Aharon Zazulia is now the Kansas City NCSY and Jewish Student Union (JSU) Director, following Rabbi Nati Stern. Zazulia developed a love for NCSY after his time in university and hopes to energize and sustain Kansas City’s branch.
Zazulia was raised in Denver, Colorado, where he said there was not much of an active NCSY branch when he was a teenager. He attended a yeshiva for a year before attending Boston University for engineering and then Yeshiva University in New York City for business intelligence and marketing analytics.
“Once I transferred over to Yeshiva University, I learned more about NCSY and what it was,” Zazulia said. “I was really excited to get involved with something that would really inject some meaning, some growth and some leadership into Jewish teens.”
Hooked on NCSY and JSU (NCSY-run Jewish culture clubs for schools), Zazulia became an advisor and traveled across the country for Shabbatons (Shabbat retreats).
“I think both NCSY and JSU are about empowering Jewish teens to see themselves as leaders – as Jewish leaders – and to own their Judaism. I think that in a way, a lot of Jewish teens and Jewish people aren’t able to nowadays,” Zazulia said.
After accepting the position of director for Kansas City, Zazulia drove to Kansas from Colorado and was pleased at how “nice” everyone is in Kansas. “There’s something about Kansas – everyone is very genuine, both in the Jewish community and in general. It’s special,” he said.
The High Holy Days took place during Zazulia's first month. The scheduling conflicts involved with the holidays and the immediate start of his position resulted in “a whirlwind crazy tsunami hurricane of everything going on at once” for Zazulia. “It’s really been a blessing,” he said. “It’s been fun, it’s been exciting and it’s been a lot of growth for me.”
Since his arrival, Zazulia has hosted various NCSY events. He introduced a twist on the NCSY staple “Latte N’ Learning,” where NCSYers go to a coffee shop to socialize and talk about the Torah. His version is “Nosh and Nature,” which takes place on Sundays at Roe Park in Overland Park. Snacks and drinks are provided. Attendees often talk about the weekly parshah or Jewish history.
Specific High Holiday NCSY programming included a Tashlich and Cook Out between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. For Sukkot, NCSYers were treated to a limousine party bus that took them on a “sukkah hop.” Two groups – one for Junior NCSY (6th-8th grades) and one for high schoolers – traveled to three different sukkahs and ate a progressive meal with appetizers, main courses and desserts.
For JSU, Zazulia hosted a candy and graham cracker sukkah build at Blue Valley High School. Some schools have not allowed JSUs to start back up because of COVID, so Zazulia is looking at options before school or on Sundays.
“If you’re not in a youth group, I think JSU is a great way to meet other Jewish students and see that you are not alone and there are all these amazing Jewish students in the schools here in KC,” Zazulia said. “JSU is focused on Jewish education, Jewish identity, and owning your Judaism in a world of antisemitism and everything we’re going through. It’s really amazing to see public school students - who maybe were even scared to identify as Jewish - coming to a Jewish club and saying, ‘This is who I am.’”
Zazulia commended his predecessor, Rabbi Stern, for his Zoom programming, but is hoping not to need it because he thinks everyone wants to have programs in person, if possible.
“I want everyone to be comfortable, safe and healthy. As long as we can make those things happen first, I think we can have things in person, which I think is so crucial,” Zazulia said.
Zazulia is a strong believer in face-to-face experiences. “Thank God schools are back in session. I think that is something that teens really need,” he said. “The fact of the matter is that high schoolers and middle schoolers – everyone who is school-aged – have been really hurting socially and psychologically from COVID. It’s been amazing to see these people back in person – they are wearing masks in schools, but they are back in person, which I think is very important…You can see some upturn – people are starting to do a little bit better and are just happier.”
For the future, Zazulia hopes that Shabbatons can resume safely. “[Shabbatons] are a big highlight of students’ years when they are in NCSY,” he said. “It’s always a great way to meet new people and go with the friends you already have to a new place and have a fun time.”
Both NCSY and JSU have summer programming, including Israel, Europe and United States trips. Zazulia said there are 20 to 30 programs, and information sessions will begin soon.
For KC NCSY and JSU’s futures, “there’s a lot to look forward to,” Zazulia said. “It’s just about getting plans out of our brains and off the paper into an actual event. That’s what I’m here for, and it’s really exciting.”
Outside of NCSY and JSU, Zazulia loves family movies (especially Disney/Pixar films), hiking, and taking his dog to the dog park with his wife, Aviva. He considers himself a bit “techy” because his wife and father are in software engineering and gave him experience with technology. He considers himself relatively handy and hopes to build a lectern in his free time. He and Aviva live in Overland Park.
