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I attended my synagogue’s summer camp program for five years in Cleveland where I first experienced Jewish informal education. -
As a teen, I participated in the madrichim program at Congregation Eilat in California. My mentor, Educational Director, Elliott Fein told me I can make a career out of synagogue work. This was my introduction to the existence of Jewish communal work. -
Being an active member of Southwestern Region BBYO in Southern California gave me a place to feel comfortable in my Judaism as a teen living in a very small Jewish community. -
I attended high school in Southern California where I found myself very much in the minority as a Jewish teen. My senior year I fought with the choir teacher to add choreography to the one Hanukkah song in the Christmas show (like all the other songs). No reason to just stand there on the risers singing because it’s a Hanukkah song. As the squeaky wheel this didn’t go over too well. -
I attended undergrad at the University of Arizona, Tucson. I majored in Jewish Studies and was an active member of UofA Hillel. -
I studied Jewish Communal Service and Jewish Education in grad school at Brandeis to further my professional goals of working in the Jewish community. -
I married Eric Saber. We wanted to keep it traditional and incorporated many Jewish customs and rituals. -
The birth of my first child meant I had to redefine my Judaism. Instead of as an individual, my husband and I had to grow our Judaism as a family. -
We moved to Wisconsin where my husband got a new job. We made friends by connecting with our Jewish community- synagogue, JCC, Jewish preschool. -
I visited Israel on a teacher delegation and had the opportunity to teach in an Israeli school. This trip as an adult (I went in high school and college) made a lasting impression and planted a Zionistic seed in my heart (which did not happen when I traveled as a young adult to Israel). -
My son and daughter made the basketball club sports teams. This tested my Jewish parenting skills, trying to balance secular and Jewish life when mandatory practices conflicted with Hebrew School and games took place on Shabbat. -
My participation in the Matan Directors Institute sparked my passion project to make sure all Jewish children of all abilities have the opportunity for a Jewish education. -
During the pandemic we had to redefine our Jewish practice to accommodate not being able to gather with family and friends for holidays, virtual Jewish studies, and the difficulty to grocery shop for kosher food.