It's Your reBar, Dani Klein

1) Rewind: What did you value at 13?

Having close friends, hanging out with them in nature on our weekend trout farm.  I also loved  being part of  a tradition that I had very little idea about at the time, but still somehow, understood its significance and that it was something important to me

2) Play: What's important to you today?

Being surrounded by friends and family.  Authenticity in all that I do.  And allowing my family to grow up in an authentic Jewish home - balancing our uniqueness as a family with feeling part of a community.

3) Fast Forward: What do you commit to doing for yourself, your family and your community?

Creating a home that is welcoming to family, friends and community and that is a space used to hang out, have fun, a meeting place and a space to dream up big dreams to make the world a better place!

Dani Jaff Klein now lives in London having grown up in South Africa. She
loves soccer and stickers. When she crossed paths with Juliet Simmons by
chance a few years ago the two of them discovered a shared passion for
wanting to make a difference in the world. Since then they have worked
together to create My Bat Mitzvah Book (made by me) which brought together
women from around the world to create a new kind of inspiring resource for
Jewish girls of all ages - www.mybatmitzvah.me. They plan to create more
books and projects in the future.

It's Your reBar, Juliet Simmons

1) Rewind: What did you value at 13?

 At 13 I think I was still really a little girl.  I do remember worrying about things and appearances – a lot.  Was I wearing the right kind of sweater, was my hair cut right?   I loved reading and escaping into my imagination and being allowed to speak to my friends on the phone – that was a big negotiation with my sister pre-cell phone days.

2) Play: What's important to you today?

Today what’s important is doing things I love and am proud of and being surrounded by people who l love and who love and care about me.  Authenticity – being surrounded by people and things that are real.  I’m more comfortable in my own skin now than I was at 13 but I do still love phone time with my friends.

3) Fast Forward: What do you commit to doing for yourself, your family and your community?

Doing things that are important and real, creating wonderful things and to leaving a good and positive impression on the world!

Juliet Simmons lives in London. She has a new found love for quilting and
taking photographs. When she crossed paths with Dani Jaff Klein by chance
a few years ago the two of them discovered a shared passion for wanting to
make a difference in the world. Since then they have worked together to
create My Bat Mitzvah Book (made by me) which brought together women from
around the world to create a new kind of inspiring resource for Jewish
girls of all ages - www.mybatmitzvah.me. They plan to create more books
and projects in the future.

It's Your reBar, Lisa Grissom

1) Rewind: What did you value at 13?

A wide range of music that included Madonna, Aretha Franklin and The Police. 
Friends, sports, spending time outside.

2) Play: What's important to you today?

My relationships and family. My friends around the globe. My writing and creative projects. 

3) Fast Forward: What do you commit to doing for yourself, your family and your community?

Fostering my health. Practicing kindness. Creating engaging and meaningful experiences for others.

Lisa Kenner Grissom is an award-winning playwright and Program Manager for Reboot in Los Angeles.

It's Your reBar, Adam Speigelman

1) Rewind: What did you value at 13?

Pulling off my Bar Mitzvah! It was a lot of work. I'm glad I went through all that work. I valued new wave music and having a terrible haircut.  So doing all this work for my bar mitzvah kept my priorities straight. 

2) Play: What's important to you today?

Family. I look forward to my daughter having the same experience I did. But with a better haircut. 

3) Fast Forward: What do you commit to doing for yourself, your family and your community?

Join a Temple. 

Adam is currently a Senior Producer on the TV show "The Real," hosts the podcast "Proudly Resents" and once met Dracula. The real Dracula.

It's Your reBar, Becca Grumet

1) Rewind: What did you value at 13?

I valued my weird group of artsy friends, my portable CD player, and
my very first "flip" phone. I was obsessed with the lyrics and themes
of the musical RENT, though not "Seasons of Love," because it was
overplayed.

2) Play: What's important to you today?

Still my friends, my loved ones, and my various communities. I don't
do well on my own, and look forward to any kind of gathering with my
people. And if my people aren't around, well, I value the friendship
of my cat, Daisy.

3) Fast Forward: What do you commit to doing for yourself, your family and your community?

I'll commit to slowing down. Letting things sink in. Finishing my many
projects. And spending even more time with my loved ones, family, and
communities. Hopefully on the beach in Hawaii.

Becca Grumet is a writer and producer of sporadic content. In her spare time, she hangs out at the Zelikow School of Jewish Nonprofit Management, where she is told she will receive a masters degree in 2016. Her thesis will be released as a scholarly personal narrative on being Jewish at Burning Man.

 

 

 

It's Your reBar, Dave Jargowsky

1) Rewind: What did you value at 13?

My walkman, cassette collection, and video game system. 

2) Play: What's important to you today?

My friends/family, my work, my community, enjoying life and being of service to others. 

3) Fast Forward: What do you commit to doing for yourself, your family and your community?

I make a daily concerted effort to shed selfish instincts and try to be of maximum service to others. 

Dave Jargowsky lives in Los Angeles and spends most of his time helping funny people make stuff.

It's Your reBar, Elizabeth Reynolds

1) Rewind: What did you value at 13?

I was an only child that valued everything theatrical and beautiful. I strived to belong to various groups but never really landed in any one particular group that made sense to who I was...which was, as for most 13 year-olds, a constantly changing enigma. I valued honesty, artistic, energetic and positive people and loving life. I also valued a good hairstyle, which the hairstylist I had at 13 completely destroyed and I couldn't work with it again until I was practically 15.

2) Play: What's important to you today?

Having recently lost both parents over this last year, remembering them for the beautiful, heart-felt and intelligent people they were and nurturing the family I have created as an adult is important to me. Surrounding myself with positive, inspiring people. People that embrace life lovingly for our generation and work to make a difference in the future of generations to come.

3) Fast Forward: What do you commit to doing for yourself, your family and your community?

As the adage goes to always "try my best" and nothing less. I went through a great deal of confusion and heartache losing my parents. In the process of trying to "get through it" one learns that the most important thing is to share your experiences with others who might be facing similar struggles. I look forward to eventually finding the right time and place to share these experiences in order to let others know that they are not alone. Taking care of my own health first and foremost is what gives me the ability to give back like this. The commitment to self is where it all begins and ends.

Elizabeth lives in Los Angeles and works as a Location Manager in the TV and Film Industry.

It's Your reBar, Talia Osteen

1) Rewind: What did you value at 13?

My family has always been the most important thing to me.  Up until that age I was doing my best to abide by the values that my parents instilled in me, and Jewish rituals and traditions were a major tool that they used.  I started growing out of my goody-2-shoes stage right after that though, as my mother (half) kiddingly says that if I’d had my Bat Mitzvah at 14 she would have given a very different speech than the one she gave just a year earlier (I guess that’s when I started my teenage talk-back phase). 

2) Play: What's important to you today?

Family is still the most important thing to me, but now I’m looking at creating my own with my wife Sara which is exciting and beautiful and complex.  Balancing caring for the roots of the family that I grew up in and the new, distinct branch of it that Sara and I are growing can be tricky, but there’s so much that my parents and brothers gave me that I want to give our future children.  At the same time, as a couple we’re looking at how to “reboot” the Jewish rituals and traditions of my heritage meaningful in a way that feels right for both of us.

3) Fast Forward: What do you commit to doing for yourself, your family and your community?

I commit to staying true to myself, my family and my friends, while continuing to grow, learn and change.  I commit to using my passion and my skills for the greater good in whatever ways I can.  I’ve taken a particular interest in education and poverty and as I look to help make a dent in those overwhelming areas, I will try to remember that no deed is too small to be worthy of taking the time. 

Talia Osteen Hess is half of the songwriting duo, The Wellspring. They've toured the U.S., released 4 albums, and have composed the score for comedy films COFFEE TOWN (HBO) and SLOW LEARNERS (IFC/Sundance). She has directed and produced in the film industry and was previously VP of Production and Development at Overnight Productions in NY. Talia is currently using her producing skills in a new field that she's become passionate about - education. She is working with the Youth Policy Institute to start a pilot program called the Promise FAMILY for economically disadvantaged high schoolers in Los Angeles, providing tutoring, mentoring, community advocacy, career/college planning and financial aid in an effort to decrease the high school dropout rate and increase college enrollment in impoverished communities.

It's Your reBar, Noam Dromi

1) Rewind: What did you value at 13?

Independence from my parents. Earning enough money to buy my own stuff. 

2) Play: What's important to you today?

Honesty, Integrity, intellectual curiosity and new experiences. 

3) Fast Forward: What do you commit to doing for yourself, your family and your community?

Practicing kindness, demonstrating empathy, tikkun olam and helping others realize their full potential. 

Noam Dromi is a writer/producer, marketing executive and digital strategist specializing in transmedia content development for corporations, brands & entertainment companies. He co-wrote the Warner Bros/Alcon Entertainment film Dolphin Tale starring Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick Jr & Ashley Judd. The film grossed $100 million at the worldwide box office. Noam is the President of Driveby Entertainment Group, a production company he founded with actor/producer Orlando Jones (Sleepy Hollow, Drumline, Evolution). He oversees development of the company’s film, television, live events, publishing and digital programming slate in addition to heading up business development opportunities in branded entertainment, technology and non-profit ventures. He's also the co-founder of jrCEOS, a non-profit that teaches entreprenuership and financial literacy to minority and lower income middle and high school students.

It's your reBar, Sarah DiLeo

1) Rewind: What did you value at 13?

Music, especially Madonna. Friendship and trust. Self- reinvention.

2) Play: What's important to you today?

Growth in every context. 

3) Fast Forward: What do you commit to doing for yourself, your family and your community?

Doing more than just enough. Increasing willingness to fail. Fostering space for change to occur. 

Sarah DiLeo is the producer for integrated content at award-winning commercial and digital company Tool of North America. Sarah was previously head of production for Wondros, where she produced content for clients such as TED, Sundance, Harvard, IBM, Conde Nast, American Express and ONE.org; and prior to that she produced the feature adaptation of award-winning novel Bless Me, Ultima, written and directed by Carl Franklin. Bless Me, Ultima was highlighted as an LA Times Critics' Pick, received a 4-star review from Roger Ebert, and is distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures. Sarah grew up in New Orleans, where she had many colorful adventures and learned how to expertly peel a (non-kosher) crawfish.

It's your reBar, Dan Crane

1) Rewind: What did you value at 13?

A white leather skinny tie, The Talking Heads and a tall blond shiksa named Emily.

2) Play: What's important to you today?

Friendship, relationships, family, creativity, music, food, gardening and my dog Whisky. 

3) Fast Forward: What do you commit to doing for yourself, your family and your community?

Approach life intelligently, remain curious, continue investigating. 

Dan Crane is a writer, musician, Jew (lax, loves lox) and professional air-guitarist. He’s the author of To Air is Human and stars in the documentary, Air Guitar Nation. He frequently writes about culture for the New York Times, Slate, Elle, NYLON, and numerous other publications. When he’s not writing, or hosting air guitar championships at home and abroad, he plays “there” guitar in various bands including Nous Non Plus and Ray & Remora.

It's your reBar, Jessica Sanders

1) Rewind: What did you value at 13?

Popularity and making sense of social structure in high school.

2) Play: What's important to you today?

Making my movie. Being Happy and healthy. 

3) Fast Forward: What do you commit to doing for yourself, your family and your community?

Being positive. Supporting my friends and people I respect.  

Jessica Sanders is an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker and award-winning commercial director. Steve Jobs hand picked Jessica to direct Apple's iPad launch spot. Her Sony “Make Believe” film won the prestigious Young Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival. Jessica directed, produced and wrote AFTER INNOCENCE, a feature documentary film about innocent men wrongfully convicted of crimes, cleared by DNA evidence and their struggle to reenter society after spending decades in prison. The film premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Prize. Jessica’s latest feature documentary MARCH OF THE LIVING, is a about the last generation of Holocaust survivors returning to the sites of the Holocaust in Poland with teenagers from around the world. Jessica recently directed BUNION, a short romantic comedy with Alia Shawkat, Michaela Watkins and Avi Rothman. Film Critic Elvis Mitchell curated it for LACMA’s Young Director Series. Her work can be seen at www.jessicasandersfilm.com

It's your reBar, Amelia Klein.

1) Rewind: What did you value at 13?

Authenticity – I wanted my Bat Mitzvah to be more than the small part I had been allocated in my group ceremony. So I was assigned an extra Hebrew part from parashat Noah.

2) Play: What's important to you today?

Transparency – Being open with my kids about my own Jewish identity and experiences and letting them shape their own pathways for exploration.

3) Fast Forward: What do you commit to doing for yourself, your family and your community?

Education – for myself, my family and my community. Creating spaces for people to understand who they are Jew-ishly and in doing so better know themselves.