Alessandra

No, that's about all I know.

Ah, well.  You say it without an American accent.

I am a first-generation German.  My parents came from the former Soviet Union.  They grew up in communism, as their parents and grandparents.  In Germany, they tried to connect to Judaism, but here (at least in Hamburg) there is no Jewish community infrastructure.  My parents aren’t religious but they are traditional.  They gave me and my brother everything they could, but it wasn’t much.  I swiched from a public school to a Jewish school, which is Reform, co-ed and liberal, but still there was some jewish education.  Being in a Jewish school gave me a little kick, and I wanted to connect more.

I searched online.  On YouTube there were always rabbis giving shiurim, I would often just watch something and that’s it (I wouldn't take the information further).  When I found out about The Podcast Fellowship, it was amazing.  Now I had someone to learn with and discuss the material.

In Israel, when I was there for the first time this year.  The trip was a present from my mother.  It was the first time in my life at the Kosel.  It was very emotional. I spent half of the day there with my mother.

I saw someone there who looked very familiar.  Then I realized I had seen him on TV, in a documentary about someone who made aliyah from Poland to Israel.  I was not sure because he was wearing sunglasses.  I asked him if he was the one from the documentary, and yes, it was him.  He said he’s not so often recognized.  Next to him was Rabbi Denitz, who I wasn’t focused on at all.  The two of them, (the Polish man and Rabbi Denitz) ran a program together.  Rabbi Denitz asked me about Jewish life in Germany.  He told me that TPF would be a great idea for me, so I signed up.

Miriam Miller, who is originally from Los Angeles but has been living in Berlin for the past 5 years doing outreach there.

Tell us about your experience with TPF.

For me, it’s one of my highlights in the week, really.  When I hear a podcast, afterwards I have a lot of questions.  Not everything is clear for me.   It's very nice with Miriam because she has much more knowledge than me.   It gives us inspiration to discuss other related topics.  We spend at least an hour discussing!  When you start to get into a topic, you have more and more questions.  We could speak for hours!

Asher (Asher Israel, TPF's Trips Coordinator) brought up the idea of bringing me to a Jewish summer camp.  He connected me to Oorah and helped me get into The Zone.   It was something very special.  I really grew there.  Without TPF I wouldn’t be there!

With the connections I made there, I was invited back to the States again for the chag.  I spent Sukkos and Simchas Torah at the Zone, and stayed afterward with a family in Lakewood.

One experience that was especially meaningful was that I got my Jewish name at camp.  It was a very emotional thing.

Golda.

Besides for bringing me to camp, in the month of Elul, the podcasts I listened to were really helping me to take the month more seriously.   The same for the upcoming holiday season.  Having background on the holidays helped me to take the season more seriously.

TPF provides the knowledge, and the context to understand the knowledge for EVERYTHING!

I am in 12th grade.  In Germany we go until 13th grade.  Most people go to university.  I can imagine going to seminary, and then to university.  I’m interested in a lot of things.  My childhood dream job was always to be a dentist, I even did a dentistry internship.  Possibly politics.

“The thing with TPF is not just the learning experience; it's also the connection they give you.  It’s not just the studying, it’s the people you can contact to help you in your education and learning, in your Jewish life.”