Finding Our Place: Becci Weiss’s Story
When Becci first considered becoming a single mother by choice, she assumed she would have to make a difficult compromise.
She had always been drawn to traditional Jewish life. The values, the rituals, and the sense of history and purpose all resonated deeply with her. But she worried that an Orthodox community might not have room for a family that didn’t look “traditional.”
So when she first walked through the doors of The Jewish Experience, she carried more than a diaper bag. She carried uncertainty.
Would she fit in?
Would her son?
Would people see what made her family different before they saw who they were?
Those fears began to disappear almost immediately.
From warm Shabbat dinners to Family Experience events, Becci found something she hadn’t expected: genuine community. Nobody questioned whether she belonged. Instead, they welcomed her and her son, Ted, as if they’d always been part of the family.
“I was nervous to come to TJE,” she says. “But I’ve never felt anything but welcomed.”
That welcome became more than friendly smiles.
The rabbis became trusted mentors. Other parents became friends. Ted began making crafts alongside other children, celebrating Jewish holidays, and taking his first steps into a community that already knew his name.
“I was given this gift by God,” Becci says. “I want him to know this incredible lineage of people that he comes from. I want him to be proud of it.”
Today, Becci no longer wonders whether she and Ted belong.
Instead, she’s thinking about the future. She pictures Ted celebrating Shabbat, making lifelong friends, learning the traditions of his people, and growing up with a deep sense of where he comes from.
When Becci thinks about TJE today, she doesn’t think first about classes or events. She thinks about the people who have become part of Ted’s story before he’s even old enough to remember it.
That’s the kind of community she had hoped to find.
She just never expected to feel so at home.
The best memories are made together. Join us for an upcoming Family Experience event and discover what Becci’s family found: a place to belong.
