Rabbinical Student Megan Eslamboly Brings Nowruz to the Bimah

For Megan Eslamboly, the Persian New Year, Nowruz, has always been a part of her family’s tradition, but it wasn’t until rabbinical school that she fully explored its meaning and its place within her Jewish identity. This year, she had the unique opportunity to weave Nowruz into her Hebrew Union College tefilah, blending her past and present in a personal and communal experience.

Growing up experiencing a Reform Ashkenazi community in Palm Desert, CA, Megan’s main connection to Persian Judaism mostly came from time spent in Los Angeles with her extended family. “I grew up knowing about Nowruz as the holiday with the special table,” she recalled. “My grandmother always puts together a corner of the house with a beautiful table of symbols.” However, as a child, she says she didn’t fully grasp whether the customs were Persian or Jewish.

The celebration of Nowruz includes a special arrangement called the Haft-Sin Table, decorated with seven items that all start with the letter sin (س ( in Persian, each symbolizing renewal and the arrival of spring. The number seven is considered lucky and represents various aspects of life.

Her perspective began to shift during her Year-In-Israel, where she was the only Persian Jew in her cohort. “I felt a real responsibility and interest from my classmates in sharing my Jewish traditions and highlighting more of the Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish upbringing,” she said. Missing her family and the traditions of Nowruz, she created a Haft-sin Table—a display of seven symbolic items starting with the Persian letter ‘S’—for her classmates in Jerusalem. “Even amidst war, we found space to collaborate and share new traditions,” she reflected.

The success of that first celebration inspired her to bring Nowruz to Los Angeles. By a stroke of fate, her assigned tefilah service this year fell exactly on Persian New Year. She collaborated with Cantor Kerith Spencer-Shapiro ’03, who became Megan’s biggest supporter, to lead a Nowruz-themed tefilah.

Together, they crafted a service that highlighted Middle Eastern Jewish heritage. “We chose music written by Mizrahi composers,” Eslamboly explained. Instead of the usual piano, they brought in an oud player (a traditional lute-type instrument), transforming the atmosphere. “One of my goals in honor of Nowruz, was for today’s tefillah to transport our souls to the East while our bodies remain in the utmost West.”

The response was deeply moving not just for Megan, but for her family as this was their first time seeing her in a rabbinic leadership role. Furthermore, Jewish clergy run in her family, albeit on the male side. Her service, she said, served as an embodiment of their ancestral legacy. “My grandmother told me, ‘My father always wanted Judaism to be present in our family. He would have never imagined his great-granddaughter leading this, but he would have been for it.’”

From her Hebrew Union College classmates and faculty, the support was just as strong. “So many students came up to me after, expressing gratitude for bringing these traditions into our shared experience.” One professor told her that although they worked with Persian Jews in Los Angeles for 20 years, no one had ever explained the holiday to them. Their responses and encouragement reinforced Megan’s commitment to weaving education and worship together, demonstrating how shared learning could continue to strengthen and shape the community.

For Megan, this service was more than just a moment; it was a vision for the future. “It was about honoring my ancestral heritage, sharing my (Jewish) world with my Persian world, and beautifully meshing past, present, and future.” She hopes to see more services like this in that future. “I think part of my calling to be a Rabbi is to help bring more Mizrahi and communities into the Reform Movement and create a more pluralistic Jewish space for new traditions and cultures to emerge.”