The GatherDC blog strives to present a holistic portrait of the DMV’s Jewish community, sharing a wide variety of Jewish voices and perspectives. If you have a 20- or 30-something to nominate as our Jewish Person of the Week or for a Spotted in Jewish DMV feature, please email us!
Avrah and I fight elbow-to-elbow through the chaos of workday Tryst to snag a table, then chat about her fantasy and folklore-inflected writing, bird data, the process of building a Jewish community that feels just-right for you, demons, pupusas, and the Sticky Note Wall of Doom.
Samuel: What brought you to the DMV?
Avrah: I rolled across the border from Ellicott City, which is known for being flooded. We keep getting hundred-year floods. But I grew up here, went to University of Maryland, all that. I spent most of that time being like: I have to get the heck out of the DMV. And I did. I went to grad school elsewhere, traveled a lot, and went as far as New Zealand. I came back here to live with my parents while I was looking for work and [realized]: Oh, I like it here!
And, when I started my day job, I met a lot of people that were living in the city, so I already had a built-in community. I just keep making more and more friends here, and now this is where my community is. I’m very people-driven. I finally found a niche of the Jewish community that I really enjoy. I love how walkable it is. It’s close to my parents without being like Everybody Loves Raymond. I just love Mt. Pleasant, too – it feels like its own neighborhood but still has access to the shows, the food, the city. As long as I can afford the rent, I’m just going to stay.
Samuel: How did you go about building your Jewish community?
Avrah: I started with going to JCC events, but I’d moved to the city during the pandemic, so it was a struggle for a while. Then I came out, and started looking for queer Jewish community, and hit my stride with that and Shabbat Clusters. Like, I met my roommate through Shabbat Clusters, and we’ve been living together for three years. I also met people through Capital Qvellers. Now, because I’ve found friends through those groups, we’ll be like: I’m having Shabbat this week, do you want to come over? We find our mini-groups through those.
That’s how I met Juliet, who put us in touch. I saw her posting about her book, and I was like: Congratulations! She said that people kept telling her that she should talk to me, and people kept saying the same thing to me, but they never put us in touch. So we put ourselves in touch.
Samuel: What else is alive for you Jewishly? Does that feel especially present in your writing?
Avrah: It’s a mix. I do a lot of baking around the holidays. I enjoy bakes that have multiple steps to them, like they’re origami. I love challah, babka, and hamantashen. That’s a big way I consistently connect with Judaism.
In terms of writing, I’ve gotten really into the folklore rabbit hole. There’s so much interesting folklore that I never knew about. Like, there’s dybbuks, there’s golems, but there’s also the Adnei haSadeh, the “man of the field,” which is like a man, but also like a vegetable, and it has a root coming out of its navel so it can’t move very far. It’s so cool. And it’s been really fun to discover our stories. The princess asleep in her tower? Whatever, okay. We have this little creature stuck in the woods and, you know, he’s fine, but don’t bother him. Those are the stories that are super interesting to me.
Samuel: If this is what you’re reading, is it also the kind of thing you’re writing?
Avrah: I mostly write fantasy. The book that I have published is sci-fi, but it doesn’t lean into the folklore and heritage aspect. Most of my other stuff does. I have a book on submission that leans into shedim, which is like our version of demons. It’s also a retelling of Hansel and Gretel from the perspective of the witch, to kind of flip the antisemitic narrative on its head. I like bringing in creatures and history in a way that’s different than a lot of people have seen when they encounter Jewish literature.
Samuel: I feel like fantasy and fairy tale retellings are having a bit of a cultural moment right now.
Avrah: I think retellings are perennial. What makes it stick out right now is that people who have previously been left out of the narrative are now telling those stories. Publishing is still heavy on the gatekeeping, but more stories – from Jewish people, from people of color – are coming to the light, whether they’re classic fairy tales or reimaginings or tales from [an author’s] own heritage. More work needs to be done, but we’re getting a crack at it, and it’s making those stories more interesting. It shines a new light on them, and makes people think about them differently.
Samuel: What role does writing play for you in your own life? Writing can be difficult, lonely, frustrating. So why do it?
Avrah: I spend a lot of time in my own head imagining these stories and different worlds. I hate the idea of them being stuck there. Putting them on paper makes them more real and makes me feel like I’m using my voice for something – even if that thing is sometimes not that serious.
Samuel: Okay, a few quick ones to close. What’s something you love about Mt. Pleasant?
Avrah: Ercilia’s pupusas are so good. They’re so greasy and affordable and wonderful.
Samuel: What’s something you’re bad at?
Avrah: I lose things constantly. I’m very forgetful. I have what I call the “Sticky Note Wall of Doom” because if it is not visible to me, I will forget it. Sometimes I put sticky notes on my mirror and it looks like a ransom note. Like a note that says “Sewing Machine; Bring Cash” and if people don’t know the context…
Samuel: What are you feeling proud about right now?
Avrah: I am wrapping up a PhD, because I don’t do enough things. It’s in Geographic Information Systems, related to my day job as a data analyst. I do remote sensing, looking at satellite data to understand different patterns of deforestation and relating that to what people are seeing on the ground with bird data.
Samuel: You’re hosting Shabbat dinner and can invite any three people. Who are you bringing?
Avrah: The first person that comes to my mind is my aunt. She passed away last year and she loved Shabbat. She lived by the Jewish calendar. I’d bring V.E. Schwab. I’d love to pick her brain about writing. Then, Alan Cumming. I’m watching Traitors and it’s so good. I love his fashion. I love that he seems to love this job so much.
Samuel: Last one. Finish the sentence: When Jews of the DMV gather…
Avrah: Expect to take three hours saying goodbye.
The views and opinions expressed in this blog and on this website are solely those of the original authors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the organization GatherDC, the GatherDC staff, the GatherDC board, and/or any/all contributors to this site.
