From Accidental to Intentional: How One Jewish Professional Became a Leader of the Service Movement
Esther Arbeid (she/her) never expected to become a Jewish educator. For years, she called herself an “accidental Jewish professional”—working in Jewish spaces without the grounding in tradition she thought was required.
Today, Esther facilitates meaningful Jewish learning, bringing the values of the Torah to life through Jewish volunteer service.
Her journey from hesitant professional to empowered Jewish educator and community leader began with a single volunteer shift—and was amplified through Tzedek: Jewish Service Learning Cohort, a partnership program of Repair the World and the JCC Association of North America that equips JCC professionals with the resources, training, and support to lead Jewish service learning.
In her first year in Tzedek, Esther and her cohort of 18 JCC professionals from across North America explored Jewish texts and teachings—like dignity and welcoming the stranger—while taking action to meet urgent needs in their communities.
Esther and her colleague, Roslyn Kaman, pack hygiene kits.
“It really brought it home for me in a way that nothing has before. It is the best professional training I’ve ever had in my 23 years [as a Jewish professional].”
Through her two-year participation in Tzedek, Esther gained the educational resources, training, and local partnerships to lead a Jewish service program that addressed pressing needs in her community. She started with the fifth-grade students at the JCC’s day school, and designed a service project addressing housing insecurity in Toronto, grounded in the Jewish value of kavod, dignity.
“We gave the [children] the statistics of homelessness and people living in shelters who don’t have access to showers, and asked them to imagine what it must be like not to have a shower,” Esther explained.
Over 1,000 hygiene kits were packed.
Together, they launched a community-wide donation drive called J Cares, collecting and packing 1,100 hygiene kits for people experiencing homelessness. The project brought together community members across generations to learn, serve, and make a difference in their local community.
In the spring of her second year of Tzedek, Esther’s commitment to Jewish service deepened. She engaged the day school’s sixth-graders in service and Jewish learning focused on welcoming the stranger, hachnasat orchim. Partnering with the Jewish Immigration Aid Society (JIAS), Esther guided students in learning about the Jewish Diaspora, and encouraged students to reflect on their family heritage and the immigrant experience.
Through the skills, resources, and training she gained through Tzedek, Esther became increasingly confident in leading meaningful Jewish service, grounded in empathy. Together, the sixth graders packed back-to-school supplies into new backpacks for immigrant children, adding encouraging hand-written notes to each backpack. Esther wasn’t just modifying her JCC’s programming, she was transforming her JCC’s approach to service.
Esther looks forward to continuing her journey:
“Now I have a chevruta with the Jewish Learning Collaborative [access she received through participating in Tzedek] to help me feel more and more comfortable calling myself a Jewish educator, standing in front of the room and speaking lines of the Torah.”
Esther’s confidence as a Jewish educator radiates throughout her community. When asked why she’d recommend the program to other professionals, her answer is immediate:
“It’s empowering. It enables the individual to feel like they have the power to make the difference in their career, in their community, when the world is so overwhelmingly dark right now.”
Across North America, Repair the World is equipping Jewish professionals like Esther to be the Jewish service leaders of tomorrow. Participants don’t just serve their communities—they discover their own capacity to lead while creating meaningful change and inspiring others. New to service or a seasoned professional? We have a Jewish service experience for you. Learn more here.
