Jaclyn Welfeld

Today, I am lucky enough to be enrolled in Seminary at Neve Yerushalayim in Jerusalem.  Because of this, I am surrounded by a group of growth-oriented girls and wonderful teachers.  I just hit my fifth week of being here and have been keeping Shabbos and starting to say brachos on my food and drinks (when I remember)!

My family comes from Poland, Russia and Hungary.  One story I know is that my great-great-grandmother got into Ellis Island by hiding under her mom's skirt the whole time.  They hid her because she was sick with either chicken pox or measles and were afraid the authorities wouldn't let her in.  On my dad's side, my great-grandparents ran a kosher bakery in the Catskills!

I grew up with a weekly Shabbat dinner and driving to Chabad for shul most weekends.  I also attended Hebrew school with Chabad until my Bat Mitzvah, and went to a Jewish day school for 9th and 10th grade.  My home has always been a source of Jewish love; my family encouraged me to get more involved as Jewish opportunities came my way.

I was introduced to TPF by one of my friends who was already involved.

While I would have been interested in the fellowship, I can't say that I would've been able to stick with it the same way (without the stipend).  Even with the stipend there were many weeks, especially at the beginning, when it didn't work out.   The incentive definitely helped me to remain consistent.

I've had two different mentors, as I originally started while in college with Mrs. Mariel Goldstein (of Meor Maryland), then switched to a mentor from my area (Mrs. Adinah Swiatycki of Etz Chaim Baltimore) when I got home.

I really like the opportunity TPF gives to get close to a mentor with whom to converse and interact in a truly deep and meaningful way.  At this point, I am lucky enough to consider myself my mentor's friend.

I've referred others to TPF.  I no longer meet one one-on-one with the mentor; rather, we are a group of three, myself, a friend and Mrs Swiatycki.  We all get together to discuss the podcast and our takeaways.  I sometime take notes on the podcast content itself, but usually I prepare by writing down my specific takeaways.  My friend does an amazing job with summarizing the podcast so I usually let her begin and then I get to fill in the blanks and add my own commentary.

I don't have a favorite speaker, but my favorite podcast topics are those discussing personal growth.  From the podcasts I've recently reviewed, my favorite is 'PRO-Semitism Course C5: How to Eliminate Worry, Fear and Anxiety from Your Life' by Lori Palatnik.

Once again, I consider myself lucky to not have personally encountered much antisemitism since then.  The University of Maryland thankfully has an amazing Jewish community and I graduated in 2024 before it got worse in regards to a few SGA rulings.  Additionally, this past year I was a preschool teacher in a Jewish day school, which once again allowed me to be sheltered among many Jews.

The Podcast Fellowship has allowed me, over the past three years, to better develop my relationship with myself, with my religion, and with others; it has allowed me to learn not only when I want, but also what I want.