Danielle Zilpa Juray Lives in: Flushing, NY Is about to graduate nursing school!
My husband and I grew up in traditional Bukharian homes. We had the Shabbat meals, but often in front of the TV, and we would have no problem driving to the mall or running errands afterwards. Synagogue was only on Yom Kippur, and sometimes not even that. We wanted to be “cool”, which meant blending into secular living and hiding behind being American instead of embracing what it meant to be a Jew.
My husband was actually the one who first led our journey towards Judaism. He begged me to attend an Oorah event — let’s just say I went kicking and screaming! I thought I would be judged because I wasn’t religious, but I was totally wrong. The people I met and the glimpse of light and knowledge I got that Shabbos made my soul hunger for more. I felt like I was fed spiritually for the first time after living a life of spiritual starvation.
I was starting to feel something shift.
That Sunday, Mrs. Rabinowitz approached me about TorahMates and paired me with Tova Adler. It was a match made in heaven. We never met in person, but I feel like I’ve known her my whole life.
Tova helped me see that being Jewish wasn’t about a rigid set of rules. She gives me the opportunity to think beyond, and build a personal relationship with Hashem that allows me to flourish as a Jew.
We started with bitachon and emunah (reliance and trust in God) topics, and when we are not too busy juggling life, we just can’t get off the phone. We laugh, we talk, we discuss Purim costumes, chinuch (education), etc. She’s become my tour guide, travel agent, and more!
I always tell her to start a blog. There were so many special moments for us, but the most special to me was that Tova helped me raise money for my first wig. It’s something I’ll never forget because she was very supportive and it was hard because it was a huge step for me in my journey. It just shows how with the right support and guidance from programs like TorahMates you can see so much growth from people and bring more of our people back home to Yiddishkeit.
Tova Adler Lives in: Staten Island Has 3 children Worked in TheZone as a teen!
I grew up in Toronto and worked in TheZone as a teen. I had a TorahMate back then and that’s how I first got to know about the program. These days I host challah-bakes for women who aren’t religious and try to do as much as I can, but I never saw myself taking on a TorahMate as I was just too busy!
One day, Mrs. Rabinowitz called me and asked if I could join the program. She said she had the perfect match for me: someone in the same stage of life as me, with kids the same age as mine, and someone with plenty of personality!
That last one was the clincher.
From the first second, Danielle told me: “I know I don’t keep anything now, but I know where I’m going to be in 10 years — I’m going to look like you. I just need my time and space, and I need someone to hold my hand and help me walk through it“.
And that’s exactly what happened. I got to be there with her for her first Shabbos, her first Rosh Hashana, her first Pesach. Before she kept Yom Kippur for the first time, we were up until 1:30 am the night before, going through the machzor.
When Danielle told me she wanted to start covering her hair, I started crying. She told me that I’m her witness that a hair on her head would never be seen in public again. I sent out a message to my friends, and within 5 minutes we had raised enough money for a sheitel.
With such a busy life thank God, I don’t know that I would pull out a sefer (Jewish book) on my own every week — but now I get to do that. It’s so special for me to see how much things that I took for granted mean to someone else. Watching how much she’s doing, I want to do more too!
We’re all born somewhere along the ladder and the point is just to see how much we can grow and accomplish during this lifetime. Danielle is a really connected person and I learn so much from her emunah and from the way she davens.
We hope to go to the TorahMates retreat this year and meet face to face!
