Yotam Shmargad, 42, is happy he joined the Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona L’Dor V’Dor at the Shore fishing trip — and not just because he caught an ocean whitefish.
Coordinated by JPSA Young Leadership Manager Nate Weisband, the trip, which brought together 33 men from across generations for a weekend in San Diego Oct. 2-4, expanded Shmargad’s connections in the Jewish community.
Shmargad knew only a handful of the participants before the trip.
“Most of my touch points for the community are through my kids,” who attend Tucson Hebrew Academy, he explains.
“The thing that sits with me most is how intergenerational the trip was,” he says, adding that he enjoyed ” finding out a little bit about the history of the Tucson Jewish community and just getting perspectives of folks in the older generation that I don’t tend to speak to as much.”
Shmargad, a professor in the School of Government and Public Policy at the University of Arizona, was intrigued by a conversation among some of the older participants about the expansion of the Hillel building on campus.
Tom Warne, a former chair of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and an alumnus of the first men’s fishing trip in 2017, is a real estate developer who worked on the contract for the Hillel expansion, although he wasn’t involved in that discussion.
For Warne, what stands out from this trip was how well the young men bonded with one another, and how respectful they were. In conversations about local government, there were differences in how issues were perceived, he says, but “everybody was listening to each other so well, and really taking it in. I was really impressed with all the younger people.”
Warne didn’t fish but had a great time on the boat, despite record-breaking heat.
He also enjoyed an energetic Simchat Torah celebration at Chabad of Coronado.
“That was great. It was a lot of fun. Our younger group was just really involved and participated and had a ball,” he says, noting that longtime Jewish community leader Gary Kippur arranged with Rabbi Eli Fradkin for the group to join the festivities.
Warne adds his thanks to Kippur and Paul Baker for underwriting part of the trip’s cost to keep it affordable.
For Shmargad, the Simchat Torah evening at Chabad was a highlight, too. “It was a good time, good vibes,” he said.
Shmargad also got to attend a breakfast with Israeli artist Uri Sharon and some fishing trip participants the morning after the community’s Oct. 7 commemoration. It affirmed that the trip was not an isolated experience and gave him a chance to speak with some of the men he hadn’t connected with on the trip.
“It’s always just nice to sort of expand your awareness of the Jewish community in Tucson. It’s quite lively,” he says, and, for a mid-sized city, “really punches above its weight.”
Reflecting on the trip, Weisband says, “Ever since I started working at JPSA, I’ve heard stories about the magic of the 2017 fishing trip. I planned L’Dor V’Dor at the Shore as a way to recognize and bring together some of the leaders who have done so much to build our Jewish community, but I didn’t fully appreciate how powerful it would be to connect men across generations and different corners of our community. Much like the 2017 trip, I hope the friendships built this weekend will become part of a lasting legacy that carries our Jewish community forward for decades to come.”
