By Debbi K. Levy
The ‘70s were so much fun! Bell-bottom jeans and the Carol Burnett Show on Saturday night, roller skating birthday parties and family dinners at the long dining room table that were the norm (not the exception). Visiting at my grandparents’ home so close to mine meant that those dinners at Nana and Honey’s were frequent. I won’t try to make you envious, but we ate very well, sometimes with an individual baked apple for dessert. I can smell that treat with sprinkled cinnamon right now.
“You’re leaving already?” Nana questioned Honey.
“Yes, Doll. You know I told you earlier I have a Federation board meeting tonight.” And off went Honey in his gray sedan to Northaven Road while we rascals were vying for his uneaten dessert.
In the library of my grandparents’ home there was a WATS line. Extra bonus points for those readers of a certain age who might know what I am referring to. In essence, it was free long-distance calling. Particularly following well-attended Shabbat dinners, family and friends took turns going into the library to connect with loved ones in other states. Connecting and networking was something that came easily to my grandparents. It makes total sense through my 60-something perspective that Honey was the Federation chair from 1973 to 1975, while Nana worked within the Women’s Division as if it were her personal calling. Perhaps it was. Moreover, my memories of those years are sprinkled with the word “Federation” and all the activities that meant connectivity were being modeled for a later time when I could teach them to my own children.
I deeply miss my grandparents. Not in a taken-from-me-too-soon kind of way, but in the heart space of sharing with them how much their examples of chesed and volunteering their time and talents, not to mention their resources, have impacted me. There were so many physical awards of service after they passed, and their children and grandchildren chose those that deeply spoke to them to keep for their own. Of all my worldly treasures, I have a rough draft in my grandmother’s hand asking a community member for her consideration of a pledge for the upcoming campaign, and I wear with joy Nana’s Lion of Judah pin. Federation is a part of my inheritance.
I have a nice resume of Federation activities and chairmanships that one might expect to see from a busy member of the Jewish community. I chaired Super Sunday and created a Kids’ Division while I sat on the Jewish Federation board in San Antonio. I worked in the Women’s Division, cooked for the Demi Dinners and, before that, found my footing in the Federation Young Leadership class. The pleaser that I am (working on that aspect today), I cared more that my grandfather felt joy at my receiving the Young Leadership award than I did at receiving the honor. I am grateful today that he knew that his primary philanthropy was mine as well.
In our still-new Jewish year of 5785, the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas is still my most deeply cherished organization. I feel more than honored to serve as an officer. Super Sundays when I moved back home to Dallas 12 years ago felt like a bowl of chicken soup, and Women’s Philanthropy is bursting with new ideas and magnetizing our community while offering me newly forged paths of growth. I don’t mind calling and connecting, as my grandparents did, when it is the season to ask for pledges or talent. I like reaching out and narrating Federation’s story. My very favorite chairmanship was with my husband Barry, and it was to lead the Federation’s Mission to Israel in 2023. We had two buses booked, got T-shirts printed and had enjoyed our first celebration as a sacred group. Oct. 7 broke all the hearts of the Jewish people as a whole; while certainly not the worst of what was endured and is still being endured with unreleased hostages, I had many tears that fell on the floor over our registered travelers whose first trip to Israel was to be that November. We did take a Solidarity Mission the following February, composed of stakeholders, to meet with agencies and volunteer, but it was not what we had dreamed of.
Since Oct. 7, we have seen, as a Jewish people, resilience and strength. I have been witness to financial gifts given with enthusiasm for Israel and I have observed in awe Jewish Dallas create resources for Israelis that were, and still are, mitzvot unimaginable. I am so proud to be a participant and a supporter in these ingenious plans to ensure the vigor and security of the Israeli people. But, too, I have seen politics creep in and try to infect our duties as protectors of the State of Israel, and the distractions have been troubling for me. I have asked myself, “Is this my grandfather’s Federation?” Long walks and imagined conversations have been a salve. I consider that all the early Federation memories I enjoy were from the perspective of a little Jewish gymnast who tumbled at the JCC. So I create a narrative.
“Was Federation and Zionism always as easy as it looked?” I ask him.
“No. Did you see me on the WATS line securing arms for Israel? All the Jewish people were not necessarily in favor of that work.”
“Are you astounded by Oct. 7?” I ask in my thoughts.
“No. Israel and her security were never easy,” I believe he shares.
“Are we on the right track?” I mouth.
“You know you are. Look at the pictures on the wall the next time you walk into the board room. You are standing on the shoulders of some of the greatest leaders Dallas has ever known. Look at the picture of Golda Meir in Dallas. We built that. Read our mission statement again: ‘To help ensure the continuity of a strong and vibrant Jewish community in Dallas, Israel and throughout the world.’”
This imagined exchange between me and my grandfather reminds me that passion and commitment may create sparks, and we are charged with sorting them out to do our good work as we go from strength to strength. I feel contented that the community members I work with at Federation and around Dallas are nothing less than passionate, and I pause to ask in prayer that it may always be so. Amen.
Kohenet Debbi K. Levy welcomes your conversations or even pledges for and about the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas 2025 campaign. You can reach her at debbiklevy@gmail.com.