Highest stakes

David has an entrepeauneral spirit. As an undergrad at Urbana-Champaign he arranged a crypto conference with some of the big players in Chicago. It was a resounding success and David used those connections to land his first position in a crypto start-up.

After a year of working the wild start-up schedule, David sold his part of the company and took a break for a Birthright trip, ten days running up and down the country with two buses of young guys and girls. It was all fun and games... until he extended his trip to visit his brother, Alec (a J-Life alum!), in Aish HaTorah. There, he found people engaging complicated life dillemmas in a rigorous manner, he found himself challenged and his questions validated. Topics that he never had an opportunity to air about G-d, Torah, Jewishness, and life were suddenly put on the table and discussed. After a few days in yeshiva, he promised himself that he'd find time to come back one day. One day.

On his return to Chicago, he reconnected with his career plan and was on the path to accept a dream position in another, larger crypto currency company. But he also reconnected with his J-Life rabbi who encouraged him and one of his Birthright buddies to take a week off in beautiful Montana before getting back to the grind. The offer. would be waiting for him when he came back, said the rabbi.

He was wrong.

By Day Two of the retreat, David's mind was made up. He emphatically stated to his mentors that he had to make good on that pledge to return to yeshiva, a vindication that only became stronger over the duration of his trip. When he got an aliya on the Shabbos of the retreat, with the beautiful Rockies in the background, he committed to the whole group that he'd do a six week stint in yeshiva before the year was out.

The Friday night after Heritage was over, David, his older brother, Alec (visitng from Aish), his younger brother, Daniel, and their parents, were at a J-Life table. David shone as he shared the news, as did his whole family.

Crypto (or what's left of it) will have to wait for David to come back a bigger, and better, self.