LA JOLLA, California — A committed, diverse group of Jewish women gathered in a beautiful home here for a class entitled, “Forgiveness: The Gift You Give Yourself.” The dynamic Canadian-born international speaker was funny, engaging, spontaneous, and authentic. Adrienne Gold Davis, without the benefit of a microphone, silenced a roomful of Jewish women (no mean feat!) while delivering an insightful and timely message about forgiveness. Attendees ranged in age from about 4 to 74 and represented the entire spectrum of Jewish observance.
Gold Davis has led 20-30 eight-day trips to Israel that are specifically targeted to young Jewish moms with kids under the age of 18 living in the home. The highly subsidized trip is part of Momentum’s year-long journey which is paid for by the Israeli government, partner organizations and momentum. Gold Davis’ and the rest of the Momentum educators’ intention is to immerse the moms in the Jewish homeland and provide them with an abiding love for all things Jewish. Why this target audience? Davis said, “If we can impact the mother, she can impact her entire family. The family impacts the community, and the community can change the world through a renaissance of Jewish values.” It was described as a Birthright for mommies. Originally the organization was named the Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project but is now known as Momentum. The organization also offers trips for men and multi-day retreats domestically. The single focus is to enable Jews to grow in their understanding and manifest living with Jewish values. The emphasis is not on increasing their religious observance.
To date, Momentum is present on every continent excluding Antarctica, in 34 countries, and has over 300 partnering organizations. Over 20,000 women and men have visited Israel through this amazing organization, and they have reported profound changes in their lives and perspectives on their Jewish identity.
Momentum isn’t just about the year-long journey. Through podcasts, retreats, and classes, the organization wants us to embrace our Jewish world via “unity without uniformity.” We need not look the same or worship in the same shuls to share common ground with our fellow Jews. We can become inspired and by pairing that with action, we create transformations that benefit the entire globe.
The class about forgiveness was a beautiful dive into what we, as Jews, are bound to do, and what we’re able to do when we truly understand that we can choose to forgive the “inexcusable.” When we give acceptance without approval, we enable ourselves to lead healthier, happier lives, and we can rebuild or strengthen bonds that have been broken. Gold Davis reminded us that as we enter into this season of teshuva, we are returning to our whole selves, our healthy selves, and when we extend forgiveness to others, Hashem will treat us “measure for measure” and show us the same mercy and lovingkindness that we show each other.
One statement I found so true was “Everyone you know is fighting a battle you know nothing about.” We are so quick to make things about ourselves when, most of the time, the offense is not leveled at us, but an internal challenge another is experiencing, and we are just in the line of fire.
Momentum seems a very worthy organization and one that each of us should explore. Whether you download a podcast, make a donation or attend a retreat, think of the mom’s birthright trip as a concrete step towards tikkun olam. More information may be found at MomentumUnlimited.org.