Meet Cindy!
Only a light that shines as bright as our Cindy could lighten up the rainy, clouded Wednesday that we were having.
After going through the Hebrew School and Hebrew High School myself, I was excited to interview Cindy, who has been there every step of the way for me.
Cindy is the principal of the Hebrew School and the Judaic Programming Coordinator in the Preschool, which means leading most of the Jewish programming pieces and ritual celebrations such as Shabbat and Havdalah. Additionally, she is the music teacher, “I can’t even play an instrument,” she joked.
Cindy started working at BZBI in 1993, making this her 23rd year at the synagogue. To put this into perspective, Jurassic Park and “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston were released in 1993, making me -6 years old.
She explained the best thing about her job as, “The children. The children by nature are kind and loving. Children give me hope for the future and the better world.” The benefits of working with children in Cindy’s opinion include “…getting to know every day that I am making a difference and a part in providing a Jewish background, and making decisions in life with a Jewish background.” Cindy noted that some of her first students have graduated college, gotten married, and are having children of their own, “…making new Jewish people!” She watches kids grow into adults, “It makes me feel satisfied, and warm all over. I’ve known most of these kids since they were in playschool, some even since they were born. I feel privileged, it’s a gift to watch children grow and develop; I’m very blessed.”
To a new family who may be contemplating on sending their children to Hebrew School, Cindy would make sure to talk to them about how BZBI provides a safe, nurturing environment, a program based on living Jewish values, offers a community that is caring and loving, and that the first thing is always kindness. The benefits, she included, are “…strengthening the connection to the Jewish people as a whole to Kalal Yisrael, and building a life based on Jewish values connecting to a local Jewish community, while helping to build a strong sense of Jewish identity.
Cindy referred to herself as the “mother hen” in the Hebrew School, and shared some interesting facts with me. She is self-taught fluent in Hebrew and loves speaking another language, was never an animal lover until getting her dog, Bam Bam, and her middle name is Beth. I specifically asked for the middle name, since no one usually goes for it, “You’re right, Molly. No one does know my middle name. It’s Beth, no one knows it because I hate it.”
My last question for Cindy only had one right answer. I asked who the best graduating Hebrew High class was, almost a painfully easy answer. Of course, she answered correctly saying it was mine (including Tav Ohayon and Diana Myers). It was more than a pleasure interviewing Cindy and of course we had to commemorate it (selfie).
