Growing up as a Jew in the American South, I never would have imagined that I would choose a career as a Jewish communal professional. Quite frankly, I didn’t even know what that was, or that it was a profession.
While I spent most of my afternoons at the JCC, playing basketball with my friends, shooting pool in the teen lounge and performing in the youth drama program, I didn’t think about the future.
What I can see looking back is that those experiences at the MJCC and at Temple Israel, a large, vibrant Reform Synagogue in Memphis, Tennessee; were helping me to form a strong Jewish identity and were enriching my life. Those experiences and professional staff were helping shape me, and ultimately the next generation of Jewish life; and somewhere within them, they probably knew it.
My childhood and teenage years were filled with wonderful leadership development opportunities in BBYO. My friends were Jewish teens across North America who showed me that Jewish life was vibrant, alive, and joyful. Those years were rich with diverse opportunities and were providing me with a foundation to live and love my Judaism.
As I started my professional career and moved through a few less than satisfying job choices, I thought back to those days at the JCC, to the joy, to the fond memories of those BBYO advisors, to the JCC recreation directors, to the camp counselors; and I slowly gravitated back to Jewish life. While I wasn’t fully conscious of it at the time, hineni, here I am.
I answered the call and I am glad I did. I have the privilege to dedicate my life to meeting the ever changing needs of the Jewish community, to affect Jewish life in Milwaukee and in Israel, to strengthen Jewish identity in my children and their friends, and most of all, to help to build a healthier Milwaukee.
We often hear people say “I am blessed”, I certainly feel that way, blessed to be able to say hineni.
Peter M. Blair is associate executive director of the Harry and Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center.
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