Celebrating an active and flourishing community

Note to the Rhode Island Jewish community: We really are a strong and vibrant group with a wide range of engaging activities and programming. This is especially noticeable in this month’s Jewish Rhode Island.

Just take a look at this 36-page issue. May is always a favorite because we feature your furry friends. We ask you to submit photos of your pets and you always respond. In my 11 years as editor, I’ve seen some adorable photos, and this year is no different. But I rarely remember such a diverse group. We have the usual dogs and cats. But this year brings us rabbits and a lizard!

The lizard almost made the cover of the issue. Except there were so many other candidates. As I was putting together the paper, I couldn’t help but marvel at all that has gone on in the Rhode Island Jewish community since our April issue.

Any one of these stories could have been featured in our center pages or as the lead story on the Community pages. Some photos were even strong enough for our cover. It was a tough choice.

A new sefer Torah was dedicated at the Chabad House on Hope Street. Elianna Bresler sent us some really terrific photos.

Jewish Community Day School and Providence Hebrew Day School both had many activities and submitted photos.

There were the celebrations and remembrances that go with Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha'Atzmaut.

And Temple Emanu-El has been celebrating 100 years as a synagogue. You can read more about that in our electronic newsletter later this month.

We have a record of all of this thanks to the efforts of those who contribute photos and articles to the paper: our small staff, our freelance photographer, those at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island who change hats and write for us and you the community who send us photos and articles. This is truly a community paper. A community that we cover because we all care about letting our friends and neighbors know what the Jewish community is all about.

And the word is getting out. Through our distribution across the state, those in the non-Jewish community can learn more about us. Word of mouth brings us new subscribers in the Jewish community who might not receive the paper. Did you know that you can receive a paper at home if you live in Rhode Island and certain parts of Southeastern Massachusetts? And for a minimal fee, friends and family across the U.S. can subscribe to the paper.

Let me know if you’d like a copy sent to your home.

Our readers also contribute to the paper through our Patron Campaign which is now going on. I’m sure you guessed that when that pesky envelope fell out of your paper. But our non-scientific reporting has shown that our readers use those envelopes to contribute to the campaign so you will also get an envelope in your June paper. We hope you will use it or even try out the “Donate” button at the top of our home page at jewishrhody.com.

The Patron Campaign is our annual fundraiser. It funds about one-third of our budget, and we hope you will consider a donation to keep our newspaper going. The greatest part of our funding comes from a grant from the Jewish Federation Foundation, and we are grateful for that. Advertising also plays a part in our budget. But as patrons and contributors and readers you can proudly say you are a part of the Jewish journalism that covers the Rhode Island Jewish community.

And we thank you! Oh, and that address for getting in touch? editor@jewishallianceri.org or 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, RI 02906.

Fran Ostendorf,

Editor