Deanna Drucker achieved her last wish--to attend her granddaughter Maya's wedding before she died. Drucker born in Harvey, Illinois, died in her Highland Park home on Oct. 6, two days after the ...

People dance around worshipers holding Torahs during the "hakafot" ritual of Simchat Torah in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, Oct. 14, 2025. (Photo credit: Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images) On Simchat Torah ...

Linda with JUF colleagues Joel Schatz (left) and Aaron Cohen at JUF’s Israel Solidarity Day in 2017. To reflect the light of Jewish life; to illuminate human needs; to inform and inspire; to highlight ...

Thanksgiving, my favorite national holiday, is just around the corner. The holiday feels like an extension of the High Holiday season because it focuses on themes of gratitude so prominent in Jewish ...

I met Agnes Shwartz while doing a JUF video about Holocaust Community Services, and she became a close friend. We are pictured together here in 2018. I am the child of a Holocaust survivor who grew up ...

On Sept. 1, not long before Rosh Hashanah, Elad Strohmayer stepped into the role of Consul General of Israel to the Midwest. What a monumental couple of months it has been since he took the helm, ...

Our smartphones can be portals to strengthen and support Jewish life-both online, and in the real world. They are portable libraries of sacred texts, hotspots for Jewish education, and virtual bridges ...

You can't help but marvel at the ingenuity of the Israeli people. Even now--two years since the darkest day in its history--Israel continues to innovate. Back in 1948, when Israel was founded, ...

A few years ago, Allan B. found himself in a position he'd never imagined. A seasoned nonprofit executive who'd worked for years in the Jewish community, he was struggling after a layoff, borrowing ...

Ryan Merkow—pictured with his wife and daughter—studied for his adult bar mitzvah in 2023. At 13, Ryan Merkow didn't have a bar mitzvah. But three decades later, Merkow--now a surgical oncologist ...

At just 33 years of age, Mike Berman landed his dream job in Chicago. The Northbrook-raised lifelong sports fan nabbed the gig as a sports reporter for NBC Chicago in 2016 and has since interviewed ...

If you want to see the glass half full when it comes to our Jewish future, check out this year's class of "36 Under 36." These 36 inspiring young leaders are showing up for the Jewish community and ...