Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project’s MOMentum Women’s Trip to Israel is coming up, and we only have FOUR slots left for travelers!
If your children are currently in high school or younger and you live within 30 minutes of Memphis, you may qualify for this amazing opportunity. JWRP and JCP cover everything on the ground- all you pay is the cost of airfare from Memphis to Israel!
Learn more about the MOMentum Women’s Trip here
…or contact Carrie Richardson for information and assistance. 901-374-0954.
The following is an excerpt from a piece written by MOMentum traveler Diane Scherer, of Palm Beach Gardens, FL. You can find the full essay here, which informs readers about her personal experience before and after her unforgettable journey.
My Momentum Trip Experience: Before and After by Diane Scherer
I am a Jewish woman, wife to an amazing husband and mother to a 5 year old girl and 2 year old boy. For the past 12 years, I have been working full-time in a variety of Jewish organizations so I thought that I was pretty 
competent in my knowledge about the intersect of 21st century feminism with the mitzvoth of a Jewish woman. During the past 5 days I have been questioning many of my pre-conceived notions and well, this is scary and overwhelming. My brain is on over-load to say the least.
5 days ago I was approaching the last days on the Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project Momentum; an 8 day trip to Israel with 200 other Jewish moms from around the world. Even though this trip was my 10th time to Israel, it was un-like any other Israel trip I have been on before; it was life-changing and probably the most important thing I could do as a Jewish mom and wife. The JWRP trip opened my eyes to many new perspectives on 21st century Jewish feminism; culminating in inspiration alongside confusion.
5 years ago I was returning to the workforce after my maternity leave with my then 4 month old baby girl, who is now 5 and ½ years old. Returning to the workforce with my eyes set on upward career mobility, I read the book “Lean In” by Sheryl Sandberg. It was very inspiration; every page I deeply identified with. I finished the book in 24 hours, ready to conquer the balance of being a mom and a career woman. I was inspired by Sandberg’s writings focused on leaning in as a woman to one’s career. After all, women should have the same opportunities as men as we have as much leadership, intelligence and perseverance as men. And, the cherry on top is that Sheryl Sandberg is Jewish, so to me she was extra relatable. With this new role of being a mom and continuing to set my eyes on becoming a CEO or other high level professional, I dove right in.
However, 5 days ago culminated in questioning. Have I been diving in too much to my career and not enough to being a proud Jewish mom and wife? Obviously, I love my children and husband more than anything, but sometimes my acts don’t demonstrate this. So, some major guilt surfaced. Have I been so focused on my career that I am not giving enough attention to my husband, children, and my own Judaism? Have I been running around so busy, that I have neglected tangibly showing my faith in Gd and demonstrating Judaism in my home? 5 years ago through 5 days ago, I only baked a challah with my own two hands twice and I only kept Halachic Shabbat when in Israel. But, how could I find the time to make a complete Shabbat dinner, with challah and all, when I am working outside the home all week? And, why do women have to do it all; have the career and take care of the home?