When did you join JHP? How involved were you?
I joined JHP, I believe, at the beginning of my sophomore year. I joined mainly because a lot of my friends were in it and they told me it was pretty cool so I went to a couple of meetings. It was really fun to be able to spend time with my friends. Not long after that I joined the board in my sophomore year spring semester. I joined as the VP of Jewish Content and helped lead Shabbat for 2000. I was on the board for most of my time and then for senior year I was a co VP with Taylor Freeman.
What is one of your favorite JHP memories and why?
It's super hard to pick, but I would say that most of my favorite times when I think back to JHP are the Shabbat dinners; ranging from Menachem’s house with the board, to Shabbat for 2000 dinners with my friends and people who weren’t even involved in JHP during college. Also, Shabbat dinners at the mentoring retreats, especially those when we were in New York, were a ton of fun. I always loved getting to know people across the club who I didn’t usually hang out with on a regular basis, and you just got to drink wine and get to know everyone a little closer over a meal.
What was your favorite JHP event?
I would say Shabbat for 2000 is my favorite event, even though it's a little biased because I did help plan and run it for two years. I think that’s one of my favorite events because not only does it get everyone in the club involved in trying to do outreach, but it also gets really amplified across all of campus. I think it is cool that we do an event that is really inclusive of everyone and the ultimate goal is to share Shabbat with as many people as possible, and to encourage people to come and eat dinner together. I think that those moments are few and far between at a very busy school like Penn, so I was always very happy when people were able to come together to celebrate that.
Has JHP impacted your celebration of Jewish holidays and Shabbat and how?
So my family definitely celebrated Jewish holidays and Shabbat before I went to college and I think what JHP did was offer a solid bridge between my home life and my post college life when it comes to Judaism. I continued to have moments with Shabbat and observe different holidays while I was involved with JHP, and I feel now that I have left college I am still seeking out opportunities to have Shabbat dinners when I can and celebrate those holidays. I think JHP provided a really good bridge between myself living with my parents at home and now me living on my own as an adult.
What was JHP’s impact on your life?
I would say JHP had a pretty big impact on my life. In terms of being in college, it was definitely one of the things I was most involved in, and it helped me make so many great relationships with not only people my year at Penn, but also across different years. Those friendships are still a part of my life and I hope they will continue to be. Beyond that, the older alumni that Menachem knows and come to mentoring retreats have allowed me to form relationships with other JHP alumni that I hope to continue to use professionally and personally going forward. Also, the relationship I have with Menachem and the small aspects of Judaism that he continues to share post-grad, including receiving a Shabbat Shalom text from him or receiving the emails from the JHP listserv with his words of wisdom, are things that I appreciate that I wouldn't have had without JHP.
What have you learned from JHP that you will take with you to your job or to the rest of your life?
I learned the importance of building relationships, especially Jewish ones. I’ve learned the importance of helping others when it comes to Tzedakah, PB&J and other Mitzvah week events. This is a value that I think JHP instills in people that have stayed with me, but then additionally the value of surrounding yourself with Jewish people that are willing to look out for you and help you no matter what.
