When did you join JHP? How involved were you?
I was a JHP fellow during 97/98. It was in between college and law school and I wasn’t exactly sure which direction my life was going. I saw an ad in the newspaper and thought it looked interesting so that’s really how I found JHP.
What is one of your favorite JHP memories and why?
The Israel trip was the time of my life. It was two weeks, and every day was incredible. A couple of things that stick out to me are Shabbat in Jerusalem and how everything shut down during Shabbat. Everything we saw there and all of the places we went to were just incredible experiences. Other things that stuck out to me during my time at JHP were Shabbat dinners at Menachem’s house. Post JHP, my wife and I (possibly just my girlfriend at the time) also attended a Passover seder at his house. I consider myself very fortunate to have spent time with the Rabbis.
What is your favorite thing about JHP?
The time I got to spend with Menachem and Ephraim. At Penn, everybody is so motivated for success and it always felt like money was first, second and third, and that’s what mattered. That was not me. Being around the Rabbis, and spending a lot of time with them, you really see that when you are passionate about something and really believe in it, you follow it and go all out on it, and everything else falls into place. That's the way I run my law practice. I focus on what’s important, which is my clients. I do right by my clients and fortunately, everything else falls into place.
Has JHP impacted your celebration of Jewish holidays and Shabbat and how?
I have always considered myself a spiritual person, but I did not do Shabbat dinners growing up at all. My wife did, but I did not meet her until after I was a fellow at JHP. In fact, a couple weeks ago, we went to another friend’s house for Shabbat dinner. All the JHP Shabbat dinners really have had a lasting impact on me and I enjoyed them.
What was JHP’s impact on your life?
I would say the importance of maintaining a Jewish connection. I live in Havertown, which is not a very Jewish neighborhood, but we are very proud Jews. We belong to a synagogue, and my kids have a connection with their Jewish friends. My 16 year old has a group text chat called the Jew crew. It’s just having pride in our heritage.
What have you learned from JHP that you will take with you to your job or to the rest of your life?
One thing I like to tell people about what I learned from JHP is, when it comes to Purim, there are 3 other mitzvahs that go along with reading from the megillah: Preparing a meal for your family, sending food to a friend and giving food to a stranger. Basically, on Purim you are educating yourself, feeding yourself, and feeding two other people. If everybody did that we would really have something.
