AGE 37

FAMILY Wife, Laurie; children, Sam (7), Jordan (6), Molly (2)

ALMA MATERS Brandeis Univ. & Jefferson Medical College

FAVORITE FOOD Bagels & lox

FAVORITE MUSICIANS Elton John, Rihanna & Beyonce

FAVORITE AUTHOR Stephen King

FAVORITE MOVIES "National Lampoon's Vacation" & "Lord of the Rings" trilogy

It's not hard to fathom Dr. Eric Grossman's life. His sense of family, Jewish values, and devotion to his patients are all interconnected.

"I feel I have similar values to my parents and grandparents," said Grossman, an OB/GYN with a Voorhees practice specializing in robotic and minimally invasive surgery. His parents, Drs. Jay and Sheila Grossman, have a family practice in Abington, PA, near the Cheltenham home where he was raised.

"I grew up seeing them take care of patients," said Grossman. Caring, loving people, his parents "had busy professional lives, but stayed family focused."

Sitting in his office at Premier Obstetrics & Gynecology in his green surgical scrubs, Grossman recalled the many Shabbat dinners and Passover seders at his parents' home—traditions he has continued. "In my own home, every Friday night we have Shabbat dinner," he said.

Grossman is looking forward to this year's family seder, which has moved to his own home in Cherry Hill. He leads the seder—and does all the cooking using his Nana's recipes for turkey, matzah ball soup, and sweet and sour meatballs.

It's important to Grossman that his children experience Jewish life. "My kids learn to be Jewish because they are living it," he said.

Grossman's own Jewish turning point came at Camp Ramah in the Poconos, where he spent seven years as a camper and counselor. He also did the Ramah Seminar in Israel.

"I remember coming home after my third summer, and my sister and I asking our parents to kosher the home," said Grossman, who still keeps a kosher home. Many of his lifelong values come from his Jewish summer camp experience, he recalls.

Grossman also met his wife Laurie, a guidance counselor at Cherry Hill High School West, at Ramah when both were counselors. "Our wedding was like being at a Ramah reunion. Our wedding party was pretty much our bunkmates," he joked.

Great believers in Jewish summer camp, the Grossmans send their children to the JCC Camps at Medford. When the kids are older, they will follow the family tradition at Ramah.

"I have such wonderful memories of Ramah," said Grossman, who sits on the Ramah board of directors. "I want to make sure that the camp maintains that magical quality for my kids."

Grossman spends as much time as he can with his children. He particularly enjoys building model rockets with them the way his father did with him. The family is active at Temple Beth Sholom, where oldest son Sam has his Cub Scout Pack. They are also members of the Katz JCC.

The past year has been particularly busy for the family. Grossman and his partner, Dr. Roberta Felsenstein, opened their practice last year. Prior to that, he was with a larger practice, but wanted a warmer, more personal office.

"We wanted to treat people the way we would want our sisters, mothers, and grandmothers treated," said Grossman, a "2008 SJ Magazine Top Doc" and 2007 UMDNJ "Educator of the Year."