By Zach Benjamin

More than a decade ago, as I prepared for a career shift from international business development to Jewish communal work, I met with the president of a large, well-known national Jewish organization as part of an interview process.

Ultimately, I chose a different role as executive director of a small Jewish federation in New Mexico, and upon doing so, was surprised and honored to receive a warm and thoughtful letter of congratulations from the leader with whom I had interviewed for the other position. The concluding paragraph of her letter encouraged me to approach this work through the lens of the philosophy that “a high tide raises all ships.”

Some months later, as I settled into my new role and career, I found myself again surprised, and this time a bit dismayed, by the competitive posture that existed between the various Jewish institutions in that federation’s catchment area. I quickly learned about the concept of the “one community dollar” for which every organization supposedly scratched and clawed for its slice, which it then vigorously and aggressively defended.

I entered the Jewish communal professions believing that each agency, synagogue, and organization played a pivotal and critically important role in fortifying and advancing Jewish life, now and for future generations. Rather than believing in “one community dollar,” I envisioned the Jewish community as “one living, breathing community organism,” the health of which depended on the strength of its composite parts. The richer in ruach, the better funded, and the more imbued with the community’s moral support the individual institutions become, the stronger and more sustainable the community writ-large remains.

Today, I am more resolute than ever in my belief that each of us plays an integral role in the viability of that living, breathing, Jewish communal organism. With due respect to those on whose shoulders we stand, the concept of “one community dollar” not only isolates our respective institutions but also promotes discord, distrust, and siloing within the Jewish community. As we have learned—often painfully—time and again, we imperil ourselves when we isolate, not only from the broader communities to which we belong, but especially when we isolate ourselves from each other.

We are exceptionally blessed in Greater Harrisburg with vibrant Jewish institutions that bring light unto us all and which indeed shepherd our community from strength to strength. Our synagogues and congregations form the very spine of local Jewish life, providing warm and meaningful spiritual spaces in which Jews at all levels of observance are welcomed to learn, pray, convene, celebrate, and mourn.

Perhaps no brand of Jewish organization more directly ensures that the gift of Jewish identity passes from generation to generation than do day schools, and in Silver Academy, our community houses an utter gem.

Jewish social service agencies — with Jewish Family Service of Greater Harrisburg as a brilliant example —  prove, time and again, to be perhaps the primary asset through which Jewish communities fulfill our responsibility to serve as a light unto others.

Jewish community foundations lay, fortify, and build upon the very bedrock that anchors us and our institutions to our catchment area, and indeed the Jewish Community Foundation of Central Pennsylvania continues to achieve its charge with exceptional impact.

Our Federation and JCC, too — with our cradle-to-grave programmatic engagement, our focus on wellness for all, lifelong learning, socialization, issues advocacy, and financial investment in Jewish life — are no less than a lifeline to Jewish engagement and a means through which we endear community members of all ages, faiths, and abilities to the Jewish value system and culture.

Similarly, local chapters of Jewish youth and teen organizations such as BBYO, Israel advocacy partners such as Jewish National Fund, and so many others enrich Jewish life, enhance our connections to our homeland, and by all means, raise the tide for us all.

When I envision our Jewish community without any one of these critically important links, I imagine our communal light flickering, dimming, and ultimately extinguished. Yes, resources are painfully limited. However, I firmly believe that a Jewish community will find space in its heart — as well as in its pocketbook — for that which sufficiently inspires it.

A number of organizations — synagogues and agencies alike — are either currently running or about to embark on significant annual, capital, and planned giving campaigns. Though my professional responsibility is to Federation and the Harrisburg JCC, it brings my family and I significant joy and fulfillment to support and participate in a number of local, national, and global Jewish and Israel-oriented institutions.

Over the course of the coming months, our community may notice Federation becoming more outspoken in communicating its financial and social impact on our Jewish and broader communities, as well as in soliciting unrestricted annual gifts to allow us to continue not only making that impact, but to deepening it over time. By all means, we believe fundamentally in both the value and criticality of that impact. However, we also believe in the power of community to strengthen us all.

It is imperative that our Jewish institutions serve as each other’s staunchest advocates, and that we view each other not as competition, but as complementary entities serving a shared commitment to the Jewish future. As I reflect on my first decade as a Jewish communal agency executive, I have reached the conclusion that, by every measure, our strength is shared, and that a high tide does indeed raise all ships.