Hope and Fear

I woke up this morning to the news of Obama's victory in the election and shed a tear or two of joy. Obama has inspired more hope than any other politician in my lifetime and now he has the opportunity to take all of that energy that has been generated and direct it towards helping the US return to a place of true prominence and respect in the international community. Our nation is in bad shape. Our economy sucks, there are a variety of social ills (insufficient health care being one of them) and we are losing two wars (one of which was entered into under false pretenses). Granted, we are still in better shape than many of the other nations of the world, however for the past eight years we have fallen far short of our potential.

I hope that our new president along with the Democratic majority in Congress will be able to help our country move back towards its rightful place as leader of the free world. I hope that the fear-mongering and diplomatic ineptitude exhibited by the Bush administration will be replaced by a reasoned and well-thought-out approach that does not view compromise as failure and recognizes that the US cannot bully the world around. I hope that the election of an African-American president will serve to help heal some of the racial wounds that continue to fester throughout the US. I hope that Obama's election will serve as proof that American truly is the land of opportunity and inspire the youth of America to strive for greatness. I hope that Obama lives up to his promise and is the great leader that many of us expect him to be.

but...

I fear that perhaps the hole we have dug for ourselves is too deep. I fear that Obama and his administration will be held hostage by a Congress that remains beholden to lobbyists and special interest groups (including AIPAC). I fear that the election of an African-American president will serve as a rallying cry to bigots, neo-nazis, the klan and other racist scumbags who will crawl out from under their rocks to try and poison the nation with their hate. I fear for Obama's safety. I fear that Obama's talk of change will remain talk. I fear that if Obama is not successful it will crush the optimism and enthusiasm exhibited by the younger generation of voters during this election (myself included) and in its place will grow the bitter herb of cynicism.

I think a lot of people don't realize that Obama inspired hope not just in the US but around the world. There are critics out there who will say that this is because he is viewed as weak by the international community, however in my reading I have not found this to be the case. It is much more about people wanting to believe in the American ideal and the American dream and feeling like they could not do that while W was president because of the way he related to the world. The international community, like much of the US, believes that Obama truly will be an agent of change and provide a fresh start for how the US interacts with the rest of the world, not simply because of his background, but because he is viewed as being a thoughtful, reasonable man.

I hope President-elect Obama and the Democratic Congress realize the opportunity they have now. They have the chance to make great and positive changes and to remind the world why the US is thought to be the best nation in the world.

I fear that they will squander this opportunity and in four years we will find ourselves, at best, no better off as a nation than we are today.

But I hope...

Sukkot in Israel #2: Scott goes north

During Sukkot, it is 'traditional' for Israelis to travel. So in the spirit of "when in Rome..." I decided to take a short trip to Yehudiyah Nature Reserve in the Golan Heights. It was a really nice trip, and a great hike; the pictures don't do it justice at all. Anyhoo, it felt great to get out and about a bit and I look forward to much more hiking this year. I am especially endebted to Yonatan and Anton, two of the rangers up there, who were super cool and helpful.


This is my idea of a sukkah...

This waterfall is one of the main attractions of the upper canyon hike. You can't tell from the picture but there was about 20 screaming and splashing kids running around.

This is a different waterfall, but for this part of the hike one must climb down the ladder you see on the right (about 30 feet or so) and swim accross the little (freezing-ass cold) lagoon. I sat and had tea with Yonatan the ranger on the rocks just to the left of the top of the waterfall before making my way down.

Trying my best to look bad-ass, but failing miserably as usual.

The hike that I did was an upper and lower section of a canyon. The good news was that it was a great hike. The bad news was that towards the end of the hike one must climb back up the canyon. It was steep and rocky and put a stairmaster to shame, but invigorating none-the-less. Of course the very end of my hike had me traipsing through a field full of natural land-mines (aka cow poop) but I decided that this was not pic-worthy.

So hopefully that gives you a least a small sense of my northern jaunt. I only stayed for the one night, but plan to head back north again soon. Hope all is well for whoever is reading this. much love!!

Sukkot in Israel #1

I wanted to share a few pics I took during Sukkot in Israel. Since apparently I can only post 5 pics per blog this will be done in sections. The following were taken around Jerusalem.

This is the inside of the sukkah at the King David Hotel (I wasn't allowed in, so this was as close as I could get)



This is just a normal yard, complete with several family sukkahs. For those who have not been in Israel during this time of year, these sukkahs are all over the place, including at most of the restaurants in the city

This is from the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Mea Sherim. I like it because you can see all the little balcony sukkahs.

This is from the Kotel (Western Wall). This guy was weeping and crying out while he held the lulov and etrog. I was tempted to remind him that this is supposed to be "z'man simchateinu" (the time of our rejoicing), but decided to let him do his thing.

Three little Ortho-kids from Mea Sherim. Check out the awesome peyous (side-curls) they are sporting (something to aspire to Sruli!)
So that is a sampling of my pics from Jerusalem. For those of you who are on the facebook I am going to post more pics there. Otherwise, I will figure out how to send out some more to those who are interested. Stay tuned for Sukkot in Israel #2: Scott goes north. much love all!!

My mind is a-whirl with transient nodes of thought...

The following are just some thoughts I have had over the past few weeks. They may or may not have any connecting thread, they may or may not make any sense, they may or may not be the slightest bit interesting to anyone but me. Never-the-less, here we go....

What does it say about me as a person and as a rabbi-to-be that I feel like some of my most important insights have come from Tom Robbins and not a Jewish/religious book?

There was a report on haaretz.com (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1027741.html) about yeshivah kids throwing rocks at Magen David Adom (the Israeli version of the Red Cross) stations and paramedics during Yom Kippur, to protest their (MDA's) operating vehicles during the holiday. Aside from the fact that Jewish law clearly allows, and even advocates, the violation of restrictions such as driving on Yom Kippur or Shabbat in order to save a life (pikuach nefesh) how disgusting is it that these kids are using this day, which is meant to be one of reflection and repentance, to intentionally inflict physical harm on those who are working to help the sick and save lives (two of the pinacle values in Jewish tradition). I don't care how 'observant' these kids are or claim to be. I don't care how much Talmud they study or how fervently they pray. To me, they are not Jews. They are just thugs.

I was at a Shabbat lunch a couple of weeks ago and there was an Orthodox woman there who, in the context of a discussion about the various streams of Judaism, said that if she didn't believe the Bible was the word of God, she "wouldn't be doing any of this stuff (religious observance)." I found that kind of sad.

Is it better to do something out of a sense of obligation, or because you have chosen to do so?

Who is going to develop a new system of government for the US, because I don't think ours works anymore.

No one should be denied health care or education because of money.

"Brave New World," "1984" and "Fahrenheit 451" are disturbingly relevent in today's society.

If the Jewish community (at least in America) does not remove the Holocaust and anti-Semitism from the center of our communal identity we are doomed.

I find the idea of assigned seats for High Holiday services distasteful. If you aren't going to show up until two hours into the service, then too fucking bad, sit wherever there are open seats. Let the people who care enough to show up sit towards the front. Oh yeah, and shut up, no one gives a damn about what you have to say. If you are going to talk throughout the whole service either go outside or stay home.

I think it is incredibly symbolic that when walking around Jerusalem it either smells wonderful or like shit.

That's enough for now.
Shabbat Shalom and a good weekend to all.

Making friends and influencing people...

So last week on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, I decided to go to a park near my apartment (Liberty Bell park for those who know the city) and juggle. It was a beautiful, sunny day and having spent all morning and early afternoon in shul, I wanted to celebrate the new year a bit with some outdoor fun. So I packed my juggling stuff in a backpack and made my way over to the park.

I was surprised to discover that the park was very crowded, primarily with Arab families, and so I looked for a sunny, out of the way spot. Since I am not an especially good juggler I try not to draw attention to myself (for a change), which is why I tried to be as inconspicuous as possible. The problem is that juggling is not such an inconspicuous activity unless you are at a circus or a Phish show (kind of the same thing, right!), so after about ten minutes I started to draw a crowd of kids who had come over to watch. I soon discovered that these kids barely spoke Hebrew and definitely not English, and since my Arabic is non-existent we encountered some early communication difficulties. I had stopped juggling when they came over, but they made it quite clear through hand gestures and the occasional Hebrew word that they wanted me to continue...so I did. While I had not intended to put on a show, once I had an audience I couldn't help myself so I busted out my 'big ticket' item, namely a set of very large (but not at all sharp) knives. They were all very excited by this, and after I juggled those for a bit, the kids started taking my stuff and either trying to juggle or just goofing around. I couldn't understand anything they were saying, but it didn't really matter, they were just having some fun with the clubs and balls and stuff and I was having fun enjoying the randomness of the moment. I'm pretty sure they were making fun of me at one point, and I think one of them tried to have me repeat a Muslim declaration of faith (something about Allah and Muhammed, but I wouldn't say it) but all in all it was a good time.

Soon they got bored and went back to whatever they had been doing before, but soon a new group of kids came over and after watching me for a bit, one of them indicated that she wanted me to come show her dad. So before long I was hanging out with a group of random Arab kids and their parents. One of the kids spoke some Hebrew and asked me if I could breakdance. I have never been able to breakdance, and the one thing I could kind of do (the worm) has been retired after my sister's wedding (I busted my chin on the dance floor). This kid was pretty good though, and was doing all sorts of flips and handstandy things. He kept asking me to do something, so eventually, and against my better judgment, I attempted some sort of one-handed handstand thing that ended up with me falling on my head. Bruised noggin aside, it was a lot of fun.

As the sun started to go down, the families began to depart, but a few kids hung around. Unfortunately a couple of these kids had a severe case of douchebagitis and decided it would be hilarious to try and steal my stuff, and when I busted them, they engaged in a game of keep-away. Fortunately this only lasted for about ten minutes and I was able to get all of my stuff back with only minor frustration. This did not put a damper on what was a really fun and random afternoon and reinforced the importance of bringing my juggling stuff wherever I go (the last time I was in Israel it got me fed when I didn't have any food on a camping trip).

To add to the randomness of the day, I had a religious guy stop me as I was walking home from the park to tell me that he liked my jeans and wanted to know where I got them. And later in the evening, the girl I bought my bed from grew up in Akron.

Shanah tovah l'kulam!!

Rosh Hashanah reflections

So as I sit in my recently moved into, furniture free apartment in Jerusalem, and ponder the year that has been and the year to come on the eve of Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year for anyone who may not know, although if you are reading this you probably know me and in turn have probably at least heard the term before...but I digress), the one thing that I keep returning to is the fact that I have been blessed with great family and tremendous friends and don't actively appreciate them nearly enough. This is best indicated through my lack of regular communication with most of this group of people, despite my deep love and affection for them. I don't know why I am such a shit about staying in touch with people. I used to be quite good at it. I am sure a significant element is the fact that I have been extremely self-absorbed for the past several years. I am continuing to explore why this has been the case, and while I will not bore you with the initmate details of this self-reflection, I am starting to better understand where this is coming from. I am hoping that this increased understanding will have tangible results regarding my communicative abilities, however I will not surprise myself (or anyone else for that matter) if I continue to be obsessed with my own journey and my quest to figure out exactly what is my place in this world.

I am fortunate that my friends and family are exceedingly patient and willing to overlook my many faults. I like to think that its because I have a lot of good things to offer when I am not being an ass. I don't know how many, if any, of my friends and/or family will actually read this, but if you are one of those people (and you know who you are) I can only say that anything and everything good that is in my life is because of you. You have given me love, support and encouragement even when (and sometimes especially when) I have not deserved it and anything I accomplish is only because you have helped me to do so. I will never be able to thank you enough or accurately convey how much you mean to me.

So as we enter into Rosh Hashanah and the High Holiday season, let me start off on the right (or left, if that's your thing) foot by offering all of the love that I have to give (how much that actually amounts to is being calculated ) and a wish for this coming year that the people I love will have all of the health, happiness and blessings that they (you) so richly deserve. Shanah tovah u'metukah, a good and sweet year to you all and may you be inscribed in the Book of Life (God knows you've earned it).

See you on the flip side.

Peace.

Return of the (s)mac(k)

Yes, I am blogging again, which can only mean that I have once again left the cozy confines of the US of A for locations abroad (or it could mean other things I suppose...but I digress). Anyhoo, I am in Jerusalem for Year 4 of my HUC rabbinic education. For those who are wondering, it is not usual for students to spend any year other than their first in Israel, but due to a variety of circumstances, the powers that be are enabling me to do this. So as was the case the last time I did any 'serious' blogging, this will serve as a repository (depository? supository?) for various stories, ideas, thoughts and barely coherent ramblings that I encounter or imagine over the course of the coming year. I will also try to include some pics or other visual aides from time to time. I hope these posts will serve to be at least mildly entertaining or thought provoking, or if nothing else provide you with excellent fodder with which to mock me the next time we meet. As always, I welcome any feedback/responses unless otherwise noted.
I would now like to depart from my prepared remarks to tell you about how I invented the terlet....