An Instant In An Eternity

A long, long time ago, I can still remember how it used to be...and if you know the start of that song, you're of a certain age either when that song was popular and on the radio, or it was a hit of the oldies in your childhood! Which means you also likely recall life before the internet and websites and blogs (irony not lost here!) and Facebook. I remember getting our first computer, the Apple IIC . I remember the computer lab at school with a limited number of games to introduce us to this newfangled thing a computer. I remember having a computer of my own in high school - that tiny six inch monitor as part of the all in one computer platform - such an advancement! No internet yet, but not far off - just as I went off to college. I remember learning how to use email and connect virtually and remotely with my friends who were spread across the country. I remember my first generation Mac laptop in college. And now, I have one, if not two handheld computers in my purse or near me...

Eight years ago we decided to take the job offer from Intel and make aliyah. It was a one-way move. It took us another half year to get it all organized. We packed up and moved. Then we arrive. Las year was our sabbatical (שבתון in Hebrew) year, our Shmita year. It was a time for us, whether we knew it or not, to take a bit of a rest, a rest from this exhausting and exhilarating process of absorption into Israeli society. I did a bit of a mental relax, not really a check out, more of a check in - an adjustment of expectations. The history of the State of Israel and the stories surrounding her founding are told in epic, mythical proportions in the diaspora. It's hard as a Jewish child not to be engaged by these stories, won over, even. The challenges were massive and daunting. The confidence and enthusiasm were boundless. The pioneers who founded the State of Israel would be successful. We talk about the heroic establishment of Israel, the heroic history of the country, and t...

The subject of women in Judaism, women's place in the synagogue, women's prayer, women's anything frankly in religion is a hot topic - and it's not cooling off. We're certainly making progress, but sometimes that progress is painfully slow. I recently wrote about my thoughts that arose after my son's school performance, making me miss the experience of truly engaging with prayer in a community setting. This past weekend our neighbors celebrated their son turning 13 and his Bar Mitzvah . They had the Shabbat morning service at the Orthodox synagogue down the street from our house. That's the synagogue where we don't go - that's a story for another time. They are our friends, the mom does not come from a religious background, so we made sure to get up and get there on time to celebrate with them. I sat in the women's section - which also happens to be the back - of the synagogue. There is a mechitza , a separation between the men and women wh...

New Orleans' recently removed four monuments to the Confederacy from the city. Mayor Mitch Landrieu gave a moving, thoughtful, and inspiring speech explaining the history, context, and necessity for this action. I came to watch his speech after reading Frank Brunei's column , I recommend you, too, read this column and then watch the video embedded in his column. It's worth the time. And tell others to read and watch it, too. That's what we have to do - we have to tell others to read, watch, listen, read, consider - it's how we'll come together and open our minds to find a way to come back together. Landrieu made a beautiful point, "Indivisibility is our essence", he said about the United States of America. He's right. He's 100% right. The Pledge of Allegiance calls for "one nation, indivisible under god", that's our essence. We must remember that - and to truly be indivisible, we must find a way that we are all part of o...

I grew up in a Reform community. It was the only Jewish community that served not only my city but also the larger county and even parts of the neighboring country. When I was in college, after visits to Israel, I found myself increasing the amount of religious observance in my life. Having been a vegetarian for many years, kashruth was not a concern. Fundamentally I was keeping kosher. Observing Shabbat, marking the end of each week was a new experience for me. That meant both participating more fully in Hillel activities for Friday night and also making my room a Shabbat observance space - walking places, not turning lights on and off, no computer, no phone. It was a good opportunity to recharge during the hectic atmosphere of college. After college I found myself participating in a large, Conservative synagogue and thoroughly finding my place, feeling that what I needed from Judaism, what I needed from prayer was being met. Then I got married (in a Conservative synagogue by a ...

The big news of course is two pronged. On the one hand the " nuclear option " was exercised by Senator Mitch McConnell in the US Senate to abolish the 60 vote threshold for the confirmation of a nominee to the Supreme Court. On the other hand we have the attacks carried out first by Assad on his own people in Syria - bringing the world painful images of his cruelty. The attack sparked a response from Republican President Trump to respond with air strikes. This back and forth may well bring the civil war in Syria to other countries and begin to engulf the world in greater and greater conflict. Time will tell and in the meantime stress levels will rise. I was listening to the NPR One player that cued up the NPR Weekly Roundup from Thursday, April 6th. Mara Liasson was on the podcast and spoke at length about the issues surrounding McConnell's choice to eliminate the 60 vote threshold for Supreme Court nominees. I find myself driven to do whatever I can to call out th...

An email just came into my inbox announcing that 41 senators oppose the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the United States Supreme Court. That means they can filibuster his nomination. This comes barely a year after President Obama nominated Merrick Garland for the same position. Mitch McConnell refused to even allow Judge Garland a hearing. McConnell could not even extend a shred of human decency to President Obama or Judge Garland, look them in the eye, and engage the process as it is set forth before our elected officials. Sunday in an interview , McConnell couldn't speak honestly to the American people and own up to his reprehensible behavior - rather he hid behind a curtain of lies. And now we have Neil Gorsuch up for the same seat. The Democrats, while they may have slow walked the hearings and nomination process, have reasonable and legitimate concerns about his placement on the Supreme Court AND have an axe to grind with the Republicans. The news now is will the Republic...

Most of my news and current events coverage comes from my remarkable group of friends on Facebook. I realize how absurd that sounds to put out to the world. I am fortunate to have a strongly academic and well-read group of friends on FB and their posts bring to my attention an excellent array of articles about what was happening in the US during and after the 2016 election. Not to mention that I am a Wellesley alumna, so I'm tapped in to all those "secret" Facebook groups in support of our famous alumna sister, Hillary. I find myself more and more frustrated, dismayed, and outright disgusted by what is happening in the US. Part of that is my bubble - the limitations of what I hear and read and with whom I interact. And part of my attempt to avoid too much bubble-time is to work with the materials I have been reading and work to connect the dots myself. I'm struck, time and time again, by the utter chutzpa of the Republican party (which one can very well argue has ...

I started this slowly evolving blog after hearing Senator Diane Feinstein's inspiring words in the documentary Miss Representation . I find myself, now, even more so, propelled forward by that thought. We are indeed only here on this earth, here engaged with our communities for an instant in what is really an eternity. So our contribute while critical and vital is fleeting. It has been nearly 4 years since I started this blog, and as you can see, I haven't given it a great deal of attention. There is so much to do, so much need in the world, so much good to be done, so much inequality to be called out. How can I even find time to stop for a few minutes, string together a few well chosen words, and even take another minute to review those chosen words? Certainly not when all three kids need me NOW! (Of course they don't really but don't tell them that!) Times have certainly been tough these past three months since the world was rocked by the US election...