Friday Five – October 9, 2026
At JewishColumbus we have a bold and audacious goal to become the BEST Jewish community in North America. Friday Five is a way to share how your support makes a great impact possible. Every other week, we are proud to share that impact, community partnership, accomplishments, and our most incredible moments of pride. Thank you for coming along.
Strong communities are built by people who see a need and decide to do something about it. That kind of leadership shapes a community for generations.
This year’s 18 Columbus Jewish News Difference Makers are those people. Some lead from the bimah or the classroom. Others lead in healthcare, business, social services, on campus, or as volunteers who show up whenever they’re needed. Whatever the setting, each of them took something they care about and turned it into action. Because of them, more people across Central Ohio have a place to learn, pray, find support, and give back.
I’m especially proud that our Board Chair, Jonathan Feibel, will receive the Generation Award for a lifetime of leadership, and that Bexley Police Chief Gary D. Lewis Jr., a committed ally to the Jewish community, will be honored for making our community’s safety a personal priority.
To every honoree, thank you and mazel tov. Our community is stronger because you chose to lead.
Three years ago on October 7, our hearts broke alongside our brothers and sisters in Israel as the horrific attack unfolded. In the years since, they have rebuilt with extraordinary resilience, and we have stayed by their side.
Farmers have returned to the fields that were torn apart, survivors are healing on a Gaza Envelope farm built in memory of Dudi Turgeman, the grandson of a Columbus family, and for three summers, riders from the Gaza Envelope, Kfar Saba, and Karmia have pedaled beside us at Peletonia, sharing their stories and solidifying, mile by mile, that they do not carry their grief alone.
In this week’s CJN, JewishColumbus leaders reflect on the bonds that have carried us, what it has meant to show up for Israel and Israelis, and why we’re still holding on. “We are now moving from response to resilience. That does not mean moving on. We will keep saying the names of those we lost and holding close the survivors, the returned hostages and the families still healing.”
We hope you will join the community this Sunday at Congregation Beth Tikvah at 4:30 pm for Project Heros, a musical commemoration concert commemorating October 7 by shifting the narrative of the Jewish people from victimhood to heroism.
Scroll to the end of any Friday Five and you’ll find our Security Tip of the Week. These are simple, practical habits to build into your daily routine. Everyone can practice them, and over time they become second nature.
Each tip takes only a moment. Done by one person, it can seem small. When thousands of us take part, we make our community harder to harm and safer to gather in. That shared awareness keeps our doors open for Shabbat dinners, holiday celebrations, and the everyday joys of Jewish life in Central Ohio.
This week’s tip is at the bottom of this issue. Read it, practice it, and pass it along.
When we dipped apples in honey last month, we wished one another a sweet new year. For some of our neighbors, that sweetness came as a grocery gift card, which put food on the holiday table for people who might otherwise go hungry or be overlooked.
Through the Sonia and Saul Schottenstein SCRIP Program, JewishColumbus provides grocery gift cards to Jewish Family Services (JFS) at Rosh Hashanah, Hanukkah, and Passover, and JFS gets them to the families who need them. Often, a rabbi or teacher is the first to notice someone struggling after job loss, an illness, or a repair that wiped out their grocery money. When that happens, they know they can call JFS. As one community member told JFS, “The help let him sleep at night.”
To keep holiday tables full for years to come, consider a gift to the Sonia and Saul Schottenstein SCRIP Fund.
Ralph Jaffee knew how hard it was to earn a dental degree while supporting himself. He and his wife, Beatrice, made sure the students who followed wouldn’t carry that weight alone. The Jaffees built their endowment at JewishColumbus out of a lifelong commitment to Jewish life. Today it gives annual grants to Jewish students accepted to or continuing at The Ohio State University College of Dentistry. Priority goes to students with financial need, strong community engagement, or both.
Applications are open through November 5. Apply today or pass this along to an eligible student you know.
Inspired by the Jaffees? An endowment keeps the causes you care about most going for generations. To talk about creating one for a scholarship or any cause close to your heart, contact Lori Maier Wishne at [email protected].
