New York may hold the largest population of Jews in the world, but for Adam Roffman, the more time he spent in the city, the further he felt

from the Judaism of his roots. “I was very fortunate to have a strong Shecter education when I was younger, I was raised in a terrific Conservative shul, my parents are both very active, and I felt in New York distant from that connection.  New York was this big sprawl with all these different communities, and I couldn’t really fit myself into one.”

Adam had also reached a crossroads professionally.  After three years in the theater profession, Adam decided acting and directing was not to be his full time profession.  “So I got a job.”  Assuming he would continue acting on nights and weekends, Adam got an offer from a highly selective financial services firm in New York. “It was a wonderful job,” he recounts. “Their financial staff is mostly math geniuses and wizards…but the people in the human resources department...are people who…have other agendas, either actors or writers, people who need money to support themselves while the pursue their, whatever.”  Adam found the perks of working in such an environment overpowered the lure of the theater. 

Despite the new job, however, Adam's dissatisfaction with his Jewish life in New York remained, and the thought of pursuing Jewish learning was becoming more prominent.  However, he first scoffed at his friend’s suggestion to study at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem for a year.  “I thought to myself this is the worst idea I have ever heard.  There is no way I’m picking up and leaving my job, leaving my friends, and leaving my family for a year.”

However, the suggestion did push Adam to take interest in the Conservative Yeshiva’s summer program.  “I came with the intention that I would go there for three weeks, have a great experience, and take all those experiences I had back to the US.”  After two weeks, however, Adam decided to quite his job in New York, give up his apartment, say goodbye to his family and friends, and come study in Israel for one year. 

The biggest draw for Adam was the quality the educational staff at the Conservative Yeshiva.  “It’s like having your favourite college professor and multiply it times five.”  Also, Adam reflects that the students are, “seriously committed to Judaism, seriously committed to making a difference in their Jewish community, and they are extremely committed to learning.  It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that was presented to me.”

Although attempting to escape the complexities of Jewish identity in New York, Adam has been surprised to discover that the Israeli and Jewish identities in Israel are also convoluted.  “When you’re a Jew in America everyone talks about Israel in this idealistic way.  We’ve returned to this land and everything is wonderful.  Everyone in Israel is fighting for Judaism and for this common cause that we have.  But the truth is the population here is much more diverse…and especially the people in the army, they’re not fighting for Judaism, they’re fighting for Israel...That’s not what I was told when I was younger.”

Although the complexities of the Jewish/Israeli relationship remain intriguing, Adam plans to use this year for the exploration of his own Jewish identity and the opportunities available to him in order to maintain a strong level of Judaism in his life, whether personally or professionally.  “My plan is to spend the next few months exploring, leading a more observant life, learning more, an figuring out if I want to commit myself to being a Rabbi and all those things that come with it."

 

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