Month: May 2020

From Ordinary to Extraordinary: When Work Complements Life

This past summer, I learned what it means to have a vocation—not just any job, but one that truly satisfies. A fulfillment of calling.  From May through August of 2019, I had the privilege of serving as the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati rabbinic fellow at Valley Temple in Wyoming, Ohio. With the guidance of the senior rabbi there, Rabbi Sandford Kopnick, I…

Dungeons & Dragons, Passover, and Jewish Education

Every year as spring rolls around, we gather together to celebrate Pesach—the transition from winter to spring, from death to rebirth, from slavery to freedom. At this time, Jews all over the world come together to celebrate our ancestors’ exodus from Egypt by way of sharing a ritualistic meal with one another, a seder. Through this shared meal, we retell…

Jewish History Jumping out of the Classroom

Biblical times to modern day Israel—that was the syllabus I was handed for my Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati fellowship at Isaac M. Wise Temple. While I love history, teaching all of Jewish history in the course of a year felt overwhelming. I was happy to work with my education director at Wise and the other sixth grade teacher in trying…

From Disability to Discovery

Like all good Jewish children should, I call my mother often. Our usual chats, often car-bound, touch on the usual suspects: work, family, and the state of the world. We talk so often that our conversations seem to blend together. I love talking to my mother, but I couldn’t recall the majority of our conversations if my life depended on…