8 July 18 • 2019
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hen I packed my suitcase for 
this year, I didn’
t know where 
I would end up, whom I 
would meet or what I would learn. 
I knew that I came from a strong, 
mid-size Jewish community in Detroit. I 
also knew, or thought I 
knew, that I had a strong 
Jewish identity, and that 
exploring identity and 
community were two 
things I was interested 
in on a global scale. In 
reality, however, I didn’
t 
really know what any of 
that meant. 
Since January, I’
ve danced with seniors 
in Odessa, shared pizza with Latvian 
teens, spent Passover in Kiev and Purim 
in Budapest. I attended a gathering of 
more than 100 Russian-speaking Jewish 
young adults, while being one of three 
English speakers present. I’
ve visited 
countless synagogues and attended a 
Shabbaton in Mallorca — yes, Mallorca 
— the fabled Spanish island in the 
Mediterranean. I’
ve had the chance to be 
curious, to ask questions and to consider 
the past, the present and the future of 
Jewish communities around the world. 
These experiences have allowed me to 
grapple with core questions and issues 
facing Jewish communities today, and 
I continue to explore these questions 
during my time as the 2019 Ralph 
I. Goldman Fellow in Global Jewish 
Leadership. The Fellowship is an initia-
tive of the Joint Distribution Committee 
(JDC). 
Spending time with people in Eastern 
Europe and the former Soviet Union, 
especially the elderly, I found it impos-
sible not to think about my own grand-
parents, who came from this part of the 
world. I so clearly saw how profoundly 
my own journey was impacted by the 
fact that my grandparents (or their par-
ents) left and the parents of these people 
did not or could not. 
I absorbed the gravity of the impact 
of WWII and communism on each 
community and its people. In each place, 
many seniors would share their stories 
of growing up, surviving and living their 
lives. Each time I sat down to listen, 
someone would say, “We’
ll tell you our 
stories, but this is not what we want you 
to remember. Remember our smiles 

today, not just our stories of the past.
” 
In Riga, Latvia, I was privileged to 
spend time with some local teens who 
were involved in their community youth 
group. These teens, who each spoke at 
least three languages — Latvian, Russian 
and English — showed up only know-
ing they would be meeting a woman 
from America who wanted to chat. 
Yet, they stayed for more than three 
hours, opening up and talking about 
everything from Jewish life in Riga, my 
own community in Detroit, summer 
camp, anti-Semitism, whom they want 
to marry and where they feel like they 
belong. The Latvian Jewish community 
is home to about 14,000 people. It was 
overwhelming for the teens to hear that 
in my home community we have 70,000 
Jews, and hundreds or even thousands of 
teens involved in Jewish life. 
In speaking with these teens, I learned 
about their options for Jewish life in 
Riga, which would feel limited by our 
standards. Indeed, they gushed about 
the fact that when some teens in their 
community have opportunities to attend 
international conferences or camps, they 
feel privileged to do so and have their 
lives changed because of these experi-
ences, but these opportunities are not 
always plentiful. 
Coming from a large, established 
community, we find it easy to leave it to 
others to build and carry the commu-
nity. After all, we can access a variety 
of Jewish programs and not worry that 
there will be plenty of people around 
to carry them forward. We can show 
up late, or not at all, and Jewish life will 
continue. 

That these Latvian teens are so inter-
ested in Jewish life is all the more pow-
erful because unlike in much of the U.S., 
their parents are not pushing them to 
show up. 
I came into the year thinking I might 
have an impact on these communities, 
and instead I find myself wondering 
what we can learn from them. Can we 
look to the communities of Eastern 
Europe where young Jews are thinking 
creatively and sharing a vigor for Jewish 
life that is not always as common in 
North America? How does their history 
impact their identity? How does our 
own ancestry impact our identities and 
Jewish communities? 
This year I’
ve realized just how big the 
world truly is, and I’
ve discovered the joy 
in how small it can become as we con-
nect and engage with one another. It will 
still take time and commitment to con-
tinue these connections for the next gen-
erations, but these young Jews are bright 
and excited to “do Jewish.
” They proudly 
carry the torch of Judaism where it was 
once almost extinguished. 
The opportunity before us then is to 
learn our history, connect with our pres-
ent and look to build the future together. 
Sometimes, the most powerful lessons 
we can learn about how to be Jewish, 
about how to build Jewish community, 
is by kindling our own torch with sparks 
from places we never dreamed of. ■

Jessica Katz has served in various capacities with 
numerous Jewish organizations, both locally in 
Detroit and nationally. She is the JDC Ralph I 
Goldman Fellow in Global Jewish Leadership for 
2019. This essay was first published at 
ejewishphilanthropy.com

essay
A Detroiter’s Journey of Jewish 
Community Explored and Expanded

Jessica Katz

WWW.JKATZCONSULTING.COM/BLOG

of anti-Semitism coming from out-
side.
Yet even though they were wrong 
about an end to anti-Semitism, the 
machers of two decades ago were 
right in turning the discussion to 
how to embrace more Jews who 
acknowledge only a tenuous con-
nection to Judaism. That was the 
original thought behind Birthright 
Israel. 
Today, as I interview people 
whose connection to Judaism is 
strengthened through the rise in 
anti-Semitism, it is still the case 
that many are unaffiliated with 
synagogues. Twenty years ago, they 
would have been counted as lost to 
Judaism — and these “cultural Jews” 
are still not counted in many official 
surveys or in institutional decisions. 
I was an odd choice for manag-
ing editor of JTA. I knew very little 
about the organized Jewish world, 
having grown up primarily in small 
communities, often one of only a 
handful of Jews in town. The way 
I practice Judaism is very personal 
and not at all communal. The pub-
lisher at the time hired me for my 
news judgment first, connection to 
Judaism second. I guess you could 
say that I was JTA
’
s own private 
Birthright experiment. 
After the breakdown of talks 
between Ehud Barak and Yasser 
Arafat and the beginning of the sec-
ond intifada, I left JTA, moved back 
to Michigan and pivoted my career 
to cover science and technology. 
Sixteen years later, I began writing 
about Jewish issues again after I 
noticed more swastikas in my social 
media timeline following a decade 
and a half of being relatively swasti-
ka-free. 
I never wanted anti-Semitism 
to define the way I write about 
Judaism. But the rise in anti-Semi-
tism can perhaps help us see clearer 
than we did 20 years ago. We can 
see who is with us and who is not. 
Jews are standing up to be counted. 
I would be more optimistic for the 
future if we found a way to embrace 
them. ■

Howard Lovy is a freelance writer based in 
Traverse City. He is the former managing 
editor of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and 
served as a writer and copy editor for the 
Detroit Jewish News. 

A shabbat gathering led 
by Jewish young adults in 
Riga, Latvia, one of the many 
locations where Jewish life 
is being reimagined by the 
rising generation.

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