Layla Blenden made aliyah in 2018, and since then she has been working at Yad Vashem. At first she lived in Jerusalem, but after half a year she moved to the nearby town of Mevaseret Zion, located on a mountain range. She appreciates the proximity of Israel’s capital, where she works, but also enjoys her quiet life in Mevaseret and the surrounding nature.
In her free time, Blenden is a hobbyist-artist, creating Judaica-inspired art, jewelry, and more. “I enjoy doing anything creative I can do with my hands: jewelry, painting, quilling, baking, and cake/cookie decorating,” she says.
Learn how to buy your home in Israel with confidenceHer jewelry is made with acrylic paints salvaged from palettes she previously used for painting, which she didn’t want to throw away. “While I was painting and the paint had dried on the palette, I peeled it off and decided the patterns were too pretty to waste. So I figured I could attach them under a piece of glass and create jewelry with them. I wouldn’t say I invented this method; I’ve seen others do variations on it before, but I discovered it myself.” She notes, “Magic happens below the surface when paint gets mixed on a palette. I take that magic and turn it into one-of-a-kind wearable art.”
From creative hobby to acts of kindness
Although she treats jewelry-making as a hobby, in the past few years she has begun selling her pieces at craft fairs and pop-up exhibitions showcasing the work of olim hadashim (new immigrants) in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Blenden donates all proceeds to a charity fund that helps the Herzfeld family in the US.
“Five out of six members of this family live with juvenile-onset ALS. They need help with the cost of aides, uninsured therapies, and various other needs. I also try to raise awareness about their situation.” She has known the family since high school, and she is happy the jewelry she makes can be part of that good deed. (The link to the fund is at the bottom of the article.)
When I first met Blenden at an olim fair, after a few minutes of talking to her I thought it was jewelry of kindness.
Blenden was born in 1993 and grew up in West Orange, New Jersey. “My entire childhood I spent going to Modern Orthodox Jewish day schools and Jewish summer camps,” she says. From an early age, she heard about Israel and was drawn to it. “My uncle, aunt, and cousins lived in Israel, and for as long as I can remember I’ve seen Israeli flags and posters with [the words] ‘Libi ba’Mizrach,’” she says, referring to the opening line of Rabbi Yehuda Halevi’s poem “My Heart Is in the East,” which symbolizes the Diaspora’s yearning for Zion and a spiritual homecoming.
She came to Israel for the first time when she was 12, accompanying her friend and her family for her friend’s bat mitzvah celebration. “I think at this point I realized that I wanted to end up here,” she says.
And she pursued her goal consistently. The next step for her was to learn Hebrew. “In high school [Ma’ayanot Yeshiva High School for Girls in Teaneck, New Jersey], I tried to further work toward the goal of aliyah, so when my classmates were taking electives like [advanced placement] government or sign language, I registered for a conversational Hebrew elective.”
In 2011, just after high school, like many Jewish young Americans, she came to Israel for a gap year before college. “For a year and a half, I lived at Ramat Eshkol, a Jerusalem neighborhood, and I studied at Midreshet Tzvia. This was a program-seminary that combined Torah, Zionism, and creativity. We had the ‘usual’ Judaic studies classes in Tanach, Jewish history, Jewish philosophy, etc., but also creative lessons in painting and other mediums. [As part of the program], we took classes once a week with the Tzvia High School for the Arts, which was around the corner from our midrasha, to try to integrate with Israeli students around our age. I took a graphic design class, but others took dance or painting classes. We also had a day trip to a different location each week, so I got to see most of the country during that time,” she recounts.
After the program, Blenden returned to the US to study Judaic studies at Stern College for Women, which is part of Yeshiva University. “During my college studies, I also worked for NJY Camps, an organization of Jewish summer camps, doing social media marketing, graphic design, and video editing.” Those years also shaped her professional path, directing her toward her future work at Yad Vashem.
“While I was in college, my grandmother had heard about a Holocaust heritage mission to Poland and Israel through Yad Vashem. In the summer of 2014, she decided to take my cousin and me on this trip. Following the trip, I remained in touch with some of the Yad Vashem staff, and they encouraged me to get involved with the Young Leadership Association [YLA] of the [then-Yad Vashem-affiliated] American Society for Yad Vashem. I got involved with the YLA, participated in events, and volunteered at galas.”
Blenden definitely found her calling in working at Yad Vashem. “After college, and later on receiving my master of science in integrated marketing communications from West Virginia University in 2017, I found out about another Yad Vashem mission to Austria and Israel, and that there would be a large contingent of young professionals also involved in the YLA going on this mission. I decided to sign up.” That summer, Blenden also volunteered and joined an internship program in Yad Vashem’s International Relations Division, the organization’s fundraising division.
“During my internship, I was told about a position that was opening and that my skills and background fit it perfectly. I applied for the position [already back in the US]; I began the aliyah paperwork, had an interview via Zoom while I was packing up my life in America, got accepted to the job, flew out of JFK Airport on November 4, 2018, landed in Israel on November 5, and began work as the production coordinator for the Projects Department at Yad Vashem on November 6,” she relates in one breath.
Since then, she has held various positions in the Resource and Partnership Development Division at Yad Vashem.
Unlike many new immigrants, Blenden knew exactly what she wanted to do in Israel. From day one, she started her work on the important, meaningful, and demanding subject of the Holocaust.
Having many relatives in Israel with whom she can spend Shabbats and holidays, she quickly found herself at home. Her social life is centered in Jerusalem, but she also visits friends in Tel Aviv, her family in Mitzpe Yeriho, and Modi’in. And sometimes she enjoys staying at her place, in the quiet town of Mevaseret Zion.
Her creative hobbies allow her to take a mental break from her full-time job and to explore the pleasures of making colorful paintings, crafts, jewelry, and decorative baking. Just for fun, and when possible, to help others.■
See Blenden’s Jewelry at www.instagram.com/chippdgems and her fundraising project at thechesedfund.com/herzfeld/the-herzfeld-family
LAYLA BLENDEN, 32
FROM NEW JERSEY TO JERUSALEM
AND MEVASERET ZION, 2018
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