14 | JUNE 18 • 2020
W
hen Jessica Katz
was in Mumbai,
India, about halfway
through her yearlong fellowship,
she broke down crying in a
Starbucks.
Katz had arrived in the city
early in the morning after a
layover in Uzbekistan, and
the streets of Mumbai were
already hot, humid and crowd-
ed when she stepped out of
the airport. She was there as
part of her extended jet-setting
with the Jewish humanitarian
organization Joint Distribution
Committee, which provides aid
in more than 70 countries and
has a focus on building the next
generation of Jewish leaders.
JDC’s Entwine initiative for
young adults had chosen Katz as
their annual Ralph I. Goldman
Fellow to help strengthen
Judaism around the globe.
Katz called Mumbai “sensory
overload” — it was unlike any
place she’
d ever been. After a
stressful cab ride with her
suitcase thrown — untethered
— onto the roof of the car, she
arrived at the hostel with broken
air conditioning and realized she
couldn’t check in yet.
That’s when she started spi-
raling. Just find a Starbucks,
she told herself. There’s always
WiFi and air conditioning at
Starbucks.
She was able to find a location
just a few blocks away, but when
she got there, she couldn’t get
onto the internet.
“I couldn't even help the
tears,
” Katz said.
She’
d been traveling by herself
for so long and she was exhaust-
ed — tired of all the decisions
she had to make each day
and tired of having to look up
directions every time she went
to a new building and tired of
not being able to communicate
easily. But in that Starbucks in
Mumbai, she took a deep breath.
It was Friday, and she decided
she still wanted to go to services
that evening.
Mumbai’s Knesset Eliyahoo
synagogue, Katz said, was beau-
tiful. The historic Orthodox
Sephardic congregation’s build-
ing dates back to the 1800s,
and it was sandwiched between
stores and restaurants, making it
even more majestic. But the real
magic of the place came when
Katz walked inside. Outside, the
city was as busy as ever. Inside
the synagogue, it was quiet. It
was Shabbat.
“
All I heard was the rabbi
singing,
” Katz said.
She stayed for services,
enjoyed a Shabbat dinner with
the small congregation, and then
a community leader walked her
back to her hostel.
“I had those moments that
were really hard,
” she said. “But
… look at what I’m doing and
Jessica Katz served as the JDC
Entwine Ralph I. Goldman Fellow
for 2019.
MAYA GOLDMAN
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Jews in the D
Journey
A prestigious fellowship sent a Royal Oak
resident to Jewish communities around the world.
Jessica’s
GLENN TRIEST/JEWISH NEWS
atz served as the JDC
lph I. Goldman Fellow
for 2019.
Budapest