Dear Friends,

In my day job, I am an orthopedic surgeon who spends a lot of time talking to patients about exercise. As a foot and ankle specialist, I am always reminding people that if we do not use a muscle, it gets weaker. Lately, I have been thinking that one of the most important “muscles” we do not exercise enough is gratitude.

Gratitude does not just make us feel good.

It helps us live better:

• It strengthens relationships.
• It improves emotional well-being and resilience.
• It increases empathy and reduces stress.
• In leadership, it builds trust and motivation.

President John F. Kennedy put it simply:

We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.

As we approach Thanksgiving, I feel a deep sense of gratitude for this community. Our tradition calls it hakarat hatov, recognizing the good. For me, that starts at home. I am profoundly grateful to my wife, Lori Ann, and our children, Addy, Annie, and Julius, who remind me every day why this work matters and who support the many hours spent in both the operating room and the community.

I am equally grateful for you and for the way our community shows up for one another:

• For our partner agencies whose daily work enriches and protects Jewish life in Central Ohio.
• For our clergy, who ground us in Jewish wisdom and offer comfort, challenge, and inspiration.
• For our donors, whose generosity fuels our mission and makes so much possible.
• For our professionals across the community, who devote their careers to caring for others.

Gratitude is not only a feeling. It is a practice. In Jewish life, we express gratitude with our words, our time, and our resources. One powerful way we “exercise” gratitude is by giving back. We show gratitude by showing up, by volunteering, by mentoring, and by giving generously.

If you have been shaped by a camp counselor, a rabbi, a teacher, a youth leader, or a program in this community, I invite you to consider how you might say “thank you” in a tangible way. Maybe that means joining a leadership program. Maybe it means mentoring a young leader or serving on a committee. Maybe it means answering the call by making a gift that helps ensure these opportunities exist for the next family that walks through our doors.