On the morning of January 17, Federation CEO Daniel Staffenberg spoke at the Inaugural Prayer Breakfast for new Governor Abigail Spanberger - continuing the JCFR’s commitment to partnership and community leadership.
Governor-elect Spanberger with Jill and Daniel Staffenberg
The following are his remarks:
Good morning, and Shabbat Shalom.
It is an honor to represent Virginia’s Jewish community and to be among so many friends and leaders of all faiths.
In Jewish tradition, when a person takes on new leadership, the focus is not on authority or power, but on obligation - the sacred responsibility to listen deeply, to act with integrity, and to uplift the people they are entrusted to serve.
Leadership is not a crown; it is a calling. Our sages teach that “a true leader is one whose heart beats for the community,” a person who guides not from above, but from within.
Today, we recognize this responsibility of leadership in the trust placed in our Governor-Elect, and elected officials at all levels. We recognize the good in the shared commitment to the well-being of our Commonwealth and all its people.
There is a prayer Jews recite as part of our daily worship, the Mi Sheberach, which asks that those entrusted with leadership be blessed with wisdom, ethics, compassion and understanding.
As Governor-Elect Spanberger prepares to take office, we offer that same blessing to her and all those who accept the responsibility of leadership today: May wisdom guide your every decision, may humility shape your every action, and may courage strengthen your every step.
Stepping into a role of responsibility requires humility. It requires the willingness to hold complexity, to make decisions that matter, and to carry the weight of the community’s trust.
But it also offers the extraordinary opportunity to lift up others, to build bridges, and to help shape a future worthy of those who will inherit it.
We bless this moment of transition not because the path ahead will be simple, but because those who are walking it do so with integrity and purpose. We bless it because leadership, when rooted in service, has the power to transform.
As we stand with each of you today, may we offer our encouragement, our partnership, and our faith in your ability to lead with wisdom and with heart. And to mark this moment — as Jews have done for generations when encountering something new, meaningful, and full of possibility — we offer the Shehecheyanu blessing:
Blessed are You, Eternal One, who has given us life, sustained us, and brought us to this special moment.
