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My mother was raised by her Yiddish-speaking grandparents. Her family was fairly traditional, but the strictness of Jewish spaces was hard for her and she moved into adulthood without a strong Jewish practice (save for a few things that were absorbed by her in the culture of her upbringing).
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Her name was Rebecca. She was also my first best friend at this cognitive stage. She taught me Passover songs. Curiosity for Judiasm was ignited by this relationship. I remember going to the library and checking out Jewish cooking books. I made my first matzah meal that year.
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I never had a Bat Mitzvah. My mom chose the synagogue for it's archetectural beauty. It turns out that there was a famously inclusive rabbi there. Hebrew school was my first experienced of truly self-motivated learning. While other students had a hard time being there, I really understood what a privilege it was to be gifted with this learning opportunity. It was my opportunity to understand where my link in the long chain of Jewish history came from.
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I took Yiddish as an elective.
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The promise of a free coffee drew me in! I don't remember much more except that the event dodn't feel very Jewish and I didn't feel very Jewish being there. This period came at the end of the dark ages of my Jewish identity.
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There were so many people. I don't remember anyone from the BBQ.
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I searched for Hebrew classes in Berkeley (that were outside of UC Berkeley) and that led me to Chabad. I also took their Sinai Scholars class, their relationships class and helped bake challah. I babysat their kids too. I came over for shabbat sometimes, but I was vegan, so there usually wasn't much for me to eat. While I never felt like I fit in there, Chabad was a notable gateway into my understanding and exploration of Judaism as an adult.
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I stayed with a German friend from college. Her mother spoke to me about her father's role in the war. There were many memorials to mark where Jews lived. An old train track that was used to deport Jews from Cologne was partally visible.
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We did literacy tutoring in Mississippi. We also painted houses in New Orleans. There was Jewish learning and two leaders from Jews for Social Justice. I connected with the leaders.
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Three week trip to Israel. I hated it. I didn't connect with the other participants, but there was a rabbi that I admired.
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I participated in many Masa programs. In this order: "sustainable" seminary in Nachla'ot, ulpan in Jerusalem and interning at the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development/Jewish Eco-Seminars, permiculture program at Kibbutz Lotan's Center for Sustainable Development, hiking Yam L'Yam, seminary at Neve Yerushamayim and seminary at Mayanot. After my year, my sense of Jewish identity was at an all-time high.
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I started with 2 second grade classes -- one at a conservative synagogue and one at a reform temple. By the end of the year, I was teaching 7 classes at three schools (the third was a renewal community).
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We also read short stories by Etgar Keret.
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It was a group of 22-26 year olds from the San Francisco Bay Area. It was a wonderful trip -- actually the best Israel trip I've ever been on. Everyone was so mature and trustworthy. It was my first experience of being a leader in the Jewish community for people in my age range.
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I was on a bicycle trip from Orleans, France to Budapest. Mauthausen was a short detour. I'd never been to a concentration camp before. I went on the English-speaking tour. It was clear to me from the questions asked and the pronouns used ("they") that I was the only Jew on the tour. I'd say more about what it was like to be there, but there really are no words.
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I was accepted in May while vacationing in Panama.
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Megan Obrien was the volunteer coordinator at the Berkeley Free Clinic when I first joined the collective and she taught many of the training classes. She was really sweet, diplomatic and articulate. I was always impressed with how she summarized opinions that had been shared and astutely paraphrased competing concerns. Her commitment to excellence is perhaps what left the greatest impact on me. She always did her best (even though she was already doing a lot) and she did it with compassion.
