Diana Cole’s Passover Message for 2026
For our Passover holiday issue, we invited members of our staff and community to share their responses.
Judaism doesn’t really define a “good Jew” as one single behavior (like attending services weekly) so much as a relationship of covenant and responsibility — to God (for those who believe), to the Jewish people, and to the wider world.
My personal answer to this question is not what makes a person a good Jew. Rather, what makes a person a good person.
A good person has ethics and character (Middot), which includes honesty, humility, restraint, generosity for others. They are responsible to others whether it be acts of kindness and “righteous giving” (tzedakah). It also includes supporting the community, fighting antisemitism (or wrongs towards others).
I pat myself on the back for raising three kids (now young adults) as Mensches. My husband and I taught them along with the school and their religious education to be kind to others, treat others like you want to be treated, and manners. I have yet to hear a teacher say a bad word about them. My youngest is graduating high school in May.
They all deliver truth with empathy and develop trust with their friends, teachers, peers, and future colleagues. They treat everyone as their equals.
I encouraged my kids when they saw a younger child to compliment their stuffed animal or outfit because what kid doesn’t want to hear from an older kid, they are awesome. All my children have volunteered in some way, whether it be with animals, scouts, or being a madrichim. My youngest currently is cleaning her room, specifically her stuffed animals. Her first thought was to donate them to the kids next door. So, they can love them the way she did. My kids are the first ones to tell me if there was wrong towards others (or antisemitism). Whether a person is Asian, Spanish, Jewish, Fat, Thin, Hindu, it should not matter. The only thing that matters is if they are a good person. They were taught violence was wrong, just as much as hurtful words. “We live by the Golden Rule, if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it.”
Diana Cole manages the Atlanta Jewish Connector for Atlanta Jewish Times.