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Dear Friend,
Hours before Pesach began last week we received this email from somewhere in the former Soviet Union: "I try to be a good Jew. I worship and love G-d, I keep to the law, I care for my family. All as best I can. "But I feel alone. There is no Jewish community here or near me. I am saddened that my daughter is missing out on the community feelings that I had. "I will eat matzahs, etc. Though I do not feel up to the task, I will try to do what I should correctly... "Do you have any advice for me? I feel an amateur service is better than none, do you agree?" Hours earlier, a teenager emailed us that she just discovered that her Arab mother is actually Jewish and please can we help her learn more. A few days later a Jew in xxx needed help with a serious theological question. A woman in yyy wanted help teaching her family. A girl in zzz needed candle-lighting information. And a college student needed advice for leading a beginners' service. And so on and on. A special week? No. This is what it's like for us all the time at these Jewish groups. Our responders -- and our writers, editors, designers and programmers -- work around the clock to help hundreds of thousands access the rich beauty of their heritage and apply it to their daily lives. More than 25,000 people enter our classroom "walls" daily, to learn and to experience, to make a connection and to be inspired. And every member of our team feels personally responsible to help make each visitor's experience pleasant, informative and uplifting. We help people from all walks of life, in all parts of the globe. You name a stereotype and our staff has probably broken it. There may not be another Jewish institution in the entire world that has more students, and greater reach, than Jewish Groups. The secret of this success? Well, that's where Yom Kippur comes in. It is this soul that comes alive for each and every one of us on Yom Kippur, to help us achieve closeness to G-d, to cleanse ourselves of our iniquities and to begin anew. And it is this same soul that bursts aflame for a lonely man somewhere in the Western United States. And it is this soul that we try to nourish and cultivate in all that we do at Jewish Groups, all year round. * So today, before Yom Kippur, I appeal to this same beautiful spark, the one deep inside of you: Please help us continue to make Judaism accessible to the millions of souls worldwide waiting to be touched. Please help us grow our overworked staff of responders. Please help us expand our content library. Please help us create new how-to sections and new holiday sites and all kinds of other great things that are waiting for new funding. Please reach deep inside of yourself this pre-Yom Kippur day to appreciate the value of even one of these thousands of stories of return, of even one of these countless individuals who we touch. Please think about whether the Jewish people can afford to lose even one of these souls, G-d forbid. Please contribute very, very generously from your own soul, from your own hard work and earnings, to keep the spirit of Yom Kippur alive for Jews all over the world, all year long. There are Jews whose very Jewishness is dependent on you. Please help them keep their spark alive by contributing at: Or by sending a check to: May you merit to experience Yom Kippur in the deepest, holiest way. And may you and your loved ones be sealed in the Book of Life for all things good, both materially and spiritually. Thank you. Sincerely,
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