by Daniel Shore, Kallah Rosh Eidah

I spent my childhood in the downstate Illinois town of Granville, made up of 1,400 people. Surprisingly, 11 of them were Jewish! But with 8 of those over the age of 30, the Sunday school would have been over-staffed. So…my family and I schlepped an hour every Sunday to Peoria for religious school. One magical Sunday morning, Jerry Kaye entered the sanctuary and told of a place with less people than Granville, but 100 times more Jews. The numbers were staggering. That was 15 years ago, but I only needed to be told once. This is my 14th year at OSRUI, and my 3rd summer as Kallah Rosh Eidah (which I absolutely positively can’t wait for!!!).

In my spare time I enjoy a couple of unique hobbies: character voice impressions (Elmo, Kermit, etc.) and stand-up comedy. This fall I’m off to George Mason University, entering into a Ph.D. program for Industrial-Organizational Psychology. I credit camp (and my wonderful parents and family) as the reason I embrace Judaism as an important part of my life, and Granville for putting the amazing community OSRUI creates into perspective.