Go Forth and Book-ify

Like pretty much anyone who writes professionally, I've long dreamed of writing a book, specifically non-fiction. The problem was that I didn't have a topic. When I lived in New York I had an idea for a coffee-table book, but the research would have been very Manhattan-specific so I abandoned the idea when I made aliyah.

About a year ago, I was contacted by a literary agent, who said that she'd read an article I'd written in a Jewish magazine, and she felt that I "have a book in" me. How flattering is that? She said that whenever I think of a topic I'm passionate about, I would definitely be welcome to contact her. That was so cool. But where was the topic? Writing a book is a tremendous time commitment, and for all but about 6 authors in the world it is not a big money-making proposition. Whatever topic I chose, it would have to be something I'd be willing to research, write, and think about for a period of years. Not so easy.

But lately, it occurred to me that certain articles I've written could be expanded into a book. The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. The topic is something I find inherently interesting. Even if I never sold a single copy, which would be disappointing (and expensive), I'd still be happy that I'd done the research, for my own edification.

Then, two weeks ago, I met Fern Reiss, author of The Publishing Game series, at a party. She's in Israel for a year or two. We spoke at length and I decided to go to one of her seminars, the first half of which I attended tonight. We discussed the pros and cons of using an agent vs. self-publishing, how to pitch an idea to an agent, and various marketing information. In addition to learning that, in my case, self-publishing is probably a more lucrative and sensible way to go, I determined that my idea . . .

a) is on a topic about which nothing has been published for several years
b) has a huge potential market , which furthermore is very active, with conventions and chat rooms and other places where I could sell a book outside traditional venues like bookstores and libraries. There is even a product which would lend itself logically to being bundled with such a book.
d) lends itself easily to updating the book every couple of years and issuing new editions
e) would itself serve as a credential for me to write, after the book comes out, for magazines in a related market which I've been trying to break into for a long time.
f) is easily researched from where I live

Obviously more research (about agents, self-publishing, my topic, and possible competitors) is required, but I think I can now say that my plan, definitely, is to make a plan. Meaning, I'm going to do this research and tweak my ideas , and if over the next weeks and months all continues to look logical, I'll go ahead and start the process of making a book!

Wow, I can't believe I'm at the point where I could finally write that. Life sure is full of exciting twists and turns.

A few things

1. I really hope the miners in Utah are still alive and that they will be rescued. The whole idea of mining scares me stiff, as does the idea of being trapped in the dark for 6 days. ::shudder::

2. Many people in the blogging world (or, more specifically, their commenters) have been calling on Orthodox bloggers to address the points that Noah Feldman made in his NY Times article (sorry to bring it up again). They point out, correctly, that whether Maimo cropped any photos or not, and even if the school chose the photo that didn't have Noah in it simply because it was the best photo, it doesn't mean that Feldman's other points/examples are incorrect. In the name of intellectual honesty, they say, we should be talking about the issues he raises: exclusion of the intermarried; the valuing (or not) of non-Jewish lives as something inherently important; incidences of religious fanaticism which produced, he believes, Yigal Amir and Baruch Goldstein. Did I miss anything?

It is true, these are all important issues to discuss. However, I disagree that I or any other Orthodox blogger should feel obligated to address them just because Noah brought them up. See, when these issues are brought up by someone who is asking respectfully, or innocently, or with genuine curiosity, or out of confusion, or with a sincere desire to hear an answer that sits well with him, then hey - let's talk issues!

But Noah is, and always has been, what one commenter on another blog called "the wolf in the classroom." If his essay was just about feeling excluded as an intermarried person, I might be more inclined to address it. But if he's going to compare tefillin to pain-inducing ritual objects of the Opus Dei, if he's going to talk about intermarriage and Baruch Goldstein in the same breath, then you know what? I don't have to respond to his points.

The bottom line -- and I've given this a lot of thought -- is that I do not want Noah Feldman to be part of my community, and so I really don't give a damn what his issues are. I know, I know. He's a Jew and so in some broad sense I'm supposed to hope that he reconciles himself with all the problems he currently sees in Orthodox Judaism, and start coming to shule and fulfilling all the mitzvot he possibly can, given that his wife and kids are not Jewish.

But I don't want him in my shule. Not because he's intermarried -- for all I care, an intermarried man is welcome to an aliyah -- actually, I wouldn't be surprised if an intermarried guy would get an aliyah in my shule -- but because he's a pompous . . . . ugh, I can't say it! He's pompous, OK, and I don't like him. If my shule were full of people who were intra-married but had his personality, I wouldn't go there. It would not be my community. Actually, I do know shules like that, and guess what? I avoid them. You know why? Because when I think about "my community," my standards are higher than simply demanding intramarriage and keeping Shabbat and other basic requirements of the Orthodox lifestyle. For me to want someone to be in my community, I also want them to be nice company, friendly, able to connect with me and with others.

So, no, I'm not addressing his points, and accept any consequences that might come from that. What could he do, anyway? Print an article in the New York Times maligning my faith?

Oh.

3. What does it mean to be part of the Orthodox community? I am thinking of a friend of mine, whom I'll call Q because that is, actually, my nickname for her (hi, Q!), who is certainly part of MY community. Several of her close friends are Orthodox, including me. When I lived in New York, we often had Shabbat meals together at my place or at the home of other Orthodox friends. She came to shule with me once or twice. She knows all the Shabbat niggunim and why I'll drink milk from the local supermarket but our Cholov Yisrael friend wouldn't. I've slept over at her apartment when I needed a place to crash in New York, and we make sure to talk on the phone every few weeks despite her incredibly busy schedule. I quote her all the time, because she's really funny. She's not Orthodox at all, but I think she has an Orthodox community. There is a circle of Orthodox people who care about her just as deeply as she cares about us.

This happened because she is no more prejudiced against us than we are against her - and because we are very cool Orthodox people. Not all Orthodox circles are made up of warm folk. Some of them are full of people like . . . well, pompous you-know-whats. But coldness cuts both ways.

Orthodox people at a synagogue should realize that the new family standing in the corner -- the one that is maybe a one-parent family, or not observant, or is poor, or not white -- might be there for more than just prayer. They might want to make an emotional connection with others, with these people they are praying next to. And they won't keep coming to pray if they don't make an emotional connection.

By the same token, I find that often non-Orthodox Jews cast aspersions at the Orthodox because we "aren't welcoming." Well, when was the last time they were genuinely friendly to an Orthodox person? Instead of waiting for an invitation, how about calling them and saying "I'd like to get to know you. I know you can't eat in my house . . . but it's summer, and there's a nice park nearby. How about we bring bagels and blankets next Sunday and let our kids run around?" I love Q not just because she's funny and listens to my shtick, but because when she came to shule with me once, I left her to get a drink and came back to find that she was in an animated conversation with someone else. She can take care of herself. She made herself part of the scene.

I know, I know. There are going to be commenters -- with genuinely sad stories -- about how they tried everything and the folk at their local Orthodox synagogue never wanted to be friendly. And that is wrong and very sad. It's unfortunate that something like, say, Talmudic scholarship does not by definition inculcate good social skills. It's one of the reasons I am very careful about which shule I go to (or, rather, which shule I would go to if I made it to shule more often) and am extremely picky about my friends. It is true that being Orthodox does not, by definition, mean that one is warm or responds well to friendly overtures. It is also true that being Orthodox does not mean, by definition, that a person is insular or cold or unfriendly.

AND I'd bet that most of the people who walk around talking about the Orthodox as "those people" (as in "those people are so insular" and "those people are so racist" and "those people care only about themselves") have never done much to actually talk to "those people." To act toward "those people" the way they want "those people" to act to them. It might be no harder for them to be friendly to you as it is for you to be friendly to them. So let's not all be hypocritical here.

The Chayyei hath spoken.

Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm responds to Noah Feldman

. . . in The Forward. Here's the link.

Yes, I'm well aware that lately my blog has been all-Feldman, all the time.

As a former math teacher (at Maimonides) once said, "when Sarah takes umbrage, she takes it to Burma." Feldman's article struck a personal note with me because I'm not only Modern Orthodox, I also attended the very school which he complains about. It's a small school, and I, personally, never had any problems with it other than the enormous workload and extremely high academic standards - the same standards that helped catapault Feldman to Harvard and Oxford and NYU and back to Harvard. The New York Times article was a very public perversion of a shared experience which I see and live and believe completely differently.

And, as was feared when the article first came out, it is indeed sparking suspicion among non-Jews against their Jewish co-workers. Just what we needed. Just what we needed.

Urgh.

Well, on that lovely note . . . have a Shabbat shalom and/or wonderful weekend!

"Orthodox Paradox" is actually "Ooopsidux Negligent Reportingdox"?

Last night I went to a very nice party to celebrate the occasion of my friend's father achieving rabbinical ordination. At the party happened to be a high-ranking administrator of Maimonides, the alma mater of myself and of Noah Feldman, and I asked him whether the school plans to issue a response of some kind to Feldman's article. He said "no," and I agreed that was probably the best plan on their part. He mentioned that some Orthodox rabbis in Boston had been approached by colleagues and asked "do you really believe this? That the only reason to save a non-Jewish life is to protect the Jewish community?" We chatted a while more about how my parents and sister are doing, where I've published recently, etc, and then I wandered away to get some cheese and crackers.

Later, I was thinking that I'd like to give him some feedback, as an alumna, to the effect that while I do think that Feldman's article is disingenuous in many ways, I do think it was silly of the school to crop him and his (non-Jewish) then-fiancee out of a reunion photo. After all, no one can realistically expect that ANY school will produce alumni who are 100 percent faithful to the ideals of the school. If I'd received that newsletter and saw that one of the alumni was engaged to a woman of Asian descent, I would have perhaps paused long enough to wonder whether she was a convert, a child of converts, or not Jewish . . . and I would have felt a mixture of amusement and bemusement at the thought of someone bringing a non-Jewish fiancee to a Maimo reunion . . . and then I would have turned the page and thought about something else. I seriously have better things to do than wonder whether this woman is Jewish or not, or question the personal life of an alumnus two years ahead of me, someone of whom I can't say I was ever particularly fond.

And I certainly wouldn't think that his intermarrying reflects on the school any more or less than do the incredible achievements within and for the Jewish community of Maimo's many hundreds of other graduates. I don't think any reasonable person would. So why crop him out?

But this administrator was busy talking with other guests, and I never had a chance to take him aside and voice my opinion.

Now I'm glad I didn't waste his time, because, assuming this article in The Jewish Week has the story straight, the entire lede to Feldman's article was moot. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, many, many graduates' photos didn't make it into the newsletter, because the photographer couldn't get the entire group into the frame. About a dozen other people -- all Jews -- didn't make it into the picture either.

And most damning - for The New York Times, of which you all know I am generally a fan - the photographer who took the reunion photos claims that he offered the photos to The New York Times to run with the story, but the Times opted not to run the picture when it became clear that the problem wasn't Feldman's Asian girlfriend, it was the logistics of fitting 60 people into a photo that would look good in the newsletter.

I can wrap my mind around the idea that Feldman misunderstood the events leading to him being left out of the newsletter. I can wrap my mind around the idea that he and the photographer had a misunderstanding.

But I cannot wrap my mind around the Magazine editor at The New York Times neglecting to go back to Feldman and asking him to re-write his story with a different lede, one that reflects reality.

Of course, now who knows what really happened and who misunderstood whom?

I cannot wait to see the Letters section of the New York Times Sunday Magazine 3 days from now.

This story is like Wonderland, it just keeps getting curiouser and curiouser.

Another note or three about "Orthodox Paradox"

Regarding Noah Feldman's "Orthodox Paradox" article, which I addressed in my last post:

a) I'm sorry I called him an a**hole. That is an ad hominem attack, completely useless and peurile. I didn't receive any complaints about it, but I myself feel that it was beneath my dignity to use that particular word.

b) I have been quite disturbed by much of the response in the blog world (more specifically, in the comments to blogs), in which Jews across the Orthodox spectrum have basically proven that Feldman is correct: we ARE a bunch a racist, close-minded jerks. People! Argue his piece on its merits!

c) Case in point: vulgar arguments to the effect that Feldman was so overcome by sexual desire for a "shiksa" that he couldn't control his impulse to leave Orthodoxy behind, is sick. First of all, it ignores the fact that Feldman's wife is not only beautiful, she is also incredibly intelligent and accomplished in her own right. She's a person. And the word "shiksa" is a really nasty way to refer to a being who was created b'tzelem elokim, just as we were. It's one thing to note that in marrying out of the faith, Feldman has performed the supreme no-no of Orthodox Judaism, and therefore can't expect much pride from the school. It's another to make personal attacks about his wife and children, who have done nothing wrong themselves.

d) I haven't seen it noted elsewhere, so I guess I have to be the one to say it. Regarding the story about the rabbi who said that one should only break Shabbat to save the life of a non-Jew if doing so will avoid harmful relations between Jews and non-Jews (that is, not because the life of a non-Jew is inherently as valuable as the life of a Jew):

Feldman himself notes that we are a community in which actions are more important than belief, and that we don't go around asking each other what we truly believe, because we might not want to know the true answers to that question. In practice, there is probably not a single Jewish doctor alive, anywhere, who wouldn't, in practice, gladly break Shabbat to save the life of a non-Jew. Any non-Jew. In Israel, there are religious doctors who regularly break Shabbat to save the lives of Palestinians.

But let's talk about beliefs. The passages in the Talmud to which Feldman refers suggest that the life of a Jew is inherently more valuable than that of a non-Jew. Now, certainly, we all can agree that, though some things have stayed the same, much has changed since the Talmud was written. A lot has changed. The very way that people relate to God has changed. The freedoms with which Jews live in the Western world has changed dramatically, though we hold our breath for that to change again. We all can understand why, in a world in which Jews were a persecuted minority, in which the non-Jews around them did not assign any inherent value to Jewish lives, that the Jewish leaders would declare that the lives of the persecuting majority are important only insofar as they help maintain some peace and quiet for the Jews.

Does it matter that things are no longer quite that way? One of the hallmarks of Orthodoxy is that, in most areas, we don't think that any sort of change really matters: Torah is Torah, Judaism is Judaism, halacha is halacha, and everything else can change all it wants, but we still won't light fires on Saturday or eat a cheeseburger.

But a matter such as under what circumstances one can break Shabbat to save a life is not discussed in a vaccuum. The fact that many, if not most, rabbis today do encourage doctors to save lives -- any lives -- on Shabbat is indicative of where this discussion has moved in the last couple thousand years.

However, there is still practice, and belief. And so I ask you to take a moment to think: do you, in your heart of hearts, believe that the life of a Jew is inherently more worthy of saving than the life of a non-Jew?

If your answer is "no," if deep down you believe that, for all that our religion and history and mandate is special, Jews have no more inherent value in the eyes of God than anyone else, then please be honest to yourself and admit that, much as you may respect this particular Talmudic teaching, you have chosen, in your heart, to dismiss it as out of touch with reality - that you think it is wrong.

And if your answer is "yes," if you think that Jews are, by definition, born with a different spiritual makeup that makes our lives inherently more precious, regardless of how warm and just and tolerant and connected to God the non-Jew in question may be, then please be honest with yourself and acknowledge that you are racist. If you want to justify your racism with Talmudic discussions, or with the realities of Jewish history, or whatever, go ahead. But be honest: if the only reason you'd save a non-Jewish life on Shabbat is to help the Jewish community, then you might be a good doctor, and you might be treating everyone equally in practice, but in your heart you are racist. Just be honest about that.

Hello again

So, here we are. I've been, thank God, extremely busy with work. And the best part is that I'm doing it. I mean, I'm doing it in a disciplined way which involves making to-do lists, setting aside time for tasks, and crossing everything off the list by the end of the day. Boy does that feel good. And it also explains why I'm not blogging much these days; the writing for which I am paid must take precedence. Still, I'm sure you are curious to know these thoughts which have been circling through my head:

1) A new article by Noah Feldman is scheduled to appear in Sunday's NY Times (it is available now to members of Times Select) in which he has some very nasty (technically accurate, but overblown) things to say about the Modern Orthodox community in which he grew up. Noah and I attended the same Jewish Day School -- he was 2 years ahead of me, and his brother was in my class -- and he describes his experience there in some detail. It's amazing how he and I attended the same school and yet perceive it, and the world, and the way the school sees the world, so differently. Not completely differently -- like I said, his complaints are technically accurate, and his descriptions of teachers and classes brought back many memories -- but ultimately, his understanding of the Jewish Day School experience is effected (not affected, but effected) by his own personal hangups. (Just as mine is, I'm sure.)

As I just said to a fellow alumna who also read the article, "Noah is right. He's right, and he's an a**hole." I say this not because he has "aired dirty laundry" to the non-Jewish world -- he has, but often that has a place -- but because he's a hypocrite in his application of liberalism. This is the same man who says that moderate Islam should not be judged by racist or jihadist passages in the Koran, because a people should be judged by what they do, not by the texts they study.

He's also an a**hole because he spends hundreds of words talking about Baruch Goldstein, without fully addressing the shock and horror that most of the modern Orthodox world (at least in America) felt after Goldstein did what he did. In other words -- again -- it's technically accurate, and he does mention that not all Orthodox Jews liked what Goldstein did, but the nasty bits are discussed out of proportion to the values that, in my experience, most modern Orthodox Jews in America act on. And ultimately, actions speak much louder about our values than words do.

Anyhow, I can't wait to see the letters that will appear in response to his latest piece. This is going to get very heated. Fasten your seatbelts.

2) My copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has been pre-ordered, paid for, and confirmed, and will, if all goes as planned, be ready for pickup exactly 66 minutes after Shabbat ends tomorrow night. Meanwhile I am avoiding any and all media articles or websites that even hint of spoilers.

For the record, here are my predictions of what will happen, based on my knowledge of Books 1-6 (slight spoilers of Book 6 to follow, but nothing major):

a) Harry will vanquish Voldemort
b) In the process, Ron will die
c) Snape will be revealed to have been on the side of Good all along (loathsome in personality, but acting on the side of Good)
d) Harry will quietly retire into the Muggle world, coming back now and then to the magical one to visit the Weasleys, Neville, Luna etc. I'm thinking maybe he'll become a detective or a policeman.
e) I think Ginny will go with him
f) Draco will redeem himself in some way, leading us to the conclusion that he will become the new Snape: loathsome, but, having done teshuva, acting now on the side of Good
g) In Book 7, Hogwarts will re-open on a small scale, but Harry, Ron, and Hermione won't return to it - they'll be busy looking for Horcruxes
h) On Mugglenet.com, there has been a suggestion that Hermione will end up with Draco. I find the idea intriguing, and theoretically possible IF Ron dies and IF Draco does teshuva . . . after all, Lilly Potter thought that James was a pompous jerk for years, as Hermione thinks of Draco. However, I'm not sure that Hermione would go for a guy who ever was in with Death Eaters, even if he DID lower his want before doing that evil thing in Book 6 that he'd been assigned to do. Still . . . do you think perhaps some of the animosity between Draco and Hermione is caused by sexual tension? A point to ponder . . .
i) RAB is indeed Regulus Black, and Harry will have to find Mundungus and Mundungus' clients in order to complete his quest for Horcruxes.
j) Dudley Dursley will suddenly show the ability to perform magic, sending himself, Petunia, and Vernon into a tizzy
k) Percy Weasley will still be insufferable at the end of the series
l) Bill Weasley is basically all right - no MAJOR harm done.
m) Bellatrix will be sent back to Azkaban
o) We will find out what is behind the veil
p) Harry will have one more magical encounter with the spirits of his parents

That's all I can think of for now. We'll see on Sunday how many of these predictions are correct.

Please, if you've read any of the newspaper reviews of the new book, or seen the contraband images which were posted online, do NOT put spoilers in the comments.

3) Shimmy was in town! My old friend! We've been friends for 19 years, longer by far than the amount of time we didn't know each other yet. It was great to see him, like old times.

4) I have been studiously ignoring politics because I can't handle it. However, I very much enjoyed the report from Beirut by my friend and colleague, Lisa Goldman. Let's see now.
Lisa: goes into hostile territory on her own, is accused of espionage by the Arab press, and earns international attention.
Sarah: producing good writing from the safety of Tal's Bagels.
Hm. I wonder which of us is more likely to win the Pulitzer Prize someday? :-)

5) UYO follow-up meeting on Monday night (a chance for people to "check in" and talk) was very special. It was very uplifting for me to see that something I worked on really helped people.

6) Process of looking for a new apartment (to buy, not rent) has begun. I've seen two so far, one of which was horrible and the other of which was OK but not for me. Apparently finding an apartment is like dating, you just keep looking until you find the one that's right. However, unlike men, apartments can be changed. With apartments, when one envisions what it COULD be like, what POTENTIAL it has, and how it could be CHANGED to be more like what one wants, then one is being smart, not unrealistic.

Ciao for now, and have a happy Saturday.

In the one minute before Shabbat . . .

I have time for a VERY quick update.

a) I just got back from a fantastic 5-day vacation at Lake Kinneret. It was a dream. I went with friends and we lounged at the women's beach (There is one near Tiberias, and it is at least as pretty as the regular beaches), rented motorboats to take out into the Lake, ate at Decks and at some bad fish restaurants, got sunburned, and had a really terrific time. Once again I stayed in "my" little cottage in the town of Yavna'el, and my friends and I had the swimming pool all to ourselves. Did I mention the bathtub jacuzzi? Like I said, a dream.

b) I attended the inaugural game of the Israel Baseball League. I've written notes to make a blog post about it but haven't gotten around to writing it out completely. More to come later. (The basics: I cheered with the Boston crowd for the Pioneers (since their 2nd baseman is a Bostonian and a fellow Maimo grad), ate burgers, got sunburned, and had a terrific time.)

c) I'm being rehired to teach again next spring in the same program in which I taught this past spring, and am already looking forward to it. We had a little "English Department" meeting (all three of us) and decided to change the curriculum. Among other works, I'm now going to be teaching Amos Oz's A Tale of Love and Darkness and a collection of short stories by Savyon Liebrecht. If anyone in the Katamon area has copies of these books I could borrow over the summer I'd appreciate it.

d) Things my shaliach never told me: Apparently, leben works wonders on sunburns.

Have a shabbat shalom.

Since last we met . . . .

a) a lot has happened in Gaza. A lot. So much that I wonder who, if anyone, was able to keep track of it. And it makes me wonder: Why wasn’t the idea of having two separate Palestinian states (one in Gaza, one in the West Bank) floated more seriously oh, 15 years ago? The idea of having one state on two non-contiguous plots of land never seemed very logical to me. Forget about the question of how different the cultures are between West Bank Palestinians and Gaza Palestinians, Fatah vs. Hamas, whether the West Bank is more “moderate,” or whatever . . . the West Bank and Gaza are not contiguous. How could Israel ever allow passage between the two in a way that grows trade for this new Palestinian entity without endangering Israel’s security? Who ever thought that would work?

b) There was a gay-pride parade in Jerusalem, and an anti-gay-pride parade protest, which affected me only to the extent that I wasn’t able to take a bus to the Creative Zionism institute on Thursday night and had to take a taxi instead. This annual (or has it become bi-annual?) event and counter-event brouhaha – will the rabbis discourage violence or encourage it? Will it be a parade or a rally? Blah blah blah – is getting really old.

c) I was accepted as a Fellow to the Creative Zionism Institute. I think I’m the third-oldest Fellow; this program is really geared more for people with the energy to spend their days working and almost every. single. evening talking about their “projects.” However, it is indeed a great place for me to network and tell a lot of very energetic and enthusiastic Jews about my goal to open a Global Relationship Center in Jerusalem.

d) Speaking of which, the LYO and Money Freedom courses were cancelled last week. They are extremely expensive to run, and we were coming nowhere close to breaking even. However! There will be a meeting on July 25 in Jerusalem, for anyone who wants to be involved in making future courses happen, to talk about how we can raise money and make this program fiscally viable. In a way I’m pleased, since this is forcing we in IsraelIsrael” dream to work! But I won’t say that I wasn’t depressed when we decided to cancel. It was a deep disappointment and took a lot of work for me to be able to dust myself off again and keep going. to work as a team toward a goal, and to do it ourselves, without outside help. Putting the whole “working toward a more cooperative, productive, economically self-sufficient

e) The UN Human Rights Council overwhelmingly voted to make Israel a permanent agenda item. Among the countries who are on the Council and who voted to focus so much energy on Israel’s human rights abuses, while not making, say, Sudan a permanent agenda item, were China, Angola, and Saudi Arabia. I have nothing to say. Hillel Neuer has already said it all for me.

f) I finished a major journalism assignment which was hanging over me for a very long time. Celebrated my new freedom by watching four episodes straight of CSI. George Eades really does not look good in a moustache.

g) Guess what I had done today with a friend? I love it!

Money Freedom(TM) and Loving Yourself and Others(TM)

What I'm Up To These Days

Amended from a post I just uploaded to the Nefesh B'Nefesh listserve:

Following the success of our two "Understanding Yourself and Others" classes, I'm happy to be able to announce the next two classes I'm organizing in
the effort, which I think we all share, to make Israel a more loving, productive, cooperative place. Both courses will take place at the Listening Hands Institute
in Maalot Daphna, Jerusalem and come with money-back guarantees.

"Loving Yourself and Others" June 27-29

and

"Money Freedom" July 1-2

DETAILS:

LOVING YOURSELF AND OTHERS(TM)
A 2.5-day course where you can practice to:
-Stress less and be more productive
-Live in this moment joyously, even with problems
-Prevent your feelings from being hurt
-Not be annoyed or angered by others
-Stop aggravating people
-Spend more time making yourself happy
-Become better at encouraging yourself and others
-Have more command of your life
-Learn to give and get support from your family

MONEY FREEDOM(TM)
A 2-day experiential course where you can learn to:
-become aware of your subconscious beliefs about money
-become “unstuck” in your creation of wealth
-realize the meaning and purpose of money as an avenue to help you express yourself
fully
-support others in their process of creating wealth
-free yourself to move with ease and confidence without money stress

Organized in partnership with Global Relationship Centers, Inc.

If any of my wonderful blog readers would like more information, please write to me at chayyeisarah at yahoo dot com.

See you soon!

Back from the Dead

She's alive! She's alive! Bwahahahahaaaaa!

OK, I'm a bad blogger.

It's just been a combination of busyness, feeling a little down, and being overwhelmed by how much I have to write. Sorry, everyone. I didn't go away for good.

A brief update:

On Lag Ba'Omer, the holiday on which Israelis traditionally make bonfires, I helped my friend Alice W. (whom I met when she took UYO) watch over the park across the street from her house. Alice had spent two weeks, with the help of a few volunteers, clearing brush from the ground and preparing small clearings where people could safely make their fires. On the night of Lag Ba'Omer, I spent a couple of hours with her and one other volunteer, beating out fires that were getting out of control and bringing water in tanks to families who had forgotten to bring something to quench the flames. I was very, very happy to be helping, and we educated a few kids who looked at us wide-eyed when we explained that large bonfires, blowing sparks caused by putting cardboard boxes into the fire, and overhanging branches don't mix, and they should please move to a safer spot. The experience reinforced my belief that the fact that more serious accidents or out-of-control fires don't happen on Lag BaOmer is a revealed miracle. It also reinforced my belief that, though not all teenagers are obnoxious by far (you know I love teens!), the most obnoxious people in the world do tend to be between the ages of 13-19. Alice was there until almost 8 am, and had to call the police when one group refused to move, despite the fact that they were already singing leaves of a nearby tree.

Shavuot was very nice. I went to the home of Ari and Sarah Beth, as is my tradition. A good time was had by all.

I have gotten onto a CSI kick. I'm renting every episode in order. Am currently in Season 4. This is not a healthy thing. You know how I know that Yael knows me very well? When I told her recently that I've watched about 30 episodes of CSI in the space of 3 weeks, did she look at my sympathetically and say "Sarah, you know that wasting time like that isn't good for you"? No! She looked at me sympathetically and said "Sarah . . . if you keep watching it at that rate, pretty soon you'll finish the whole series and then you'll be depressed." Now THAT is a friend.

My teaching post has come to an end for the term. I now have 8 months, until the program starts again, with no pressing reason to leave the house on any given day. Not a good thing. That teaching job saved my sanity. I loved those kids, I loved the material, and I'm pretty sure I did a great job. My nightmares about teaching are completely gone. I gave my students evaluation forms at the end (see what a reflective professional I am?) and the consensus was that I did at least as good a job as any of their other English teachers have done -- the feedback mostly ranged from "par for the course" to "you are awesome"-- but that I gave way too much homework. Duly noted.

What is keeping me sane now is that we have scheduled the next Global Relationship Center courses, so I'm neck-high in planning. For those of you interested in attending, we're doing "Loving Yourself and Others(TM)" on June 27-29, and "Money Freedom(TM)" on July 1-2. More details in another post soon to come. You can also email me for more info at chayyeisarah at yahoo dot com. I'm very excited about these classes, and will be taking them myself as a student.

Finally, inspired by a recent post over at Treppenwitz, here is a list of 12 things I love about living in Israel:

1. Virtually everywhere you go, in Jerusalem at least, there are mezuzot on almost every doorpost: Government offices, business offices, restaurants, shops, etc etc. A constant reminder that I'm living among people who share my culture. It's such a comfortable, and comforting, thing to see.

2. Any large or mid-size city in the country will have at least a couple of kosher restaurants, and even the most backwater little towns will have kosher pizza and falafel joints. Any shopping mall or bus terminal will have kosher places in the food court. It makes traveling so much easier, not to have to pack cans of tuna fish and jars of peanut butter whereever you go! Being able to get hot, kosher food anywhere is really a treat.

3. Though just as difficult as the one in New York (for me, anyway), the dating scene in Israel is nowhere near as cruel as that in the Big Apple. When I go to singles events where there are a lot of native Israelis, I find that the men will look me in the eye and be sincerely interested in talking to me, even if it's just to be friendly. In New York, people don't bother talking to you unless they think that it will go somewhere (whatever that means to them, if you know what I mean). In general, I find Israeli men to be much more friendly than Americans, even if their dating habits are just as inscrutable to me.

4. Hot Israeli men. Did I mention they are hot?

5. Predictable weather. As soon as spring rolls around, I take out all my sandals from storage, and make a point of not wearing closed-toed shoes again until September or October. And that's always fine.

6. Israeli straightforwardness. It's often mistaken for rudeness, but I'm learning to appreciate the Israeli style of saying what you mean and meaning what you say. I'm not a game-playing kind of person, and I appreciate that Israelis get to the point and "talk tachlis." You always know where you stand with them. I find that refreshing, especially when they are expressing enthusiasm -- and you know it's genuine.

7. There are traditional and knowledgable Jews everywhere. An Israeli Jew (especially those of Middle Eastern descent) who isn't particularly observant in an Orthodox kind of way is still much more likely than his or her American counterpart to keep kosher, or pray regularly, or avoid certain activities on Shabbat. There is a sense here that Judaism is an organic part of life, less rigid than the way it's practiced in the US, and therefore more accessible. I just loved it when the clerk at my post office, who was wearing tight jeans and low-cut, sleeveless top, suggested that I avoid signing a lease during the Three Weeks. Not to mention that Jewish holidays are national holidays and the traditional way to say "have a nice weekend" is "Shabbat shalom."

8. No pressure to wear the latest fashions, or have a perfect manicure or pedicure, or to blow-dry your hair "just so." Clean, ironed, and matching, with a little makeup, is more than good enough. And no pressure to "impress" anyone with fancy jewelry or tales about one's trips to Club Med or Europe or some tropical island. Materialism, be gone! Goodbye Upper West Side, hello Jerusalem!

9. The friends I've made here. (Shout-out to Estee, Rachel, and Gila)

10. Feeling that I'm part of something important, that just by being here I'm making a difference in society and helping my country to make its incremental steps forward.

11. The views of Jerusalem's hills, from within and from without. There are so many opportunities to enjoy a good view, and I feel lucky to be here, in this ancient city, every time.

12. Proximity to the Galil, one of the most beautiful places on earth, ancient home to my soul.