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Sophie and I hop on a Zoom together one summer afternoon. From a quiet nook in a camp building, she chats about her life in the NoVA Jewish community, strange injuries, being buddies with a local rabbi, her degree in Jewish studies, working as a labor and delivery nurse, and the allure of Harper’s Ferry.
Samuel: Thanks for taking the time out of your day! Hopefully we avoid any concussions or whatever other camp injuries for the next half hour or so.
Sophie: God willing.
Samuel: What brought you to the DMV?
Sophie: I’m from Vienna, so I’ve always lived here. Then I went to UVA, so I stayed in Virginia, and got a job in DC. I’m one of those people who never left. But I love DC, and I love Virginia so much, so I’m very happy to be here.
Samuel: Where’s that love coming from?
Sophie: I think DC is an amazing city: the food, the things to do, the diversity. I’m a very outdoorsy person, so I love being able to go less than an hour away and have so many hikes that are just right there. I love the mountains. West Virginia has incredibly good skiing for such close proximity. And, I love the Jewish community here. It’s like, definitely my community. It’s such a good place to live. People complain about politics, or that “everyone works for the government, everyone’s a consultant,” but I feel like it’s overall just such a good place to live with people who are passionate and well-educated and who want to get involved in the community. You don’t find that everywhere.
Samuel: What does your Jewish community look like?
Sophie: My family’s shul is in Reston, so for the High Holidays I still typically go there to Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation. I have a degree in Jewish Studies, and am very interested in Jewish learning and academics, and so I’ve found a home with the Den Collective. I really enjoy them, and then I also very frequently am at a GatherDC Happy Hour. I did Moishe House for a little bit. One of my really good friends is a rabbi at Washington Hebrew Congregation, so whenever she’s doing something fun, I’m there. I bop around…you could see me anywhere.
Samuel: What’s something from your degree that you’ve never quite been able to stop thinking about?
Sophie: It’s so funny – a few weeks ago you interviewed Zack Szlezinger, who is one of my best friends from UVA. He and I took a class called Gender and Sexuality in the Bible together, and he and I always sat in the back of the class and talked. It was a wild class. We loved it. Biblical texts address human sexuality in such a variety of ways, ranging from symbolic to even explicit, and it was interesting to explore these relationships and what they are trying to teach.
I think about that class all the time. We talked about David being, like, a gay icon in the Torah, and the Psalms being love letters…it was a great class. The whole class was asking: How could we turn this into a feminist reimagining or a Queer reading? We were all about it.
Samuel: What else feels alive for you Jewishly right now?
Sophie: My thing is definitely Shabbat. After October 7th, there was so much like…what can I do? And I don’t know if this is actually “doing” anything, but post-October 7th I made a more conscious effort to light Shabbat candles. For a long time it was: This is the first Shabbat without the hostages. This is the second Shabbat without the hostages. And now it’s almost too many to even count. But every time I light the candles, I’m always hoping that the next time I light candles, the hostages are home, and it’s a way for me to have a moment to think about the hostages and about the war.
I’m a nurse, so I work a lot of Shabbats. But if I’m not working, I’m always trying to do something, even just a Shabbat dinner with friends. On occasion, I go to Sixth & I, or Adas Israel, or Washington Hebrew. DC Minyan a lot, too. DC Minyan is so fun. I go to things if I’m available. And sometimes, with my friends, it’ll be that we all make a dinner reservation for Friday night. It’s always an intentional choice.
Then, my favorite Jewish holiday is probably Sukkot. I love Sukkot, and my family always builds a sukkah. I love going home for that.
Samuel: You’re a labor and delivery nurse. What brought you into that work?
Sophie: My favorite fun fact about my job is that I was my sister’s labor and delivery nurse, so I got to deliver my nephew.
Samuel: How intimate!
Sophie: People always have a lot of questions. Understandably. But it was really fun for all of us. It’s a funny story, because labor and delivery was not on my mind. I did Onward in Israel when I was in college, and was supposed to do my internship on a bone marrow transplant unit in Jerusalem. I was so excited, and then showed up at the hospital and they were like: Oh, actually, you’re not on that unit anymore. We’re putting you in the mother-baby unit. That’s what it is.
So I was just thrown into it by accident, but I clearly really loved it. I loved the people, and the work, and connecting with the women. I was at a hospital near the border of East and West Jerusalem, so we had a huge variety of diverse patients, not just Israeli Jews. There were days where I had more Arabic-speaking patients than Hebrew-speaking patients. Then I got back to the States, and had a labor and delivery rotation, and it was the coolest thing ever. I love it. I’m so grateful to be included in this time of people’s lives. I don’t take it for granted that they allow me to be part of this special moment.
I’m starting to move into the outpatient sector, though. Especially right now, women’s health is really ignored in public health, and there’s a lot of work we can do in outpatient [services] that will save lives. You see a lot of people who have maybe never seen a doctor or OBGYN, and that’s where they can get their first pap smear, birth control prescription, or access to abortion services. That’s where you’re really able to touch people’s lives.
Samuel: You’re also a summer camp nurse…how’s that been?
Sophie: I love it. This is my fifth summer as a camp nurse. Teenagers, I think, are so freaking cool, and they’re such a fun group of people to be with for eight weeks. I’ve seen my fair share of bizarre emergencies, and it keeps me on my toes, in a similar way that being in the hospital was. I am a big proponent of Jewish camping, and seeing so much profound Jewish joy is so cool.
Samuel: You talked earlier about your time in East Jerusalem, and spending time each Shabbat thinking about the hostages and broader war. Do you think you’re bringing a perspective some other folks don’t have?
Sophie: Jerusalem is where I lived in Israel, and it holds such a special place in my heart. Hersh Goldberg-Polin, the hostage who I think a lot of us know [about], had a sign in his room that said: Jerusalem is for Everyone. I feel that so firmly in my heart.
And I lived it, and saw it firsthand, and I think we don’t see that enough in the media when we talk about this conflict. I would sit on the bus to go to work and have an Orthodox Jewish woman to my right and someone in a hijab to my left, and we’d all be on the bus together. And we’d all wish each other a good morning, in whatever language we chose, and everyone would go about their day. I can certainly relate to there being fear, especially for people in uniform. But in my American experience, Jerusalem was a place where I saw a lot of people coming together and living and coexisting.
Samuel: Alright, a few quick ones to close. What is your outdoorsy hidden gem of the DMV?
Sophie: It’s not quite the DMV, but Harper’s Ferry is really only an hour away and it’s so cool. There are so many great hikes, and I’ve gone whitewater rafting and kayaking. And, if you like beer, there’s a really great brewery. Harper’s Ferry is definitely a happy place of mine.
But, as such a proud UVA alum, Charlottesville is only two hours away, and I think everyone should go check out Charlottesville for the weekends, especially in Fall. There’s a ton of wineries and good hikes. They have a beautiful synagogue there with the most engaging and participatory and joyous Friday night service. Shameless plug for Charlottesville.
Samuel: You can bring any three people to Shabbat dinner. Who are you inviting?
Sophie: I am super, super close with my siblings. Definitely, one of them is always at a Shabbat dinner – I’d choose whichever one I like most that week, plus my niece and nephew. That counts as one seat. My niece and nephew will want to be in someone’s lap.
Then, I’d invite Rabbi Rachel at Washington Hebrew Congregation. I feel like she would have such meaningful things to say, and I love being with her.
Maybe, for the third person, I’d invite an athlete. Any Jewish athlete. I would like to talk to them, and they probably need to carb load, and I’m really good at making carbs. We’d be in good company.
Samuel: Last one. Finish the sentence: When Jews of the DMV gather…
Sophie: There’s never a quiet moment. We’re so good at talking, and we’re all really good at making whatever we want to say heard. I love that. I love the rambunctious nature of it.
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