Northshore Magazine

December 2014

Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.

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198 nshoremag.com May/June 2012 198 nshoremag.com May/June 2012 FINE CARPET INSTALLATION CUSTOM RUG FABRICATION CUSTOM STAR RUNNER INSTALLATION IN-HOME DESIGN CONSULTATION 271 Main Street Stoneham MA 781-435-0707 www.CustomFloorsDesign.com Israeli soil, they knelt and kissed the ground, grateful for a homeland that accepted them in spite of their circum- stances. "I told myself, this is a very unique, wonderful country," Lappin says. That experience is emblematic of what, he feels, it means to be Jewish. "The hallmark of the Jewish people is that we are responsible for each other," he says. "And that's what an Israel trip conveys." Brad Sontz, a 48-year-old Marblehead native and resi- dent, went to Israel with Y2I three decades ago, and says it's difficul to quantify the trip's impact on his identity. But he did go on to marry a Jewish woman (who also traveled to Israel with Y2I on a separate trip, before they met). Not only did they raise their children Jewish, but their 17-year- old daughter recently traveled to Israel with Y2I, too. Still, Sontz says he's undecided about how important it is for his children to marry other Jews. "I have two daughters and a son, and to me, the most important aspect of their life is that they are happy and satisfied," he says. "Is it impor- tant for me that they marry a Jewish mate? I'm torn. I want them to be happy, but I think in life in general, there are many things to argue about. Religion should not be one of them. So if you choose not to marry within your religion, you should decide how to raise your children [beforehand]." Charlotte Freed, a Manchester-by-the-Sea 16-year-old, is the product of a mixed marriage. Her mother is Catholic, and her father is Jewish, and although she considered her- self Jewish growing up, she says she "didn't really under- stand what it meant" until she traveled to Israel with Y2I. Before the trip, she hadn't considered whether she wanted to marry a Jewish person, but has since shifted to a mindset of "finding someone Jewish if I can." Even for Trevor Brown, who's so fully embraced his Jewish heritage since traveling to Israel, there's no guaran- tee that he'll marry another Jew. (He's not even done with high school, after all.) But the trip seems to have made it more likely. "Rather than a necessary thing, it's more frosting on the cake," Brown says. "Like, oh, that's cool that she's Jewish. My way of looking at it is, if you love each other, you'll re- spect each other's views, even if you're not both Jewish. I'll leave it to see how it ends up." lappinfoundation.org ● n 198 Philanthropy ne "The hallmark of the Jewish people is that we are responsible for each other. And that's what an Israel trip conveys."

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