Patterns of struggle and renewal run throughout Jewish life. In Genesis and Exodus and again in Judges we encounter a familiar rhythm: hardship rises, our limits become clear, insight emerges, and redemption follows. The cycle repeats across Jewish history and within our own lives. We often claim our successes yet feel powerless when difficulty returns.
Even Moses voices this tension. When conditions in Egypt worsen, he asks God, “Why have You brought harm upon this people? Why did You send me?” Though he knows the divine plan, he still feels lost. His honesty reminds us that even great leaders face doubt and fear.
Judaism does not ask us to ignore those feelings. It asks us to discern what we can control and to meet challenge with clarity and resilience. That is the essence of our upcoming JValues theme: Gevurah, pronounced g voo RAH, meaning inner strength and moral courage.
Gevurah is not loud or forceful. It is the gentle steadiness that helps us pause, stay centered, and remember that challenges are moments to move through, not the end of the road. It is part of who we are as a people and has carried us through many uncertain times.
Hanukkah offers a vivid lens for gevurah. Beyond military victory or miraculous light, it celebrates the Jewish capacity to persevere, to hold fast to who we are, and to rekindle light when it feels most fragile. Hanukkah is not only about what happened. It is about who we choose to be now.
This year’s Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival brings that same spirit to the screen with a warm and inviting focus on family, one of the most enduring sources of strength and hope in Jewish life. These stories explore families that lift each other up, families that argue and reconcile, families that search for meaning together, and families that discover resilience they never knew they had.
You can feel this in Once Upon My Mother, where a determined mom fights for her child’s future with unshakable love. You feel it again in The Ring, a moving journey between a father and daughter who hope to heal old wounds as they search for a piece of family history that shaped generations.
In Forever One and Sky Raiders, families and chosen families navigate big feelings, new beginnings, and the beautiful chaos that comes with growing up and growing together. And in films like Fantasy Life, Baseball Mensch – The Marty Lurie Story, The Floaters, and The Property, we meet families by blood and by choice whose humor, tenderness, and imperfections feel wonderfully familiar.
Across dramas, comedies, romances, and documentaries, these films offer gentle reminders that family in all its forms is often where gevurah begins. It is where we learn to listen, to lean on others, and to rediscover our strength when the world feels uncertain.
As we enter this season of light, reflection, and community, may these stories brighten our understanding of gevurah. May we find the courage to take the next step when the path is unclear, embrace what we can shape, and discover steadiness in what we cannot.
Join the Mandel JCC of the Palm Beaches in celebrating the 36th annual Palm Beach Jewish Film Festival, January 24 through February 12, 2026. For more information, please visit PBJFF.org.
