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