As a Jewish educator, it also meant going from full time work to part time. I have always worked, and worked hard. When I was in high school I was on the swim team and softball team while working at Michaels Arts and Crafts in the evenings. In college I worked at Barnes and Noble and taught at a synagogue school. During the summers I worked at camp during the day, and took evening classes and babysat. In graduate school I taught, tutored and babysat. You get the idea. After graduate school I started a big job creating and directing a synagogue based school from the ground up (too big for my experience level, but it worked out and it was an amazing experience). I worked hard and I was proud of the work that I did, but I was exhausted all the time. My work life flourished but at the same time, my home life was not so amazing. My kids were little so they didn't know any better, but I felt like I was drowning. My house was a mess. I had lots of acquaintances but very few friends. We had no family near by and no help.
It seemed that my husband and I saw each other only in passing. He was working hard too. In the beginning, he was in Rabbinical School in New York City, was teaching in three different settings and was working part time in a pulpit an hour and a half from where we lived.
When he finished Rabbinical School we kept up the same crazy schedule for a little while, but we knew something had to give. At certain points I wasn't sure what that something was. To be honest, there were moments when I thought the something that would break first would be me. I was so tired. The only place I was getting consistent and positive feedback was at work, and I really couldn't imagine leaving that.
And yet, when we stepped back and took stock, we knew that Northern New Jersey was not the place for us. Homes were inaccessibly expensive, our two bedroom apartment seemed to be shrinking, work was non-stop, and we were not happy.
So, we decided we had to leave. Josh threw his hat into the Pulpit Rabbi job
As we looked at all the job opportunities out there, the ones most appealing to us were the ones in small towns or small communities. Having both been raised in Metropolitan Detroit, having lived in New York City, Jerusalem, London (me) and West Orange, the idea of a small rural setting with very few Jewish people and the closest big city almost 2 hours away was at once terrifying and appealing.
When we visited the town, the warmth of the people, the slower pace, the affordability of the housing, all stood in stark contrast to the life we were trying to escape. We decided to take the leap (He was offered the job before even leaving the long weekend interview), and move to this
Moving to a small town as a Jewish Educator was not without its challenges. Unlike my husband, who prefers small communities and intimate settings, I am a bit more ambitious. Though I wanted more balance in my life, I still wanted to work. I enjoyed the community of educators that I worked with in New Jersey, and the opportunities that running a large synagogue school allowed. In this small town though, its not like there are tons of jobs out there for Jewish Educators. I found a small synagogue about 45 minutes away from us (the only other Jewish community within 100 miles or so), and became their part time education director. And yet, I still wanted to do more.
It was then that I decided to make art my thing. Of course, if you know me, art has always been my thing. But it was the thing that I did when I wasn't doing anything else, and so as most working moms can relate to, it was the thing that I no longer did---because, really, when you have two young kids and you are working long hours, and you have no help, there really isn't time to do a "free time" thing.
But in our small town, slower paced life, fewer obligations meant that I could actually make time for my art. And, as it turned out, making time for my art was like making time for breathing. Once I started, I couldn't stop. And once that happened, I found an entirely new career niche opening up to me.
Through the magic of social media, I may have moved to a small town, and I get to experience all the benefits that come with it, but I am also able to network and remain connected to the larger Jewish world. People who knew what I could do hired me to come out to them--I was asked to do teacher trainings and art workshops in Jewish communities in New Jersey, New York and Detroit. Those programs lead to others in more far flung locations, and to the creation of a series of business opportunites. Between the art that I create and sell,the works that I have gotten published, the communal art workshops that I run, the teacher training seminars that I lead, and the freelance curriculum writing that I do, I have made for myself a career in Jewish Education that paradoxically, I could not have even imagined while living in a major metropolitan area filled to the brim with Jewish people.
I know that most people who choose to be Jewish Educators like me, or Rabbis like my husband, would be surprised at a decision to live in a place like Altoona, Pa. And yet, for us, it has been the best decision we could have made. It turns out we both needed the time, the space and the breathing room that living in a small town allows. And in return, we have found ourselves embraced by a loving, warm and small but mighty Jewish community, and the non-Jewish community as well. We have friends from all walks of life and all parts of town. We have made our family and our selves a priority. We have learned how to make the most of our talents and abilities, to work as professionals, and to balance our life.
