Blog

BJE is proud to offer mentorship and support to aspiring Jewish communal professionals and has a long history of working with student interns.  

During the summer, BJE welcomes rising high school juniors and seniors both independently and through the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles' Community Internship Program. Interns gain valuable skills while working with BJE across all departments.  Pictured here are BJE summer 2016 interns, Elia Eisner, Abby Gore, Noah Martin, David Trolettie and Hannah Kleinman.

To me, being a Builder of Jewish education means we’re building upon our Jewish heritage and our traditions through education. My role is to connect the community with all different types of Jewish educational opportunities so they can grow as Jews – camps, schools, youth programs, parent and me classes.

My Jewish education is the foundation for how I think and live my life, guided by the values and morals outlined in the Torah and by our sages. It’s a guide for conducting myself in my personal and professional life.
 

“…it’s more important than ever to live a Jewish lifestyle and with Jewish values or we really lose something.” 

I started out majoring in psychology and accident started teaching, and I loved it! So I dropped everything, changed my major, and the rest is history. The truth is, it’s a privilege to teach. 

Being a Builder of Jewish education means you are ensuring the continuity of the Jewish future. There’s no other item that can do that than education. I see myself as part of an unbroken chain. We take what we’ve been given and pass it on to the next generation. And hope that they’ll do the same when their time comes.

I think being a Builder of Jewish education is about laying the foundation for others to build on top of. I love the work that I get to do here, working with other educators to provide support, and working with teens.

What is unique about working with teens is that they’re at a stage where they’re trying to figure out who they want to be in the world, how they matter. They’re asking big questions and grappling with big ideas.

For us, being Builders of Jewish education means being involved with religious life, cultural life… all aspects of supporting continuity of Judaism.

BJE Teen Service Corps "sold out" its two week-long summer day camps that will engage 63 teens in community service and service learning centered on the theme, "Hunger and Poverty".  Campers volunteer their service and explore the many ways LA based organizations work to address these issues, followed by reflection activities led by Teen Service Corps educators. 

I attended high school at Hamilton Academy of Music, where I played in several bands and the orchestra for theatrical productions. I also played with my mom, dad and brothers in our family band, “The Rolling Steins.” Now my wife has joined the band and we joke that she had to audition to join the family, despite the fact that she is incredibly talented.