I don’t often dance at midday. Let alone on a Thursday in the office. Especially during an increasingly anxious moment for Israel and our community.

But yesterday, dance I did.

The occasion? A “Coffeehouse” hosted in a large conference room at UJA, where Holocaust survivors — many with walkers, some accompanied by aides — came together to enjoy one another’s company over lunch, served by volunteers. The real draw, though, was the live band playing the Yiddish and Jewish songs of their youth, and the boisterous circle dancing.

With our partner Selfhelp and funding from UJA’s Community Initiative for Holocaust Survivors, we’ve organized and hosted Coffeehouses in our office for many years. I’m always buoyed by these gatherings, but yesterday was different. At a time when many Jews in the world feel increasingly unsettled, and Israel is potentially on the cusp of a major war in the north, the palpable happiness of the survivors — their strength and resilience on display in the room — was particularly comforting. 

In addition to our lively Coffeehouse, over the span of less than a week, that very same conference space was home to a vast array of Jewish communal events.

Just a few examples:

Last Friday evening, more than 200 people in their 20s and 30s gathered for a sold-out Young Wall Street Shabbat Dinner. Before the blessings over wine and challah and the singing of Hatikvah, they heard from Ron Segev, a Nova massacre survivor, who shared his harrowing story. And the popularity of this event wasn’t an outlier. Since October 7, every UJA Shabbat dinner has sold out, reflecting the significant surge of interest in Jewish engagement following Hamas's barbaric attack on Israel and the reverberations of that event here in America. 

On Sunday morning, nearly 300 people — this time, young children, their parents, and grandparents — gathered for our Family Day, where they met Elmo, engaged in mitzvah projects, and frolicked in a UJA-themed ball pit. The hallway served as a designated stroller park.

And on Monday, another 250 people of all ages gathered for the Ruthann Eckstein Memorial Author Series, with acclaimed Jewish intellectual and author Dara Horn.

These events, all held within the same space, represent a beautiful microcosm of our community and stand as a testament to the enduring vibrancy of Jewish life in America, even in times of unease. Or perhaps, it’s especially in times of unease that we seek one another out and put our Jewish pride on full display.

Beyond the events hosted at UJA’s Manhattan conference center, we offer numerous opportunities large and small across the New York area where people can come together to learn, to talk, "do Jewish," or just "be Jewish.” You can see what’s coming up here.

And looking ahead to Rosh Hashanah, many will no doubt be yearning even more for spiritual comfort and community connections this year. If you’re searching for a place to celebrate the holidays, we’ve compiled a listing of services by location.

Wherever you find your daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly dose of Jewish community, I hope it lifts you up with the same wonderfully unencumbered joy I felt dancing to a rousing Hava Nagila…on an otherwise ordinary Thursday afternoon.

Shabbat shalom