Lifelong Learners Ted & Amy Gavin

For Ted and Amy Gavin, the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center is far more than a synagogue. MVHC is the place where their shared values, identities, and traditions have found a home on the Vineyard. The couple has been curious, compassionate, and committed members of the Hebrew Center since 2022. We are so grateful for all that they have brought to our community in such a short time. They exemplify how our community is based on our shared Jewish values, not our faith alone, as Amy is not Jewish. It is those values: a passion for learning and a commitment to service, that make them incredible representatives of our progressive Jewish community.

In 2009, Ted and Amy traveled to the Vineyard for the first time to visit a friend for a political fundraiser. They didn’t know yet what an important event that would be. Gradually, over the next several summers, they began coming to the Vineyard on longer and longer trips. They officially relocated a few years before the pandemic. This move did two incredible things for Ted and Amy. First, as two busy career people, Ted is a corporate turnaround and restructuring advisor,  and Amy is a writer, the Vineyard has given them a respite and a peaceful escape. Second, they found building community on the Vineyard to be natural. They formed close friendships with local writers, musicians, and farmers. They feel “embraced” by the Vineyard in a way they never felt in other places.

The Gavins first heard about the Hebrew Center through the Summer Institute, but joined later on as a continuation of Ted’s decision to live a more Jewish life. Ted is from a large mixed family; his father’s side is very Irish-Catholic, and his mother’s side was Jewish. He grew up with extended family connected to a synagogue his entire life, but while he has always identified with his Judaism culturally, he never had the opportunity to go to Hebrew school or pursue any formal Jewish education. As an adult, he sought opportunities to learn and grow in his faith, and invested time in continuing his Jewish education.

Ted jumped into MVHC headfirst. During his first summer as a member, he volunteered his tech expertise to help guide an upgrade of the Center’s audio-visual capabilities. He became a board member two years after joining as a member. Now, he serves as the Treasurer of the Hebrew Center, a notoriously difficult job on any board. Ted takes his responsibility very seriously. He said, “my favorite part is being good stewards of our donors’ money. They are giving money to the Hebrew Center for a reason: it could be a personal reason, it could be a selfless reason, but they want to know that their money is being used in a way that reflects their values.” He takes great care to maintain the Hebrew Center’s core mission while offering his expertise to help us grow.

Ted has also continued to develop in his faith as a member of the Hebrew Center. He shared a special memory from his first Yom Kippur service in 2022, held at the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs. For the first time, he accepted the Rabbi’s invitation to prostrate himself on the ground during the 3 moments in the service that tell the story of the high priest doing  this. He found it to be very moving, and said he will remember the feeling for many years to come.

Although Amy is not religious, she leads a spiritual life and finds great fulfillment in other elements of MVHC. She said, “I value the different aspects there are in the community: intellectual stimulation, different learning opportunities, and the social justice work they do.”  She became involved with the Racial Justice Book Club and the Social Action Committee on Zoom during the pandemic. She especially connects with the lesson of Tikkun Olam, “For me, the Jewish values of repairing the world and acts of kindness, those are things that I have always lived my life by… It just seems like such a natural fit, I never knew that those values are part of a Jewish life until we joined the Hebrew Center.”

Amy and Ted are very dedicated to mission-driven work. Ted serves on several non-profit boards and previously served on the board of Emily’s List; Amy is currently president of the Martha’s Vineyard Community Services board of directors. A great testament to Ted and Amy’s generosity, their daughters have both chosen lives of service in the medical field; one as an occupational therapist for infants, and the other as an independent abortion clinic operator in the South.

Among the Gavins’ favorite memories at the Hebrew Center are the Purim spiel they wrote together with friend and fellow member Rob Feinstein (the first in-person spiel after the pandemic), and their shared favorite holiday Simchat Torah (because it connects to their love of learning). Amy also loves listening to Ted give Divrei Torah, to which Ted responded  “I love doing it. It’s the intellectual exercise of studying, interpreting and forming an opinion, and Judaism is a scholarship-based religion.”

For Ted and Amy, the Hebrew Center was a natural fit because our inclusive philosophy resonates strongly with their own. In describing their experiences, the couple always returned to people they’ve met here. They have made friends through chatting after services, volunteering with committees, and attending events that have enriched their lives in ways they never expected (Ted has now played (and managed to injure himself – twice!) in the legendary Chilmark softball league!). As much as they get from their involvement, they give right back through their thoughtful and steadfast work in so many aspects of our operations. We are so grateful that Ted and Amy have found in MVHC a place to reflect, celebrate, learn, and connect, both as individuals and as a family.