Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Rabbi Cece started working at our synagogue when I was a freshman in high school, four years ago. I had been a madricha and attending our teen program for a year before she arrived, and once she took over the education director position, I saw changes immediately. She connected so well with kids of all ages, from preschoolers to high school seniors. She made all of our lessons more engaging. I finally started to learn about the parts of Judaism that I cared about as a modern teenager. The students of the Hebrew school were educated from a fresh, new perspective, where fun and learning can coexist. Because of Rabbi Cece, once a month, instrumentalist members of the synagogue join together with the Hebrew school students to sings songs and have a great time all around. When I work with the students every Sunday, I can see how their enthusiasm for learning has grown exponentially since Rabbi Cece arrived.
— Elana Neher
+ 7 other nominations
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
