This week, I had the opportunity to go in for an interview at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. I am really excited about this program. I think the interview went well, although this is my first one, so I have nothing with which to compare. The director of the education program remembered me from my visit in October (see this blog). She said she was glad to see me back for an interview. I was very glad to be there. I ran into my aunt sister-in-law, a professor of Jewish History at HUC who said that in the interview, they are looking to see if you are a good candidate, not if you are better than the rest. They take as many students as are qualified for the school, not filling two seats, which calmed my nerves a bit. The interview consisted of the director of the program and three faculty and staff members at HUC. They asked questions, trying to get to know me outside of my essays. At the end, the director said I did a good job, which was exciting. They said I should hear back in a few weeks, so hopefully by spring break I'll have an answer :)
Below, please enjoy reading my personal statement, explaining the various choices and events that have led me to decide to become a Jewish educator. Enjoy!
During the summers growing up, I attended Union of Reform Judaism's Camp Harlam in the Pocono Mountains, where I fell in love with Judaism on Friday nights at Chapel on the Hill. The community came together in white, the song leaders led everyone in song to welcome in the Sabbath bride, each unit put together a Shabbat service, and the camp sang all our favorites at Friday night song sessions. It was my favorite time of the week. I try to recreate those emotions each week at Kabbalat Shabbat and, each week I fall in love again with Judaism. This is just one of the memories I had growing up that helped to shape my Jewish identity. From camp and Israel to college and Hillel, there have been many Jewish milestones in my life that inspired a love of Judaism in me and compelled me to share with others that same passion for Judaism and Jewish learning that I have developed in my own life.
In 2003, I had the opportunity to go to the Southern Wall of the Temple in Israel for my Bat Mitzvah. Having my Bat Mitzvah in Israel just made it that much more special; I was able to become part of the Jewish community in the presence of my family surrounded by thousands of years of Jewish history. I had a second Bat Mitzvah ceremony in America six month later to celebrate with my extended family and all of my friends. But I spent the whole day remembering and reliving my first ceremony in Israel. For me, reaching this milestone was less about my ability to read Torah and more about my connection to my family, to my Jewish people, and to my Jewish identity.
Since that first trip, I have been lucky enough to travel to Israel four more times. Each trip has been unique but they all have one thing in common: building my connection to Israel. Living so far away from a land that means so much to me is challenging. However, knowing what Israel is really like has been comforting for me, and it has allowed me to share my experiences and knowledge with friends and peers. I am able to advocate on behalf of Israel at school, and I can teach my religious school students about the diversity that exists in Israel. We, as Jews, should stand up for and support the State of Israel because it is our homeland, it unites us as Jews and, as the only democracy in the Middle East, Israel is working to protect its people. We are responsible for making this world a better place, which includes advocating for the continued existence of the State of Israel. Klal Yisrael aravim ze le ze--All of Israel is responsible for one another. "One another" could be interpreted as other Jews, but it could also mean other people. I took this saying to heart in high school, where I began participating in programs focused on Jewish education and teaching. It was during this time that I began shifting my Jewish educational path. Before, I was just absorbing so much information, experiencing emotions, and building my own Jewish identity. But during high school, I started taking the active steps that allowed me to share my knowledge and feelings with people around me, while still developing my Jewish self. I participated in the Jewish Community High School's Isaac Mayer Wise program, trained at the Auerbach Central Agency for Jewish Education to work with special needs children in a religious school setting, and worked as a classroom assistant at my synagogue. This active involvement continued in college, where I knew Judaism would be a very important influence on my collegiate experience.
After a long process of searching, I found my home at Penn State. For me, high school was always about the homework, papers, and classes, and Judaism was supplementary. I went to college to study biochemistry, hoping to work in a lab after graduation. However, as the semesters progressed, I found myself enrolling in more and more Jewish Studies courses because I found them to be compelling and, for the first time, I had the opportunity to really learn about Judaism in an academic setting. By the end of my sophomore year at Penn State, I had to declare my major. This was a very hard decision for me. I was supposed to be a biochemist after graduation, but the courses in which I was enrolled suggested otherwise. At that point, more than half of my schedule was filled with Jewish history, Bible study, and Hebrew, not physics and chemistry labs. Judaism had always been an extracurricular activity for me, but now it was taking center stage in my academic life. Looking back, becoming a Jewish Studies major seems like an obvious decision because of the passion for it I developed over the years, but at the time, I debated with myself for weeks trying to decide if I should transform my academic plan to be one focused around a Jewish career. By allowing myself this personal refocus, I changed my Jewish experience from being just an extracurricular activity; it was now the center of my world. I let my personal passion take over, and I filled almost every day with something related to Judaism. Continuing with the types of involvement with Judaism I had while in high school, I became actively involved in Hillel, and I began teaching at the local synagogue.
For my last term on Penn State Hillel Student Board, I was religious co-chair, responsible for all religious programming at Hillel. One memorable event was Shabbat 101. I spent a few weeks during the summer researching the customs, traditions and meaning of Friday evening prayers for the first Shabbat of the semester. I really enjoyed putting this program together because I got to learn more about what I say every Friday night; it gave me a new way to connect to the prayers, allowing me to have more meaningful kavanah. In addition to learning, I loved sharing this knowledge with others and hearing attendees, in turn, share what they learned with their friends. Hillel's mission is to foster Jewish life on campus, and I was able to accomplish this by facilitating a program where the information I attained inspired students to pass on their newly acquired knowledge about Jewish traditions to their peers.
Another important experience in my journey towards becoming a Jewish educator has been working at Brit Shalom, the synagogue here in State College. One of the most rewarding experiences of this job is watching my kids learn. The experience I had while assisting at my childhood synagogue was to see numerous students, half asleep, attending because their parents made them. But even then, I was different; I spent almost every day of the week at the synagogue, going to classes, working as a classroom assistant, and attending services. I loved learning and sharing my knowledge, and I still do. The greatest part of teaching my fourth graders has been watching them run up to their parents at the end of the day and answering the question, "what did you do today" with an excited answer explaining everything they learned, rather than the typical response of "nothing". I am choosing to be a Jewish educator so that I can help create future generations of Jews who are excited to learn and practice this religion that I find so powerful. I want to help them find personal connections and motivations to continue their studies about and fall in love with Judaism, just like I did.
I feel that Hebrew Union College has exceptional resources that would best prepare me for my future endeavors. From the professors who are not only knowledgeable in their subject matter, but who also take an active role in improving methods of Jewish education to the well-rounded curriculum and year in Israel, the New York School of Education will provide me with the skills needed to become a leader in the field of Jewish education.
Below, please enjoy reading my personal statement, explaining the various choices and events that have led me to decide to become a Jewish educator. Enjoy!
During the summers growing up, I attended Union of Reform Judaism's Camp Harlam in the Pocono Mountains, where I fell in love with Judaism on Friday nights at Chapel on the Hill. The community came together in white, the song leaders led everyone in song to welcome in the Sabbath bride, each unit put together a Shabbat service, and the camp sang all our favorites at Friday night song sessions. It was my favorite time of the week. I try to recreate those emotions each week at Kabbalat Shabbat and, each week I fall in love again with Judaism. This is just one of the memories I had growing up that helped to shape my Jewish identity. From camp and Israel to college and Hillel, there have been many Jewish milestones in my life that inspired a love of Judaism in me and compelled me to share with others that same passion for Judaism and Jewish learning that I have developed in my own life.
In 2003, I had the opportunity to go to the Southern Wall of the Temple in Israel for my Bat Mitzvah. Having my Bat Mitzvah in Israel just made it that much more special; I was able to become part of the Jewish community in the presence of my family surrounded by thousands of years of Jewish history. I had a second Bat Mitzvah ceremony in America six month later to celebrate with my extended family and all of my friends. But I spent the whole day remembering and reliving my first ceremony in Israel. For me, reaching this milestone was less about my ability to read Torah and more about my connection to my family, to my Jewish people, and to my Jewish identity.
Since that first trip, I have been lucky enough to travel to Israel four more times. Each trip has been unique but they all have one thing in common: building my connection to Israel. Living so far away from a land that means so much to me is challenging. However, knowing what Israel is really like has been comforting for me, and it has allowed me to share my experiences and knowledge with friends and peers. I am able to advocate on behalf of Israel at school, and I can teach my religious school students about the diversity that exists in Israel. We, as Jews, should stand up for and support the State of Israel because it is our homeland, it unites us as Jews and, as the only democracy in the Middle East, Israel is working to protect its people. We are responsible for making this world a better place, which includes advocating for the continued existence of the State of Israel. Klal Yisrael aravim ze le ze--All of Israel is responsible for one another. "One another" could be interpreted as other Jews, but it could also mean other people. I took this saying to heart in high school, where I began participating in programs focused on Jewish education and teaching. It was during this time that I began shifting my Jewish educational path. Before, I was just absorbing so much information, experiencing emotions, and building my own Jewish identity. But during high school, I started taking the active steps that allowed me to share my knowledge and feelings with people around me, while still developing my Jewish self. I participated in the Jewish Community High School's Isaac Mayer Wise program, trained at the Auerbach Central Agency for Jewish Education to work with special needs children in a religious school setting, and worked as a classroom assistant at my synagogue. This active involvement continued in college, where I knew Judaism would be a very important influence on my collegiate experience.
After a long process of searching, I found my home at Penn State. For me, high school was always about the homework, papers, and classes, and Judaism was supplementary. I went to college to study biochemistry, hoping to work in a lab after graduation. However, as the semesters progressed, I found myself enrolling in more and more Jewish Studies courses because I found them to be compelling and, for the first time, I had the opportunity to really learn about Judaism in an academic setting. By the end of my sophomore year at Penn State, I had to declare my major. This was a very hard decision for me. I was supposed to be a biochemist after graduation, but the courses in which I was enrolled suggested otherwise. At that point, more than half of my schedule was filled with Jewish history, Bible study, and Hebrew, not physics and chemistry labs. Judaism had always been an extracurricular activity for me, but now it was taking center stage in my academic life. Looking back, becoming a Jewish Studies major seems like an obvious decision because of the passion for it I developed over the years, but at the time, I debated with myself for weeks trying to decide if I should transform my academic plan to be one focused around a Jewish career. By allowing myself this personal refocus, I changed my Jewish experience from being just an extracurricular activity; it was now the center of my world. I let my personal passion take over, and I filled almost every day with something related to Judaism. Continuing with the types of involvement with Judaism I had while in high school, I became actively involved in Hillel, and I began teaching at the local synagogue.
For my last term on Penn State Hillel Student Board, I was religious co-chair, responsible for all religious programming at Hillel. One memorable event was Shabbat 101. I spent a few weeks during the summer researching the customs, traditions and meaning of Friday evening prayers for the first Shabbat of the semester. I really enjoyed putting this program together because I got to learn more about what I say every Friday night; it gave me a new way to connect to the prayers, allowing me to have more meaningful kavanah. In addition to learning, I loved sharing this knowledge with others and hearing attendees, in turn, share what they learned with their friends. Hillel's mission is to foster Jewish life on campus, and I was able to accomplish this by facilitating a program where the information I attained inspired students to pass on their newly acquired knowledge about Jewish traditions to their peers.
Another important experience in my journey towards becoming a Jewish educator has been working at Brit Shalom, the synagogue here in State College. One of the most rewarding experiences of this job is watching my kids learn. The experience I had while assisting at my childhood synagogue was to see numerous students, half asleep, attending because their parents made them. But even then, I was different; I spent almost every day of the week at the synagogue, going to classes, working as a classroom assistant, and attending services. I loved learning and sharing my knowledge, and I still do. The greatest part of teaching my fourth graders has been watching them run up to their parents at the end of the day and answering the question, "what did you do today" with an excited answer explaining everything they learned, rather than the typical response of "nothing". I am choosing to be a Jewish educator so that I can help create future generations of Jews who are excited to learn and practice this religion that I find so powerful. I want to help them find personal connections and motivations to continue their studies about and fall in love with Judaism, just like I did.
I feel that Hebrew Union College has exceptional resources that would best prepare me for my future endeavors. From the professors who are not only knowledgeable in their subject matter, but who also take an active role in improving methods of Jewish education to the well-rounded curriculum and year in Israel, the New York School of Education will provide me with the skills needed to become a leader in the field of Jewish education.
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