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Eric and I lounge outside at Emissary on P Street one recent afternoon. Watching a thunderstorm approach, we chat about The Hineni Circle, Eric’s challah journey, learning from disparate careers, blueberries, and what we might take for granted about the DC Jewish community.
Samuel: What brought you to the DMV?
Eric: This was actually my third time trying to move to DC. Pre-Covid, I was going to come here for a Navy job, and it got canceled within three weeks of when I was supposed to move. Then, I was supposed to come here post-Covid, but I went active duty for the Navy and got sent to San Diego. I retired from the Navy in 2024, came here in December 2024, and have been here ever since.
Samuel: Why did you want to be here?
Eric: I’m originally from Nashville, but lived in Cincinnati for three years ago. I wanted to be in a bigger, more Jewish space because I converted – it’s about getting a broader range of opportunities and learning and knowledge and just life. It’s a lot harder to experience new-to-you Jewish life when you’re in those smaller communities. You don’t get to access a lot of things that other people can tend to take for granted when they grow up inside of [a Jewish community].
Samuel: What’s keeping you here?
Eric: I’ve only been here 18 months, so I don’t think that’s enough time to really get a full grasp on a city. But the beauty of DC is that it’s easy to do things – here, I can do day trips. I have access to Amtrak. I never lived in a place where it made sense to get on a train before. If I want to drive, I have access to the beach. There’s so much to do and see that’s affordable, free, historic, and varied.
Then, on the Jewish side, there are so many different opportunities in DC that are unique to this city and don’t happen elsewhere. You’ve got places like Sixth & I, GatherDC, ConnectJew, and synagogues that actually make a true effort to connect people in Jewish life. Coming from San Diego, I’d never had the experience where, if I wanted to, I could do something Jewish every single day here. Even something like The Hineni Circle, that’s a unique thing that I don’t think would have happened anywhere else.
Samuel: What set you on the conversion path?
Eric: The music community is another small community in Nashville. I was friends with a songwriter, and when she had a going-away party, I met a ton of people from the Jewish side of her [personal] community. I’m a say-yes-to-everything kind of person, so I made friends with them and they started inviting me to things: Hanukkah, High Holy Days, everything under the sun. It slowly just became that I was doing all the things of being Jewish without actually being Jewish.
When I realized I was already living that life, it just made sense. I feel like with a lot of other religions, you’re living for the promise of something that comes afterwards instead of living in the now. For me, Judaism appeals to me in that I am living in the now, learning and growing, and what happens after I die is what happens after I die.
Samuel: You mentioned The Hineni Circle, which has been a ten-month experience and a pretty big commitment. What made you say yes?
Eric: I knew that I didn’t necessarily have a Jewish home, and that I didn’t have a guide for what I wanted [my Jewish home] to look like, or how I wanted to shape my Jewish experience when I’m at home by myself. I realized that how I shape my own home actually impacts how I move throughout the community. So, I wanted to see what The Hineni Circle was – what they were going to talk about, what they were going to go through, and then to do it with a group of people who were curious, like me.
Samuel: What have you learned or experienced that you think you’ll be carrying forward long-term?
Eric: Anyone in our group chat will be able to tell you this: my progression of making challah.
Samuel: Were you a baker at all before?
Eric: No. But I’m trying to do more with my Shabbat practice. As much as I can, when I’m not going to a Shabbat, I make sure I’m at least home to light candles. I get to do havdalah every once in a while. But the challah has been very consistent. It’s been an adventure in patience and timing and learning how different things affect the challah. I have these people [in the Hineni Circle] who were able to support me in the first couple weeks, where I’m like: Do I need to knead more? Why is it runny? Will blueberries be a good thing?
Samuel: What’s the advice you’d pass on to someone just starting their challah-making journey?
Eric: Follow one recipe first. You don’t need to be fancy with it in the beginning; you just need to do it. There are no normal challahs in my house, they’re all desserts. Cinnamon sugar, chocolate chip, blueberry and lemon. But I had to start with plain challah. Ask questions, call someone, ask for help, and you’ll be fine. Once you get it right, it’s a lot easier to experiment and make it your own. And then you’ll have fun!
Samuel: How do you know when you’re ready to start that experimentation? Not just with challah, but with anything that you’re learning and making your own?
Eric: After I fail and pick up again, after I have an abysmal time doing something…it’s the moment that I restart and the next time goes well. It doesn’t have to go perfectly. It just goes better. That’s when I’m like: Yeah, I can do this. I don’t have to have my best day every day. But I’m going to get up and try again. That’s when I reach that moment of happiness with hobbies and know I’m going to keep doing it for a while.
Samuel: Okay, a few quick ones to close. You live over by Union Market – what’s something you love in your neighborhood?
Eric: La Cosecha. There are so many different experiences that you can have in one spot: restaurants, dancing, cooking classes. If you haven’t been, you should go.
Samuel: What do you carry forward from your time in the Navy?
Eric: So, I’ve had a lot of different careers. I taught 6th grade during Covid, I’ve been in the Navy, I was a police officer in Nashville, and now I’m in Development. The one thing that’s constant is that I’m never directionally challenged.
Samuel: In a physical sense? In a metaphorical sense?
Eric: Mostly physical. Like, I know what’s going on with my surroundings. I’m seeing things in a situational awareness sense. Which served me well when I was substitute teaching with sixth graders. If you don’t have a good grasp of your surroundings, your children are going off the wall. They’re everywhere.
Samuel: You’re hosting Shabbat dinner and can invite any three people. Who are you bringing?
Eric: Barack Obama, Sister Mary Clarence from Sister Act – fantastic movie – and my really good friend Ilana from Cincinnati.
Samuel: Is there anything else on your mind?
Eric: I’m thinking about things like ConnectJew Live. You should go to those events where you’re going to meet people from other organizations. Even if you don’t think this one is the one for you, you won’t actually know what an organization has to offer you until you talk to them. And being open to talking, even if you think that a community doesn’t fit your mold, is the best thing you can possibly do in the city.
Samuel: Last one. Finish the sentence: When Jews of the DMV gather…
Eric: They may not know each other, but they usually make a friend.
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