It doesn’t mean I’m wrong, but, after so many months of looking at the glass as half-empty, why not try the opposite approach? Now, I know that the calendar turning to 2021 isn’t going to make things magically better. But it does feel like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
So 2020 wasn’t what we hoped, we here at Jewfolk have pivoted in several ways:
- We’ve hosted dozens of Facebook Live/Zoom events, some our own, some partnering with other community agencies. Our JLink first Thursday morning coffees and third Thursday evening happy hours have pivoted to in-home Zoom events. We’ve reached more than 40,000 of you, with more than 1,300 hours of content watched.
- We launched the first season of the podcast LeaderFolk: An Inclusive Look Inside the Jewish Community, with Sara Bogomolny talking to Jewish professionals around the country about what it means to be a woman, non-binary or genderqueer individual working in the Jewish community.
- We launched our special section of COVID-19 Resources, which we have steadily updated throughout the year, transitioning from Passover items of note to Hanukkah. And as long we’re socially distancing and staying away from others, we’ll keep the coverage going.
And we’re already planning for more in 2021, so stay tuned.
But to take a look back, below is our list of most-read articles by month. It’s always fun to look back at what people were reading at the time. And since this year has felt like far more than 12 months, I had honestly forgotten some of these happened this year. Personally, I enjoyed to see how many people were excited by Minnesota Hillel opening its renovated building in September – in part because it was the only in-person interview that I did after the first week of March. Those were the days.
January: The Un-Stunned
February: Each According To His Own Way
March: MRA Statement On Passover
April: Don’t Passover Shame Me
May: Minnesota Rabbinical Association Agrees to Keep Synagogues Closed
June: I Did What I Could Today
July: St. Cloud Councilman Uses Holocaust Reference In Mask Debate
August: Population Study Finds Jewish Community Growth
September: ‘Like A Phoenix,’ Minnesota Hillel Prepares To Open Renovated Building
October: Who The Folk?! Morgan Dachis
November: Sholom Bracing For COVID Spikes
December: Draft MN Social Studies Standards Eliminates Holocaust Mentions
Our Most Listened-To Podcasts:
The Jews Are Tired: Live With Gov. Tim Walz
LeaderFolk: Beckee Birger
Who The Folk?!: Dudley Deshommes-Kohls
Thank you so much for your support. Whether it was reading, donating, commenting or sharing, we really appreciate you being a part of our community. We are grateful for all the people we have talked to for our articles, engaged with on our pages, and met on our podcasts. Those who are working on the front lines to make a difference, those who are leading institutions and businesses to figure out how to operate in a new world, and all of us who are often just trying to make it through to the end of each day with our health and relationships intact. Thank you for your contributions and conversations and just generally being part of our world as we made it through this year. And here’s hoping for an easier journey in the year to come.
