BARBARA SOFER, Jerusalem Post Goodwill ambassador

One day, the Pensacola community asked her to prepare something called a "Dvar Torah." She was stumped. What exactly was a Dvar Torah? "I'm totally secular," explained Elboim on the air. "My Judaism is expressed through being an Israeli. For the community in Pensacola, it is centered on synagogue and Jewish holidays." She understood the paradox: She'd come to lead and inspire Diaspora Jews, but in matters of Judaism proper they knew more than she did.

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