Sasha Heller’s 2022 Passover Message

Break on Through

Sometimes you just have to break on through to the other side.

This year is a homecoming for me. After spending the last 21 years outside of Atlanta, either finishing college or working in journalism, I have returned home to Atlanta.

Interestingly, I spent the first 21 years of my life here in the ATL and have lived, essentially, two halves of the same life.

Full transparency…I have not lived a typical Jewish life since I left home. While living here as a child and teenager, I attended Hebrew school, had my bar mitzvah, went to Camp Barney for five summers, joined USY at Ahavath Achim and played basketball for Chai USY and attended conventions and LTI with the youth group. That was the peak of my Jewish life.

Since then, I have followed a secular path – first with finishing my education and then with pursuing my career path as a journalist.

I didn’t date Jewish girls (not intentionally, I just ended up with shiksas).

And my Jewish-ness never came up as an issue. I didn’t feel the need to go to services; I was fulfilled in other ways…mostly through various forms of spirituality.

But this year, this year is different.

I will attend my first Passover seder in years. I will join my father, his girlfriend and her family for seder and I am thrilled.

This recently lapsed Jew now boasts a renewed zest for Judaism, especially with my relatively new role at the Atlanta Jewish Times. I am a borderline, born-again Jew and look forward to this new chapter of my life.

Sometimes you just have to break on through to the other side…even if it takes 21 years.

Sasha Heller is the online content coordinator for the Atlanta Jewish Times.