By ROCKNE ROLL
The Jewish Review
Etti Segal hadn’t planned to work as a Hebrew teacher in Oregon. But now that she is, she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I need to be here,” she said. “This is my place.”
Her commitment to that place, as Hebrew and Judaics Coordinator at Congregation Neveh Shalom’s Foundation School, has earned her the 2024 Laurie Rogoway Outstanding Jewish Professional Award. 
“At a time when antisemitism and anti-Zionism are looming and infiltrating our communities, and at a time where Jews yearn to unite around Israel and share their love of Judaism with others, we need people to bring us together to share their love and joy of Judaism and Israel and to educate our next generation,” Jewish Federation of Greater Portland board member and Rogoway committee chair Jodi Fried said when presenting Segal with the  award at the Federation’s annual meeting Thursday, June 6 at Neveh Shalom. “Etti is a model educator and so much more.”
Segal was born and raised in Israel, where she considered two possible career paths – teaching in special education or practicing law. She chose the latter, but plans have a way of changing. 
“[My husband] started to speak about his dream to be a pilot,” Segal recalled, “And I said, ‘Yeah, go for it!’”
Flight school at Hillsboro Academy brought the couple and their then-10-month-old son to Oregon. Segal started volunteering at Neveh Shalom. The shul later helped her secure a visa where she could take on paid work, and she became a floating instructor at Foundation School. More than that, she continued to volunteer to teach Sunday School. She now also teaches adult Hebrew classes, and volunteers at a non-profit that forges connections between Israeli and American Jewish communities as well as administering a pair of WhatsApp groups for Israeli women and families in the area.
Building communities is what keeps Segal going – first for herself, and now for others. 
“In Israel, I don’t need to look for community,” she said. “The first thing I say [to Israelis relocating to the area] is, ‘You’re welcome to come to Neveh Shalom. But if you don’t want to, if you prefer another community, it’s fine. Just find a community to connect with because it’s very important to feel belonging to some community.’”
She also helps form that community for her own children, now numbering two, as they attend public school. 
“[In Israel,] even if you are not religious, your kids will learn about the Jewish holidays. They will learn the songs,” Segal said. “That’s why I’m going to their school and volunteering; I’m teaching my children’s classrooms about the Jewish holidays because I want my kids to feel belonging.”
In helping connect others – of all ages- with their community and sense of Jewish identity, Segal has found for herself a sense of community – and purpose. It’s a clarity that has swayed even her religiously observant father, who was previously eager for her to return to Israel.
“He understands that what I’m doing here is a mission and he’s really proud of me,” she said. “After the event for the Rogoway award, he said he spoke with his rabbi and his rabbi said, ‘You see, I told you, if you have a mission like she has, teaching the Hebrew language, the Torah, the stories, the Jewish holidays, the Jewish values, we need people to do it.’”
The community she has – and helps to build – is not something she takes for granted. 
“This is my place,” Segal said said. “Neveh Shalom, it’s a family for me and for my family. During COVID, during these days with what’s going on in Israel, my family and I always know we have a safe place to be, we have a safe place to ask for help if we need, we have a safe place to feel belonging.”