As an eighth grader preparing to graduate in 2013 from Krieger Schechter Day School, Rebecca Sereboff was looking for ways to stay connected to the Jewish community. On a friend’s invitation, she attended a Purim event hosted by B’nai B’rith Youth Organization.
Four years later, Rebecca walked into another BBYO Purim event, this time as the international n’siah (the Hebrew word for president) of B’nai B’rith Girls.
“BBYO engages with over 80,000 Jewish teens each year, and the fact that I have the chance to be at the head of that is a huge honor,” says Rebecca, 17, who lives in Reisterstown. “I have the opportunity to influence the future of the Jewish people.”
A Roland Park Country School senior, Rebecca was elected n’siah at BBYO’s International Convention earlier this year. BBYO provides Jewish teens with experiences and programming to lead meaningful Jewish lives.
“BBG is a sisterhood of Jewish high school girls looking to connect in a way outside of regular social life and looking to make a difference in their communities,” Rebecca says. “BBYO is where I’ve made my best friends. It’s also where I’ve made the most impact on myself and grown the most as a leader in my community.”
Holding a leadership role in BBYO has long been important to Rebecca. She’s served as vice president and president of her local chapter and two terms as president of Northern Region East: Baltimore Council. As international n’siah, Rebecca will oversee chapter and council presidents in North America and around the world.
Rebecca says she was speechless when she found out she was elected.
“I just erupted into tears and I’m not really someone who cries, so that was quite the moment for me,” Rebecca says. “My twin sister [Alanna] and my best friend were sitting next to me and we were all sobbing. It was exciting because it’s something I’d talked about and something I’d dreamed of for years.”
Rebecca’s election marks the first time in nearly three decades that the international n’siah comes from the Baltimore area.
Brett Richman, regional director for BBYO’s Northern Region East: Baltimore Council, has been Rebecca’s director for the past year.
“I have watched her mature over this year, but next year is different,” Richman says. “She will be a brand ambassador for BBYO. She will be a brand ambassador for Baltimore Council and Northern Region East. I’m looking forward to seeing her transition from a teen leader to an adult leader as she guides a movement of more than 10,000 girls toward the future.”
Rebecca will take a gap year between high school and college (she’s still waiting to hear where she’s been accepted) to serve as n’siah. She will visit BBYO communities worldwide, talk to donors, help teens develop leadership skills and assist in program development.
Rebecca says she is most excited about traveling to Eastern Europe.
“Having the opportunity to see communities in Eastern Europe that have rebuilt and are once again becoming thriving Jewish communities will be really unique,” she says.
Judaism has played a big role in Rebecca’s life. She went to Krieger Schechter Day School through eighth grade and is a member of Chizuk Amuno Congregation. She is also president of the Jewish Heritage Club at Roland Park Country School.
“Being Jewish makes me unique from my peers because the Jewish people make up a tiny percentage of the world,” says Rebecca. “It also makes me unique because I’m associated with all of these incredible traits and incredible people that came before me. I have a responsibility to carry that on. I want to make sure the Jewish people lives on because we are one of the oldest religions out there. We deserve to live on and live on really strong.
“I think having the opportunity to travel the world and understand these different Jewish communities is going to be completely life-changing,” Rebecca says.” I think I will come back with a totally different view of global Jewry. I don’t have words to describe how excited I am.”
Aliza Friedlander is a Baltimore-based freelance writer.
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