moments
special moments
Matchmaker, Matchmaker
MATT WEINER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
Q
NJP
(Nice Jewish Person)
Zach Goldberger
Each month, The
Well highlights an
amazing (and eligible!)
individual. The Well has
agreed to share its
Q & As with these
amazing singles with
the JN. This month, The
Well has a conversation
with NJP Zach
Goldberger.
40
May 24 • 2018
jn
: How did you decide to make your adult life in
Metro Detroit?
ZG: I am a recent Michigander — and still
getting used to that term! I recently graduated from NC
State in Raleigh, where I lived for the past 12 years. I
knew I wanted to work somewhere new and start a new
chapter in my life. Through working at camp and dif-
ferent Jewish fellowships, I came to find Temple Israel,
which brought me here. The Metro Detroit area seemed
to be a perfect fit, and 10 months later, I am still loving it.
I’ll enjoy it even more when the sun comes out and the
temperature starts hitting 80 consistently.
Q: You spend your days working at Temple Israel —
tell us more.
ZG: I work at Temple Israel as the youth director. My
job allows me to engage and spend time with youths of
all ages. It is especially interesting working with families
in a community where I didn’t grow up. Through work-
ing with the kids and teens, I have begun to learn about
the environment I work in. There is no better group of
kids in the country than here. It is also not the worst
thing to be able to travel to Chicago, Washington, D.C.,
Nicaragua or any of our future destinations with the
teens. Temple Israel has been a family for me so far, and
I feel so lucky.
Q: What is one adjective you use to describe yourself?
ZG: Curious. I love learning about new concepts, how
certain things work and delving into unexplored areas
of study. Whether it was at school while I was majoring
in history or coming across something new day to day, I
always need to know more. It is just how my mind works.
It has become a hobby of mine to act upon my curiosity
wherever I am. We have technology that can take us any-
where we want and gain knowledge about anything, so
why not use it to its highest potential?
Q: What was Jewish life like at NC State?
ZG: Go Pack! Jewish life in Raleigh was and is “on the
rise.” From the beginning of my freshman year I was
heavily involved in Hillel and their spirit to grow the
Jewish community on campus. Being part of the less
than 1 percent of Jews on campus was one of my favorite
parts of college. For some, I was the first Jew they met or
became close with, so I always took advantage of that to
share my culture and religion. When the holidays came
around, I would always bring a car full of friends home
for services and meals. It also created a special connec-
tion with the Jews that I met on campus. I remember
being at one the biggest football games of my time there,
and I heard a guy talking about Hillel and Shabbat. So,
I turned around and asked if he was Jewish and we
sparked a friendship in the middle of 48,000 fans.
Q: Where would you most like to travel that you
haven’t visited?
ZG: I would love to travel to Southeast and East Asia. I
love to cook, learn about and eat Asian food. Whenever I
plan a trip, I make sure the food and the views will be the
highlights of the adventure.
Q: How do you like to give back to the community/
others?
ZG: The best way to give back is to create some smiles.
We just took a trip to Nicaragua with our teens. The best
part of it all was spending time in the public schools with
the kids. Providing them with new school supplies was
great but playing with them outside and learning about
who they are was what they appreciated more. We had a
beaten up baseball bat and broken wiffle ball yet, we still
had hours of shared fun. My perception of happiness has
completely changed since we spent time with those kids.
Q: What’s your favorite Jewish holiday and why?
ZG: I’m a sucker for Passover. My family was never
super religious during the year, but when it came to
Passover we made it count. We always made sure to get
as many family members that we could to come visit and
spend the holiday with us. In addition to family, we made
sure to have car loads of friends from school to fill up the
house. It seemed that each year my mom added 10 to her
number attending. This past year was my first time not
being there, and I for sure felt it when the day came.
Q: Fav Jewish food?
ZG: A build-your-own brunch bagel. I need all the
add-ons right in front of me to make this work. A
correctly toasted bagel with a good crunch on the
outside. A plentiful shmear of jalapeno cream cheese
on the bottom of the bagel. From there we add lox, red
onions, thinly sliced tomatoes, a spoonful of egg salad
and salt and pepper. If your mouth is not watering …
something is wrong with you.
Q: Who is the coolest Jew?
ZG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg. There is really no explana-
tion needed. RBG all day.
Q: What accomplishment are you most proud of?
ZG: Living on my own in Michigan. For the past 12
years, I lived in Raleigh and stayed in Raleigh for school.
Being on a college campus is, of course, a completely dif-
ferent experience, but I never had the chance to create
something new. A handful of my good friends went to
NC State and it was never a challenge to find something
to do or someone to do it with. When I moved to Detroit,
I knew no one. I had to create a new life for myself that
I was not 100 percent prepared for — even if I thought I
was. Almost a year later, Michigan is starting to feel like
home with new friends, family and lifestyle.
Q: How about a fun fact?
ZG: I probably put too much care into my socks. You
will not find me wearing a boring pair. Instead, I will be
sporting either my bagels, doughnuts and coffee pair, my
alien abducting a cow pair, or my ketchup and mustard
pair … just to name a few. I also try to grab a pair that is
themed after places I travel to for the first time. My latest
were hot sauce socks from New Orleans.
Q: When you’ve had a bad day, what do you do to
make yourself feel better?
ZG: I stop what I am doing and go right to my run-
ning shoes. There is nothing better than a quick run to
push away all the stress and clutter from the day. I make
sure to take a new path on my run each time as well. You
never know what you will see or who you will run into to
make your day better. •
Read more at meetyouatthewell.org. Want to meet Zach? Email
Rabbi Dan Horwitz at dan@meetyouatthewell.org for an introduc-
tion.