-
Period: to
Seth's Jewish Growth
-
Enrollment in Hebrew School
After my family moved to Baltimore, I was in the second grade and was enrolled in Hebrew School at our local Reform temple. I remember enjoying Hebrew School almost immediately and loved having discussions about faith and spiritual and philosophical topics such as the presence of God, the teachings of the Torah, etc. I was lucky to have some great Hebrew School teachers who made their class sessions fun by using games, skits, etc. to teach lessons from the Torah and Jewish history. -
First Visit to Israel
When I was 9 years old, my family went to Israel. It was my first visit to the country, but I remember being emotionally impacted by our visit to the Western Wall and moved by the warmth of our distant cousins who we met during our trip. This was my first exposure to Jewish life outside of Baltimore and made me feel a sense of belonging to a larger, global Jewish community. -
Bar Mitzvah
My bar mitzvah was a major turning point in my Jewish life, as I'm sure it is for many people. At this age I struggled with my belief in God, but the support of my congregation rabbi through my first bout with atheism helped affirm my belief that one can be a Jew without subscribing to every aspect of Jewish belief. -
First NFTY Convention
NFTY became the most important outlet for my Jewish identity throughout high school beginning with this weekend-long convention hosted at my synagogue. NFTY offered me an outlet to explore my Jewish identity with like-minded friends from all over the Mid-Atlantic Region and develop leadership skills through regional board positions. -
Hebrew School Confirmation
Between Bar Mitzvah and Confirmation, the size of my Hebrew School class shrank from about 25 to 8, which made for a much more intimate setting for a few years of my religious education. Our class became very close over that span and our curriculum created great opportunities to debate and discuss religious subjects as we learned. This sort of learning environment was great for me as it allowed for a great exchange of beliefs and ideas amongst me and my peers. -
Attended NFTY's Kutz Leadership Center
In the summer of 2005, I attended a 4-week NFTY leadership camp in Warwick, NY. This was my only summer at a Jewish camp after spending 6 summers at a performing arts summer camp and was my first exposure to daily prayer and weekly Shabbat observance, which motivated me to become a rabbi later in life. Additionally, that summer I lost 2 close friends from my former camp in a drunk driving accident and the support of the other campers at Kutz helped me connect to the Jewish community and to God. -
Revisiting Your Timeline - Session 11
During my summer at the URJ Kutz Camp, I was a member of the NFTY Regional Board Leadership major. The teacher of our track was a woman named Melissa Goldman. She worked hard to create a safe and comfortable learning environment for her students and taught about Judaism in a relate-able and creative way. Her imagination and understanding of Jewish teaching allowed her lessons to connect the Tree of Knowledge with the Tree of Life. -
Election to NFTY North American Board
I served for my freshman year of college on NFTY's North American board. This experience allowed me to work with an amazing network of educators and rabbis in the URJ and afforded me the opportunity to travel to visit reform Jewish communities throughout the country. -
Trip to Israel with NFTY Board
During my tenure on NFTY Board, we traveled to Jerusalem for the World Union of Progressive Judaism and Netzer Olami (the Worldwide Reform Zionist Teen Movement) conventions. We met with Jewish teen leaders from around the world and I was able to learn about Jewish life for teens in Israel and other parts of the diaspora. This gave me a better understanding of how Jewish communities differ throughout the diaspora and an appreciation for the Jewish communal structure of the US. -
Study Abroad at University of Haifa
During my semester in Haifa, I spent several shabbatot in different sorts of Jewish communities - including Reform synagogues, Chabadnikim in Tzfat, Hassidim in Jerusalem, and secular Jews in Haifa and on kibbutzim. My exposure to all of these unique ways to practice Judaism led me to conclude that the rabbinit was not the best path for me and I decided to pursue training to be a Jewish educator in more informal settings. -
BBYO's Professional Development Institute
My participation in BBYO's Professional Development Institute gave me the opportunity to become an informal Jewish educator for teens, developing programs for BBYO's Northern Virginia Council. Through this program, I also completed a Certificate in Informal Jewish Education at Hebrew College.