By Betzy Lynch in La Jolla, California
There is a beautiful idea in Jewish tradition: Shivim panim laTorah (the Torah has seventy faces). Even our most sacred stories can be understood through many perspectives, each revealing something different. No single interpretation captures the whole picture.
This wisdom feels especially relevant as I prepare to participate in Z3@Tucson on Sunday, November 15. Z3, which stands for Zionism 3.0, began at the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto to reimagine Jewish peoplehood and strengthen the relationship between Jews in Israel and the Diaspora. Today, it brings diverse Jewish voices together to explore identity, Israel, and our shared future, grounded in the belief that we can embrace our differences while remaining connected as one people.
Following Tucson, we look forward to bringing Z3 to San Diego on April 3–4, 2027, continuing these important conversations in our own community.
In Tucson, I was asked to join a panel exploring the JCC’s role as the town square of Jewish life. One question particularly resonates with me: In a pluralistic community, where no single group owns the narrative, how do we ensure our stories reflect the full diversity of Jewish identity?
I have been thinking about this because, so often lately, the Jewish story is told about us rather than by us, reducing our identity to narrow understandings of who we are, what we believe, and what we have endured.
At the JCC, I believe we have both the opportunity and responsibility to tell a fuller story. And one of our most powerful ways of doing this is through the arts.
There is deep intention behind the cultural experiences we create. Through music, history, food, and storytelling, we move beyond sharing information to creating emotional connections. We invite people to recognize something familiar in another person’s experience and discover how their story connects to our own.
This is how storytelling becomes a pathway to empathy, understanding, and belonging.
That philosophy is woven into our San Diego Center for Jewish Culture, and this week’s programs offer a remarkable illustration.
Monday, November 9, at 10:30 AM: As we commemorate Kristallnacht, our conversation with William Lerach in Carlsbad about justice and restitution for Holocaust survivors reminds us that the Holocaust is not simply history. It is living memory. Its impact continues across generations, as does our responsibility to remember and pursue justice.
Tuesday, November 10, at 7:00 PM: Celebrate America with Sol and Amit brings together Israeli-born cellist Amit Peled and American pianist Solomon Eichner, grandson of Holocaust survivors, performing music by Gershwin, Bruch, and Israeli-American composer Sharon Farber. Their music bridges Israel and the Diaspora, Jewish memory and American identity, reminding us how profoundly Jewish creativity has shaped American culture. Jewish culture has not simply existed alongside American culture. It has helped create it.
Thursday, November 12, at 10:30 AM: Shalomaland, a walking tour with Dr. Joellyn Zollman, invites us into San Diego’s Jewish history, beginning at Louis Rose Point in Liberty Station. Walking the places where our community’s story unfolded allows participants to see, touch, and feel our history, making the past a tangible part of our own experience.
Thursday evening, November 12, at 7:00 PM: Our Sigd celebration with chef Beejhy Barhany brings Ethiopian Jewish heritage to life through storytelling and a traditional coffee ceremony. Sigd, observed 50 days after Yom Kippur, celebrates spiritual renewal, our covenant with G-d, and the enduring Jewish connection to Jerusalem.
This ancient tradition also challenges distorted understandings of Jewish identity. At a time when antisemitic rhetoric portrays Jews as uniformly white European colonizers, the Ethiopian Jewish experience reveals a far richer truth. Approximately 18% of our local Jewish community identifies as people of color, and Jewish communities across Africa, the Middle East, the Americas, and beyond have maintained their traditions and identities for centuries, often despite persecution and exclusion.
Our diversity is not a modern invention. And the Ethiopian Jewish story is not someone else’s story. It is our shared inheritance.
These may appear to be programs about history, music, food, and culture. But what we are really doing is something much more important. We are reclaiming the opportunity to tell our own stories, in all their complexity, beauty, and diversity, while inviting others to discover themselves within them.
This, to me, is the promise of the JCC as a pluralistic town square. We do not ask everyone to practice Judaism the same way or share the same beliefs, nor do we ask people of other faiths or no faith to leave their identities at the door. Instead, we invite them to experience Jewish life in all its richness and discover the traditions, history, values, and cultural expressions that make our people unique.
Pluralism does not mean making Jewish identity less distinct so everyone can feel included. It means embracing the fullness of Jewish identity and opening our doors so others can understand who we truly are.
The stories we choose to tell matter. They shape how the world understands us, but perhaps more importantly, how we understand ourselves and one another. When we share them authentically, we preserve memory, challenge assumptions, and strengthen belonging for generations to come.
I hope you will join us for one or all of this week’s programs and discover another dimension of our shared Jewish story.
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Betzy Lynch is the CEO of the Lawrence Family JCC in La Jolla, California.