January 31, 2024 • 31 mins
In a compelling narrative that interweaves personal history with the universal quest for belonging, Jessica Politis's story unfolds as a testament to the human spirit's resilience and the power of community support. As a cherished member of the Rodeph Sholom community, Jessica recounts her family's migration from the Soviet Union to New York, offering listeners a portrait of liberty, the pursuit of dreams, and the embrace of heritage. The podcast episode dives deep into Jessica's experiences, reflecting on the contrasts between oppression and freedom, and how the warmth of the Jewish community in New York provided a welcoming haven for her family.
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Rabbi Ben Spratt (00:04):
The human story is the search for
belonging.
From childhood to adulthood, injoy and in struggle, we all sit
in questions of how to makesense of it all.
What is our place?
Why are we here?
What is our story of searching?
Join us in conversation withcommunity members each sharing
some of their own story.
(00:26):
I am Ben Spratt and this isbelonging, so I am overjoyed
today to get to be sitting witha fellow member of Rodeph Sholom
community.
Jessica Politis has been amember of Congregation Rodeph
Sholom since 2016, and she'smarried to David, who has been a
(00:49):
member of Congregation RodephSholom since since 1984.
Together, they have two boysNoah is in the third grade at
Rodeph Sholom School and Sammyis in the first grade at Rodeph
Sholom School.
Jessica started her career as alitigator, but now doesn't
practice law and instead makesfine jewelry by hand.
So, jessica, it is a joy to bewith you and grateful that we
(01:11):
get to have a conversation wherewe bring a bit of your journey
forward.
So I'd love to hear and haveall of us get to bear witness to
a bit of your own search forbelonging.
Tell us about it.
Jessica Politis (01:23):
Thank you so much for having me, rabbi.
Yeah, when you told me thetopic is belonging, you kind of
have to think about what thatmeans, because I feel like a lot
of people kind of just gothrough it and they belong to
some things and it does takesome thought to analyze the
topic.
So you clearly think aboutbelonging, as you named your
(01:45):
podcast, belonging.
How do you think of belongingin the community and what's your
take on it?
Rabbi Ben Spratt (01:52):
Great question .
So I think what inspired thisactually was many of the
conversations over COVID, as Igot to hear.
So many people feel like many ofthe threads of relationship and
even places of belonging thatgave them a sense of anchor were
ripped away and in that therewas such a sense of dislocation,
(02:14):
a sense of alienation, ofisolation, of loneliness, and in
many ways it pointed to maybesome of the weakness of some of
the narratives, some of thestories, some of the threads
that we held as to what gives usdefinition.
And so the podcast was really anemergence out of trying to say
how do we take a world wherethere's so much fracture, so
(02:36):
much division, so muchloneliness, so much isolation,
and how do we actually open upsome new doors of belonging that
can help people start to seethat sometimes it's through
finding a better story, and whenI think about the people who
inspire me in my life, it'sbecause they shared something of
themselves that made me feellike my own experience, my own
feeling, my own sense was inthat container, and that is
(02:59):
really, I think, some of what Ifeel like I'm trying to do as a
rabbi, as I'm trying to bumparound as a fellow parent and
human in this world, and whatI'm hoping we get to do through
this podcast is, by opening alittle window into your story,
that all of a sudden we'vewidened the container of Rodeph
Sholom.
We've helped people see thattheir own threads might be woven
(03:20):
into this larger tapestry.
Jessica Politis (03:22):
I love that.
When I thought about belonging,it definitely goes back to my
parents and my grandparents.
All four of my grandparentswere born in Ukraine and they
lived there.
Because of the paleocellumentthey couldn't live in most of
the Soviet Union.
They had to live in just aportion of the Western Soviet
(03:42):
Union.
After the Holocaust, mygrandparents moved to the
suburbs of Moscow where myparents met.
They've told me these storiesthat are just unimaginable.
So when, right when they gotmarried, they had applied for
political refugee to come to NewYork and they won the lottery
(04:05):
and they got it and they came toAmerica because they wanted to
live in freedom freedom from theoppression of the Soviet regime
and freedom to practice Judaism.
That was a big part of mychildhood, hearing about where
they came from, because I wasjust born a couple of years
after they arrived here.
(04:25):
So, belonging the first thing Ireally think of is that my
parents didn't belong in Russiaand they came here and
immediately they found belonging.
The Jewish community helped getthem here.
They paid for their firstapartments and they wouldn't
(04:47):
have been able to come toAmerica and leave Russia without
the help of the New York Jewishcommunities.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (04:54):
So, going back to childhood, do you remember
them telling you stories abouttheir own past?
I mean, were there particularexperiences they wanted you to
have in your childhood thathelped raise your awareness
about where they'd come from?
Jessica Politis (05:08):
Yeah, there were the little stories about,
you know, the small act ofanti-Semitism.
But on a larger sense, myfather applied.
He really wanted to be a doctor.
He applied to med school, Ibelieve, three times, and he was
rejected three times becauseJews didn't get into med school.
(05:29):
And then he tutored hundreds ofkids to get into med school and
he became a really successfultutor.
But you couldn't pursue thecareers you wanted.
You couldn't live the life thatyou wanted.
You really were limited.
I guess that was in the 70s inRussia.
When I think about belonging,the freedoms that we have here,
(05:52):
everyone belongs and everyonehas an opportunity to belong and
you have the freedom to dowhatever you want, pursue any
career you want.
You know, rodev Shalom hasparties in the street and nobody
thinks twice about it.
The fact that you could just,you know, celebrate Purim in the
street, celebrate Chanukah inthe street.
New York is a really, reallysuch a great place to live and a
(06:15):
lot of people say that there isanti-semitism in New York, but
when you compare it to what myparents went through, what my
grandparents went through, youjust count your blessings.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (06:26):
So well said and sometimes it's so hard to
look in the context of othereras and certainly other
geographies, and the kinds oflimitations, restrictions on
every level of life, not justreligious expression, as you're
talking about, but also career,Also even the people you can be
in relationship with andfriendship with.
And I'm curious for you growingup, did you feel like your
(06:49):
family story made you differentin any way?
Jessica Politis (06:53):
Where I went to school in New Jersey there
weren't a lot of Russianfamilies.
My first language was Russian.
So, yeah, definitely I brought,you know, caviar sandwiches to
school and other kids made funof me and I loved it.
My family story in terms ofJudaism, I mean my parents
(07:14):
enrolled me in a modern orthodoxschool from pre-K.
Well, first I went to SalmonShack and then I went to Kushner
, which was modern orthodox, andthen all the way through high
school to Frisch.
So I think that not being ableto practice Judaism as children,
not being able to study Torahand not being able to learn
(07:37):
Hebrew you know, I learnedHebrew in first grade and I
would come home and teach myparents the alif bed and the
basic.
They didn't have an opportunityto learn Hebrew as kids and I
think we kind of did it as afamily and then quickly, you
know, my brother and I wesurpassed their Hebrew very,
very quickly, but they try, anddefinitely my parents instilled
(08:00):
in us a strong sense of Judaismbecause they couldn't have that.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (08:06):
And so, with that kind of religious education
growing up, how do you thinkthat changed the arc of your own
life?
How do you think that yourparents' decision to put you
into that kind of immersiveJewish experience evolved even
the way that your story wouldunfold?
Jessica Politis (08:24):
Well, judaism is such a fundamental part of
who I am, I think that I liveJewish values.
It's just a part of me.
I don't know what my storywould be without it.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (08:35):
Beautiful.
So for them growing up in anenvironment where they couldn't
necessarily access thatJewishness, coming to America
wanting to ensure you could havesome of the blessings that they
themselves didn't grow up with,that kind of like power dynamic
inversion is really interesting.
You know that in many ways itwas you being on the frontier of
discovering and learningJudaism and figuring out how to
(08:56):
transmit it at home, and I'mcurious for you and the dynamic
with your parents.
So did they ask?
Jessica Politis (09:03):
for that?
Rabbi Ben Spratt (09:04):
Or did you just naturally find yourself
wanting to share with them whatyou were loving from school?
Jessica Politis (09:10):
Yeah, that's so interesting.
There was definitely a littlebit more gravity to it, I think,
maybe importance compared to myclassmates because you know a
lot of their parents had grownup with this and it was kind of
like in their family already,where my brother and I did.
We came home and we taught ourparents what we had learned
(09:31):
because they didn't know it.
So it was a different dynamicwhere we were students but we
were also teaching our parents.
It felt important and it feltlike something my parents wanted
to learn and they did.
They observed the holidays andwe took equal parts, you know,
with our parents, in leadingthem, in leading the Seder.
(09:54):
And then my parents startedhosting these massive Russian
Saders for 50 people each night,50 Russian people, you know,
immigrants that came over in 89,everyone started coming and we
would host these.
We would put up these long,long tables and have 100 people
in our home over the two nights.
And, yeah, my brother and Iwould help lead and you know
(10:19):
there's five of us.
The little ones were little.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (10:22):
So you know, thinking about that experience
and your parents not onlyopening your home to so many
others you know who had asimilar story of what it was to
come from Russia and try to findtheir own way and forge a new
path here, as you now mapforward into today and you get
to see the war between Ukraineand Russia, you know these
(10:46):
thread through two differentelements of your own family
story and identity.
So how do you find yourselftoday kind of sitting in the
nexus of that, especially now,also as an American?
Jessica Politis (10:57):
Yeah, yeah.
When that war broke out, whenPutin invaded Ukraine last year,
I felt for the first time in myadult life such a strong
emotional reaction.
I felt like I had to dosomething.
I didn't know what I was goingto do.
I didn't know what to do.
(11:17):
Nobody knew what to do.
You know what are you supposedto do.
But I felt moved to action.
We mobilized immediately whenthe war broke out.
Within a week we were alreadyreaching out to the Rodaev
community asking forhumanitarian supplies.
We were collecting medicine andtampons and so so much.
(11:42):
The community was so amazingand came out and we were able to
send over five tons ofhumanitarian aid, ten thousand
pounds.
That got into Ukraine and wasdistributed before the large
NGOs were able to get in and tohelp.
That was really incredible andI'm so grateful that the
(12:05):
community came out so stronglyand there were so many
volunteers and everyone justwanted to do something.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (12:14):
So, if you can remember back to those first
days, those first weeks, whatwas it from within yourself that
propelled you into action?
Jessica Politis (12:24):
I felt like those American Jews that helped
bring my parents over aspolitical refugees.
I felt that I'm in a positionto give.
I must give.
It wasn't even a choice for me.
I wish I knew what to do at thetime.
Of course, you do your best andyou figure it out, but I really
felt the need to help thosepeople.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (12:46):
Going back to the very beginning in Judaism.
The most repeated injunction inthe Hebrew Bible and the Tanakh
is to remember that you wereonce strangers, remember what it
was to stand on the margins ofsociety.
And you look across the arc ofJewish history and again and
again there's that experience ofwhat it is to stand on the
margins, only to then haveanother generation find more of
(13:08):
a feeling of belonging and onlythen to have again that pendulum
swing back to the sense ofmarginalization.
And it's so easy to come to aplace of comfort, to find, you
know, in some ways the almostthe curse that comes with the
blessing of belonging is thefeeling like that's no longer my
story and that sometimes withour belonging comes this vested
(13:30):
interest of well, everythinghere is good, I like what I've
finally come to, and it's almost.
How do we hold on to thatnarrative of remembering what it
was to be on the fringes, to bethe one persecuted, to be the
one whose life hung in thebalance, to wonder does the
world stage actually care aboutme?
And I find that so remarkablethat you were able to hold that,
(13:52):
you know, hold what is to bewith David growing an amazing,
fantastic family here in NewYork and also know that part of
your identity threads even incomplicated ways, both to Russia
and to Ukraine, and to feellike you need that narrative to
come forward in action.
So I'm curious how did youcommunicate that to Noah and
(14:15):
Sammy as a parent?
How did you convey all of thesedifferent threads of what's
bringing you to action?
Jessica Politis (14:23):
I think my parenting style is to tell them
in a very mature, very clear,very direct way what's happening
.
I don't really treat them likechildren when I talk to them.
I like to tell them for realwhat's happening.
So from the beginning Iexplained to them what was
happening that Putin invadedUkraine and nobody's stopping
(14:44):
him and we have to help.
And there are people andchildren and families that don't
have access to their albuterolinhalers.
In April of last year we weregiven a whole big warehouse
space on 80th and Broadwaythanks to a Rode family.
(15:05):
That was really so nice and Itook the kids there and they
helped pack the boxes and theysat there waiting for FedEx to
come up, pick up 60 boxes atlike 8 pm and I for sure from
the beginning, explained to themwhat was happening and told
them that they have to help too.
They could help.
(15:25):
So they did and in their smallway they supported me and they
did what they could.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (15:32):
I think about the tool that that gives them
almost the seed that you plantedfor them is they are invariably
going to walk through theirlives seeing a world that
sometimes comes apart and to seeinjustices and needs bloom and
in some ways, to feel like theirown blessings of belonging
comes with responsibility tofigure out how to bestow those
(15:55):
blessings to others, and it's anamazing response.
I mean, you were talking aboutthe helplessness many people
felt after the outbreak of thewar and part of what you did
with others was shape a pathwayto activate people.
One amazing tool to give to thekids is they grow up to feel
like maybe in the moments whenwe feel most helpless is the
time when we most need toactivate.
Again, going back to this ideaof the sometimes entwining of
(16:21):
blessing and curse or challengeis, if we go back in prior
generations, at times thetransmission of Judaism felt
like an obligation, whenJudaism's fate felt like it hung
in the balance.
And one of the blessings is, asyou were noting, living in an
age where, even if there isrising anti-Semitism, still it's
relatively easy, at least inthe context of New York, to live
(16:44):
out of Judaism to the pointwhere many don't necessarily
feel this obligation that has tobe passed on to the next
generation.
It just is, it's in the air,it's in the ethos, and how then
remarkable it is to then take up.
The challenge is, how do we makepeople fall in love with
Judaism, to want it which ismaybe a question that prior
generations never had to dealwith before and for you and
(17:07):
David to be able to kind of lookat your own Jewish backgrounds
and what are the things thatworked and what are the things
that didn't, and how do youforge that?
And so I'm curious if you gotany advice for fellow parents
like myself who are looking atour children, wanting to place
seeds of identity maybeJewishness, maybe what is to be
an American or a thousand otherforms of identity?
(17:28):
How do you do it?
How do you and David do it?
Jessica Politis (17:33):
I think Rodeph does a really good job.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (17:37):
So outsourcing is the secret?
Okay, yeah.
Jessica Politis (17:40):
David grew up in the same building we live now
on the Upper West Side and hewent to Rodeph from, I believe,
the twos all the way throughuntil sixth grade, which is as
far as it went back.
Then he told me that he lovedschool and that he never wanted
to miss a day of school and Itold him I don't believe you.
(18:03):
So it was kind of like I wantmy kids to have his experience
and I wasn't sure how I wouldfeel about the reform Judaism
and I'm telling you honestly Ilove it so much.
I feel that congregation Rodaof Shalom, Rodeph Sholom School,
(18:27):
they teach Judaism with so muchlove.
I wish I could make this up.
But Sammy, in first grade hesaid that his favorite subject
is Jewish studies and that fillsmy heart up.
You know, I'm that RodephSholom to say that School hasn't
changed in the last 30 yearsand my kids never want to skip
(18:47):
school.
They love going to school andwe do Shabbat at home and the
boys do the brachot.
And David's parents live inIsrael now and we have been to
Israel so many times, so lucky,and every time we go we make
sure to take the boys to thehotel, to the wall and put their
(19:09):
wishes and just know that theybelong there.
And even if we don't live there, that Jerusalem is very
important to us and all ofIsrael.
And being able to go to Israeland having a Jewish homeland is
so important to our family,david's family, my family, to
our family, to the kids, andhaving a really strong sense of
(19:33):
love of Israel and Zionism, Ithink really grounds their
Jewish identity too.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (19:40):
What an amazing answer and, I think,
such an amazing connection toyour parents' legacy.
I think about taking some ofthe narrative that you've lifted
about your parents findingbelonging immediately once
immigrating here to America.
That belonging was tied tofreedom for them, the ability to
be the people they wanted to beand maybe, despite barriers
(20:04):
that they encountered, to beable to feel like the freedom
and flexibility afforded thechance for them to grow in ways
they never could before.
And then what it is for you andDavid to look at your own
children and feel like part ofbelonging is being given the
experiences that can connect youto something larger.
And for you and David nowthinking about, well, what are
(20:26):
the opportunities we need togive to the kids?
What are the ways that certainplaces can echo forward with the
sense that you belong here?
This is a part of your story, soyou know, if you're willing,
I'm going to have us also nowtake another thread and we'll
come back to this in a secondhere.
So, if we can, I would love tohear the story of how someone
(20:48):
goes from being a litigator togetting into a high-end jewelry
and to think about for yourself.
Maybe they channel the verysame elements of your psyche.
But I'd love to hear some ofthat arc of what drew you into
law and then what took youbeyond law.
Jessica Politis (21:07):
Yeah, it's been about eight years since I
stopped practicing completelyand I'm so happy.
I never really had my heart init and right before COVID I felt
that I needed a creative outletand I used to paint a lot and
draw a lot.
And actually my in-laws inIsrael gave me a necklace that
(21:33):
was made by a brother and sisterin Yaffo in the old city, and
they gave me this beautifulnecklace and asked if I want to
go meet the jewelers that madeit.
It was a brother and sisterthat had it was their second
career making this gorgeousjewelry by hand.
She was in fashion and he wasin industrial design and I asked
(21:57):
them how did you figure outthey had a studio with so much
equipment and how did you do it?
And they said, well, we justdid it and a light bulb went on
that you could do it.
I could do that too.
So I went back to New York andimmediately enrolled in this
little studio in midtown with ateacher and I love it.
(22:19):
I run there.
I'm so happy to go there to thestudio and to make beautiful
jewelry by hand and I can makewhatever I want.
You know I wear my wedding andengagement ring, but other than
that.
Pretty much I just wear onlythings that I make and I give
them to my family and friendsand they love it.
The first ring that I made, thevery first piece of jewelry
(22:43):
that I made by hand, I made formy grandma.
She's 95 and she wears it and Ilove seeing it on her.
It makes me really happy everytime I see it.
I think one day, one day, I'mgonna have a line, but for now
I'm just loving making it.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (23:00):
You know, almost 30 years ago, I walked
into what was then a very, verytiny little jewelry shop in
Jerusalem, and it was a jewelryshop called Hadaya, which now
has become a very well-knowninternational brand.
But at the time it was justthis one guy, a tiny little
jewelry shop, and he was knownas being a person who would
(23:21):
always tell you a story if youwent in and bought a piece of
jewelry and I still wear thering now.
You know it's a ring that saysGamze Yavor.
This, too shall pass, and youknow there's a famous story
about King Solomon in it.
But I remember distinctlyasking him how he got into being
a jeweler, and one of thethings that he spoke about was
(23:42):
the way in which it anchored him, not only in a sense that he
could create in the world, but away that he could help see
people and connect with people.
Again, thinking about the seedplanting we do as parents and
our children is, you know, forNoah and Sammy to grow up,
getting to see you putting realtime and dedication into a
passion, and that you've had tolearn, as an adult, new skills.
(24:05):
I think about.
You know how many kids grow upin homes where their parents
already did the learning at aprior chapter of life, and now
it's mostly, you know, a rinseand repeat, which, for some
people, that's what their careerfeels like.
What is it for them to grow upseeing?
Oh wait, oh, maybe that's whatit means to be a parent is that
we keep learning over and overagain.
Jessica Politis (24:27):
Right.
I think, definitely as a parent, as a human, you never stop
learning.
But it also actually taught methat the kids should do as a
career whatever really bringsthem passion, and I know
everyone's heard that a milliontimes.
But now I actually can feelthat you should really do what
pulls you.
I'm not gonna tell them whatthey should be or what they
(24:50):
should study.
I really want them to find whatbrings them joy.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (24:56):
Makes me think about, you know, legacy.
You know, and thinking aboutsome of the story that you carry
in your family and even some ofwhat you and David are shaping
together.
You know, with your family,with Noah and Sammy.
You know what are the thingsthat we do with our days that
last beyond us and what are theways where our personal spark
(25:18):
actually feels needed andnecessary in the world.
You know and I'm curious youclearly have been willing in
your life to not just fall intothat trap.
You know that you've beenwilling to and a number of
different fronts be willing tostep up and say I actually have
something, there's somethingthat I can do or that I must do.
I'm wondering if you have anyother areas where you see that
(25:40):
coming out in you, because noteveryone does that, jessica.
Not everyone responds to aworld event and says I need to
roll up my sleeves and dosomething about it.
Not everyone feels like youknow there's something missing
in my life.
I want to go and take on a newpassion and bring that forward
in a way where I can createsomething wondrous and beautiful
.
Jessica Politis (25:58):
I think that I'm really lucky to be able to
follow my passions.
I'm super grateful every daythat I don't have to be a lawyer
and that I have the time andthat I have the ability, if I
want to, you know, startfundraising, that I could do
that and start helping peoplefor a humanitarian crisis.
(26:21):
I feel so lucky that I havethat flexibility and ability.
I mean, tomorrow I'm bringing10 laptops to a charter school
in Brooklyn that took in 120kids from Ukraine in the last
year and it wasn't too difficultto kind of scrounge up some
(26:42):
laptops and these kids need them.
So I feel blessed for theability to be able to help
people when I can.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (26:52):
So if you were going to imagine, 20 years from
now, noah and Sammy sittingdown in the question of where do
they belong and how do theybelong, you could wave a magic
wand.
What would you want them to befeeling?
How would you want them toexperience belonging decades
from now?
Jessica Politis (27:11):
For 20 years from now.
How old will they be?
Marriage age, right, I mean?
Rabbi Ben Spratt (27:17):
yeah, probably about 30 years, yeah, about 30.
Jessica Politis (27:21):
I hope that they will be living a life that
they feel happy to do whateverthey're doing every day, and
maybe they'll have some kids andthat they'll instill in them
that kind of identity, theJewish identity, and doing what
they can to be good people, tobe good, kind people.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (27:43):
I think the idea of how do we help our
children feel proud of who theyare, feel like they have the
tools, the values that can guidethem, especially in the moments
that are most difficult.
Again, I think about the storythat your parents have passed
down to you, yeah, and the wayin which that also gave you a
feeling of purpose.
And I'm curious, when you thinkabout the narratives that you
(28:07):
and David are passing on to Noahand Sammy, what do you think is
some of the purpose they feel?
Jessica Politis (28:13):
Yeah, this is something David and I talk about
a lot, raising kids inManhattan.
It's really hard to keep itreal and it's something that I
think parents raising kids inManhattan have to make a
concerted effort to teach theirchildren to give back, to teach
(28:37):
their children to help peoplethat are less fortunate and even
just so that they know howfortunate that they are.
I think that that has to be areal effort on the part of the
parents.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (28:50):
And again, I think that goes back to this
idea that we're supposed to tellthe story of the Exodus.
You know, over and over thatwere, you know, obligated as
parents to pass this fromgeneration to generation.
This idea that the stories wechoose to tell actually shape
our feeling of where we belongand what it is to be, a part of
(29:11):
a sense of peoplehood oridentity where, ultimately, our
place of belonging is at themargins.
It's a very odd inversion.
You know, most of us are tryingto do all we can to run away
from being on the margins, runaway from that feeling of being
other.
And yet there's somethingindelibly entwined with kind of
the Jewish psyche from thebeginning that that's actually
(29:31):
where we're supposed to belong,that in many ways, when we find
that place of comfort, what dowe have to do to propel
ourselves to walk out, to standwith those who stand on the
margins?
And you know you and David aremodeling that and imagining, you
know, what gets planted forNoah and Sammy is they're, you
know, helping to.
You know, pack up, you know,these FedEx packages at 8 pm, at
(29:52):
night, and imagine what doesthat say to them when they see
an issue in the world, ratherthan, oh well, everything's good
on my end, you know, to be ableto feel like that's the call to
action, that that's ultimatelywhere I belong.
It's remarkable.
So I want to offer gratitude.
It is not an easy thing tosimply sit down, dive into the
kinds of conversations thataren't naturally necessarily
(30:13):
bubbling up.
But I want to offer gratitudebecause I think, in looking at
how can family story, how canpersonal story, how can the
story of our next generationrising up, how can the story of
career all weave together, howcan the story of New York both
herald something wonderfully newand also something that feels
very familiar as we go back toprior generations?
(30:34):
I think it gives an open doorfor so many people as they think
about how their own storymatters, how others can feel
needed and necessary.
And I know for myself and myown search for belonging, it's
often to figure out how does myparticular take on this, how
does my particular refraction ofthese human stories actually
play into something else?
And I want to offer justgratitude because for me
(30:56):
personally, I feel like you justgave me some wonderful tools
for me as a parent and to thinkabout.
You know, what are those seedsthat I'm planting, and how can I
make sure that it's not justhappiness but also feeling a
purpose that I really aminspiring in?
Jessica Politis (31:09):
Thank you, Rabbi, and thank you for the
opportunity to share.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (31:15):
Thank you for joining us and listening to this
story of belonging.
Stay connected with us onFacebook and Instagram.
You can find me on Twitter atBenHSpread.
For more information about CRS,visit us online at
rodofscholomorg.
The human story is the search for
belonging.
From childhood to adulthood, injoy and in struggle, we all sit
in questions of how to makesense of it all.
What is our place?
Why are we here?
What is our story of searching?
Join us in conversation withcommunity members each sharing
some of their own story.
(00:26):
I am Ben Spratt and this isbelonging, so I am overjoyed
today to get to be sitting witha fellow member of Rodeph Sholom
community.
Jessica Politis has been amember of Congregation Rodeph
Sholom since 2016, and she'smarried to David, who has been a
(00:49):
member of Congregation RodephSholom since since 1984.
Together, they have two boysNoah is in the third grade at
Rodeph Sholom School and Sammyis in the first grade at Rodeph
Sholom School.
Jessica started her career as alitigator, but now doesn't
practice law and instead makesfine jewelry by hand.
So, jessica, it is a joy to bewith you and grateful that we
(01:11):
get to have a conversation wherewe bring a bit of your journey
forward.
So I'd love to hear and haveall of us get to bear witness to
a bit of your own search forbelonging.
Tell us about it.
Jessica Politis (01:23):
Thank you so much for having me, rabbi.
Yeah, when you told me thetopic is belonging, you kind of
have to think about what thatmeans, because I feel like a lot
of people kind of just gothrough it and they belong to
some things and it does takesome thought to analyze the
topic.
So you clearly think aboutbelonging, as you named your
(01:45):
podcast, belonging.
How do you think of belongingin the community and what's your
take on it?
Rabbi Ben Spratt (01:52):
Great question .
So I think what inspired thisactually was many of the
conversations over COVID, as Igot to hear.
So many people feel like many ofthe threads of relationship and
even places of belonging thatgave them a sense of anchor were
ripped away and in that therewas such a sense of dislocation,
(02:14):
a sense of alienation, ofisolation, of loneliness, and in
many ways it pointed to maybesome of the weakness of some of
the narratives, some of thestories, some of the threads
that we held as to what gives usdefinition.
And so the podcast was really anemergence out of trying to say
how do we take a world wherethere's so much fracture, so
(02:36):
much division, so muchloneliness, so much isolation,
and how do we actually open upsome new doors of belonging that
can help people start to seethat sometimes it's through
finding a better story, and whenI think about the people who
inspire me in my life, it'sbecause they shared something of
themselves that made me feellike my own experience, my own
feeling, my own sense was inthat container, and that is
(02:59):
really, I think, some of what Ifeel like I'm trying to do as a
rabbi, as I'm trying to bumparound as a fellow parent and
human in this world, and whatI'm hoping we get to do through
this podcast is, by opening alittle window into your story,
that all of a sudden we'vewidened the container of Rodeph
Sholom.
We've helped people see thattheir own threads might be woven
(03:20):
into this larger tapestry.
Jessica Politis (03:22):
I love that.
When I thought about belonging,it definitely goes back to my
parents and my grandparents.
All four of my grandparentswere born in Ukraine and they
lived there.
Because of the paleocellumentthey couldn't live in most of
the Soviet Union.
They had to live in just aportion of the Western Soviet
(03:42):
Union.
After the Holocaust, mygrandparents moved to the
suburbs of Moscow where myparents met.
They've told me these storiesthat are just unimaginable.
So when, right when they gotmarried, they had applied for
political refugee to come to NewYork and they won the lottery
(04:05):
and they got it and they came toAmerica because they wanted to
live in freedom freedom from theoppression of the Soviet regime
and freedom to practice Judaism.
That was a big part of mychildhood, hearing about where
they came from, because I wasjust born a couple of years
after they arrived here.
(04:25):
So, belonging the first thing Ireally think of is that my
parents didn't belong in Russiaand they came here and
immediately they found belonging.
The Jewish community helped getthem here.
They paid for their firstapartments and they wouldn't
(04:47):
have been able to come toAmerica and leave Russia without
the help of the New York Jewishcommunities.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (04:54):
So, going back to childhood, do you remember
them telling you stories abouttheir own past?
I mean, were there particularexperiences they wanted you to
have in your childhood thathelped raise your awareness
about where they'd come from?
Jessica Politis (05:08):
Yeah, there were the little stories about,
you know, the small act ofanti-Semitism.
But on a larger sense, myfather applied.
He really wanted to be a doctor.
He applied to med school, Ibelieve, three times, and he was
rejected three times becauseJews didn't get into med school.
(05:29):
And then he tutored hundreds ofkids to get into med school and
he became a really successfultutor.
But you couldn't pursue thecareers you wanted.
You couldn't live the life thatyou wanted.
You really were limited.
I guess that was in the 70s inRussia.
When I think about belonging,the freedoms that we have here,
(05:52):
everyone belongs and everyonehas an opportunity to belong and
you have the freedom to dowhatever you want, pursue any
career you want.
You know, rodev Shalom hasparties in the street and nobody
thinks twice about it.
The fact that you could just,you know, celebrate Purim in the
street, celebrate Chanukah inthe street.
New York is a really, reallysuch a great place to live and a
(06:15):
lot of people say that there isanti-semitism in New York, but
when you compare it to what myparents went through, what my
grandparents went through, youjust count your blessings.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (06:26):
So well said and sometimes it's so hard to
look in the context of othereras and certainly other
geographies, and the kinds oflimitations, restrictions on
every level of life, not justreligious expression, as you're
talking about, but also career,Also even the people you can be
in relationship with andfriendship with.
And I'm curious for you growingup, did you feel like your
(06:49):
family story made you differentin any way?
Jessica Politis (06:53):
Where I went to school in New Jersey there
weren't a lot of Russianfamilies.
My first language was Russian.
So, yeah, definitely I brought,you know, caviar sandwiches to
school and other kids made funof me and I loved it.
My family story in terms ofJudaism, I mean my parents
(07:14):
enrolled me in a modern orthodoxschool from pre-K.
Well, first I went to SalmonShack and then I went to Kushner
, which was modern orthodox, andthen all the way through high
school to Frisch.
So I think that not being ableto practice Judaism as children,
not being able to study Torahand not being able to learn
(07:37):
Hebrew you know, I learnedHebrew in first grade and I
would come home and teach myparents the alif bed and the
basic.
They didn't have an opportunityto learn Hebrew as kids and I
think we kind of did it as afamily and then quickly, you
know, my brother and I wesurpassed their Hebrew very,
very quickly, but they try, anddefinitely my parents instilled
(08:00):
in us a strong sense of Judaismbecause they couldn't have that.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (08:06):
And so, with that kind of religious education
growing up, how do you thinkthat changed the arc of your own
life?
How do you think that yourparents' decision to put you
into that kind of immersiveJewish experience evolved even
the way that your story wouldunfold?
Jessica Politis (08:24):
Well, judaism is such a fundamental part of
who I am, I think that I liveJewish values.
It's just a part of me.
I don't know what my storywould be without it.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (08:35):
Beautiful.
So for them growing up in anenvironment where they couldn't
necessarily access thatJewishness, coming to America
wanting to ensure you could havesome of the blessings that they
themselves didn't grow up with,that kind of like power dynamic
inversion is really interesting.
You know that in many ways itwas you being on the frontier of
discovering and learningJudaism and figuring out how to
(08:56):
transmit it at home, and I'mcurious for you and the dynamic
with your parents.
So did they ask?
Jessica Politis (09:03):
for that?
Rabbi Ben Spratt (09:04):
Or did you just naturally find yourself
wanting to share with them whatyou were loving from school?
Jessica Politis (09:10):
Yeah, that's so interesting.
There was definitely a littlebit more gravity to it, I think,
maybe importance compared to myclassmates because you know a
lot of their parents had grownup with this and it was kind of
like in their family already,where my brother and I did.
We came home and we taught ourparents what we had learned
(09:31):
because they didn't know it.
So it was a different dynamicwhere we were students but we
were also teaching our parents.
It felt important and it feltlike something my parents wanted
to learn and they did.
They observed the holidays andwe took equal parts, you know,
with our parents, in leadingthem, in leading the Seder.
(09:54):
And then my parents startedhosting these massive Russian
Saders for 50 people each night,50 Russian people, you know,
immigrants that came over in 89,everyone started coming and we
would host these.
We would put up these long,long tables and have 100 people
in our home over the two nights.
And, yeah, my brother and Iwould help lead and you know
(10:19):
there's five of us.
The little ones were little.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (10:22):
So you know, thinking about that experience
and your parents not onlyopening your home to so many
others you know who had asimilar story of what it was to
come from Russia and try to findtheir own way and forge a new
path here, as you now mapforward into today and you get
to see the war between Ukraineand Russia, you know these
(10:46):
thread through two differentelements of your own family
story and identity.
So how do you find yourselftoday kind of sitting in the
nexus of that, especially now,also as an American?
Jessica Politis (10:57):
Yeah, yeah.
When that war broke out, whenPutin invaded Ukraine last year,
I felt for the first time in myadult life such a strong
emotional reaction.
I felt like I had to dosomething.
I didn't know what I was goingto do.
I didn't know what to do.
(11:17):
Nobody knew what to do.
You know what are you supposedto do.
But I felt moved to action.
We mobilized immediately whenthe war broke out.
Within a week we were alreadyreaching out to the Rodaev
community asking forhumanitarian supplies.
We were collecting medicine andtampons and so so much.
(11:42):
The community was so amazingand came out and we were able to
send over five tons ofhumanitarian aid, ten thousand
pounds.
That got into Ukraine and wasdistributed before the large
NGOs were able to get in and tohelp.
That was really incredible andI'm so grateful that the
(12:05):
community came out so stronglyand there were so many
volunteers and everyone justwanted to do something.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (12:14):
So, if you can remember back to those first
days, those first weeks, whatwas it from within yourself that
propelled you into action?
Jessica Politis (12:24):
I felt like those American Jews that helped
bring my parents over aspolitical refugees.
I felt that I'm in a positionto give.
I must give.
It wasn't even a choice for me.
I wish I knew what to do at thetime.
Of course, you do your best andyou figure it out, but I really
felt the need to help thosepeople.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (12:46):
Going back to the very beginning in Judaism.
The most repeated injunction inthe Hebrew Bible and the Tanakh
is to remember that you wereonce strangers, remember what it
was to stand on the margins ofsociety.
And you look across the arc ofJewish history and again and
again there's that experience ofwhat it is to stand on the
margins, only to then haveanother generation find more of
(13:08):
a feeling of belonging and onlythen to have again that pendulum
swing back to the sense ofmarginalization.
And it's so easy to come to aplace of comfort, to find, you
know, in some ways the almostthe curse that comes with the
blessing of belonging is thefeeling like that's no longer my
story and that sometimes withour belonging comes this vested
(13:30):
interest of well, everythinghere is good, I like what I've
finally come to, and it's almost.
How do we hold on to thatnarrative of remembering what it
was to be on the fringes, to bethe one persecuted, to be the
one whose life hung in thebalance, to wonder does the
world stage actually care aboutme?
And I find that so remarkablethat you were able to hold that,
(13:52):
you know, hold what is to bewith David growing an amazing,
fantastic family here in NewYork and also know that part of
your identity threads even incomplicated ways, both to Russia
and to Ukraine, and to feellike you need that narrative to
come forward in action.
So I'm curious how did youcommunicate that to Noah and
(14:15):
Sammy as a parent?
How did you convey all of thesedifferent threads of what's
bringing you to action?
Jessica Politis (14:23):
I think my parenting style is to tell them
in a very mature, very clear,very direct way what's happening
.
I don't really treat them likechildren when I talk to them.
I like to tell them for realwhat's happening.
So from the beginning Iexplained to them what was
happening that Putin invadedUkraine and nobody's stopping
(14:44):
him and we have to help.
And there are people andchildren and families that don't
have access to their albuterolinhalers.
In April of last year we weregiven a whole big warehouse
space on 80th and Broadwaythanks to a Rode family.
(15:05):
That was really so nice and Itook the kids there and they
helped pack the boxes and theysat there waiting for FedEx to
come up, pick up 60 boxes atlike 8 pm and I for sure from
the beginning, explained to themwhat was happening and told
them that they have to help too.
They could help.
(15:25):
So they did and in their smallway they supported me and they
did what they could.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (15:32):
I think about the tool that that gives them
almost the seed that you plantedfor them is they are invariably
going to walk through theirlives seeing a world that
sometimes comes apart and to seeinjustices and needs bloom and
in some ways, to feel like theirown blessings of belonging
comes with responsibility tofigure out how to bestow those
(15:55):
blessings to others, and it's anamazing response.
I mean, you were talking aboutthe helplessness many people
felt after the outbreak of thewar and part of what you did
with others was shape a pathwayto activate people.
One amazing tool to give to thekids is they grow up to feel
like maybe in the moments whenwe feel most helpless is the
time when we most need toactivate.
Again, going back to this ideaof the sometimes entwining of
(16:21):
blessing and curse or challengeis, if we go back in prior
generations, at times thetransmission of Judaism felt
like an obligation, whenJudaism's fate felt like it hung
in the balance.
And one of the blessings is, asyou were noting, living in an
age where, even if there isrising anti-Semitism, still it's
relatively easy, at least inthe context of New York, to live
(16:44):
out of Judaism to the pointwhere many don't necessarily
feel this obligation that has tobe passed on to the next
generation.
It just is, it's in the air,it's in the ethos, and how then
remarkable it is to then take up.
The challenge is, how do we makepeople fall in love with
Judaism, to want it which ismaybe a question that prior
generations never had to dealwith before and for you and
(17:07):
David to be able to kind of lookat your own Jewish backgrounds
and what are the things thatworked and what are the things
that didn't, and how do youforge that?
And so I'm curious if you gotany advice for fellow parents
like myself who are looking atour children, wanting to place
seeds of identity maybeJewishness, maybe what is to be
an American or a thousand otherforms of identity?
(17:28):
How do you do it?
How do you and David do it?
Jessica Politis (17:33):
I think Rodeph does a really good job.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (17:37):
So outsourcing is the secret?
Okay, yeah.
Jessica Politis (17:40):
David grew up in the same building we live now
on the Upper West Side and hewent to Rodeph from, I believe,
the twos all the way throughuntil sixth grade, which is as
far as it went back.
Then he told me that he lovedschool and that he never wanted
to miss a day of school and Itold him I don't believe you.
(18:03):
So it was kind of like I wantmy kids to have his experience
and I wasn't sure how I wouldfeel about the reform Judaism
and I'm telling you honestly Ilove it so much.
I feel that congregation Rodaof Shalom, Rodeph Sholom School,
(18:27):
they teach Judaism with so muchlove.
I wish I could make this up.
But Sammy, in first grade hesaid that his favorite subject
is Jewish studies and that fillsmy heart up.
You know, I'm that RodephSholom to say that School hasn't
changed in the last 30 yearsand my kids never want to skip
(18:47):
school.
They love going to school andwe do Shabbat at home and the
boys do the brachot.
And David's parents live inIsrael now and we have been to
Israel so many times, so lucky,and every time we go we make
sure to take the boys to thehotel, to the wall and put their
(19:09):
wishes and just know that theybelong there.
And even if we don't live there, that Jerusalem is very
important to us and all ofIsrael.
And being able to go to Israeland having a Jewish homeland is
so important to our family,david's family, my family, to
our family, to the kids, andhaving a really strong sense of
(19:33):
love of Israel and Zionism, Ithink really grounds their
Jewish identity too.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (19:40):
What an amazing answer and, I think,
such an amazing connection toyour parents' legacy.
I think about taking some ofthe narrative that you've lifted
about your parents findingbelonging immediately once
immigrating here to America.
That belonging was tied tofreedom for them, the ability to
be the people they wanted to beand maybe, despite barriers
(20:04):
that they encountered, to beable to feel like the freedom
and flexibility afforded thechance for them to grow in ways
they never could before.
And then what it is for you andDavid to look at your own
children and feel like part ofbelonging is being given the
experiences that can connect youto something larger.
And for you and David nowthinking about, well, what are
(20:26):
the opportunities we need togive to the kids?
What are the ways that certainplaces can echo forward with the
sense that you belong here?
This is a part of your story, soyou know, if you're willing,
I'm going to have us also nowtake another thread and we'll
come back to this in a secondhere.
So, if we can, I would love tohear the story of how someone
(20:48):
goes from being a litigator togetting into a high-end jewelry
and to think about for yourself.
Maybe they channel the verysame elements of your psyche.
But I'd love to hear some ofthat arc of what drew you into
law and then what took youbeyond law.
Jessica Politis (21:07):
Yeah, it's been about eight years since I
stopped practicing completelyand I'm so happy.
I never really had my heart init and right before COVID I felt
that I needed a creative outletand I used to paint a lot and
draw a lot.
And actually my in-laws inIsrael gave me a necklace that
(21:33):
was made by a brother and sisterin Yaffo in the old city, and
they gave me this beautifulnecklace and asked if I want to
go meet the jewelers that madeit.
It was a brother and sisterthat had it was their second
career making this gorgeousjewelry by hand.
She was in fashion and he wasin industrial design and I asked
(21:57):
them how did you figure outthey had a studio with so much
equipment and how did you do it?
And they said, well, we justdid it and a light bulb went on
that you could do it.
I could do that too.
So I went back to New York andimmediately enrolled in this
little studio in midtown with ateacher and I love it.
(22:19):
I run there.
I'm so happy to go there to thestudio and to make beautiful
jewelry by hand and I can makewhatever I want.
You know I wear my wedding andengagement ring, but other than
that.
Pretty much I just wear onlythings that I make and I give
them to my family and friendsand they love it.
The first ring that I made, thevery first piece of jewelry
(22:43):
that I made by hand, I made formy grandma.
She's 95 and she wears it and Ilove seeing it on her.
It makes me really happy everytime I see it.
I think one day, one day, I'mgonna have a line, but for now
I'm just loving making it.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (23:00):
You know, almost 30 years ago, I walked
into what was then a very, verytiny little jewelry shop in
Jerusalem, and it was a jewelryshop called Hadaya, which now
has become a very well-knowninternational brand.
But at the time it was justthis one guy, a tiny little
jewelry shop, and he was knownas being a person who would
(23:21):
always tell you a story if youwent in and bought a piece of
jewelry and I still wear thering now.
You know it's a ring that saysGamze Yavor.
This, too shall pass, and youknow there's a famous story
about King Solomon in it.
But I remember distinctlyasking him how he got into being
a jeweler, and one of thethings that he spoke about was
(23:42):
the way in which it anchored him, not only in a sense that he
could create in the world, but away that he could help see
people and connect with people.
Again, thinking about the seedplanting we do as parents and
our children is, you know, forNoah and Sammy to grow up,
getting to see you putting realtime and dedication into a
passion, and that you've had tolearn, as an adult, new skills.
(24:05):
I think about.
You know how many kids grow upin homes where their parents
already did the learning at aprior chapter of life, and now
it's mostly, you know, a rinseand repeat, which, for some
people, that's what their careerfeels like.
What is it for them to grow upseeing?
Oh wait, oh, maybe that's whatit means to be a parent is that
we keep learning over and overagain.
Jessica Politis (24:27):
Right.
I think, definitely as a parent, as a human, you never stop
learning.
But it also actually taught methat the kids should do as a
career whatever really bringsthem passion, and I know
everyone's heard that a milliontimes.
But now I actually can feelthat you should really do what
pulls you.
I'm not gonna tell them whatthey should be or what they
(24:50):
should study.
I really want them to find whatbrings them joy.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (24:56):
Makes me think about, you know, legacy.
You know, and thinking aboutsome of the story that you carry
in your family and even some ofwhat you and David are shaping
together.
You know, with your family,with Noah and Sammy.
You know what are the thingsthat we do with our days that
last beyond us and what are theways where our personal spark
(25:18):
actually feels needed andnecessary in the world.
You know and I'm curious youclearly have been willing in
your life to not just fall intothat trap.
You know that you've beenwilling to and a number of
different fronts be willing tostep up and say I actually have
something, there's somethingthat I can do or that I must do.
I'm wondering if you have anyother areas where you see that
(25:40):
coming out in you, because noteveryone does that, jessica.
Not everyone responds to aworld event and says I need to
roll up my sleeves and dosomething about it.
Not everyone feels like youknow there's something missing
in my life.
I want to go and take on a newpassion and bring that forward
in a way where I can createsomething wondrous and beautiful
.
Jessica Politis (25:58):
I think that I'm really lucky to be able to
follow my passions.
I'm super grateful every daythat I don't have to be a lawyer
and that I have the time andthat I have the ability, if I
want to, you know, startfundraising, that I could do
that and start helping peoplefor a humanitarian crisis.
(26:21):
I feel so lucky that I havethat flexibility and ability.
I mean, tomorrow I'm bringing10 laptops to a charter school
in Brooklyn that took in 120kids from Ukraine in the last
year and it wasn't too difficultto kind of scrounge up some
(26:42):
laptops and these kids need them.
So I feel blessed for theability to be able to help
people when I can.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (26:52):
So if you were going to imagine, 20 years from
now, noah and Sammy sittingdown in the question of where do
they belong and how do theybelong, you could wave a magic
wand.
What would you want them to befeeling?
How would you want them toexperience belonging decades
from now?
Jessica Politis (27:11):
For 20 years from now.
How old will they be?
Marriage age, right, I mean?
Rabbi Ben Spratt (27:17):
yeah, probably about 30 years, yeah, about 30.
Jessica Politis (27:21):
I hope that they will be living a life that
they feel happy to do whateverthey're doing every day, and
maybe they'll have some kids andthat they'll instill in them
that kind of identity, theJewish identity, and doing what
they can to be good people, tobe good, kind people.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (27:43):
I think the idea of how do we help our
children feel proud of who theyare, feel like they have the
tools, the values that can guidethem, especially in the moments
that are most difficult.
Again, I think about the storythat your parents have passed
down to you, yeah, and the wayin which that also gave you a
feeling of purpose.
And I'm curious, when you thinkabout the narratives that you
(28:07):
and David are passing on to Noahand Sammy, what do you think is
some of the purpose they feel?
Jessica Politis (28:13):
Yeah, this is something David and I talk about
a lot, raising kids inManhattan.
It's really hard to keep itreal and it's something that I
think parents raising kids inManhattan have to make a
concerted effort to teach theirchildren to give back, to teach
(28:37):
their children to help peoplethat are less fortunate and even
just so that they know howfortunate that they are.
I think that that has to be areal effort on the part of the
parents.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (28:50):
And again, I think that goes back to this
idea that we're supposed to tellthe story of the Exodus.
You know, over and over thatwere, you know, obligated as
parents to pass this fromgeneration to generation.
This idea that the stories wechoose to tell actually shape
our feeling of where we belongand what it is to be, a part of
(29:11):
a sense of peoplehood oridentity where, ultimately, our
place of belonging is at themargins.
It's a very odd inversion.
You know, most of us are tryingto do all we can to run away
from being on the margins, runaway from that feeling of being
other.
And yet there's somethingindelibly entwined with kind of
the Jewish psyche from thebeginning that that's actually
(29:31):
where we're supposed to belong,that in many ways, when we find
that place of comfort, what dowe have to do to propel
ourselves to walk out, to standwith those who stand on the
margins?
And you know you and David aremodeling that and imagining, you
know, what gets planted forNoah and Sammy is they're, you
know, helping to.
You know, pack up, you know,these FedEx packages at 8 pm, at
(29:52):
night, and imagine what doesthat say to them when they see
an issue in the world, ratherthan, oh well, everything's good
on my end, you know, to be ableto feel like that's the call to
action, that that's ultimatelywhere I belong.
It's remarkable.
So I want to offer gratitude.
It is not an easy thing tosimply sit down, dive into the
kinds of conversations thataren't naturally necessarily
(30:13):
bubbling up.
But I want to offer gratitudebecause I think, in looking at
how can family story, how canpersonal story, how can the
story of our next generationrising up, how can the story of
career all weave together, howcan the story of New York both
herald something wonderfully newand also something that feels
very familiar as we go back toprior generations?
(30:34):
I think it gives an open doorfor so many people as they think
about how their own storymatters, how others can feel
needed and necessary.
And I know for myself and myown search for belonging, it's
often to figure out how does myparticular take on this, how
does my particular refraction ofthese human stories actually
play into something else?
And I want to offer justgratitude because for me
(30:56):
personally, I feel like you justgave me some wonderful tools
for me as a parent and to thinkabout.
You know, what are those seedsthat I'm planting, and how can I
make sure that it's not justhappiness but also feeling a
purpose that I really aminspiring in?
Jessica Politis (31:09):
Thank you, Rabbi, and thank you for the
opportunity to share.
Rabbi Ben Spratt (31:15):
Thank you for joining us and listening to this
story of belonging.
Stay connected with us onFacebook and Instagram.
You can find me on Twitter atBenHSpread.
For more information about CRS,visit us online at
rodofscholomorg.
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