By Eileen Heltzer

OK, I’ll start with a confession: I love the shofar. I mean, really, we get to blow a horn in temple? Second to screaming when Haman’s name is sounded, the shofar gets my vote for the most surprising of Jewish rituals.

Why the shofar? Why noise? It’s been said that the call of the shofar is a call to attention. A call to wake up, to listen to what we want, what we have, and what we need to create the world we want.

Listening is also essential to the work of JCF: preparing for the future of Greater MetroWest and the causes that are meaningful to JCF supporters. At JCF, we listen to learn the about the community’s needs, challenges, interests. We listen to families that want to work with multiple generations to build their shared philanthropic legacy.

We listen to our donors, people who want to care for their parents as they age, or their children as they grow, or their growing communities (or all three!).

We listen to grant recipients, organizations supported by the Grotta Fund for Senior Care, the Jewish Women’s Foundation, the Ness Fund, or one of the family and supporting foundations housed here at JCF. We want to know how we can make tomorrow better than today, together. If you have an idea how we can repair the world, together, or even how to fix something a little smaller, please contact JCF at (973) 929-3113 or jcf@jfedgmw.org.