By Anise Parnes, International Vice President and Consulting Services Vice Chair
As this Women’s League for Conservative Judaism term comes to its conclusion and I reflect upon my WLCJ journey, I keep asking myself: how did I become a modern-day version of my mother?
My mother’s 20th-century life choices included being a bride at 18; raising her children in a Jewish home; providing each with the formal Jewish education she was denied as a youngster; being active within her synagogue community; and serving as Sisterhood President twice, during two distinct periods of her life.
I was her rebellious daughter who made decisions on her own timeline, relished her independence, had no intention of getting married in her teens or twenties, wanted a career rather than to be a homemaker, and would never join a Jewish women’s organization!
Need I go on?
And yet, somehow, as I pursued my independent career-girl life, I also became a wife, a mother, a Sisterhood member, and a Sisterhood President during two separate periods of my life.
My mother was active in a number of Jewish women’s organizations. Her calendar was filled with organizational meetings, luncheons, and lectures. They enriched her life and enabled her to nurture lifelong friendships with like-minded Jewish women.
As I pursued my Sisterhood leadership path, I learned about WLCJ. My curiosity led to leadership roles that have included Region President, Women’s League Consultant, Region Advisor, and Women’s League Vice President.
My calendar filled with organizational meetings, luncheons, and lectures. They have enriched my life with friendships and experiences I never imagined when I was younger and focused elsewhere. And, organically, I have become a 21st-century variation of the woman who raised me.
Shabbat Shalom,
Anise Parnes
International Vice President and Consulting Services Vice Chair
