeting with encouraging words making me feel that I had something special to contribute and should not waste it. I was hoping I would see you here to let you know that I am now the President of our Women’s Division. Without your words of support, I know that I would never have thought of myself as a potential leader and I wanted to thank you.”We are each the recipients of a rich and glorious heritage. We are each links in a continuing chain and take with us all the past centuries of scholars and prophets, all the great learning of Talmud and Torah. The charge to transmit this heritage is so daunting that we often shrink away from the challenge. Sometimes, even more important than the example we set by the choices we have made in our own lives, it is the smallest act of encouragement or recognition we offer another that waters a seed and allows it to flower. We never know which conversation will change someone’s life… forever. The next time you recognize talent, acknowledge it, nurture it, and offer the positive words of support that have the potential to connect another to a vibrant, pulsating, alive Jewish world.
Helene Berger, Immediate Past Chair of JESNA the Jewish Education Service of North America.
