It’s a rare event that features a doughnut fondue bar, the Maccabeats, a world-famous boxer, and bone marrow testing, but if anyone can make the extraordinary seem ordinary, it’s Allison Josephs, the founder and director of www.jewinthecity.com. Since 2007, Allison has been publicizing the message that “Orthodox Jews can be funny, approachable, educated, pro-women and open-minded” through a series of YouTube videos, blogs, Q&A’s, and articles. When Allison first posed her idea – to create a website that would be a forum for explaining the real deal behind Orthodox Jewry in the modern world – to her husband Akiva, he recalls how she was determined to go big or go home, declaring that she would one day be on the Today Show. Since that moment, Akiva explains, Allison has been “doggedly pursuing her grand vision.”
With Jew In the City’s latest video, titled “Orthodox Jewish All Stars” and featuring a number of Orthodox Jews who have achieved immense success in their fields while staying true to their religious tenets, Allison hoped to “help debunk the myth that all Orthodox men are rabbis and that all Orthodox women are homemakers who are prohibited to work outside the home.” When Allison mentioned to her friend and fan Sarah Lasry that she wished the video could be launched at a “premiere party, just like everyone else,” Sarah – a kosher cookbook author, blogger for www.kosherstreet.com, and the owner of Tastebuds Gourmet Cafe & Flower Shop in Howell, NJ – retorted, “Why can’t you?” With just a few weeks until Chanukah, when Allison hoped to release the video because she believed its theme of “holding strong to Jewish tradition” resonated with the story of the Jewish defeat over Hellenistic influence, Allison and Sarah began working feverishly to make Allison’s dream a reality.
The two contacted Sarah Weisblum, event designer at SWP Events (www.SWPevents.com), and presented her with the task of transforming the gym at Congregation Kehillath Jeshurun into a room fit for a Chanukah-cum-launch party – with only a week’s advance notice. Weisblum proved up to the challenge, designing handmade tablecloths for tables dotted with flickering candles and hand-painting dozens of cardboard chandeliers. With the help of Levy Lighting, Weisblum transformed an ordinary gym into a warm, inviting room with a party atmosphere. Weisblum was not the only one who poured hours of her own time into making sure the party went off without a hitch: Abbey Wolin, owner and lead designer of Not2Shabbey (www.not2shabbey.com), painted the JITC logo on dozens of mugs that were handed out as party favors along with copies of Sarah Lasry’s most recent cookbook.
A few members of the Maccabeats were in attendance at the event, in honor of their appearance in the JITC video. In their most recently released music video, “Shine,” the Maccabeats once again team up with the Gift of Life Foundation to raise money for bone marrow testing. Turns out, the Maccabeats and JITC have something else in common – Mayim Bialik. The actress – currently starring on the “Big Bang Theory” – explored her Jewish roots with Allison and last year paired up with the Maccabeats for their “Miracle” Chanukah video and Gift of Life. Allison invited the Gift of Life Foundation to set up shop at the launch party, and guests were encouraged to join the bone marrow donor registry. Ruth Miller, the North East Recruitment Coordinator for Gift of Life, explained that each testing kit costs sixty dollars, so the challenge for the foundation is two-fold: encouraging people to swab and paying for the kits that each person who registers must use. As a result of the Maccabeats video “Miracle,” released last Chanukah, over 25 matches have been found. Reflecting on her time working with the organization – she first began volunteering when Gift of Life founder Jay Feinberg set up the foundation during his own search for a bone marrow match – Miller recalls “many inspiring moments,” fondly remembering opportunities to “meet donors and see how their lives have been changed as a result.” One Gift of Life volunteer who helped staff the event, Tammy Hepps, reflects upon her own experience as a donor. When Gift of Life first called her, she was “totally floored. You figure you’re never going to get called,” she explains, but there was “no question about it. I knew I would do it.” Since then, Hepps has been volunteering with Gift of Life and inspiring people to join the registry.
Guests first enjoyed a latke bar – featuring fried-on-the-spot sweet potato and potato latkes and numerous toppings – and a donut fondue bar, courtesy of Mi Chicas Kosher Catering, as well as a wine bar hosted by Kosher Scene. Having wined and dined, attendees settled in for a special performance by the Maccabeats, who gathered to light the Chanukah candles, singing the blessings and then the traditional Maoz Tzur. The performance was followed by a short presentation by Ruth Miller, in which she encouraged attendees to support Gift of Life, noting that Chanukah “is all about miracles” and that “everyone can be a part of creating miracles this Chanukah.”
Party organizer Sarah Lasry stood to introduce the main event of the evening: the screening of the “Orthodox Jewish All Stars” video. “Right here, right now, we are all Jews in the City,” she declared, “who have come together to celebrate the positive in life.” Professional boxer and Orthodox Jew Dmitry Salita, who stars in JITC’s video, spoke next, noting that the video’s message is “synonymous with Chanukah” and the concept of Pirsumei D’Nisa (spreading the miracle of Chanukah), before recalling his journey to becoming an observant Jew and the challenges it posed for his rising boxing career. Later in the evening, when questioned whether he ever considered transgressing Shabbat if not doing so would seriously damage his career, Dmitry adamantly retorted, “Once I make up my mind, I make up my mind,” explaining how he chose not to participate in the Budapest World Cup since doing so meant fighting on Shabbat. When Allison rose to introduce the video, she thanked her husband – “for believing in my dreams and going down this insane path” – , her crew of interns and volunteers, and her “fans, cheerleaders, and enthusiastic supporters of the team, all rolled up in one” for encouraging her on her journey and allowing her to create a video she believes “celebrates freedom” and emphasizes that, “contrary to popular belief, Orthodoxy is about freedom.” With tears in her eyes and a tremor in her throat, Allison thanked G-d for “bringing us here to this day” and making her dreams a reality. Following the screening of the video, the Brooklyn Jazz Warriors performed for the party guests.
Also in attendance were Allison’s parents, Allen and Marlene Josephs, both of whom became religious after their daughter Allison started her own spiritual journey. Originally, Allen was certain his daughter had joined a cult – so strange were many of her new religious beliefs and actions – and went out of his way to stop her, until Allison finally convinced him to read about Orthodox Judaism with an open mind. When he did, Allen realized that he had found truth, and it wasn’t long before Marlene and his two other children jumped on the bandwagon as well. “I was happy, I was not looking for anything,” recalls Allen, of his days as a secular Jew. As a neurologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, Allen saw his fair share of Hasidic Jews, and remembers being appalled by the way they insisted upon consulting their Rabbi before agreeing to any medical procedures. Allen admits to being vehemently anti-religious, so much so that when Marlene – who grew up in a slightly more traditional home – wanted to give their children Jewish names, Allen protested that the children would grow up as Americans and should have only English names. With a smile, Marlene explains how the tables have turned, remarking that when she was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago – after the pair had become religious – they reached out to Rabbis for blessings, just like the Hasidim whom Allen had once denounced.
In what Allen sees as the ultimate irony – though he is quick to point out that life has taken many surprising turns since he and his wife embarked upon their spiritual journey – he and Marlene are now the proud grandparents of ten grandchildren, all of whom bear unabashedly Jewish names. In June, Allen and Marlene made aliyah to Israel, where Allen studies in yeshiva and Marlene in a seminary for newly religious women. Meanwhile, Allison remains behind in her role as Jew in the City, committed to inspiring Jews and educating people across the world about Orthodox Jewry, and her latest video – if the success of her recent launch party is any indication – is certain to play a huge part in advancing her mission.