JewEL Spotlight: Lauralie Ezra

My Jewish Story was recently shared by The Jewish Federation of Las Vegas in their weekly email. Below is the spotlight they shared about me.

JewEL Spotlight – Lauralie Ezra

I wasn’t always Jewish. I mean, technically, yes. Both parents were Jewish, but by the time elementary school hit, there was no religion in our home connected to the Jewish identity. I found myself involved in other faiths until I turned 21. At the time, I thought that perhaps I would never find the community that could serve who I truly am, so I left faith behind.

A few years later I started working and living in NYC with Jewish family and for a Jewish employer. “Ezra, that’s Jewish.” I remember hearing. “Have you been to Israel?” I was asked. And that’s how it started.

Enter Birthright in 2008, a trip I barely made it on! It was the last trip Israel Outdoors was holding that summer, deep in the heart of the August heat. I fell in love. I found my Jewish identity. I realized that who I am is so much larger then the faith I had followed in younger years. I felt like I was around a country that housed my true family. I realized that being Jewish was a larger part of my history then I could have ever realized. I decided then that it would also be part of my future.

From the moment I returned from my Birthright trip, I continued my Jewish legacy and rededicated myself to exploring what Jewish life could mean for me. Needless to say, being part of JewEL in Vegas has connected me back to my Jewish culture in the most loving and inviting way possible! I am glad to have found my way into this community!