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Bala Cynwyd native and current Athens resident Elisha Gordan (Courtesy of Shifra Vega and Michael Gordan)<\/p>\n Bala Cynwyd native and current Athens resident Elisha Gordan (Courtesy of Shifra Vega and Michael Gordan)<\/p>\n
In Greece, there are around 5,000 Jews, comprising about 0.05% of the country\u2019s population. Bala Cynwyd native Elisha Gordan can now count himself as one of them.<\/p>\n
Gordan, who graduated from Brandeis University in the spring, moved to Athens in August to work with the city\u2019s Jewish community as an assistant rabbi through the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation.<\/p>\n
Gordan\u2019s job is to be an extra pair of hands for local rabbis and to help with some Torah readings and minyans. He also teaches at his organization\u2019s religious school.<\/p>\n
His journey to Greece began after his freshman year of college, when he spent the summer working for the Lauder Foundation in Berlin. \u201cI got to see a lot of different Jewish communities in Europe. Like, we were based there [in Berlin], but we went to four or five other places in Europe. So that was a very enriching experience,\u201d Gordan said.<\/p>\n
Gordan said he already had connections to Jewish Europe, as he holds a Dutch passport and has relatives in the Netherlands. But, he added, the foundation \u201creally opened my eyes a bit to Jewish Europe as a political, communal, religious entity.\u201d After graduating from Brandeis, Gordan used his connections with the Lauder Foundation, which is dedicated to boosting Jewish life in Europe through support for Jewish schools, to get his job in Athens.<\/p>\n
So far, Gordan said he\u2019s noticed several differences between the Jewish communities of Philadelphia and Athens, starting with size.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very, very small [in Athens],\u201d he said. \u201cAnd because of that, you learn very quickly, what are the core pieces of the of the Jewish community that make them function? It clarifies for you what the hierarchy of need is in a Jewish context. The communal identity formation is much more important, because it\u2019s much weaker. Just being around other Jews is very surprising.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s noticed other differences, like the lower availability of kosher goods and the types of food served at Jewish events.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s cool because you see how it\u2019s different,\u201d he said. \u201c[But also] you\u2019ll see how it\u2019s very much the same in terms of the liturgy and the practice in the synagogue. We still have kiddush here, but kiddush here is Greek food.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gordan said the experience over the past few months opened his eyes to things he took for granted in Philadelphia, like having a constant Jewish communal presence. Growing up, Gordan went to Abrams Hebrew Academy and Kohelet Yeshiva.<\/p>\n
He said one of his Athens students who graduated from the local Jewish school after sixth grade experienced a small culture shock when he realized there were no other Jews at his new secular school.<\/p>\n
But Gordan said the lack of a large Jewish presence is something that brings the Athens community together.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe affinity space, having other Jews around, I personally took that a lot for granted in the States, but it\u2019s not something I take for granted anymore,\u201d Gordan said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t really matter what kind of a Jew they are, it\u2019s just another Jew. It\u2019s like there\u2019s a brotherhood aspect to that. I think you feel it very strongly in small communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gordan said he\u2019s enjoyed being a teacher in Athens so far and has made plenty of local connections. He said he likes helping to \u201craise the next generation in the faith.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nice to teach other Jews about their religion. A lot of them, especially here, don\u2019t know that much, and they are eager to learn. A little bit goes a long way. So, once you see that, it\u2019s very powerful,\u201d Gordan said.<\/p>\n
Gordan said he\u2019s learned a lot as well during his short time in Athens, both about Judaism and how the Jewish professional space works. He said he gained \u201cdecades of experience every month.\u201d It\u2019s the right time in life to gain such experience, he added, because he doesn\u2019t have a family that he\u2019d have to uproot and move 5,000 miles for his job.<\/p>\n
Gordan has no doubts that his time in Athens will help him in life and his career, however it develops. \u201cYou learn how to talk to different kinds of people and you listen a lot. That\u2019s really important, I think, to [listen to] where people are coming from, what their needs are,\u201d Gordan said. \u201cThis is like the whole point of education. Once you have a broader perspective, you can both understand your own [perspective] better, and probably, in a fuller way, relate to the rest of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n