Learning, Growing, and Building Bridges Through Service
Originally written by Lonnie Firestone, Repair the World New York lay leader
There was no overarching event that propelled me toward bridge-building, but rather a collage of experiences. Living near Washington DC as a child and going to marches was, in retrospect, catalytic. The first that stuck with me was the March for Soviet Jewry in 1987. I remember walking amidst that massive crowd, more Jews than I had ever seen in one place. That was an experience of intra-Jewish bridge-building, forging connections between Jews of different backgrounds in service of a shared goal.
Jewish day school was similarly formative in developing my communal identity, bolstered by my family’s dedication to shul, Shabbat, and holidays.
It wasn’t until college that I experienced bridge-building across communities in a deep way. I went to the University of Michigan, a seismic change from my Orthodox Jewish high school. I knew no one in advance and had to carve out communities from the first day onward. It was a challenge in the best way. I began to join clubs that celebrated culture, both mine and others. Most notably, I joined the performance and coordinating teams of Encompass, a variety show that featured an array of cultural groups on campus. Through that outlet, I met new friends with whom I discussed religion and family traditions, especially those quite different from my own. I continued to seek deeper understanding of different communities while staying grounded in Jewishness. Incrementally, bridge-building became both passion and compass, though it took time for me to understand its dimensions.
What I now realize is this: to meaningfully practice bridge-building, there must be two truths in place: you feel rooted in your community and you admire the rootedness of other communities. Love of self and love of other.
Lonnie volunteering in Crown Heights, Brooklyn sharing healthcare resources to community residents.
Repair the World embodies that duality, and I recognized something special about the organization from my first experience there. Years ago, I had registered for a Repair the World program focused on providing healthcare information to residents of Crown Heights. As volunteers, we stood along Nostrand Avenue, approaching neighbors to offer affordable resources and help them determine their eligibility. What began as an awkward endeavor—approaching strangers and starting conversations—became a moving experience. Several individuals expressed their appreciation for the information we provided, and I was struck by the way Repair the World merged Jewish volunteers with neighborhood service. It strengthened my admiration for programs that prioritize listening to what people need, rather than making assumptions from a distance.
Some time later, I crafted a Muslim-Jewish dinner series in Brooklyn and Manhattan with a Muslim co-coordinator. Our intention was to connect individuals who may not have met otherwise, such as Muslims and Jews who observed Halal and kosher restrictions on food. Over three years, we matched dozens of people for intimate gatherings in one another’s homes, ranging from Shabbat dinners to Iftar meals.
The momentum of that project led me to my current professional work as the founder and co-director of Exploring Black Narratives, a curricular program in Jewish middle and high schools that explores plays and historical texts by acclaimed Black writers. Our educators are primarily Black actors, both Jewish and non-Jewish, who create dynamic, intellectual, and eye-opening learning experiences in the classroom.
In March, we launched a cross-community expansion of the program titled Exploring The Narrative that brings Jewish communities and majority Black communities together for interactive learning. Our work aims to foster curiosity, enrich conversations, and elevate texts as a conduit for connection between learners.
The work is deeply rewarding, but I’d be remiss to overlook the challenges that we face in a sharply fragmented society. We live in a time when protecting our own kin and community feels paramount, motivating us to retreat into silos to ensure our safety. The unintended result is that, by doing so, we cut ourselves off from partnerships that will strengthen and support us. Siloing also compels us to believe that we are the only ones worth protecting.
The way out of this knot, in my view, is to deepen connections both within and outside one’s community. Repair The World continually leads by example in this area. Their programs braid Jewish engagement with neighborhood service. I have been continually inspired, both as a volunteer and as a New York lay leader.
The activist Howard Thurman offered a beautiful insight when a student asked him what the world needs. Thurman replied that it’s better to “ask yourself what makes you come alive and go and do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
If you are looking for a meaningful way to build bridges and strengthen your community, Repair the World offers a powerful space to do just that.
Lonnie Firestone is the Founder and Co-Director of Exploring The Narrative, a cross-community learning platform whose signature program, Exploring Black Narratives, designs curricular study in Jewish day schools around literary and historical texts by acclaimed Black authors. Lonnie has conducted interviews with artists and writers for live events at JCC Manhattan, the Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center, and CBE in Brooklyn, as well as on her theater podcast Places Everyone. Lonnie has written about theater and culture for The Wall Street Journal, Glamour, Vanity Fair, The Forward, Tablet, JTA, American Theatre, Playbill, Departures, and Michigan Alumnus. She holds a BA in English from the University of Michigan and an MFA in theater from Columbia University with a specialty in dramaturgy. Lonnie lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and two sons.
