Dayna Gershon can’t quite put into words when or why she came to love Judaism so much.
Her family wasn’t especially observant, although her mom, Judy Parelman, was the youth director at Congregation Beth Shalom when Gershon was in high school, and Patti Kroll, director of the Polsky Religious School, lived across the street.
One of her earliest memories –— the first time she had to stand up for who she was –— was at Katherine Carpenter Elementary when a little boy asked if she was a Hebrew. “I thought it was funny, but it was also a defining moment,” she says.
“Regular school was the worst torture you could subject me to as a child, but I loved going to Hebrew School and Sunday School. It was something I was good at.”
Where she belongs
Gershon was active in USY in high school and during college served as Beth Shalom’s Shabbaton director and Kadima/USY adviser. As Beth Shalom’s youth director During her senior year at KU and the year following graduatior, she created opportunities for students to explore and develop their Jewish identities through Shabbat and other religious, educational and social experiences. After the following summer as a Herzl Camp program director, she spent three years in Minneapolis as a USY regional youth director.
At that point, the urge to be closer to family took over along with feeling the need to explore career options beyond USY. In 1998, Gershon moved back to Kansas City and was working for ASE Group, which specializes in corporate meetings and events, when she met Danny Gershon,
The couple moved to Louisville, Ky., for Danny’s residency, where they married, and Gershon became the Jewish life and learning director for the JCC. “As soon as I got connected with the JCC, I was 100 percent back into Jewish education and knew that was where I belonged,” she says.
Active Judaism for Grownups
Shortly after she and Danny came back to Kansas City in 2004, in addition to joining the Religious School staff at Beth Shalom, Gershon participated in the Women’s Division B’not Kehillah young leadership program. “It was a rite of passage,” she says. “Everybody I knew had done it and gotten more involved.” She did too, joining the board of Women’s Division, as well as the Village Shalom Associate Board.
She currently has no volunteer projects, but it’s easy to understand why. In addition to preparing lessons and teaching at Beth Shalom, she’s the mother of Max, 7, and Sadie, 4, and she works part-time as an administrative assistant for Rabbi Jonathan Rudnick, the community chaplain.
But she also knows it probably won’t be long before the Federation beckons her back. “Women’s Division is a very inspiring place to be and such an active way to be Jewish,” she says. “You’re constantly learning where the needs are, how you can make a difference in the world, and have a great time doing it.”
You could almost say that Women’s Division is the place for grownups that Gershon tries to create for her students. “I want them to understand that Judaism is part of who they are,” she says, “and not just for someone we hope they will grow up to be.”
Educator of the Year
This year at Beth Shalom, Gershon is teaching fifthhgrade Hebrew School and is an assistant teacher in the pre-K classroom. She was also one of 10 teachers chosen from local congregational schools to participate in CAJE’s Teacher Education Initiative, and spent the past year volunteering to assist in the transition of Hebrew High from CAJE to Beth Shalom.
As a Jewish educator, what worries Gershon most is the number of people who are disconnected from the spiritual and religious aspects of Judaism. At the same time, what gives her hope is how many people relate strongly to Jewish values and tzedakah. Ultimately, she would like to earn her master’s degree in Jewish education so she can “be a better teacher teaching more Jewish things to more people.”
Her talent and dedication will be recognized when she receives the Grinspoon-Steinhardt Religious Educator of the Year Award at the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City’s Annual Meeting on Sept. 7 at Oakwood Country Club.