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Michael Carr. (Courtesy of Michael Carr)<\/p>\n Michael Carr. (Courtesy of Michael Carr)<\/p>\n
By Ellen Braunstein<\/p>\n
When Michael Carr attended Sababa, a four-day Jewish music festival held in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, he didn\u2019t expect to be moved to his core. But as he stood among Jews from all backgrounds, singing and welcoming Shabbat under the trees in June, he felt something click.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Kabbalat Shabbat was just amazing,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carr, 36, is a behavioral therapist who works with children with autism. But in the Philadelphia Jewish community, he\u2019s become known for something more: his full-throttle embrace of Jewish life. Since converting to Judaism in April 2023, Carr, of Center City, has thrown himself into nearly every aspect of communal participation, attending services, teaching classes, leading hikes, organizing support groups and volunteering for Jewish security and pro-Israel activities.<\/p>\n
Carr\u2019s journey to Judaism wasn\u2019t sudden; it was years in the making. Raised Roman Catholic in South Jersey, he spent years exploring spiritual paths, including Buddhism, Wicca and Unitarian Universalism. Drawn early on to Jewish culture and the concept of ethical monotheism, he began attending a Conservative synagogue in Orlando, Florida, where he studied Hebrew and completed a formal conversion. What began as a personal search for meaning has since become a mission to strengthen Jewish community and safety, especially amid growing concerns about antisemitism.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I finally allowed myself to explore Judaism, it felt like coming back home,\u201d Carr said. After converting, he moved to Philadelphia, a return to familiar roots. He\u2019d grown up in Marlton, New Jersey, and was drawn to Philly for its larger and more diverse Jewish community.<\/p>\n
That move happened shortly before Oct. 7, 2023. In the days and weeks following the Hamas-led massacre in Israel, Carr said he felt increasingly alienated from former social circles. \u201cThe hostility toward Israel and Zionism \u2014 I started hearing it more and more,\u201d he said. \u201cIt became less comfortable to be in spaces that weren\u2019t Jewish. People I thought were human rights activists were minimizing the massacre. They told me revolution involves violence, and that I should accept that. I dropped those people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead, Carr leaned further into Jewish life. He started attending events hosted by organizations like Tribe 12, Mamash Chabad, Old City Jewish Arts Center, The Chevra and the South Philadelphia Shtiebel. He took on leadership roles, including running the Jews by Choice meetup group through the young Jewish professionals organization Tribe 12.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve met quite a few converts in Philadelphia,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had some really powerful conversations about our experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carr also works Sundays at Ohev Shalom of Bucks County, supporting students with autism. He\u2019s passionate about making Jewish education more accessible to kids with special needs. \u201cI\u2019d love to work more in that space \u2014 after-school programs, day schools, whatever it might be,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s definitely a need.\u201d<\/p>\n
His work in autism education began after college. He earned his undergraduate degree in history from Rutgers University, then pursued graduate studies in behavioral therapy at the Florida Institute of Technology. Carr says he discovered a love for working with autistic children while substitute teaching. \u201cBeing able to make a positive impact on kids and their families, and making a living doing that, has been really rewarding,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s also brought some of his personal interests into his community involvement. Through Tribe 12, Carr led a class on herbalism and organized a hike in Wissahickon. \u201cHerbalism is part of holistic health,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s something I got into through my spiritual seeking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Currently, Carr is in the middle of a second conversion, this time to Orthodox Judaism. He\u2019s begun observing more halacha, including kashrut and Shabbat, and is working with a rabbi at South Philadelphia Shtiebel. \u201cI\u2019ve been going through the process since last August,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m drawn to halacha and want to become Orthodox.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carr is also highly active in Jewish security work. He volunteers with Community Security Service, a group that helps organize security at Jewish events in coordination with law enforcement. \u201cIt\u2019s important, especially now,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to do whatever I can to help keep our communities secure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carr is also connected to pro-Israel and antisemitism awareness efforts at the grassroots level. He\u2019s coordinated group chats on Instagram for young Jewish Zionists, and has worked with national organizations like the Anti-Defamation League and the Zionist Organization of America. \u201cI try to raise awareness in progressive spaces about how anti-Zionism often serves as a cover for antisemitism,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Through it all, Carr says he\u2019s been warmly welcomed by the Jewish community in Philadelphia. \u201cPeople have always been very positive,\u201d he said. \u201cIf anything, they\u2019re just curious about my story.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carr says his family has embraced his new path and conversion. \u201cThey\u2019re very supportive,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve shown them some of the traditions \u2014 I lit a menorah for them, showed them Shabbat customs \u2014 and they\u2019re totally behind me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellen Braunstein is a freelance writer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Michael Carr. (Courtesy of Michael Carr) By Ellen Braunstein When Michael Carr attended Sababa, a four-day Jewish music…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":124613,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5132],"tags":[5229,14655,76748,1448,2830,1311,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-124612","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-center-city","10":"tag-michael-carr","11":"tag-pa","12":"tag-pennsylvania","13":"tag-philadelphia","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-united-states-of-america","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","18":"tag-us","19":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114983959643573005","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124612"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124612\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}