MY GREAT JEWISH JOURNEY (Thus Far, in Brief)

Why I am the way I am and how I got here today. For further details, you'll have to ask my therapist.

• ​1993 - A star is born, but really my mom did all the work.

• 2005 - A woman is born; I became a bat mitzvah. My party was butterfly themed.

  

  Me and Rabbi Jerry z”l

• 2011 - I went to college and my brother joined the IDF. (Me: Israel? Where is that on a map again??)

• 2012 - I visited Israel for the first time thanks to Birthright AND became co-president of George Mason University’s Israel Student Association AND became the engagement chair of my Hillel. It was a busy year!

  

  Me on the shoulders of an Israeli soldiers on Mount Scopus on my Birthright trip in 2012. Me: “Hey! Judaism is fun and cool!”

• 2013 - The shawarma was so good that I visited Israel again, this time with Hasbara Fellowships.

• 2014 - I became pres of the Israel Student Association, running events, partnering with other student groups on campus, writing op-eds, and creating community. One time, students harassed us for running a fundraiser for Syrian refugees. That was weird.

• 2015 - I graduated from college - time to focus less on Israel, and focus more on getting a job! Moved to Washington, D.C.

• 2016 - Attended my first Moishe House event, kicking off the next four years of being "socially Jewish" and discovering my tribe.

• 2017 - Was christened Jewish Instagrammer of the Week by GatherDC. That was when I peaked. But then felt lazy and unfulfilled compared to the Jewish marathon runner and Jewish cancer survivor.

• 2018 - Married my two loves of marketing and Judaism by becoming the deputy director of communications at an Israel policy think tank. Hosted my first Shabbat dinner as a Moishe House Without Walls host. Checked Jewish mindfulness retreat and adult Jewish summer camp off my list.

• 2019 - Traveled to India with JDC Entwine where I met the Mumbai Jewish community and wrote an article about it. I also did Fuel for Truth because I hadn't added enough Jewish organizations to my resume. Moved to NYC and started a marketing job at JNF!

  

  One of the nine synagogues in Mumbai

• 2020 - We don't speak of this.

• 2021 - Became a Fellow with Manhattan Jewish Experience. This led to a shift from being "socially Jewish" to exploring more of my intellectually Jewish self. Through this Fellowship, I learned about Halakha, Tanakh, and prayer. It really opened my eyes to how beautiful (and frustrating, but mostly beautiful) our tradition can be. Here’s a clip from my graduation speech!

• 2022 - Started my current role as creative marketing and communications manager at The Jewish Education Project. We strengthen Jewish pride through knowledge by supporting Jewish educators, which is important to me because I didn’t grow up with a lot of Jewish education. The culture is also rife with Jewish learning opportunities. I also became a community rep with JDC Entwine - throwback to 2019!

  • That’s when I began this project, because as you can see, I have a collection of Jewish experiences spanning 20 years which I've been soaking up like a Jewish sponge. That should have been the name of this blog: The Jewish Sponge. My Jewish circles are many a Venn diagram - the Olympics logo if you will - and I've been at the center of them all, whether I planned to be there or not: the far-left, the far-right, the Zionist, the spiritual, the Orthodox, the “just Jewish,” the self-loathing, the self-loving, the Israeli, the Indian, the ex-Hasidic, the current Hasidic. Once, I even found myself at Chabad headquarters on Simchat Torah - talk about losing and finding yourself again (physically, as it was very crowded).

• 2023 - October 7th was the greatest attack on the Jewish people in one day since the Holocaust. No Jew was the same after this day. I threw my whole self into loving and being critical of Israel, which is a form of love. I mourned. I wrote. I educated. I lost friends. I gained friends. I’m still learning about who I am as a Jew because of this day, but one I thing I know for certain: I’m prouder than ever to be one. On a bright note, I went on a Jewish trip to Estonia with JDC Entwine. Later that year, I went to Poland and visited Auschwitz, a trip I’ve been wanting to go on for a long time.

  

• 2025 - I taught a Torah series for the first time on the Omer! But more memorably, I went to Israel for the 7th time, volunteered with the IDF, and got “stuck” there during the 12-Day War with Iran. I felt like I was meant to be there during that time. It’s like the land was calling to me. From that experience, I started praying in the morning, dedicated myself to seriously and aggressively learning Hebrew, stopped eating treyf for the most part, and got a tattoo.

• 2026 - Still writing, still going strong! I’m in a serious relationship with a wonderful Jewish guy. For the first time, I’m considering what it means to live a Jewish life with someone else. Judaism is so personal to everyone, and he and I grew up very differently. Ah, well. The journey continues!
  
  There's always more Jewish exploring to do. I hope you enjoy reading about it as much as I enjoy writing about it.