Norma Kipnis Wilson

Norma Kipnis Wilson

Norma Kipnis Wilson OF BLESSED MEMORY

Presented by The Foundation of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation

Norma Kipnis Wilson OF BLESSED MEMORY

My Jewish journey began in 1948 when Israel became a State. I was twenty years old and had no Jewish education or background other than the fact that my parents and grandparents were Jewish. Our friends were Jewish, but we had no affiliation with an outside Jewish world. As a young girl, there was a still small voice within me that identified with what was going on in the world, especially since the Holocaust was so fresh in our minds. I knew that I had lost family in

the concentration camps and that was paramount in my mind when I heard that there was a meeting for young Jewish adults who were interested in learning more about Israel. I decided to go to that meeting with my sister Lynne. I had to ride a bus to get to downtown in Jacksonville, Florida where the meeting was being held. The Jewish Council (later Federation) was the sponsor. Jerome Leon Kipnis was the speaker and he inspired all of us who were there. He spoke of needs and wants for Israel and the fact that

we would be the young people who would make the difference, and because of us, a Holocaust would never happen again. I was still in school and working summers, but I pledged right then to give $52. In 1948 and still in school, that was a sacrifice. Little did know it was only the beginning. That night my life changed and would never be the same again. Ten months later, I married Jerome Kipnis and we raised our five children in Miami. I became Co-Chairperson of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation’s Women’s Division Campaign with Toby Friedland, of blessed memory. In obsessing about raising the campaign to a higher level of giving, it was there that I dreamed of the Lion of Judah. Husband and children aside, because that is a different story, the Lion became my identity and my legacy. As I write this in 2015, there are 18,000 Lions throughout the world. It is my heartfelt opinion that my love of Judaism and what it means to the world is what brought me to this point in my life. As co-founder of the Lion of Judah, I pride myself in the fact that good women from everywhere were captured by the Lion and made it the success that it is today. My love goes out to all of them and to those who will follow. You all have made my dream a reality. That is why I have chosen to endow my gift, so that I will always be a part of the Jewish women who care and make a difference.

Temple Beth Am AND Rambam Day School

Presented by The Foundation of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation