COMMUNITY NEWS
The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia mobilizes
financial and volunteer resources to address the
communities’ most critical priorities locally, in Israel and
around the world.

T NextGen Has a New Director:
Meet Susan Becker
he Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia
is honored to welcome Susan Becker as the
new director of NextGen. Becker, who offi-
cially began on Aug. 8, brings extensive experience
from her past work with young professionals and
community engagement.

“The thing I am most looking forward to in my
new role is building strong relationships with the
young people in our community and helping them
grow as leaders,” said Becker, who received a master
of arts in Jewish education from Gratz College.

Prior to joining the Jewish Federation, Becker
worked for Hillel at Temple University. During her
six years at the Hillel, Becker held numerous roles:
engagement associate, director of Jewish life, assis-
tant director and, finally, her most recent position of
associate director.

In those roles, she was responsible for overseeing
all aspects of operations, supervising the staff who
work directly with the students, directing all aspects
of student leadership and student-run programming,
presenting student life initiatives and activities, and
managing student workers.

Becker is a leader in the Jewish community, both in
her professional career as well as in her personal life.

She is the chair of Neshama Hadassah — the local
young women’s chapter of Hadassah.

“I am thrilled that Susan is the new NextGen
director,” said Max Moline, the former director of
NextGen and director of community development
at the Jewish Federation. “Her accomplishments at
Temple Hillel demonstrate a tremendous talent and
passion for building the local young Jewish com-
munity. As I transition into a new role, I know that
Susan, in partnership with our incredible leadership,
will help to bring NextGen to new heights.”
We spoke with Becker to learn more about her,
her passion for the Jewish community and what she
envisions for the future of NextGen.

What do you love about the Jewish
community of Greater Philadelphia?
I have loved Jewish Greater Philadelphia since I was
welcomed into the community when I moved here
six years ago. I loved how supportive and welcoming
everyone was and how many opportunities there
were to get involved.

Why did you choose to work at the
Jewish Federation?
I am inspired by the work that the Jewish Federation
does. It seems every day I learn of something amaz-
ing that was able to happen because of the support
of the Jewish Federation and the generosity of our
NextGen Director Susan Becker
Courtesy: Susan Becker
incredible donors. To me, the Jewish Federation is
central to the Jewish community in the Philadelphia
area, and I am thrilled to be a part of it!
What do you hope to accomplish while
in your role as NextGen director?
I hope to connect as many young people as I can to
the work of the Jewish Federation, to their peers who
share a similar devotion for our Jewish present and
future, and to the scope of roles and opportunities
available to develop their leadership. My vision is
that the opportunities within NextGen become the
pivotal place to grow the next generation of future
Jewish leaders in Greater Philadelphia.

If you could choose to do anything for
a day, what would it be?
If I could do anything for a day, it would be to spend a
quiet day reading and relaxing on a beach somewhere
tropical with my fiancé, Michael, followed by a deli-
cious sushi dinner!
*** NextGen Director Susan Becker at Ben Gurion Society’s signature Wine and Whiskey Night on July 28
Courtesy of Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia
12 SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
NextGen is an affinity group of the Jewish
Federation of Greater Philadelphia for those in
their 20s, 30s and early 40s. To learn more about
NextGen, visit jewishphilly.org/nextgen or email
Susan Becker at sbecker@jewishphilly.org.




YOU SHOULD KNOW ...

Sasha Zeiger
SASHA ROGELBERG | STAFF WRITER
Courtesy of Sasha Zeiger
W here were you when you first watched Dreamworks’ 1998
film “The Prince of Egypt’’?
If you’re a millennial, the answer to that question is
vivid in your mind. For example, Sasha Zeiger, a 27-year-old artist from
Voorhees, New Jersey, was in her sixth-grade Hebrew school classroom
at Congregation Beth El.

“I remember specifically the angel of death scene just really captivated
me because — obviously when you go to Hebrew school, you talk about
God all the time — I wasn’t able to have an image of God,” Zeiger said.

“And then for some religions, it’s very sacrilegious to even try to display
God visually or give him a voice, so I just remember being so struck by
that; I’m actually terrified of it.”
Zeiger is referring to a scene in the film where the mysterious aura
of the angel of death sweeps through Egypt, first through the streets
of Jewish homes — deterred from entering by the lamb’s blood on the
homes’ doorposts — and then through Egyptians’ homes, where families
awaken to find the fallen silhouettes of their first-born sons.

The haunting scene had a profound impact on Zeiger. Beyond help-
ing her visualize the stories of her ancestors and of God, “The Prince
of Egypt” laid the groundwork for how Zeiger understood history, art,
philosophy and religion.

The film is also the inspiration for “The Surrender Collection,” an
exhibit exploring the themes of brotherhood, fate and duty in the film and
the story of Exodus, now on display at the Old City Jewish Arts Center.

“The Surrender Collection” puts seven
acrylic paintings of the story’s protago-
nists in conversation with one another.

In the center, Moses is torn between
his loyalty to Pharaoh Ramses II and
his Jewish brethren, from whom he was
estranged at a young age. The motif of
the angel of death is woven into all seven
paintings. A QR code beside the paintings can be
scanned, providing supplementary con-
textual information about each piece.

Throughout Zeiger’s art career, she’s
been interested in the two sides of a
painting: the meaning that can be ascer-
tained from just looking at a piece and
the artist’s meaning behind it.

“I approached the paintings as if I’m
telling a story,” Zeiger said. “I really feel
like you can read a painting if you just
learn the language of it.”
The name of Zeiger’s art brand and
business, Surface By Sasha, plays on
the idea. What is the thought that goes
beyond the surface-level images of a
painting? The introspective nature of Zeiger’s
painting style reflects her background
in philosophy. A graduate of American
University with both a bachelor’s and
master’s in philosophy (as well as a bach-
elor’s in business management), Zeiger
has long been interested in the world’s
“expansive” workings.

“Philosophy is just a holistic approach
to learning,” she said. “What I love
the most about it, that I’m constantly
reminding myself, is that philosophy
literally means ‘love of wisdom’. It’s not
‘love of knowledge’. So you don’t need
a teacher; you don’t need a classroom.”
Zeiger, when she’s not painting, pur-
sues her “love of wisdom” in writing.

In January, she self-published her first
novel “The Tower of Theo,” about a
world in which art comes to life but is
forbidden from being destroyed. A fan
of existentialist and ancient philoso-
phy, Zeiger structured her novel after a
Greek tragedy.

“The past comes back to haunt these
artists, and there’s a code of ethics: how
to create art, how to be conscious of it,
practice it as a discipline,” Zeiger said.

Philosophy helped shape Zeiger’s
imagination, but it also helped to ground
her in her Judaism.

Now a West Philadelphia resident,
Zeiger grew up in Voorhees. After her
bat mitzvah at Congregation Beth El, she
became disengaged from her Judaism,
no longer interested in attending Hebrew
school classes.

It wasn’t that Zeiger didn’t enjoy learn-
ing. On the contrary, it was the part of
religious school that kept her coming
back. Making friends and following ritu-
als “never really clicked” for her.

Shortly after graduate school, Zeiger
made the effort to reconnect with her
Jewish roots. She began taking a Pirkei
Avot class with Congregation Beth El
Rabbi Aaron Krupnik in August 2018;
she has taken weekly text study classes
with OCJAC Rabbi Zalman Wircberg
since June.

The study of Jewish thought has helped
fill in the gaps of the less-fulfilling parts
of studying Western philosophy.

“Jewish philosophy offers what
Western philosophy can’t, in my experi-
ence, which is that spirituality, which is
part of our daily lives,” she said. JE
srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
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