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Birth
My naming certificate is important to me because it was the only Jewish ritual my parents participated in when I was a child. -
First Musical Instrument
Well, it wasn't really my first instrument because I never took piano lessons. But this picture was taken shortly before we moved to Oregon, we were visiting my great grandmother at her Jewish nursing home. -
Started Violin Lessons
I asked for figure skates, I got a violin instead. And the rest was history! -
First Youth Orchestra Concert
From 5th grade through the end of high school I was involved in a youth orchestras. I was there up to three times a week; Mondays, Wednesday, and Saturdays. Playing music in a community was my family's spiritual practice, not Judaism. In this picture I am in the 6th grade, I am on the left and my sister is on the right and a mutual friend is in the middle. This photo still lives in my violin case. -
Started the Oboe
I decided to start playing the flute in 6th grade but quickly got bored. So, after being told that the oboe was the hardest instrument in the orchestra I leap to the challenge. I progressed incredibly quickly and my identity shifted from being a member of the string section to the other side of the orchestra and being a band geek. This picture is my senior portrait, which doubled as my press photo for a number of years. -
Won First State Competition
When I was a sophomore in high school I rose quickly to being one of the best oboists in my region and started getting all sorts of accolades. At this point, it seemed clear to me and everyone around me that I was destined to go pro. -
All Roads Lead to Oberlin
After a senior year of auditions in New York and LA, I accepted a place at Oberlin Conservatory. My JTS visit 7 years later brought back all these memories. I realized that the last time I was near 122nd and Broadway I was across the street auditioning at Manhattan School of Music, having just rushed over from my Juilliard audition. -
"I'm Jewish so I think I belong at this table"
I didn't have any formal Jewish education growing up, but I knew that it was important to my parents that I go to college and meet a nice Jewish boy. So what did I do? I went to the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life table and said to the girls wearing shirts with Hebrew writing "I'm Jewish and I think I'm supposed to talk to you". -
Freshmen Orientation Weekend: My first real Shabbat
Having no Jewish education, this was a huge deal for me. I'll never forget how nervous I was. Will I be able to follow the service? Will they not let me in because I can't read Hebrew? Wait, there is more than one line to kiddush? -
Joined KHC
The Kosher-Halal Co-op at Oberlin was where I made my friends for life, including our classmate Joe. I studied kashrut with our campus rabbi and became a mashgiach. But it took until another couple of years before I kept kosher full time outside of the co-op as well. -
Started Learning Hebrew
After my first year of college I decided it was time for me to learn Hebrew and stop relying on transliteration. When I got to my first class, I realized that I was the only true beginner; everyone else in my class had gone to Hebrew school as a kid and was taking the class because they thought it would be an easy A. I almost quit because I was losing out on oboe practice time, which was the reason I came to school...right? -
Study Abroad in London
My paternal grandparents were from London and emigrated to the US in 1952. When I was studying there I got to meet my great-uncle, who took me on a tour of the historically Jewish East End where I saw the flat my grandad was born in (pictured here) and the building where he had his bar mitzvah. We saw each other a number of times and I was intrigued at how Jewish my family really was, even though my parents didn't raise me to believe so. -
I met Benedict Cumberbatch
Total non sequitur, but when I was in London I saw Frankenstein with Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Lee Miller in previews. And this was before BC was famous outside of the UK, just to those of us who illegally downloaded Sherlock... -
Became Co-Chair of Oberlin Hillel
A lot happened in my first 2 years in the conservatory and that's a story for a different timeline. But part of my huge identity shit came from being involved in the Jewish community. Before I knew it, I was running the place! One might say that my first job as a Jewish communal professional was as Hillel Co-chair. -
Birthright!
Finally, I did something other Jews my age were doing! Following my 10 days, I spent a week with other Obies at Pardes. I remember being completely out of my element in the beit midrash but I was willing to push myself. When I came up to visit Hebrew College, I met up with a friend from this trip and she remarked how obvious it was to her even then that I would be going to either rabbinical or cantorial school. -
Parashat Toldot: My Bat Mitzvah at 21
It all started because I wanted a tallit, and my mom told me that you had to have a bat mitzvah to get one. I told this to a friend and she said, "You know you can fix that right?" So, I studied for a year and I read Torah, Haftarah, gave a short d'var, and lead the Torah service. This is one of two pictures I have. A friend told me years later that he wrote about this day as one of his most memorable service leading experiences for his JTS application. We'll be colleagues soon. -
Collegium Musicum Oberliniese: Early Music Choir
Many folks wonder how I became a singer, and it was kind of an accident. I joined choir my last semester of high school on a whim, liked it and decided to continue in college. It turned into therapy when I wound up "breaking up" with the oboe. My last two years I sang with the early music choir, which by way of singing under a Monteverdi expert laid the foundation for my love of Salamone Rossi. Picture is from my last concert with the group. -
My Best Friend Eliana, or why I moved to MD
We actually met on Facebook sometime in February 2008 before we became classmates at Oberlin. I mention her here because she was the driving force behind convincing me to move to MD and not just go back to Oregon after graduation. I pinpoint this moment as the choice that really started me down the path towards becoming a cantor, and you'll soon see why. -
My First High Holidays on the Bimah
My aunt is a rabbi and studied with Art Green at RRC back in the day. She took me in after I graduated from college, and as a result, I spent my summer learning how to lead high holidays in an independent/Reconstructionist congregation. Over the course of this year I decided that I was a Reconstructionist and stayed that way for a couple of years. I co-lead services until 2015 with my aunt. -
Started at Ohr Kodesh Congregation
For a while there I was doing a mishmash part time gigs, then on the 2nd night of Sukkot I met the new cantor at my then-boyfriend's parents' shul, a recent Hebrew College graduate named Hinda Eisen Labovitz. His parents thought that I could interview her a bit about cantorial school. Instead, she wound up interviewing me for a job and within a few weeks I was a full time Jewish professional. Below is from my first school field trip, some of these kids were actually at my wedding! -
My First NAJCF
North American Jewish Choral Festival. I went sent by Hinda as part of my professional development and I felt like I was home with "my people". I left feeling inspired and started thinking more seriously about cantorial school as a next step. -
Joined Zemer Chai
Discovering that there was a whole musical tradition that was representative of ME and MY culture was such an eye opening experience. So, I joined the Zemer Chai, the Jewish Chorale of the Nation's Capital and I attend two more NAJCF's as a performer. Director Eleanor Epstein helped me realized just how much I missed having music in my life. The calling to cantorial school got louder. -
My First USY Convention
I didn't grow up in a Jewish youth group, so I was more than happy to go staff the OKCUSYers at Spring Convention. It's my closest to experiencing Jewish camp. At subsequent conventions I had the opportunity to be a staff educator and it really made me consider the Cantor Educator path. -
The Day I Decided To Become a Cantor
It was the last day of my 2nd NAJCF and I had spent the week talking with every cantorial school director present (but mostly with Brian Mayer, pictured here) and a lot of alumni. On my long drive home I was trembling because I knew that I had made a decision and that it was time to tell my boyfriend, who subsequently broke up with me, and my parents, who were of course less than thrilled. I looked to this picture for comfort because I knew at least someone believed in me. -
Ta Sh'ma
I visited JTS, HUC, and Hebrew College all in one weekend because I still didn't feel a strong affiliation to any movement. I knew that if JTS or HUC were my only choices I would have gone to JTS, but Hebrew College felt like home the moment we started singing in the beit midrash during davening. -
The Day I Met My Husband
Steven and I met on JSwipe and our first conversation was about siddur fonts and leading children's tefilah. The story of our first date involves me being late because of a kashrut emergency and pub trivia, but I don't have enough characters here to tell it. After getting home after 2 am I knew that I met my future husband. I'm still in his phone as "Jessica Woolf-JSwype"; I still have this JSwipe profile pic on my phone. -
Applied to and Auditioned for Cantorial School
There are a lot of societal expectations as to what a "third date" is. Our third date? Steven spent the weekend at my apartment cooking and cleaning so I could focus on writing my application essays, which he also helped edit. I celebrated my 26th birthday a month later auditioning for the School of Jewish Music. My host Jenn Boyle, took me out for brunch and Dara Rosenblatt got me a Blackers Cupcake. I could already feel I was part of the community! -
Mentoring a Cantor
As soon as I matriculated, Hebrew College decided to do a story on Hinda and I which you can watch here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TfHhg25e3c&ab_channel=MyHebrewCollege -
First Day of Mekorot
I technically started Ulpan on June 12th, but this was the day I got my cubby. -
Got Engaged!
Steven proposed on Shabbos so we don't have any pictures of the proposal. But this was our announcement! -
My First Cake Day
Year one, down! -
Our Tenaim, Rosh Chodesh Elul
Steven's parents want to celebrate our engagement in Texas, and due to my father's declining health (he had 2 strokes my first year of cantorial school), I wanted to make sure we did something of significance to mark the occasion. So, Steven and I wrote a modern tenaim document and celebrated with the breaking of plates and all. -
My First NewCAJE Conference
My journey towards believing that I have what it takes to be a good educator (not just a cantor) started at 2019 NewCAJE conference, which just so happened to be in Portland at Reed College, around the corner from my parents. My emotions were mixed because I learned so much about the Portland Jewish community but also felt my parents had lied to me. Growing up I was led to believe that there were no Jews, but clearly that wasn't true. I was angry for a good portion of the visit with my parents. -
Steven moves to MA!
Up until this point, Steven and I had been living apart. He was finishing his PhD from the University of Oklahoma while stationed at NASA Goddard, and received a postdoc position at MIT. -
Our Wedding
We finally got married! We were married at Ohr Kodesh by Hinda, her husband signed our ketubah, and their twins were our flower girl and ring bearer. -
As I see it...
If I hadn't picked up the oboe,
I wouldn't have met Eliana
I wouldn't have gone to Oberlin
I wouldn't have moved to MD
I wouldn't have met my ex
I wouldn't have worked at OKC
I wouldn't have gone to NAJCF
I wouldn't have decided to become a cantor
I wouldn't have met my husband
I wouldn't have come to Hebrew College
Music is what made me Jewish, and Judaism is how I returned to music.
