Welcome to the first anniversary of The Jewish State 3.0. On Aug. 30, 1996, we published our first weekly issue ever. There were three of us: A writer, an editor and me -- doing that and everything else.

When I was talking to people about starting an independent Jewish weekly, the biggest question was: "Where will you get enough news to fill 12 pages every week?"

Just prior to our first issue (The Jewish State 1.0), as sometimes happens just before press time, there was suddenly a wealth of news. A yeshiva was burglarized and a Judaica store burned down. There was now enough to go to fill the pages.

Since that time, there has always been more news than we could ever fit in the newspaper -- whether it was 12 pages or 44 pages. In the last decade or so, central New Jersey's Jewish communities have been very active places. Torah dedications. Synagogue mergers. Congregation creations. Exploring Jewish issues. Fighting for Jewish rights in the general communities by protecting days off for Jewish holidays and encouraging public menorah lightings. Not to mention hundreds of other events and simchas, tragedies and triumphs, and lots of other news.

But no matter what was going on, the goal of The Jewish State has always been, and remains, community service. This newspaper is a LOCAL community newspaper. It is a partnership between the people who produce it and the people who read, use and participate in it.

The Jewish State has also since become a vital link between the various elements of our diverse communities. It has never claimed to be Conservative or Orthodox, Reform or Reconstructionist, Ashkenazi or Sephardic. All it ever wanted to be was fair.

We know there are differences within these communities. But while we explored those differences, we were always looking for commonalities. And most times, we've found them.

When I sold The Jewish State, along with the rest of my company, The Jewish Record Inc., on Sept. 30, 2005, I stayed on as editor. I tried to continue to serve the Jewish communities. I watched as the new owners changed the nature of the newspaper (The Jewish State 2.0).

On May 18, 2006, the new owners closed the company. And over the very next weekend, Elias Ezra founded Eliyahu Publications which quickly agreed to publish two of the Jewish Record's federation newspapers: The Jewish Journal (the monthly for The Jewish Federation of Ocean County and its communities), and The Speaker (the monthly for the Jewish Federation of Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren counties and its communities). A new independent monthly was also started entitled This is Highland Park.

Several staff members from The Jewish State were hired, and the company quickly started publishing. Soon, This is Highland Park morphed back into the independent The Jewish State. And now, a year later, the newspaper I founded has come back into its own.

Recently under a new editor, I expect the paper will become even more local, and even more connected to the communities it serves. And that's where you, the Jewish community, come in.

Editors and writers can't do it alone. If you know of a news event, if you want to publicize a program, if the paper missed out on something you feel needs coverage: Call The Jewish State! Does your synagogue or organization publish a newsletter? Mail it, or even better, e-mail it, to The Jewish State. Do you publish it online, or better yet, do you blog about a Jewish topic of interest? Send the link to The Jewish State.

The Jewish State wants to catch you and your congregation doing all wonderful things you do each and every day, year in and year out. The bad news tends to find us. But it’s the good news that we have to constantly search for.

Judaism, done right, is about community. "Doing Jewish" alone is difficult, not to mention not very much fun. Judaism is a community event, a community celebration at times, and a community standing together in times of grief, tragedy and consolation in others.

The Jewish State can help make this happen, but it will only happen with your help. That The Jewish State (even 1.0) lasted more than a few months initially, was in itself a singular feat. That it’s lasted, in its no less than three incarnations, since that time, for more than a decade overall, is a monumental achievement, for both the paper and the communities it serves.

Looking toward the future, I wish Eli Ezra and the staff of The Jewish State many more years of good journalism, prosperity and continued service to the Jewish communities.

Ron Ostroff is the former editor and publisher of The Jewish State, The Jewish Journal and The Speaker.