Devra Aarons Benefit Speech 2026

Shalom. A year ago I stood before many of you and shared my vision for Midrasha’s future. A key component of that vision was expanding our Retreats to include a Heritage Trip - enabling our teens to understand Judaism in different communities and perspectives. I am proud to say that just 11 months later - we achieved that goal. In January, 49 teens piled on a bus with 11 educators for a 4 day and 3 night adventure in LA.

A focal point of that trip was a visit to the Museum of Tolerance.  In truth, I struggled with our decision to visit this museum that dives so deeply into the history of the Holocaust and in such a visceral way. My own visit to Auschwitz as a teen was scary and lonely and hit so hard that I couldn’t see past the trauma. And so I asked myself and our educators: how does this visit help us achieve Midrasha’s goals? What does immersing our teens in this shared history awaken? How does it inform their Jewish identity? Does it build community?

Our morning at the Museum of Tolerance was rough. Teens cried. Teens struggled. They asked hard questions. They squinted their eyes in pain and crossed their arms over their chests.  And yet, they clearly were not alone - teens started leaning on each other. They didn’t hide or push away their tears. They faced this history together, eyes open, screens off. Two of our seniors, Yarden Crane and Zoey Wasserman, explained it to me this way:

“It was important for us to go to the Museum of Tolerance with Midrasha instead of our school friends or our families because this allowed us to connect with each other - we’re all Jewish - everyone has some story or situation with the Holocaust. It changed the way we were hanging out, it was serious and we all came together and we were leaning on each other and supporting each other. People at school don’t relate, but to us this is our heritage and our families. If we had gone with school, it wouldn't have meant as much to them. This experience at Museum of Tolerance - going together with Midrasha - helped us feel it in our heart and soul. With our Midrasha community we felt free to be vulnerable together.”

We were able to visit the Museum of Tolerance because we went together. Our teens felt it more deeply because they felt safe in the community they’ve cultivated and committed to for their whole teen lives. Because our teens had community, they COULD work through a hard experience and tough feelings about our shared history.  They could do it together.

I know we are building a holy community or a kehillah k’doshah at Midrasha when I see this: Its teens from all three of our partner synagogues asking me each Wednesday night for the keys to the downstairs closet so all ten of them can pull the Gaga pit out of that closet, squeezing together into the elevator and then putting it together upstairs so that they can play Gaga during our elective hour. It’s an educator sitting on the floor in the hallway to trade music recommendations to make a teen feel better after a rough day.  It’s teens asking me to hold “Jew Prom” because they all want to dress up for each other and have a special night together and then all showing up Saturday afternoon to decorate the hall before then going to one house to get dressed up together.  Community at Midrasha equals TOGETHER.

I want you to know that tonight’s Benefit Concert is a unique experiment for us. We wanted to create a special night for you, but we wanted to strip it down to its essence - reconnecting you with our work and with the joy we generate free of the bells and whistles that come with a Gala. I think you’ll be pleased to know that because of the generosity of our hosts, Marc and Anne Feder, our artists - Zachary Noah Piser and Mitchell Thomas, and our caterer - Tal’s Patisserie, we’re spending 75% less on tonight’s events than our past fundraisers.

So please know that your donations tonight go further to support our work building community and identity with Jewish teens. Tonight’s Fund a Need specifically support scholarship needs, security funding and furthering Midrasha’s Vision for the Future. On behalf of the Board, our educators, and our teens, thank you for your generosity.