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Born to Al and Judy
I would not be Jewish had I not been born to Al and Judy, parents who are both Jewish by birth and also who cared deeply about creating a vibrant and loving Jewish home. -
Holy of Holies
One of my earliest and most powerful Jewish memories, I remember at a very young age sitting inside a sun-soaked make-shift tallis Holy of Holies by myself on Yom Kippur at B'nei Or in Watertown. The feeling of safety and comfort and awe left a serious impression. -
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Bouncing around from Hebrew school to Hebrew school
For a long time, we bounced around from Hebrew school to Hebrew school, trying to find the right community. Not particularly good experiences or memorable on an individual level, the movement in general left an impression on me both as a wandering Jew that never quite fit in, but also as a seeking Jew, trying to find exactly the right community without settling. -
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Mom at School
From cooking latkes to fried matzah, my mom would come into my classrooms and show all the other kids what being Jewish meant. -
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B'nei Or
Found B'nei Or, which left me with flowy spirit and music and love. -
Their Trip to Moracco
I remember my parents telling me, from a very young age, a story about when they travelled to Moracco and were taken in by a Jewish family there. That always stuck with me as a powerful story. -
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Chabad
Found Chabad and was introduced to deep spirit and ruach, along with a less than memorable Hebrew school experience. -
Bar Mitzvah
An event that came to define my pluraslitic/transdenominational upbringing, I was bar mitzvahd at a Conversative shul (that we had joined specifically for my bar mitzvah) with our Jewish renewal rabbi friend playing the guitar on the bimah on Shabbat (which had never happened there before), and our Chabad rabbi balancing a chair on his chin, the life of the party, which as held in a barn overlooking an apple orchard. -
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Maccabi Basketball
Surrounded by other Jews I could relate to, this was a big social Jewish step and helped me begin to cultvate my own Jewish identity. -
Y2I
Israel (and Concentration Camp) trip that rocked my world and catapulted me into my own Jewish identity and desire to keep building it. -
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2006-2010
Huge time of Jewish growth. From Hillel ASB trips to Chabad, AEPi and lots of friends who were Jewish, college solidified my sense of myself as a Jew. -
Matisyahu concert
This concert changed my life, inspiring me to become a rabbi. -
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Hebrew College
Not sure how much Jewy it gets than starting and being in rabbinical school. It's all been a Jewish journey since then, my whole life integrated into my Jewish identity. -
Suzie Schwartz Jacobson
Co-teaching with (now Rabbi) Suzie Schwartz Jacobson, I learned her greatest gift as a teacher, which is her ability to really see her students, to make sure they feel seen for who they are, and then to feel accepted and loved and special as themselves. Above all else, Suzie prioritizes her students and making sure she sees them. This is an enduring lesson that I've taken with me in and try to replicate in my own teaching (and living) practice.