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Born
I was Born in NYC, to Jonathan Burroughs and Martina Burroughs. -
Recieved my Hebrew Name
For some reason, my parents decided to not immediately give me a Hebrew name, despite having decided to raise me Jewish and giving me a Brit Milah. The Friday before my cousin Melanie's bat mitzvah, I did have a naming, and received the Hebrew name Aleksander Michael -
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Started going to Passover Seders at Beth Elohim
My family was not religious growing up, but at some point we decided to start going to the community Pesach Seder that Congregation Beth Elohim had every year. This was the first time little Alec had felt a sense of being in a Jewish community. (Note: I'm not sure of the year we started going) -
I realized I was gay
When I was 12 years old, I had a crush on a boy named Jacob. It shook me. I eventually decided I hated the whole concept of religion. Obviously who I was wasn't compatible with any religion, so why even bother trying? I thought any concept of Gd meant that He hated me and that I had to hate Him. and that was that for a very long time. -
Something Had to Change
At this point in my life, I was living a life without introspection, running around the NYC nightlife circuit, coming home at 8 in the morning at the earliest five nights a week and skipping school every day because I was either too hungover, too intoxicated, or too anxious. Waking up in the middle of the night in the Psych Ward of Bellvue Hospital to a man talking to himself about how he was going to kill everyone in their sleep was the last straw, and something had to change. -
Started Practicing Zen Buddhism
Now I know what you're thinking, "HEY! WRONG RELIGION!!!!" Be patient with this, I promise it's a very important part of this timeline. After realizing something needed to change, I thought a first step would be to start meditating. I remembered that I was taught how on a middle school field trip to a tiny Buddhist temple in Brooklyn. After a while, I decided to go and see the temple again. When I was there, the sermon given changed something in me, and I started my own Zen Buddhist practice -
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Moved into Zen Mountain Monastery
While my buddhist practice developed, I ended up moving into the Monastery associated with my Zen Lineage. There was there a huge Jewish population there, and I was surprisingly engages in the Jewish calendar. I fasted for Yom Kippur for the first time, blew a shofar, led a Pesach Seder, and perhaps most shockingly of all, began to feel a connection not just to spirituality, but to Gd. -
Led a Passover Seder at Zen Mountain Monastery
The event that made me not only connect to Jewish tradition, but have a taste for Jewish leadership, was hosting a Passover seder at Zen Mountain Monastery, where I was currently living. The chance to share the tradition I loved, and the part of Judaism I had the most experience and connection to, excited me, and I went all out, even creating a Haggadah for the monastery specifically. -
Joined CBST
The struggle to find who I was as a Jew, met with my desire to still be who I am, and the desire to catch up on the Jewish Lifecycle events I had skipped led me to Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, the world's largest LGBTQ+ Shul. I checked it out, and immediately fell in love. I joined before I left Zen Mountain Monastery and as soon as I could, started attending every service possible, quickly becoming a solid member of the kahal and having CBST become my Jewish spiritual home. -
Birthright
Further cementing my Jewish identity, I went on an LGBTQ+ Birthright trip in August 2021. I traveled with an amazing group of people and decided I wanted to spend more time in Israel exploring what it meant to be Jewish. When the opportunity presented itself, my American staffer, Gene suggested Pardes, and I applied -
Started Pardes
And that brings me to now, I started Pardes last semester and fell in love with Jewish learning. It was gently suggested to me by a few of my teachers that I should consider teaching, and then much more strongly by Aviva, the head of the PCJE, and I joined the Pardes Educators Program!