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Showing posts from 2008

I'd rather be unemployed...

I remember this day seven years ago. Less than two weeks into freshman year of college, I awoke to someone pounding on my door. Turn on the TV. Turn on the TV. Whether from the haze of being woken abruptly or in general disbelief that such an event could occur, Shira, Lindsay and I sat and watched the news accounts of a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in DC. It was frightening no doubt and Shira was frantic to get a hold of her family who lived in the Washington, DC, area. My childhood friend Josh instant messaged from Israel – can you get a hold of Rabbi Stein? A close friend to Josh’s family, Rabbi Stein was not answering his cell phone. Ultimately, Rabbi Stein was safe but simply unable to use his cell phone due to overloaded cell towers in NYC. I spent hours trying to reach my brother’s best friend who had recently moved to NYC. Luckily he was late to work that day. Sadly, a friend’s father perished. ** Seven years ago was in so

Birdwatching...

I was never into bird watching. Bluejays, Ravens, Cardinals - they look one and the same to me and generally draw beer drinking, hot dog eating millions to stadiums around the country. Yes, it's true that I generally associate birds with baseball, Edgar Allen Poe (the Raven) and also bird poop splashed on my windshield. We also have our political affiliates - hawks and doves - that divide up our country in times of war. With my Picasso inspired vision of a hawk with red wings and a dove with blue wings, I think about the bar in Washington, DC, Hawk & Dove , where young politically minded capital hill staffers gather around pints, no - kegs, of beer, forgetting that their debauchery may someday ruin their presidential aspirations. Hawk and Dove is also a pair of DC comic superheros . They are dressed similarly to my previously mentioned image and I wonder- what was the color of the dove which brought an olive branch to Noah, waiting in his ark? Although I've worked in t

Guess whose back, back again...

I'm back in America - and already working at the summer camp where I grew up...Click the hyperlink to check out a post I wrote for the camp blog . Although I'm back in the states and this blog was initially dedicated to my year in Israel - I do plan to keep updating it. If you would like to unsubscribe from it - you can do so by unsubscribing from feedburner.com via the email that sends out the blog syndication. If you have trouble, let me know and I'll help (I am not offended if you want to unsubscribe.) Have a wonderful week! Jen

On Wrestling

On wrestling As a child, I was never much of a hugger. I preferred to neither give nor receive much affection from my immediate family, except for from my mom’s mother – Bubbe Schwartz. I’d like to say that I remember vividly that we were inseparable, although nearly 20 years later I cannot be sure if my memories are accurately my own or if they are simply reconstructions of snippets of information I was told. My Bubbe died when I was in second grade and in her absence, I eventually learned to hug other people. Ironically, a strong and warm hug is something I have begun to crave throughout my adulthood. When parting ways with my parents before a long flight or leaving my siblings after a short visit – I sometimes return three even four times for one last hug. It has to be just right and until it is, I feel unable to walk away without looking back. A lecturer at school suggested, “To be engaged with Israel is to be both a hugger and a wrestler.” As I have spent the past few weeks

the sound of the ram's horn

10am. And the siren sounded - cars stopped . People got out of their cars, standing at attention, hands at their sides or clasped behind their backs. This same siren sounds every Shabbat to signal the beginning of our day of rest. And today, this same siren signifies the eternal rest of so many of our people. In ancient days, the ram's horn called people to prayer. In modern days, youngsters learn how to blow the horn to bring in the new year, to help in repentance. If you've ever walked into a store that sells the rams' horns, Shofar, you immediately exit. The smell is atrocious. They were once attached to a live ram. Birthright participants pack the shofar into the overhead compartment on their El-Al flight home - a souvenir of a life changing experience - a Judaism that sadly many will never visit again, quickly returning to their lives they left to come here for ten days. When the flight lands, they'll rush off the plane to catch a connecting flight and the

Back from the USSR

20 squat toilets, 37 bed bug bites, 20 pieces of chicken smothered in egg and mayonnaise, 7 bottles of Cognac and 43 statues of Lenin later, its safe to say that I'm back from the USSR. Time spent in southern Ukraine (Crimea) and St. Petersburg were no doubt memorable. Overloaded with final papers and celebrating various Israeli holidays, I'll do my best to give a delayed reflection on the trip because my brother told me I'm doing a poor job of blogging. In a few days, I will post about various Israeli national holidays. Notes of thanks for ending the blogging drought and serving as my mailing address all year can be sent to my brother whose address somehow comes up on my email account as "Coolest Man in US and A." *** My time spent in Ukraine and Russia is best summed up by a severely disabled man we visited in a home for people with physical, emotional and mental disabilities. As the 39 year old man confined to a wheel chair began to cry, "Please don&#

Home is...

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I'm back in the holiest of lands after a 10 day Midwest tour in the great states which I'm happy to report are still united. I fell seamlessly back into life in America and only noted a few major differences. -People are generally nicer in Tennessee than in Israel. -Similar to churches, Starbucks can be found on every street corner. -Stores give you receipts and allow you to make exchanges and, gasp, even complete returns - a foreign idea in Israel. -Anti-abortion signs escorted me along my drive from Tennessee to Indiana where it is unquestionable that "A family that prays together, stays together." At the end of the day, I found myself comfortably catnapping in my parents new home in Knoxville, snuggly sleeping at Chez Adland (family friends in Indy), thrilled with my dorm room dozing in littlest Gubitz's IU dorm room and a splendid slumber in an elegant bridal suite in Cincinnati. Then again, I can sleep anywhere... But still nothing beats the 10 hou

Camels, Coffee, Kisses, Cold Showers, Quality Family Time

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A devoted reader wrote to me today: DevotedReader: omg jen your blog is pathetic... update it! :) its been 45 days DevotedReader : what if someone only keeps track of you on your blog and they think you got eaten by a camel or something... In fact, I have not been eaten by a camel. I am alive and well, though I do wonder - has anyone ever been eaten by a camel or has anyone ever eaten camel? If so, please let me know what it tastes like. In recent days - I've had a few Hebrew mishaps I'd like to share with you. First - every day, I feel the dire need to quench my thirst for God's gift to the earth - coffee. However, if it is past 6pm - I need to drink decaffeinated coffee. Now we've been over this before in a previous post (which was refined and more enjoyable in an actual Israeli " publication ") - but its impossible to get American style coffee in Israel. So the only option is really a Hafuch (meaning flipped) - which is basically a Latte. Anyways,

Back in the USSR!

After a long hiatus on my blog, I'm happy to report that all is well in the holiest of lands. First semester is a distant memory. I spent winter break traveling to Istanbul and Petra with great friends. The highlights of Turkey was visiting Starbucks four times and of course, searching for Constantinople . (Pictures and a video are included in those links.) Being let back into the Israel, which was a concern given an expired visa, was also a relief. Surprisingly, I didn't see much lunch meat in Istanbul. My Hebrew is improving and second semester classes are off and running - and my return to the states at the end of May is rapidly approaching. Life in Israel would not be complete without another season of holidays - next on the docket are Purim and Passover . Of particular interest, I will be traveling to Ukraine during Passover to lead the traditional Passover Seder. I have to raise $2000 USD - to contribute to the overall costs of an $80,000 project. Every donation

Baby, you can drive my car...to Ukraine.

I'm on vacation and there is a lot to report: Image of a car being towed on our street: Police officer sits in car and makes the announcement on a bullhorn loud speaker: "If this car is yours, you better come and move it or we will tow it." waits 5 seconds. "If this car is yours, you better come and move it or we will tow it." waits five more seconds. "If this car is yours, you better come and move it or we will tow it." "If this car is yours, you better come and move it or we will tow it." "If this car is yours, you better come and move it or we will tow it." Said person who owns car - fails to hear the announcement (note: we do not often stay within shouting distance of our cars when we park them) and car is towed away. We consider claiming the car - as it would make grocery shopping much easier. Alas, car is now towed and we will continue our shopping pursuits with a " Shuk Cart " that we are told every

Why do bad things happen to good people?

I learned yesterday that a close childhood friend passed away unexpectedly. We were raised together in Fort Wayne at our Temple among about 10 kids in our age group, running the halls of our synagogue during the Torah service our parents kicked us out of because we could not keep quiet, attending Camp Joe Levine Jewish Day Camp together, Hebrew high school, and youth group events. While our mom's played Mah Jong, I remember doing arts and crafts and playing other quiet games, David was always so nice to me - a far cry at the time from the other crazy boys our age. I remember nagging my parents regularly to make plans with his family so we could hang out. David and I even went to prom together - though attending different high schools, the proms were held down the hall from each other and we ran back and forth all night long. I just found some of the pictures while cleaning out my room before my parents moved to Knoxville. It could be argued that we were quite a spiffy looking

Musings on Turkey Sandwiches, Equality and Sneakers...

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May its memory be for a blessing... From death comes life... Please take a few moments to reflect on the short life of my sneaker... In other news, Papa Bush is in town and I live in the security triangle. Surprisingly, I don't feel any safer than I did yesterday. In Bush's honor, they closed my school because it is located next to his hotel and cars are not allowed to drive on that street. As a result, our last final was a take-home test. I made it a "take-Cafe" test and have been sitting in a chic cafe on Ben Yehuda street from where I write at the moment. At one point, I needed to take a trip to the bathroom and asked a woman next to me to watch my stuff. However, I realized that the wireless internet might reach to the bathroom, so I took my mac with me. It was a delightful time. Other musings: I believe in equality and that woman should be able to do the same things as men if they want. When I was little, I wanted to walk around with my shirt off and pee s