Staying connected with the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle

As my fifth decade is well underway, my two boys are growing into their own, our home routine has (finally) settled into a predictable rhythm, and my wife and I are getting better at juggling work, kids and life. Nonetheless, 23% of the way through the 21st century, one can’t help but feel that the rate at which we are reacting to major worldwide existential forces is more frequent than ever.

Five years ago, only 10 months after my oldest son was born, our community was rocked by the deadliest antisemitic attack in United States history. Eleven of our brothers and sisters were murdered that day; they will never be forgotten, and Jewish Pittsburgh will be forever changed.
Our community was assaulted and we read about it in the Chronicle.

Fifteen months later, we all saw it coming but almost no one believed it. We came home from work on Friday, March 20, 2020, and many of us still haven’t returned. COVID-19 shut down our schools and offices, obscured our faces in masks and transformed our daily routines. Our community was impacted and we read about it in the Chronicle.

When the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter was found guilty on all charges and sentenced to death, we read about it in the Chronicle.

When the attack on Ukraine reverberated around the globe, we felt it, and we read about it in the Chronicle.

When Nazi-looted artwork was discovered in the Carnegie Museum of Art; when the Violins of Hope made their way to Pittsburgh; and when Israeli choreographer Barak Marshall graced the Pittsburgh stage, we read about all these relevant stories in the Chronicle.

And on Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists launched a brutal, unprovoked attack against Israel on the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War — a conflict that continues to unfold — we are reading about it in the Chronicle.

At each of these moments, we turn to our kehila (community) for support; to our mishpacha (families) and chevra (friends) for love and validation; to our shuls and rabbis for spiritual direction and guidance; to our JCC for social interaction (and for us, childcare). And we turn to the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle to connect us and inform us, with balanced, unbiased and non-partisan journalism, in print and online.

During this festive, humbling, thank-filled time of year, I find myself reflecting on the teachings of Rabbi Hillel: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?” We are so fortunate to have many wonderful support systems in our community that were established by the selfless investment of generations before us. We must continue to reinvest in the institutional assets our community relies on.

So this holiday season, in my fifth decade on this earth, with my two handsome sons in their warm beds, and our home routine finally finding its groove, I sleep at night knowing that I am not only for myself: I am for my mishpacha, I am for our kehila, and I am for staying connected with the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle.

Please join me in supporting the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle. PJC

Evan H. Stein is board chair of the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle.