The Ronald S. Lauder Foundation >> Our Newsletter >> Past Issues

Spring 1999

FOUNDERS MESSAGE
At this season of the year, we joyfully observe the holiday of Shavuot, which commemorates the transmittal of the Jewish tradition at Mount Sinai. As we celebrate and study Torah, we honor those Jewish values, which have sustained us throughout the centuries. While we reaffirm our heritage, we would also like to pay tribute once more to the newly awakened Jewish youth of Central and Eastern Europe. They are flourishing. They are the leaders of the tremendous Jewish renaissance that is taking place throughout this region. They are the rescuers of a proud legacy, nearly obliterated, which is now drawing them and their families into deep and meaningful Jewish commitments.

Indeed, when I established my Foundation in 1987, I could not have envisioned the scope of the revival of Jewish life that would take place over the next decade. I underestimated the yearnings of those Jews, so long neglected and repressed, to reaffirm their Jewish spirit. I did not realize what an inspirational role the phenomenal Jewish children, born here after World War II, would play in guiding a whole generation back to their past and forward to their future.

With a full heart, I express my gratitude to these remarkable children, their parents, to the faculties of our Schools and Kindergartens, to those youngsters who attend our Youth Centers, Winter Retreats and Summer Camps and to all of the many individuals and Jewish organizations now participating in our programs. Your dedicated efforts have opened up once more new worlds and new possibilities for Jewish life to blossom, like the flowers and fruits of this spring holiday season. Let us celebrate together.