Shabbat Shalom: A Very Humble Thank You

Dear Friends, 

It has been my privilege and honor to serve as Board Chair of Jewish Federation of San Diego over the past two years—a role that comes to a bittersweet close this month. Being part of this extraordinary Board of Directors and amazing staff has been one of the great highlights of my life’s journey. And I’ve been blessed with more than my share of memorable experiences.   

My brief thoughts today will not be about the current state of events surrounding Israel. You all have access to plenty of information sources, so there’s nothing I can add that you don’t already know.   

All I want to say in my final remarks as Board Chair is simply: Thank you.   

Thank you for keeping your Jewish pride open and visible to both the world and our community. Jewish pride is the best way to fight antisemitism.   

Thank you for sharing your time and treasure with Federation and other Jewish organizations. Yes, I’m partial to Federation and believe in the great work we do, but I also give to other groups and recognize the importance of diversity of thought and working together for the betterment of Jews here, around the world, and in Israel.   

Thank you for reading our emails and responding. Your feedback is always overwhelmingly positive and appreciated. We also receive critiques, and we welcome those as well. We take all of it seriously and use your input to improve how we serve the Jewish community.   

Thank you to my family, and most importantly, my three wonderful adult sons who support me and encourage me to take the many trips to Israel (even during war times) and around the world. You make me proud to be your father and now, a grandfather. The teaching begins again, and I fully expect he too will be smarter than his grandfather.   

Thank you, Allegra, for being my beshert, and always being available to help me stay on the right path. Your feedback and encouragement made this “second job” incredibly meaningful and rewarding. As we always say: It’s about the journey and not the destination.

Thank you, Heidi, for being such an amazing CEO for Federation. The Jewish community and Israel, especially Sha’ar HaNegev, are lucky to have you at the helm. We have spent countless hours together and traveled together around the world on behalf of Federation. There was no better way to spend my last week as Federation Chair than by joining you Wednesday and Thursday in Washington, D.C. for a last-minute JFNA Fly-In to meet with our elected representatives.

We encouraged them to increase funding for our community’s security needs and to remain focused on fighting hate crimes and combating antisemitism. I will truly miss our time together. That being said, I look forward to seeing you on future Federation missions and remaining engaged as a participant. 

During these final weeks as Chair, even amid a sense of closure and pride, the pressing realities still facing our community and our partners in Israel have remained front of mind. In response to the devastating impact of the recent conflict with Iran and the ongoing challenges facing Israel, Federation reopened our Israel Emergency Campaign to provide critical and immediate support. While a ceasefire has since been declared, the needs on the ground remain profound—and our commitment to helping those affected must continue with the same urgency and compassion. If you are able, I encourage you to contribute to the campaign and stand with our partners in this crucial moment by donating here.   

I will end with a quote from Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, one of my favorite rabbis who left us too early: “Never believe that a handful of dedicated people can’t change the world. Inspired by faith, they can. The Maccabees did then. So can we today.”   

We Jews are but a handful of people on the world stage. We can and will change the world for the better, together.   

Shabbat Shalom,

David Bark, Board Chair

Jewish Federation of San Diego