A Life Journey

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Rabbi Doron Lazarus greeted the flock of students with a warm, toothy smile while welcoming them to “Taco Night” at Mizzou Hillel. Lazarus invited them to sit and get comfortable as he joined them by asking with his friendly, booming voice how everyone’s week was. He would later take a more serious approach by asking the students if they were ready to talk about their spiritual journey, including his.

Lazarus was raised in Conservative Judaism where the rules are less strict. Lazarus grew up with a typical Jewish background: Friday night dinners for Shabbat, the day of rest, going to a Conservative synagogue every Friday night and keeping Kosher by not mixing milk and meat or eating pork or shellfish. He went to Conservative day school until he was in fifth grade. He began to reject his faith as a young teenager because of the cultural and intellectual rules, such as keeping Kosher, he felt he had to abide by.

“It lacked authenticity, and I didn’t see the point in it,” said Lazarus. “You know, why should we keep Kosher? This is what Jews do. Maybe that’s what Jews did 100 years ago or 500 years ago, but what does that have to do with me?”

Lazarus attended public school after fifth grade and started becoming friends with those who were not Jewish. Lazarus was opposed to joining Jewish youth groups until he attended B’nai Brith Youth Organization and started making Jewish connections again.

“I liked it because I met Jewish people who were nice and down to earth,” said Lazarus. “I grew up with Jewish people who were fairly cliquey and stuck-up. For the first time, I socially connected with other Jews.”

He became more engaged with his faith but was still missing the emotional piece of it.

“I never had a connection with the Rabbi growing up. He was a spokesman, an actor. I didn’t resonate with him or connect with him at all. I didn’t really feel this real connection to Judaism. I knew the songs in synagogue, but I really didn’t know what we were doing there, therefore it felt hollow and shallow to me,” said Lazarus.

Lazarus became more religious at 18 years old when he met with international Rabbis through his youth group. He started showing more interest in Judaism and Jewish education. He was inspired by the way they spoke and educated others.

“I felt like, wow, wouldn’t that be phenomenal if I could be involved in something like that,” said Lazarus.

Lazarus went to the University of California Los Angeles to study medicine. He liked the idea of helping people but did not see practicing medicine as a way he could tap into his potential in life. He knew he wanted to be happy but was not sure of how.

He decided to spend a year in Yeshiva in Israel during his college career. He tested for dental school and scored in the 99th percentile on the Dental Admission Test. He received an interview for New York University while in Israel. He met with someone he was very close to within Israel to discuss his plan in dentistry.

“He said, ‘Oh, you want to be a dentist?’, and I’m like no, I really don’t want to be a dentist,” said Lazarus. “I told him I really want to be a Jewish educator, and he suggested I do something I am passionate about.”

He turned down NYU and stayed in Israel. He gained his Rabbinic Ordination and continued to learn the Hebrew language.

Lazarus knew that if he went into Jewish education that he wanted to teach college students. Lazarus enjoys working with college students because he believes that they are at an age where they can process serious issues, discuss them with others and be open-minded enough to want to explore new ideas.

He struggled with finding job opportunities until he was offered a position as director of the Jewish Learning Experience on college campuses in Missouri. The Jewish Learning Experience works with college students and young professional adults. Lazarus teaches courses and leads programs every Wednesday night at Mizzou Hillel on Judaism. He questioned how to re-engage people in their faith after having lost it just like he did. Lazarus found his answer through his new job.

“The JLE was almost kind of my view in response,” said Lazarus. “How do we engage in a different way than they are being engaged currently?”

Lazarus says the JLE is able to give people the Jewish education they never had, or never wanted. Lazarus began working for the JLE to give those who had a neutral, boring or negative experience to re-introduce Jewish education in an interactive, dynamic and social environment. Lazarus believes he can relate to this experience the most because he grew up with somewhat of the same background.

“People can explore Judaism in their own terms. You know, Jews from all walks of life, all backgrounds, all perspectives,” said Lazarus. “But this time with more mature individuals and to take an honest look at Judaism and ask, why I should or should not lead a Jewish life?”

Lazarus often recruits representatives for each college campus. Gabe Raskin, the representative of JLE at Mizzou, often works hand-in-hand with Lazarus and has learned a lot from it.

“Rabbi Lazarus is a very knowledgeable and caring person. He’s very down to earth and really understands our generation,” said Raskin. “I really feel like he’s not only helpful in a Jewish aspect but an overall mentor aspect.”

“Rabbi Lazarus is a very knowledgeable and caring person. He’s very down to earth and really understands our generation,” said Raskin. “I really feel like he’s not only helpful in a Jewish aspect but an overall mentor aspect.”

Raskin has done several tasks while working with Lazarus that has helped him with everyday life as well as his future career. Raskin has been able to gain connections and network with several donors for the program through his work with Lazarus.

“He’s given me a lot of experience and I really think he’s going to help me get settled into the real world one day,” said Raskin.

Nathan Kolker, a senior at Mizzou, took a course taught by Lazarus. Kolker experienced being taught by Lazarus during a couple of his classes and was amazed by his teaching skills and dedication to the subject and his students.

“He teaches just by interacting with others, and he doesn’t sit around and tell people what you should do,” said Kolker. “I like his teaching style because he is never one to shut down anyone’s ideas...if you’re not really on the right track, he’ll put you on the right track and make it seem like you got there on your own.”

Lazarus helped Kolker in his career path by helping him get an internship in Israel through the JLE’s internship program. Kolker is thankful for the dedication and time he puts into his students inside, and outside of his program.

#reading #writing #lessons