an interview with SimhaRosenberg at the Jewish Coalition for Service

What is J-Serve 2005?

The air conditioning was humming along as 50 teenagers squeaked in their chairs, put away their iPods and turned off their cell phones. After about 15 minutes, I turned to my friend next to me and whispered to him, "I want to go." He looked a little confused since we were sitting in a very engaging presentation. "Where?" he asked. I am not one to leave presentations, even boring ones (which were extremely rare at Summer JAM). I replied, "Africa. Sudan. Darfur. Chad. Now. I want to be a doctor."

"To ensure its survival, Judaism and the Jewish people must learn how to be unified without being uniform."

When I first heard this statement, I passed it over as nothing more than a clever use of language. However, as exploring its meaning became a central theme of my summer, I realized just how important it is to all Jews throughout the United States and the world.

After a long summer apart, all my friends and I gathered to share stories about our experiences from around the country and world. When one friend asked me what my favorite part of this summer was, I thought to myself, “Where should I start!?” Was it meeting and becoming close friends with 56 Jewish teens from all different political, religious and geographical perspectives? Or living in the George Washington University dorms right in the heart of Washington, D.C., and having the time and freedom to explore our country's capital?

“Look at what you've produced, Jojo the Magnifico! You've done something beautiful.”

My heart jumped upon hearing those words from Professor Zee, a professional clown. With a beaming smile, I looked around to see a dozen of my peers dressed as clowns with makeup and rainbow hair, making balloon animals—and making a difference. I saw my friends bring laughter and joy to the otherwise mundane lives of the patients we were visiting in a nursing home.