A Reform Camper in Hevruta Study

I bet my parents are not surprised that I work for a Jewish organization. How could they be? After all, I have been an active member of the Jewish community from my earliest days. Attending Congregational School, spending summer after summer at Jewish day and overnight camp, starring as Joseph in my synagogue’s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (I couldn’t resist throwing this one in here), participating in youth group, spending time in Israel, and most recently, working at the San Francisco-based Jewish Community Federation. Being Jewish has always been an important part of who I am. Yet, reflecting back on these experiences, I note that my participation in Jewish life has never come in the way of traditional, text-based Jewish education or study.

There were many reasons that I was excited to join the Jim Joseph Foundation team in April 2015: working with a dedicated and expert staff; best in class board and professional leadership; the opportunity to contribute to the Jewish learning and growth of thousands of young people annually. But, an unexpected, yet welcome, outcome has been the Jewish learning and growth of someone else: me.

Some of the grants in my portfolio are in my sweet spot. I manage many of the Foundation’s camping grants, for example. I credit my own overnight camping experience as the one that most helped shape my Jewish identity and is the primary reason that Judaism is such an important part of my life. I can list the sessions I attended in chronological order and can still sing many of the session songs. My favorite is sung to the tune of the Friends theme song:

My friends they told me that if I went to Camp Swig
There’d be some people there that I would really dig
We’d form a bond of friendship oh so strong
And have a time creating memories that’d last a whole life looooong.

I digress.

Much of my portfolio, however, has pushed me beyond my own Jewish background. For example, managing the Foundation’s grant to Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies has shown me the importance of developing excellent day school educators; Pardes’ graduates are among the most desirable in the field. In my work with Sefaria, I navigate its online library of over 80 million words of Jewish text, explore source sheets, and learn about the important ways its technology eases and strengthens Jewish learning in day schools.

And recently, I had the opportunity to attend an evening program at Mechon Hadar, another grantee in my portfolio. While in New York for the Foundation’s board meeting, my colleague Dawne Bear Novicoff and I attended Embracing Teshuvah: A Conversation with Hadar Faculty. I’ll admit, I was a bit nervous, which was only amplified when I learned that my hevruta partner was a participant in Hadar’s full-time program and clearly way more versed in Jewish text than me. Almost immediately, the discomfort waned and was replaced by enjoyment, understanding, and personal reflection.

Perhaps my past didn’t include formal Jewish text study simply because it wasn’t how my parents and grandparents engaged in Jewish life. Or, perhaps this void was a result of never fully finding the relevance to it in my own life. But, the panel of four Hadar faculty members explained the texts in ways with which I immediately connected. In just a short evening, my appreciation for Jewish text study forever changed. I left with tools to become a better parent and husband. I left with a new appreciation for prayer and how it might be useful in my life.

My favorite part of the session included a lesson from Rabbi Elie Kaunfer about teshuvah (repentance) and the name changes of Sarai to Sarah and Avram to Avraham. Sarai gave up the letter yod (value of 10) and replaced it with the letter hey (value of 5). So, in changing her name, Sarai gave up a net value of 5. Avram only gained a letter, hey (value of 5), in becoming Avraham. Rabbi Kaunfer noted that Sarai gave up the same value of letter as Avram gained, and opined that repentance is as much about who you’re in partnership with as it is about just yourself. Pretty powerful and something that I reflected on during Yom Kippur.

Through its work increasing the number and quality of Jewish educators, expanding opportunities for effective Jewish learning, and building a strong field for Jewish learning, the Jim Joseph Foundation contributes to the Jewish growth and learning of thousands of young people annually. While perhaps unexpected, through my work with grantees like Pardes, Sefaria, and Mechon Hadar—and the deep Jewish growth and learning that it provides me—you can add one more learner to the list.