“One People, Many Faces”: Embracing Our Jewish Future with JDC

Rabbi Sarah Berman’s life changed when she attended a JDC Entwine Insider Trip to Azerbaijan and Georgia in 2018 — part of her rabbinic training at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). On the ground, she saw JDC’s work firsthand and engaged with these vibrant, resilient communities. Since then, Rabbi Berman — now director of Jewish culture and programming at Central Synagogue in New York City — has brought the larger Jewish world back to her home congregation, all with the help of JDC.  

Here’s her story. 

I’ve always been fascinated by the ties that bind us Jews around the world. “Am echad, panim rabot” — we are one people with many faces. 

No organization captures that idea better than JDC. 

Though I’d heard about JDC in Sunday school growing up, my real knowledge of them — who they serve and how they work — only came while I was in rabbinical school at HUC. Before I was ordained, I had the privilege of joining a JDC Entwine Insider Trip to Georgia and Azerbaijan for the HUC community. 

My time abroad with Entwine was truly one of the most meaningful and transformative experiences I had during rabbinical school.

Visiting communities across the world who lived Jewish lives that were entirely unlike my own, but somehow also recognizable, was impactful in a way I never could’ve anticipated. Whether they were kids performing in a dance troupe or the homebound elderly folks we met, I connected with these Jews in profound and personal ways. 

In short, it wasn’t just a tourist trip. We weren’t just showing up in a place, snapping photos, taking a guided tour, and leaving. The entire experience was built to create a lasting and genuine connection between us as Jews. 

That’s all because of Entwine. Their immersive, thoughtful approach to travel allowed participants to engage with local Jewish history, the community’s Jewish present, and to even consider their Jewish future. 

I realized that understanding how these communities came to be —  who they are, where they are, and how they are — is inextricable from JDC’s monumental support. JDC impacted not only the people I visited, but their parents, their grandparents, and one day, God willing, they will be there for their children and grandchildren if and when needed.

I realized something else, too: This was also my story. I’d grown up with rabbis and educators who had been shaped by JDC’s post-Holocaust humanitarian efforts. These were people who had witnessed the rebirth of European Jewish life and Israel’s founding. They were the very people who told me about JDC back in Sunday school. 

Coming out of that Entwine trip, I knew I had to do something with what I’d seen and learned. 

Immediately after returning from my trip, I started a rabbinic internship at Temple Emanu-El of the City of New York. My internship coincided with an exhibition in the Temple’s Bernard Museum for Judaica featuring objects from the JDC Archives. I hoped to connect the New York community to Jews across the world in a sermon I delivered about my trip, followed by a tour of the exhibition. That was just the beginning.

More than seven years later, I’ve continued to be interested in how we connect with global Jewish stories and history. Whether I’m relying on Entwine’s educational materials or the JDC Archives to plan or execute an event at Central Synagogue, where I now work, I consider JDC a crucial partner in bringing the Jewish world to my congregation.

Living in New York City, it can be difficult to remember that this world is larger than the five boroughs and Israel. But there’s so much more to explore. We have Jewish brothers and sisters all over the globe, and if we can experience some of what their life looks like, if we can go and listen and learn from them, our Jewish family will become stronger, more resilient, and more interconnected than ever before. 

The story of JDC and these communities teaches us that we’re not alone. We’re not alone when facing antisemitism. We’re not alone when suffering through a crisis. And we’re not alone when trying to build a durable, dynamic Jewish future. 

Hopefully, through the efforts of Jewish professionals like myself, the next generation will pass this lesson on to their children — because we can’t afford not to. 

We must continue to strengthen the ties that bind our global Jewish family, embrace our mutual responsibility, and celebrate the multitude of faces we possess. 

Rabbi Sarah Berman is the director of Jewish culture and programming at Central Synagogue in New York City.

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