רַבִּי אוֹמֵר: אֵיזוֹ הִיא דֶֽרֶךְ יְשָׁרָה שֶׁיָּבוֹר לוֹ הָאָדָם, כָּל שֶׁהִיא תִּפְאֶֽרֶת לְעֹשֶֽׂיהָ וְתִפְאֶֽרֶת לוֹ מִן הָאָדָם
Rabbi [Judah HaNassi] would say: “Which is the right path for man to choose for himself? Whatever is harmonious for the one who does it, and harmonious for mankind.”
Kol HaChaverim, co-Founder and Director of Diversity (2020)
During the summer of 2020, when so many of us were stuck in our homes, a couple friends and I dreamed of a virtual space to celebrate queer, Jewish pride in the midst of the pandemic. A play on words, the Hebrew word kol can mean “all” or “voice” depending on its spelling, which plays into the vision of this organization being musically-oriented and all about inclusion. For the month of June, we held multiple programs every weekend. While our main events were havdallah concerts featuring prominent queer Jewish musicians, I personally created, oversaw, and executed our “Sunday Special” series. Each focused on a different demographic, like summer camp song leaders, songwriters and composers, and clergy.
NFTYx Mentor for the New York Area Region (NFTY-NAR) (2020-2021)
The North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY) went through many struggles during the pandemic, and one of the ways this youth program was able to run was with adult volunteers called NFTYx Mentors. I signed up to be a mentor and support any programs that could fit my areas of expertise, and the NFTY-NAR board members reached out to me! I helped them run multiple virtual events focused on the intersection of Judaism and queerness, particularly a LGBTQIA+ 101 series where the teens taught each other relevant terminology, history, and skills to be better allies, and a Purim party where we made some holiday themed crafts and studied the potential trans-ness of Mordechai in the Book of Esther.
Hava Nashira, (2015-2022)
To develop and grow my own musical leadership skills and connect with Jewish musicians from around the world, I have attended Hava Nashira and found community there for many years. I spent 5 years as part of the URJ/Ramah song leading track, during which I helped lead song session on the dining hall for the whole program each year. In 2019, I was asked to spearhead one of these groups and guide a group of young song leaders in building their own song session. In 2022, I volunteered by helping recruit and encourage HUC cantorial students to attend, resulting in one of the largest cohorts of current students the weeklong program has seen in years.