If someone had asked me 6 months ago what my post- graduation plans were and then followed it up with the inevitable “ok, so what is AVODAH?” my answer then would look nothing like my answer today. From the very humid cloudy day in August when we sat on the couch awkwardly trying to figure out rooming, being sure not to step on anyone’s toes, to now, just a mere 4 months later I feel I am finally fit to answer that question.

All of those buzzwords that surround AVODAH like ‘social justice’ and ‘intentional living’ are just a part of that answer. The real answer lies in the byproducts of those buzzwords.

It’s the fact that I can sit on the couch at the AVODAH house (where I spend oh-so-many-hours) and learn more about Jewish traditions and the Jewish faith from conversing with my roommates than I ever did in Hebrew school. It’s the fact that when I come home from work there is always someone to ask “oh hey! how was your day?” It’s the fact that while we all may be fighting uphill social battles, that will not be fixed overnight, or in a year, or even in our life time, together we represent a broad spectrum of the different issues facing our nation today.

It is because of this that even though I work at DC SCORES, I feel not only knowledgeable but invested, in the variety of issues that my fellow corps members go to work for everyday. I feel confident in saying we have all become passionate about the issue areas we are working on. And that passion does not diffuse when we enter the house.

When I go to work each day, I feel like many of us do: that I have a small, yet fervent, army behind me. My  AVODAH army, ready to give their time, energy and thoughts to anything that I might encounter, whether it’s needing volunteers last minute or just needing to bounce an idea around with someone; AVODAH bolsters you up. I guess what I am trying to say is, in terms of AVODAH, the whole is so much greater than the sum of its parts. And I am just humbled to be one of those parts.