My Journey
I cannot pinpoint one specific moment that began my journey to the rabbinate; the foundation was laid one brick at a time through my upbringing in a household that valued Jewish connection and community, as well as through our deep involvement in our congregation. I was raised in a tight-knit and small congregation in Virginia, Temple B’nai Shalom, founded by Rabbi Amy Perlin, one of the first woman rabbis. She remains a powerful role model for me as a rabbi and as a Jew and I am grateful to have her not only as my rabbi but as my mentor as well.
One particularly formative experience in my youth was witnessing my father grow in love for Judaism. As a young child, I had watched my father progress along his path toward Judaism—first attending services with us for the sake of family unity, then developing a friendly relationship with our rabbi, and then becoming a devoted adult learner. My father, a theoretical physicist who was raised as an “unenthused Protestant,” found his belief and his spirituality through the intellectual pursuit of Jewish knowledge. When my brother’s Bar Mitzvah appeared on the horizon, my father decided it was time to “make it official” so that he could pass the Torah to my brother on the day of his Bar Mitzvah. On a chilly winter evening when I was 9 years old, in the warmth of the sanctuary, in front of the open ark, my father wore a beautiful tallit given to him by his (Catholic) sister, and he recited the Shema and took my great grandfather’s Hebrew name, tying his lot to the Jewish people. Years later when I was a rabbinic student, I flew home to Virginia and cried tears of joy and pride as I was present for another important milestone in my father’s Jewish journey: his Bar Mitzvah.
As a teenager I was active in my temple youth group, serving on its board and eventually serving as President. My synagogue then enabled me to attend Kutz Camp, the leadership camp of the National Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY). I had never before attended Jewish summer camp, and it opened my eyes and my heart. Previously Jewish community had meant my little family and my little synagogue, and sometimes a bunch of teens getting together for a kallah. Suddenly I understood that Judaism was so much bigger than me, or my family, or my temple community. I was one tiny thread in a much greater fabric that stretched all over the world as well as through time. Judaism, I realized, was about relationship and community and joy.
A few months later, while writing a d’var torah for a youth group board meeting on the story of Noah’s ark, I had my “aha moment” when I realized that I wanted to be a rabbi. I wanted to learn and to teach; I wanted to lead song and prayer; I wanted to be with people at the most challenging and joyous moments in their lives; I wanted to create community; I wanted to foster relationship.
From that moment forward, I was singularly focused on my dream of becoming a rabbi and serving in congregational community. I attended the University of Virginia, where I majored in Jewish Studies. There, my brilliant and menschlich professors who encouraged me to lay a deep and broad foundation for my scholarship. I was very active in Hillel, serving on the board, arranging High Holy Day services, and often leading and songleading in our Reform minyan on Friday evenings and holidays. While at the University of Virginia, I also taught in the Religious School at the local synagogue, Congregation Beth Israel, and in the summers I worked in their day camp. Also during my time at UVA, I was a member of the Blue Notes jazz a cappella group, was deeply involved in interfaith work on campus, and made lifelong friends as a member of Phi Mu sorority.
I met my husband, Scott Segal, as I walked up the steps of Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem for the very first time. During our time at HUC-JIR Jerusalem, I was honored to co-chair the Former Soviet Union Passover Project in 2006, arranging and fundraising for cantorial and rabbinical students to travel to locations throughout the Former Soviet Union to bring supplies, connect with Jewish communities, and lead Passover seders. On campus in Cincinnati, I served on the board of the Rabbinic Student Association, eventually serving as its president. In that role I had the opportunity to represent the students to the administration and Board of Governors of the College-Institute and to serve the campus community creating student supports, social events, and holiday celebrations.
Two weeks after our ordination as rabbis in 2010, Scott and I were married in the sanctuary of my home congregation in Virginia in a beautiful ceremony officiated by my rabbi and a dear rabbi from HUC Cincinnati. Less than two weeks later, I began my position at Temple Jeremiah in Northfield, IL, where I served first as Assistant Rabbi and then as Associate Rabbi. Not was I blessed to lay a beautiful foundation for my rabbinate during the precious seven years I spent at Temple Jeremiah, but during that time I also gave birth to our two children, Samantha and Ezra. In 2017, we began the next step in our family adventure when we moved to Colorado as I became the rabbi of the Aspen Jewish Congregation, which serves the entire Roaring Fork Valley of Colorado. Here, our children have not only grown from the toddler phase into the elementary years but they have also quickly bested us in skiing. Samantha, a fourth grader, loves reading, music, gymnastics, art, and attending sleep away camp (at Goldman Union Camp Institute, a very special place to my husband). Ezra, a first grader, loves building toys, Minecraft, reading, and anything that keeps him active.
As a family we love cooking and baking, camping and paddle boarding, hiking with our two dogs, and reading Harry Potter books on repeat.
A few of my favorite things:
Good books (nothing is better than getting lost in an engrossing book)
Dark Chocolate
Coffee (especially independent local coffee shops)
Riding my Peloton bike
Escapist Baking (my specialties are scones, challah, and flourless chocolate cake, but I love trying new recipes)
Snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and hiking
Knitting - it’s meditative!
Live music and musical theater