Sam Taylor is a man of faith. Jewish by choice, Taylor is the faith and religious life coordinator at Makom, a nonprofit organization in Rockville that aims to support and empower people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Taylor began converting to Judaism after meeting his wife and working as an assistant teacher at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, a process that was finalized in April 2024.
He will soon take part in Hebrew Union College’s newly launched Elijah Fellowship that helps participants examine their spiritual lives and supports them as emerging Jewish leaders.
Taylor lives in Germantown and belongs to Congregation Or Chadash, where he taught Sunday school for six months before taking on his current role with Makom.
Tell me about your Jewish background.
It’s funny; I wasn’t raised Jewish. My mom had two Jewish parents, but she herself was not raised Jewish, and nor was I. I actually had a father who was very Christian. But when I started dating my now wife right around the turn of the pandemic, starting in 2020, I got a job at the [Charles E. Smith] Jewish Day School as a proctor, kind of like an assistant teacher, and that was my first exposure to the Jewish community. I started going to services [at Or Chadash] with my wife and felt called to convert, so I went through the conversion process.
What inspired you to convert to Judaism?
[For] a lot of reasons: some theological, some just the feeling that the community was really welcoming and warm. Everything that happened around Oct. 7, two years ago, also affirmed that I wanted to embrace my Jewish identity. I described it to some people that it feels like discovering something that I already was and embracing it. Instead of changing anything about myself or trying to find a new identity, I feel like [my Judaism has] always been there.
What are your responsibilities at Makom?
I work with a great department: the faith, fun and engagement [department]. We engage the individuals that we work with in various events. Sometimes I help them get involved in the faith community. We were able to find places for people to go for [the] High Holidays, but we also help people who aren’t Jewish, even though we’re a Jewish organization. Oftentimes, that’s like doing a Christmas or Easter event. On top of all that, we also like to engage our individuals in various other faiths. For example, we might be doing an event for Diwali, and we also want to do some Buddhist meditation events, so there’s a whole spectrum of faith [activities].
Did you always see yourself working at a Jewish organization?
Since working at JDS in that capacity, it definitely was very important to me because of the values of Judaism and the people that I met along my conversion process.
What was that process like?
I was working in a different capacity at the time with Interfaith Works, [a Rockville nonprofit that supports neighbors in need], for a little bit. [Rabbi Mitchell Berkowitz of B’nai Israel Congregation] was one of the partners we worked with. I reached out to him and said, “If I want to convert, what would it look like?” He was very gracious and suggested that I study with him for about a year. I read some books, and he also had me get involved in a Hebrew course, as well as an introduction to Judaism course through the Haberman Institute [for Jewish Studies].
We would meet every month or so and discuss some of the readings and the essences of Judaism. I was raised very Christian, so although there’s an overlap, in a way, of the scriptures and other cultural and historical similarities, I felt a change of belief when I started learning about Judaism. I was always a student of the Bible, but reading the scriptures from a Jewish perspective was really interesting because some of the passages that Christians refer to as the Old Testament and Messianic prophecies are interpreted very differently from a Jewish perspective.
What do you enjoy about the Or Chadash community?
It has a great family presence. My wife grew up going to [Or Chadash], I think as far back as middle school, and now she teaches Hebrew school there. I see a lot of the kids she works with and their families, so the family aspect of [the Or Chadash community] is very welcoming. I have lots of friends there.
