I’m currently in Charlottesville, Virginia, as part of a group of 23 New Yorkers who’ve traveled down south with UJA to spend Shabbat with the local Jewish community. Current events may have pushed Charlottesville from the front pages, but the horrendous images from that Saturday, just four weeks ago, will long endure.

We look forward to spending tonight with college students at the University of Virginia Hillel, and joining Shabbat morning services with Congregation Beth Israel — whose congregants were compelled to leave the synagogue through the back door rather than face the hatred and anti-Semitism being brutally displayed out front.

From Charlottesville to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Harvey and, now, with Irma about to make landfall in Florida, there’s been a lot to absorb these last few weeks. And a lot to do to help people facing excruciating circumstances. But as those familiar with the history of UJA-Federation know, our mission for over 100 years has been to galvanize the community to come together and act during times of crisis.

For those less familiar with our history, you now have the opportunity to see the last 100 years come alive … on TV and soon online.

Last night, I attended the premiere of WNET’s acclaimed Treasures of New York series, featuring UJA-Federation. (You can also watch the series on PBS, this Sunday at 7:00 pm on channel 13. After it runs, go to PBS.org to view it online.) The one-hour film highlights key moments of our history — resettling millions of refugees on our shores; helping build the modern State of Israel from the ashes of the Holocaust; bringing more than a million Russian Jews from the former Soviet Union to Israel and New York; responding to 9/11, which we commemorate on Monday; and so much more.

We’re honored to be the subject of this prestigious WNET series, which focuses on New York’s preeminent institutions, and to have been joined last night by hundreds of UJA leaders. However, there was one person, featured prominently in the film, whose absence was acutely felt. Elaine Winik — who served from 1982 to 1984 as the first woman president of UJA of Greater New York — passed away on Wednesday at the age of 94.

Elaine was an extraordinary person and indomitable leader who devoted her life to the Jewish community — and inspired a generation of Jewish leaders. I vividly recall first meeting Elaine in the late 1980s when she spoke at a Young Lawyers event (I chaired the division at the time). She was dazzling — passionate, articulate, and visionary. Like in the film, she spoke of her involvement in Israel’s earliest days, meeting David Ben-Gurion, Shimon Peres, and Golda Meir and the hurdles she faced as a woman leader — hurdles she gracefully and determinedly overcame.

Elaine’s family is also a wonderful example of multi-generational engagement with UJA-Federation. Elaine’s father was a founder of UJA after Kristallnacht. Her daughter, Penny, has worked at UJA-Federation for over 20 years. And her granddaughter, Jill, works at the Palm Beach Federation.

In so many ways, Elaine was a real treasure of New York. May her memory be for a blessing.

Shabbat shalom