The Jewish people are on the threshold of a New Year, 5787. We are also approaching October 7, marking the anniversary of the deadliest day in our history since the Holocaust. Those 5,000-plus cycles and the past three troubled years point us to four special days in the fall when a large Hadassah contingent will visit Israel.

In Jewish teaching, numbers and dates are not predictive, but they do offer perspective. We learn from the long arc of history as well as from the events we live through—those we celebrate and those we mourn.

Hadassah has been guided by the activism and intelligence of our members for almost 115 years. We add to that with our deeds and our foresight every day. We all know the challenges that Israel and the Jewish people face. And all of us in Hadassah share a faith in the Zionist enterprise and in the wisdom woven through history that has guided us through the days, years and centuries.

We know emotions, of which despair is one. And we cultivate responses, of which action is paramount. First and foremost, what action has always meant to Hadassah is showing up—not only because times are hard, but because we belong to a people, a nation and a world in need of building and repair.

The greatest manifestation of Hadassah showing up is our network of institutions in Israel and the layers of activism we have built among Jewish women, supporters and donors in America and around the world. We are a permanent presence in Israel and also a proud presence in American Jewish life and on the American civic landscape.

For obvious reasons, Hadassah trips to Israel have faced scheduling challenges in recent years. But next month, from October 26 to 29, hundreds of members, Associates and supporters, from the United States as well as representatives from Hadassah International, will join Hadassah in Israel for our “The Dream Is Real” conference. This will be an unforgettable experience, showing our love and support for Israel and all its people, seeing our work in action and connecting with the dedicated professionals who staff our institutions.

We will also celebrate the courage, compassion and vision that have defined our organization for over a century.

Our itinerary will include visits to our centers of healing in Jerusalem—Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem and Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus—as well as to our Meir Shfeyah Youth Aliyah Village. It will also include options and tour extensions to a variety of museums and historic sights that beat with the rhythm of Israeli life.

One of the tour options is a visit to the Gaza envelope, the area that was the focus of the Hamas terror attacks on October 7. A key stop will be Netivot, a city that successfully repelled several attempts to penetrate its defenses. I am especially pleased that the tour will include our newest medical center—Hadassah-Helmsley Netivot—opened earlier this year.

This conference has been meticulously planned, but it is also part of Hadassah’s DNA. This is how we show up.

The Jewish population of the world today is around 15 million, about what it was a century ago. We have lost many, across the generations and millennia, to violence. But we have also lost many who simply stopped showing up out of fear, exhaustion or just wanting to check out. In one way or another, these are the people who lost hope.

There is no single antidote to despair. But the numbers on our horizon—starting with the year 5787—demonstrate that the Jewish people have a formula for hope and know how to put it into action.

May we all have a year of peace. Shanah Tovah!