Shavua Tov
As we come to the close of 2025 and prepare to enter 2026, I want to reflect on a Jewish value that has sustained our people across generations: Tikvah, hope.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, z”l, taught that optimism and hope are not the same. Optimism is the belief that things will get better on their own. Hope, by contrast, is active. It is the courageous decision to make things better. Optimism waits; hope works. Jewish history, Rabbi Sacks reminded us, was shaped not by passive expectation, but by people willing to become agents of change transforming challenge into opportunity and responsibility into blessing.
Our tradition expresses this responsibility with enduring clarity in Pirkei Avot:
“It is not upon you to finish the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.” Enjoy lo alecha hamlacha ligmor by Lev Tahor
Hope does not require certainty of outcomes. It requires participation. It asks us to engage, to contribute, and to take responsibility for the work that is ours even when the task is unfinished and the future unclear.
That same spirit echoes in the song Im Tirtzu If you will it, it is no dream. Hope becomes real when it is matched with will, commitment, and shared effort.
It also finds a modern voice in the Broadway song Corner of the Sky from Stephen Schwartz musical Pippin. The song is not about certainty or ease, but about the search for purpose the decision to claim responsibility for one’s own small but meaningful place in the world. Hope, like that “corner of the sky,” is something we discover by showing up, contributing, and choosing to belong.
At the Tucson J, we see hope in action every day in the relationships formed, the programs that inspire, and the inclusive spaces that create genuine belonging. And we know that the J does not stand alone. Through our collective involvement at the JCC and throughout our synagogues and partner agencies, we strengthen Jewish life for all and ensure that community remains a source of meaning, connection, and care.
As we move into 2026, it is my hope active and shared that we continue to grow and flourish together. May we find strength in one another, claim our corner of the sky, and continue the sacred work of building a community rooted in purpose, belonging, and hope.
With gratitude and tikvah,
Cochenu b’Achduteynu | כחינו באחדותינו | Our strength is in our unity.
Am Yisrael Chai | עם ישראל חי
Bring them Home Now I מחזירים אותם הביתה עכשיו
Todd Rockoff
President + CEO, Tucson J
