From JuJu with Love

One of the greatest unexpected gifts of traveling with Jewish singles groups hasn’t just been the places I’ve seen — it’s the people I’ve met along the way. Somewhere between lighting Shabbat candles in far-flung corners of the world and sharing late-night conversations over hotel-lobby tea, I found something deeper than travel companions.

I found a sisterhood.

And what a sisterhood it is.

Some of my closest friends from these journeys are women I might never have crossed paths with back home. A fabulous woman in her 70s from Brooklyn who tells the best stories you’ve ever heard. A bold, brilliant woman in her 40s from Dallas who always seems to have exactly what you need — whether it’s Advil, a tissue, or a perfectly timed joke. Women from Israel, Canada, the U.S., and beyond — all brought together not just by wanderlust, but by a shared heritage that feels instantly grounding no matter what continent we’re standing on.

On paper, we couldn’t be more different — ages, accents, careers, backgrounds. But when we gather for Shabbat dinner or lean in close to share travel secrets on the bus, those differences fade into the background. What remains are the similarities that matter most: our humor, resilience, curiosity, love of tradition, and that uniquely Jewish way of turning strangers into family in record time.

And then came the pandemic.

When the world shut down and travel stopped, our sisterhood didn’t. From Joyce in Israel to Nancy and Phyllis in Baltimore, Jamie in Cleveland, Susan in Toronto, Helene in Brooklyn, Lori in Houston, Debby in Denver and Linda in Chicago, Tina in CT, and Leslie in Palm Beach — we gathered every Saturday at 12 p.m. on Zoom. Week after week. Month after month. For more than a year.

We laughed. We cried. We listened. We held space for one another during a time when connection felt fragile and uncertain. Those weekly calls were a lifeline — proof that friendship doesn’t depend on boarding passes or shared hotel rooms. It lives in the heart.

There is something incredibly comforting about celebrating the rituals we grew up with — only now it might be in Croatia, Spain, Africa, or on a cruise ship somewhere near Antarctica. We laugh, we pass the challah, we sing out of tune, and for a moment the world feels beautifully small. We may be thousands of miles from home, but surrounded by these women, I always feel like I belong.

The sisterhood that forms on these trips — and on those weekly pandemic calls — doesn’t end when the plane lands or life gets busy. It continues in our group chats, in phone calls when someone needs support, and in joyful reunions when our paths cross again on yet another adventure.

Travel has shown me the world.

But these women?

They’ve shown me community, strength, and the reminder that our similarities — our shared values, humor, and love — will always be stronger than our differences.

And that may be the greatest journey of all.

From Juju with love 💙✈️

My sisters….I can’t imagine traveling thru life with anyone else!