D'var Hanukkah: A teaching on Chag HaBanot

I’d like to share some new things I learned about the holiday of Hanukkah this year. As you know, if you were counting your candles, tonight is the 6th night of Hanukkah, which means tomorrow is, of course, the 7th night.

Does anyone here know about anything specifically special the 7th night … ?

Well, until a few days ago, I didn’t either. But it turns out that in some parts of the world, the 7th night of Hanukkah is its own special and distinct holiday. Let me explain …

It is true that Hanukkah is mostly a holiday about warriors and priests, Maccabees and Temple rituals. But in some parts of the world, the holiday has also become associated with special traditions concerning women and girls, via the story of Judith.

As an apocryphal book of the Bible, the Book of Judith has the same status as the Books of the Maccabbees, which tell the story of Hanukkah. But unlike the Maccabbees, which contain a full cast of male characters, the Book of Judith focuses on the heroic acts of one single woman.

This woman does one small but very important thing, and that is she tricks a military general by plying him with a bunch of salty cheeses, which prompts him to drink way too much alcohol and fall asleep. What the general had been planning to do was have an amorous role in the sheep tent with Judith before slaughtering all the Jews. Instead, the poor general wound up literally losing his head to Judith’s sword, and in that way, she was able to save the Jewish people.

In the middle ages, perhaps because of the arisal of anti-Semitism, Judith became a foremost Hanukkah heroine. Her figure was frequently depicted on menorahs, and the tradition developed of eating cheese dishes, to commemorate her clever strategy.

How did Judith’s story become entwined with the Hanukkah celebration? No one really knows. It might be because of the thematic connection between Judith and the Maccabees, both stories are about overthrowing a malevolent enemy army. Or it might also be because Hanukkah is the only Jewish holiday that includes a Rosh Chodesh – the monthly festival of the New Moon, and Rosh Chodesh is the quintessential women’s holiday.

In observant communities today, Rosh Chodesh is very much a living and breathing holiday. On that one day each month, women essentially get a Get Out of Work free card – they don’t have to do any work (at least in theory). It is said that this “holiday” is a reward for the fact that women did not give up their gold to make the golden calf.

Rosh Chodesh always falls on the 7th night of Hanukkah, which is tomorrow, and for women in North Africa, it became a kind of holiday within a holiday called Chag HaBanot, the festival for daughters. On this day, girls and brides received special gifts, and families retold the story of the book of Judith.

In countries such as Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, and Morocco, a variety of customs surrounded Chag HaBanot evolved, which I recently learned about from some writings by Rabbi Jill Hammer. Unfortunately, because the Jewish populations in these countries have essentially died out, the traditions seem to have died out along with them.

One tradition was for women to come to the synagogue, touch the Torah, and pray for the health of their daughters. Mothers would give their daughters gifts, and bridegrooms would give gifts to their brides.

Another tradition was for old and young women would come together to dance, and for girls who were fighting to make extra efforts at reconciliation.

Often there was a feast in honor of Judith, where participants would eat cheese to remember Judith's subterfuge; and women might also take food from a ritual meal of Talmud scholars and give it to their daughters, to protect them from harm.

There was also a custom of passing down inheritances on Chag HaBanot.

While these traditions have largely gone by the wayside, I think we can use them as an inspiration or a genesis for new practices on the 7th night of Hanukkah. For example, we can use candle-lighting tomorrow as a chance to talk with our children or grandchildren about the contributions Jewish women have made to history – whether that heroine is Judith or Golda Meir, or even Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

At a minimum, since tomorrow is Shabbat and Hanukkah and Rosh Chodesh, I think it is three really great reasons not to do any work AT ALL. Drink some cocoa, take a walk, and make someone else do the cooking for a change!

Misadventures in Medicaid Land

Have you ever had a really bad sore throat, which you figured was probably viral so there was nothing that could be done anyway, but you better go to the doctor just to be sure?

So you go to the doctor and the doctor tells you: "Yeah, your throat is really red and there's pus in there, and I'm worried it could be strep," and she then proceeds to tell you that she doesn't have one of those long cotton ball things on a stick to do a throat culture, so you'll have to go over to the hospital to be tested!?

Well, I hadn't either. Until yesterday. But that is exactly the crazy scenario that took place. From the time I took the baby to the sitter's (to keep her out of a waiting room full of sick people) until I got home from the pharmacy, the entire experience took four hours. For a strep test.

It's a crying shame I don't have a voice at the moment because shouting my incredulity would be much more satisfying than pounding it out on this keyboard...

The genesis of this story probably began five months ago, when I submitted a bunch of paperwork to get Adi onto the state's health insurance plan for children. Called CHIP, it is designed to make sure all children in the state have health insurance, and the premiums range from $0 to $50 a month depending on a family's income. Imagine my surprise, then, when Adi was denied enrollment in CHIP because we didn't make enough money (you know ... for the free state health insurance plan). Instead, both she and I were summarily placed on Medicaid.

In the case of her care, this hasn't really mattered one way or the other. The list of doctors who take children on Medicaid was long and lush, and both my first- and second-choice pediatriacians were on the list. Her care, including a delayed vaccination schedule and the prosthetics for her dislocated lips, has been nothing short of wonderful.

In my case, the list of doctors who take adults with Medicaid was noticably shorter. Neither of the two doctors I have used in Philly under my regular insurance plans, nor any of the doctors Aaron has ever used, accept Medicaid. I wound up picking the only doctor who was listed in my ZIP code. Yesterday was the first time I had reason to pay her a visit.

I must say, the whole experience leaves me scratching my head. It looked like a normal doctor's office. She also accepted regular insurance patients, so it wasn't some inner city clinic for indigents or anything. But she couldn't even do a simple strep test!

Sending me over to the hospital, however, was like sending me to an inner city clinic because it was the unit of the hospital for the uninsured. I had to wait over an hour to be "registered" and then I had to wait 45 minutes for the lab to do the throat swab. Then, because Medicaid only covers labwork at one particular chain of labs, they had to send the swab out of the hospital to have it tested elsewhere, even though they had the capacity to test it right then and there.

The results will come back today.

I'm 99% sure I don't have strep. I haven't actually had it since I was a kid. Mostly I was just being a worried mom, worried about giving something so contagious to my baby. But this whole thing felt like a fiasco worthy of a Michael Moore movie; a case of the cure killing you faster than the disease.

Quote of the Day

A: "Maybe we should turn the blanket so the butt nugget spot is down by our feet."

J: "Yeah, but the other side has the gack stain on it."

-- In a household with four cats, a discussion on which way to put the blanket

back on the bed after changing the sheets.

The real story of Hanukkah

This is the third in a series of newsletter columns, written for the Temple where I am a rabbinic intern:

As the Bible’s favorite melancholist, Ecclesiastes, put it עת לפרוץ ועת לבנות -- there is a time to tear down and a time to build up (3:3). It’s a phrase that has crossed my mind many times in rabbinical school, where an inescapable part of the process seems to be learning that the “truths” we grew up with aren’t quite what they were cracked up to be.

In the first year of school, I learned the distinction between “law” and “tradition” (or minhag). Before that year, so many things that seemed sacrosanct, were, I found out, merely social customs that had evolved in certain parts of the Jewish world. This isn’t to say that traditions don’t carry weight, but the revelation opened up an entire range of choices that had never existed before – which is both freeing and frightening.

For years I had heard it was forbidden to name a child after a living relative. It turns out, that’s minhag, and minhag only among Ashkenazi communities. Sephardic communities consider it an honor to name a child after a living relative. What prayers we say during Friday and Saturday services are hugely dependent on minhag – so much so it can be challenging to lead services in liberal communities where people are open to experimentation. Figuring out which prayers you have to keep in and which are optional takes far more skill than the “traditional” mode of prayer where everything is done by rote.

The second year of school, during the second week of biblical history class, we were told that the Exodus may have never happened and that we didn’t emigrate from Egypt – the early Israelites were actually no different from Canaanites. Well, if that doesn’t constitute “tearing down,” I don’t know what does! Suffice it to say, we spent nearly an hour “processing” those tidbits of biblical scholarship and sharing how we felt about them.

Now, this year, in my rabbinic history class, we spent several weeks exploring the Hanukkah story, and learning all sorts of sordid details about the Maccabean heros that are conveniently left out of children’s stories.

The basics of the story are simple enough: The Maccabees were a Jewish liberation movement that won independence from the Hellenistic leader Antiochus. They founded a royal dynasty, called the Hasmoneans, and established independence in the land of Israel for about 100 years (164 – 63 BCE).

The details get a little more complicated. While it is true that Antiochus was issuing ever-stricter edicts against the Jewish people, his actions were actually a reaction against growing nationalism and insurgency by small bands of what might be called Jewish “traditionalists” – Jews opposed to the Hellenistic (Greek-influenced) behaviors of the majority Jews around them. Antiochus' crackdown was basically an attempt to quell disorder and inter-Jewish conflict. As one of my classmate’s put it: It would be like a group of orthodox Jews today starting an insurgency against liberal Jews, believing they are behaving “too American.” And the orthodox winning!

With the establishment of the Hasmonean dynasty, a series of strict (and, we would believe) repressive laws were put into place against “progressive” (or Hellenistic) life. Worst of all, the Hasmoneans established illegitimate rule at the Jerusalem Temple, which caused conflict for generations.

“The Hasmonean experience was to have a profound impact upon Judaism in Judea and its environs,” explains Martin S. Jaffee in his book Early Judaism. “The bitterness spawned in the battle against Hellenism did not dissipate with the Hasmonean victory. To the contrary, as the Hasmonean dynasty wore on, it was routinely accused by outsiders to power of betraying the original ideals of the anti-Hellenistic revolution, of outdistancing even the ancient Hellenizers in diluting the pure essence of Judaism. Opponents could easily question the legitimacy of Hasmonean political leadership from two perspectives: as Kings, the leaders were not Davidic; as High Priests, they were not descended from Aaron through Zadok. From the mid-second century BCE and after … the Temple and its priesthood became a source of conflict… ."

So there you have it: the “real” story of Hanukkah! I think it illustrates beautifully why adult Jewish learning is so important. I love the children’s version, and would never want to change it – but look at how much richer and more textured the story becomes when we explore it as grownups!

Jewish-Muslim healing

I felt very proud to read about the work the rabbi of my former congregation in Denver is doing toward improving Muslim-Jewish relations. To read more about it, visit:
www.ijn.com/features/563-colorado-muslim-society-bnai-chavurah-

This article reminded me of an email I received recently from the Shalom Center, a Philadelphia nonprofit run by Rabbi Arthur Waskow, which is dedicated to promoting peace throughout the world. The email, sent soon after the tragic terrorist attacks in Mumbai, included a reproduction of official condemndations sent out by Muslim organizations in the wake of the attacks.

The organization assembled this list because we Americans have a tendency of assuming that the Muslim world is staying silent in the midst of these autrocities. "Over the years, I have noticed a pattern like this," Waskow states. "When some terrorist group claiming roots in Islam commits a mass murder, Muslim organizations denounce those actions. The mainstream US media ignore such denunciations. Then some people denounce the Muslim world for the absence of condemnations against terrorism, and grow new fury against Islam. In the hope of forestalling this sequence, I am sending (below) some quotations and citations of Muslim responses to the Mumbai murders."

The content of these statements is less important than the fact they are being issued.


Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
CAIR Condemns Mumbai Attacks
Muslim Civil Rights Group Demands that Hostages Be 'Released Immediately and Unconditionally'
Press Release: Council on American-Islamic Relations
November 27, 2008

A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today condemned attacks on a number of sites in the Indian financial capital of Mumbai that left at least 100 people dead and many more injured.The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) also called for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages taken during the attacks. Witnesses say the attackers sought out American and British citizens.[ ...]
In a statement, CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad said: "We condemn these cowardly attacks and demand that all hostages taken by the attackers be released immediately and unconditionally. We offer sincere condolences to the loved ones of those killed or injured in these senseless and inexcusable acts of violence against innocent civilians. American Muslims stand with our fellow citizens of all faiths in repudiating acts of terror wherever they take place and whomever they target."
The Washington-based group also asked the Indian government to protect all its citizens from the type of retaliatory attacks that have taken place following similar incidents in the recent past.CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 35 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)
MPAC Condemns Mumbai Terror Attacks
November 26, 2008
The Muslim Public Affairs Council today condemned a series of seven terror attacks in Mumbai, India, which have left at least 80 dead, and more than 900 injured. According to media reports, about 40 British nationals and other foreigners are currently being held hostage at a Mumbai hotel.[ ... ] Those responsible for these brutal and immoral attacks should be swiftly brought to justice. Islam considers the use of terrorism to be unacceptable for any purpose.
"We at MPAC extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and the Indian people. As Americans, we are familiar with the imminent and the long-term repercussions of terrorism," said Executive Director Salam Al-Marayati. "Here at home, we remain committed to combating, rejecting and effectively countering the scourge of terrorism in all forms."
Founded in 1988, the Muslim Public Affairs Council is an American institution which informs and shapes public opinion and policy by serving as a trusted resource to decision makers in government, media and policy institutions. MPAC is also committed to developing leaders with the purpose of enhancing the political and civic participation of Muslim of Muslim American. MPAC offices are located in Washington, DC, New York City and Los Angeles.

Indian Muslim Council-USA
US Based Indian American Group Denounces Terrorist Attacks in Mumbai
November 27, 2008
Indian Muslim Council-USA
IMC-USA (http://www.imc-usa.org), an advocacy group dedicated towards safeguarding India's pluralist and tolerant ethos, denounces in strongest possible terms the terror attacks in Mumbai, the financial capital of India. IMC-USA empathizes with the families of victims, hostages and police officers killed in the attacks and hopes for the safe release of the hostages.
Rasheed Ahmed, President of IMC-USA said: "The perpetrators of these crimes against humanity should be captured and punished to the maximum extent of the law."
IMC-USA calls on the Indian government to find ways to increase the safety and security of ordinary citizens as well as provide immediate and adequate compensation to all the victims of this carnage. Recent years have witnessed an alarming growth in the number of groups committing mindless acts of violence against innocent civilians. In the past few months alone there has been a string of bomb blasts in many cities, ethnic cleansing and targeting of minorities, police harassment and scapegoating of innocent civilians and fake encounter killings.
"The Home Minister is responsible for this widespread deterioration of law order and security situation and should be held accountable," stated Rasheed Ahmed.
IMC-USA also calls on the Indian government to setup a high level commission to investigate the increasing scourge of violence and terrorism in the country and ways to engage the civil society in effectively curbing this menace.

Kashmiri American Council (KAC)
Mumbai Terrorist Attacks Reprehensible Crimes Against Humanity: Dr. Fai
November 27, 2008
The Kashmiri American Council (KAC) expressed its utter disgust at the terrorist attacks perpetrated in Mumbai, India. Condemning the bestiality in the strongest terms, the KAC pledged to contribute, in whatever form possible, to the rehabilitation effort of the affected families.
Dismayed at the photos displaying the carnage, fleeing victims and burning buildings, Executive Director of KAC, Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, prayed that the authorities would pursue all reasonable efforts to investigate, apprehend, and punish those who are guilty of committing these reprehensible crimes against humanity.
The KAC Board, in an extraordinary meeting, pledged to oppose those who would resort to violence in order to pursue whatever ends they claimed. Reports indicating that terrorists specifically targeted Western tourists further aggravate enlightened sensibilities. Targeted victimization of innocents has no justification and encourages retribution from any and all quarters. To that end, the KAC hopes that all India's citizenry allows for a cooling period and hopes that communal harmony prevails during this troubling time in India s history.

Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN)
CAIR-CAN Condemns Mumbai Attacks Islamic Group Hopes for Safe and Speedy Return of Hostages
November 28, 2008
The Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) today condemned the attacks in Mumbai, India in which Montreal actor Michael Rudder and Toronto yoga instructor Helen Connolly were wounded. Currently, six Canadians are also unaccounted for and are believed to be held hostage.
Foreigners from diverse countries, including Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Sweden, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Yemen, Israel, New Zealand and Singapore, are among those being held captive according to Indian officials. "We categorically condemn the Mumbai attacks and demand that all hostages be immediately released. We also pray for the safe and speedy return of those held captive," said Sameer Zuberi, CAIR-CAN Communications Coordinator.
"Our condolences go out to the families of those victimized in these tragic events. As people of faith we must strongly speak out against the terrorizing and kidnapping of innocent civilians," Zuberi added. CAIR-CAN also called on the Canadian government to direct all resources necessary to assist those Canadians affected by the Mumbai attacks.

MuslimMatters.org
From Muslims Condemn Mumbai Terror Attack
By Brad A. Greenberg
Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles
November 26, 2008
www.jewishjournal.com/thegodblog/item/muslims_condemn_mubai_terror_attack_20081126/
Muslims worldwide have been denouncing the attacks, and not parsing their words. This condemnation is from MuslimMatters.org:
Regardless of who was involved, the people who carried these attacks out are animals, with little sense of humanity or morality. As Muslims, we condemn such senseless carnage against innocent civilians, wherever it may occur. This goes against the fundamental spirit of Islam, which promotes a culture of life and humanity, not bloodshed and violence. And another example of why extremist ideology, whatever that ideology may be, needs to be refuted and condemned. "Whoever kills a person [unjustly]… it is as though he has killed all mankind. And whoever saves a life, it is as though he had saved all mankind." (Qur'an, 5:32)
Today, we join all Indians in expressing our outrage and our condemnation of this senseless spilling of innocent blood.
May Allah grant patience to the victims of terrorism, and may He extract full justice against the perpetrators.

Leaders of Muslim Majority Nations, Arab League Slam Mumbai Terrorism
Agence Frances Presse and Africasia (UK)
November 27, 2008
http://www.africasia.com/services/news/newsitem.php?area=mideast=081127131945.2rm0mkv6.php


The Shalom Center 6711 Lincoln Drive Philadelphia, PA 19119
www.shalomctr.org office@shalomctr.org 215.844.8494

Quote of the Day

"I wish it were three hours later so I would have an excuse to go to bed."

-- Aaron, 6:15 p.m.

Yes, they are exciting times here on Delmont Avenue...

Parshat Chayai Sarai

This semester, I’m taking a course on poverty and social justice, and one of our units focused on land acquisition in the Bible. I’d like to share with you some of what I learned, since one of the more famous stories related to land acquisition is actually found in this week’s Torah portion, Chaye Sarai, the Life of Sarah.

Although called “The Life of Sarah,” our portion actually begins with Sarah’s death. Interestingly, she is not with Abraham when she dies, and once word reaches her husband, he begins negotiations to purchase a cave and its surrounding land not only for her burial place, but for the burial of his future progeny.

The story takes up the entire chapter, and I’d like to take a moment to go over the story together.

Genesis Chapter 23

And Sarah was a 127 years old; these were the years of the life of Sarah.
And Sarah died in Kiriath-Arba; which is Hebron in the land of Canaan; and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the Hittites, saying,
“I am a stranger and a sojourner with you; give me possession of a burying place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”
And the Hittites answered Abraham, saying to him,
“Hear us, my lord; you are a mighty prince among us; in the choice of our tombs bury your dead; none of us shall withhold from you his tomb, that you may bury your dead.”
And Abraham stood up, and bowed to the people of the land, to the Hittites.
And he talked with them, saying, “If your mind is that I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and entreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar.
That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he has, which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me as a possession of a burying place amongst you.”
And Ephron lived among the Hittites; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, of all who went in at the gate of his city, saying,
“No, my lord, hear me; the field I give to you, and the cave that is in it, I give it to you; in the presence of the sons of my people I give it to you; bury your dead.”
And Abraham bowed down before the people of the land.
And he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “But if you will give it, I beg you, hear me; I will give you money for the field; take it from me, and I will bury my dead there.”
And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him,
“My lord, listen to me; the land is worth 400 shekels of silver. What is that between you and me? Bury therefore your dead.”
And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, 400 shekels of silver, current money among the merchants.
And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the borders around, were made over
To Abraham for a possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his city.
And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan.
And the field, and the cave that is in it, were made over to Abraham for a possession of a burying place by the Hittites.

There are many striking elements of this story, and one mystery.

· First, the description of the negotiation is quite detailed, making this story actually longer than the Akeidah – the binding and near sacrifice of Isaac.

· Two, this is the only example of land purchase in the Bible that involves money. There is one other case of land purchase in the Bible, but there, the currency is in the form of sheep.

· The mystery involves the presence of the Hittites, who are associated with a region of modern day Turkey. The trouble is, there is no evidence that the Hittites ever lived this far south – so their presence in the story is puzzling. If this story was written in the late 8th century BCE, as many scholars surmise, it was the Assyrians who controlled the region. But even if it were written at another time, there was no time when the Hittites were in power here.

· Finally, regardless of that quixotic detail, it is clear that the author of this chapter is trying very hard to stress the legitimacy of the trade agreement. The Hittites offer to give the land to Abraham for free, and three times, the text tells us, Abraham pays 400 shekels for it and seven times, the text says, Abraham stated the contract in earshot of a group of Hittite witnesses. It is clear that there is a real emphasis on the sale’s validity.

What makes Abraham’s insistence on purchasing the land so interesting from a literary perspective is that up until this point, God has done nothing but tell Abraham that he is going to receive the land of Canaan as his inheritance.

In Genesis 12, Abraham is first told he will be given the land. In the next chapter, 13, God says to him: “As far as you can see, North, East, South and West, the land is for you and your offspring forever.” Then in Genesis 15, God tells Abraham that all of his offspring will get the land. Now, in Genesis 23, we learn that Abraham goes out and pays for a piece of it!

From a historical perspective, Abraham’s purchase raises some tantalizing questions. Was the emphasis on purchase and validity so strident because the author was trying to assert the right of the Israelites to live on land now being occupied by Assyria? And by naming the fictional Hittites, he avoided potentially enraging the ruling power?

Or is the land purchase story simply a later insertion by someone who just didn’t notice the incongruity of having Abraham purchase land that only a few chapters earlier had been promised to him by God.

Or, is the promise-purchase contradiction not a contradiction at all? God promised the land to the Israelites, but maybe that never was meant to mean we wouldn’t have to pay for it. Maybe it simply meant whomever we would buy it from would be amenable to selling – as the Hittites apparently were.

It’s a question we may never answer, but is fun to wrestle with.

This story of the purchase of the cave at Machpelah is the first story of land acquisition in the Bible, but it is far from the last. Our tradition gives us other, equally vexing stories that describe entirely different ways in which we acquired the land.

The books of Numbers and Judges describe a peaceful allotting of the lands by a Goral, or lottery, system. The Book of Joshua describes a bloody blitzkrieg series of battles in which the Israelites conquered the land in pockets, and decimated the local inhabitants.

There is, in other words, more than one version of the story. But those are other stories for another time.

An open letter from Alice Walker to Barack Obama

http://www.theroot.com/id/48726

Nov. 5, 2008

Dear Brother Obama,

You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is for us. Us being the black people of the Southern United States. You think you know, because you are thoughtful, and you have studied our history. But seeing you deliver the torch so many others before you carried, year after year, decade after decade, century after century, only to be struck down before igniting the flame of justice and of law, is almost more than the heart can bear.

And yet, this observation is not intended to burden you, for you are of a different time, and, indeed, because of all the relay runners before you, North America is a different place. It is really only to say: Well done. We knew, through all the generations, that you were with us, in us, the best of the spirit of Africa and of the Americas. Knowing this, that you would actually appear, someday, was part of our strength. Seeing you take your rightful place, based solely on your wisdom, stamina and character, is a balm for the weary warriors of hope, previously only sung about.

I would advise you to remember that you did not create the disaster that the world is experiencing, and you alone are not responsible for bringing the world back to balance. A primary responsibility that you do have, however, is to cultivate happiness in your own life. To make a schedule that permits sufficient time of rest and play with your gorgeous wife and lovely daughters. And so on.

One gathers that your family is large. We are used to seeing men in the White House soon become juiceless and as white-haired as the building; we notice their wives and children looking strained and stressed. They soon have smiles so lacking in joy that they remind us of scissors. This is no way to lead. Nor does your family deserve this fate.

One way of thinking about all this is: It is so bad now that there is no excuse not to relax. From your happy, relaxed state, you can model real success, which is all that so many people in the world really want. They may buy endless cars and houses and furs and gobble up all the attention and space they can manage, or barely manage, but this is because it is not yet clear to them that success is truly an inside job. That it is within the reach of almost everyone.

I would further advise you not to take on other people's enemies. Most damage that others do to us is out of fear, humiliation and pain. Those feelings occur in all of us, not just in those of us who profess a certain religious or racial devotion. We must learn actually not to have enemies, but only confused adversaries who are ourselves in disguise. It is understood by all that you are commander in chief of the United States and are sworn to protect our beloved country; this we understand, completely.

However, as my mother used to say, quoting a Bible with which I often fought, "hate the sin, but love the sinner." There must be no more crushing of whole communities, no more torture, no more dehumanizing as a means of ruling a people's spirit. This has already happened to people of color, poor people, women, children. We see where this leads, where it has led.

A good model of how to "work with the enemy" internally is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul as he confronts the Chinese government that invaded Tibet. Because, finally, it is the soul that must be preserved, if one is to remain a credible leader. All else might be lost; but when the soul dies, the connection to earth, to peoples, to animals, to rivers, to mountain ranges, purple and majestic, also dies.

And your smile, with which we watch you do gracious battle with unjust characterizations, distortions and lies, is that expression of healthy self-worth, spirit and soul, that, kept happy and free and relaxed, can find an answering smile in all of us, lighting our way, and brightening the world.

We are the ones we have been waiting for.

In Peace and Joy,

Alice Walker

The Obama victory: impact around the world

Like most folks I know, I was absolutely glued to the TV last night, watching the returns role in with baited breath. And I couldn't possibly go to bed without hearing Obama's and McCain's speeches. Hats off to John; I was immensely impressed by how gracious he was.

Of course the baby still got up three times last night, so color me Two Sheets to the Wind today.

I woke up this morning to read two touching emails from two friends who live abroad. I think their words illustrate just how much this Obama victory means not only to Americans, but to our friends all around the world. As the commentators were saying last night on CNN, this election has given us a real chance to redeem ourselves and our reputations on the world stage, and indeed it appears that is already happening.

From Liora, a Jewish woman from Holland:

CONGRATULATIONS !!!!

I heard this morning at the 6 O'clock News that Obama was elected. Barukh HaShem!!

The national Radio 2 broadcast Obama's speech and played "Coming to America" by Neil Diamond, then broadcast a little bit of Bush congratulating Obama, but that was faded out, followed by a (early seventies) Dutch protest song called "Mr. President" about all the killings which somehow don't bother the president in his sleep, and that was followed by: "Hit the road Jack (Bush) and don't you come back no more no more no more no more, hit the road Jack (Bush) and don't you come back no more!" (I thought that was quite funny!)

From Vera, a Muslim Israeli who will be coming to the U.S. to study next year:

Dear beloved friends and family,

Don't even wonder how Obama got me and Aead, people who live on the other side of the world, all excited about him becoming the US president. He is a miracle. As non-Americans, non-white, that are coming to the US soon, Me and Aead couldn't feel safe and so happy about coming to the states in the middle of a harsh situation and an economic crisis.

When we got to know Obama through his AMAZING speeches, he got us enthusiastic about him winning, he gave us hope although we live across the ocean he touched our hearts, and gave us the hope for a change. Last night we couldn't go to sleep (day time at the US is night time here), no one in our families understood why me and Aead are watching news from the states, they thought that we can go to sleep and then see the results in the morning. When he was announced winner, I couldn't stop myself from crying loud, Aead kept greeting me: Mabrook, Mabrook....

Now we feel much more safer about coming the the US, we feel hope in the air, we feel the positive energy that change has already brought. I want to thank you all, specially those who worked very hard to help Obama win, scarifies their time, put a lot of energy and efforts to help.

Thank you, Mabrook, God bless you. See you soon

Vera and Aead

Amen

A day that will go down in history

Aaron, Adi and I got up early and trekked to our local precinct, where the line was about 45 minutes long. I was thrilled to wait because it meant what forecasters have been predicting: People are coming out to the polls in record numbers. Given I live in a dense Democratic area, it was a pleasing sight.

Fortunately, my paranoia paid off. The voter registration rolls indicated that I had to show an ID to vote because I was a first-time voter in this precinct. Of course I am not a first-time voter here; I voted here nearly one year ago! But my paranoia had prompted me to tuck my driver's license and a paycheck stub as proof of my address in my pocket right before I left the house -- and it turned out I needed them.

Words escape me when I try to think about the momentousness of this day: Of what it will say about this country if we actually elect a black man as our president; what it will mean to our economy if we can stop pouring $341 million dollars a DAY on the war in Iraq and actually start reinvesting this money in our ailing nation; what it will mean to our civil liberties to have an ultra-right-wing Christian fundamentalist finally stripped of his power.

It's been eight v-e-r-y l-o-n-g years.

In closing, I'd like to share this email from my brother's girlfriend, who, along with Brad, left her job three months ago to volunteer for the Obama campaign. In recent weeks, they both have been overseeing the campaign in rural Red areas of Pennsylvania, and giving us fascinating updates from the field.

Talk about naches! I'm so proud of both of them and everything they have done! I have removed identifying details but the spirit of her message remains:

I just got "home" from the office, after a weekend with very little sleep. Looks like I won't get much tonight either, as I have to be working at 6. I figured, I'm getting so little sleep, why don't I send a message.

As exhausted as I am, I am so happy that I followed my heart and worked on this campaign. I will be very sorry to see it end - it has been such a great experience.

Our office in XXXX, our PA state co-workers who support us so well (you've NEVER seen an IT "help desk" like this one, I promise you), the entire campaign, and everyone who has invested something in this campaign share a common purpose of taking back our country. I am so honored to contribute just a little bit to the effort, which I believe will change the direction of our country and the world. The feeling being on this campaign is hard to put into words, but however it is described, it is overwhelming.

I think I'll take a little nap now and try to recharge my batteries to at least 1/4 full, which hopefully will power me through 8:00. Well, after that -- when our polls close, we'll be making Get out the Vote calls to support the campaign in Colorado and Nevada. I'm not sure I'll be able to watch the returns, but for some reason, that doesn't seem as crazy as it sounds.

Happy Election Day,
"M"

Source of the statistic on the cost of the war: www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home

Some wise words from the Unitarians

Out West where I come from, there are many Jewish communities that are small, and can’t afford their own building. When that’s the case, the community’s first choice is usually to find a Unitarian Universalist church to sublet space from.

Why the Unitarians? Recently, I feel like I’ve come to understand. The Rev. A. Powell Davies (1902-1957) gave the following sermon in 1944. Substitute the word "church" for "synagogue," and I think he captured a sentiment of liberal Judaism completely!

In his eloquent speech, the Rev. Davies gives several reasons for coming together to pray.

Do we pray because God needs us to? No. We pray because WE need to.

Let me tell you why I come to church.

I come to church—and would whether I was a preacher or not—because I fall below my own standards and need to be constantly brought back to them. It is not enough that I should think about the world and its problems at the level of a newspaper report or a magazine discussion. It could too soon become too low a level. I must have my conscience sharpened—sharpened until it goads me to the most thorough and responsible thinking of which I am capable. I must feel again the love I owe my fellow men (and women). I must not only hear about it but feel it. In church, I do.

I need to be reminded that there are things I must do in the world—unselfish things, things undertaken at the level of idealism. Workaday enthusiasms are not enough. They wear out too soon. I want to experience human nature at its best—and be reminded of its highest possibilities, and this happens to me in church. It may seem as though the same things could be found in solitude, but it does not easily happen so.

In a congregation we share each other’s spiritual needs and reinforce each other. In some ways, the soul is never lonelier than in a church service. That is certainly true of a pulpit, for a pulpit is the most intimately lonely place in the world—yet it is a loneliness that has strength in it. Perhaps this is because the innermost solitude of the human heart is in some paradoxical way a thing that can be shared—that must be shared—if the spirit of God is to find a full entrance into it.

We meet each other as friends and neighbors anywhere and everywhere, but we seldom do so in the consciousness of our souls’ deepest yearnings. But in church we do—in a way that protects us from all that is intrusive, yet leaves us knowing that we all have the same yearning, the same spiritual loneliness, the same need of assurance and faith and hope. We are brought together at the highest level possible. We are not merely an audience, we are a congregation.

I doubt whether I could stand the thought of the cruelty and misery of the present world unless I could know, through an experience that renewed itself over and over again, that at the heart of life there is assurance, that I can hold an ultimate belief that all is well. And this happens in church.

Life must have its sacred moments and its holy places. The soul will always seek its nurture. For religious experience—which is life at its most intense, life at its best—is something we cannot do without.

Source: from “On Going to Church” by Rev. A. Powell Davies, as reprinted in Without Apology: Collected Meditations on Liberal Religion by A. Powell Davies edited by Rev. Dr. Forrest Church.

Thanks to my buddy Alan B. for passing this along to me.

The Binding of Isaac: a seven-minute d'var Torah

D'var Torah * The Binding of Isaac

Rosh Hashanah 2008

The Torah portion we study today is one of the most famous in the Bible. It is known as the Binding of Isaac. Our tale begins at Genesis 22, when Avraham is told by God to bring his son Isaac to a mountaintop to sacrifice him. Obediently, Avraham travels for three days, and once at the mountain’s peak, binds him down. Only after his knife is raised does an angel of God intervene and provide a ram in Isaac’s place. The angel says: “Now I know that you are God-fearing, and you did not withhold your son, your only one, from me.” (Bereishit, 22:12).

In virtually any contemporary discussion about the Akeidah, the feeling that often becomes central is our feelings of horror. What father would even consider sacrificing his child? And what kind of God would even ask such a thing?

These are troubling questions to us as modern Jews, and as American Jews the story upsets us on yet another level. How is it that our religion can glorify such an act of blind obedience? Blind faith is a repugnant notion to an audience like ours, steeped in Democratic values.

Acknowledging these feelings is important to do, but to dwell on them is, I believe, to miss the point. Of course notions like human sacrifice and blind obedience are troublesome to contemporary ears, but this story did not evolve in our contemporary world.

I would like to challenge you to image this story as if you were in the audience for whom it was originally intended. Imagine it is 2,500 years ago, and you are living in exile in Babylonia. The Temple, which now lies in ruins, was the focal point of your entire religious life – and you are now struggling to preserve your Jewish identity in a foreign land.

Animal sacrifice, of course, is no longer possible. Prayer services and Passover seders have not yet been created. But what you can do is listen to the stories of your people.

Biblical scholars believe that it was during our 50 years in Babylonian exile that many of the oral traditions that make up the five books of the Torah were finally committed to parchment. Writing them down was a way of ensuring our survival and preventing assimilation. To these people in exile, the story of the Akeidah gave three very important messages:

First, the depiction of Abraham as a man of unfailing obedience made him the perfect mythical ancestor. The patriarch of the Jewish people – the story proudly says – has so much strength and faith that he would actually kill his own son at God’s request. In a society where values like free thought had not evolved, and where men of military might and faith were ideolized, Abraham must have been a comforting hero to have.

Second, the use of a ram as a sacrifice would have been familiar to an audience who could no longer sacrifice rams at the Temple. It would have given them hope to think that just as they had sacrificed animals to God for ages – going way back to the days of Abraham – they will one day sacrifice them again. The exile will end, the Temple will be rebuilt, and life will return as it was.

Finally, even the notion of God’s request for human sacrifice would not have been so strange to the Jews in Babylonia. Up until this time, Jews had lived for hundreds of years surrounded by various pagan peoples, some of whom reputedly sacrificed children. Judaism, of course, rejected this, and what the Akeidah did was bring this difference to the forefront. In this way, the story became a statement of Jewish moral superiority and a strong incentive for Jews to stick to their own.

The challenge today, of course, is realizing that such a stark moral paradigm no longer exists between our religion and the religion of our neighbors. The Akeidah no longer survives as a rallying cry to embrace our faith and our people. The challenge then, becomes not What do we do with the Akeidah? But rather, What stories, what words do we need to tell our communities to inspire this kind of devotion?

It’s a challenge that faces each of us in this room – regardless of whether we are raising children or working in leadership in Jewish communities. By committing ourselves in the coming year to reaching out to each other, and creating spaces and moments that make our time together special, we are engaging in this holy work of strengthening our community.

Shana tova, u’metukah. May you have a healthy new year of prosperity, joy and friendship.

Artwork: http://www.nuchi.com/

Who needs Halloween when we’ve got Jewish magic?

One of my duties with my rabbinic internship at a Reform temple is to write a monthly column for the congregational newsletter. This is the second column, for the month of October.

After having taught at a good half-dozen religious school now – schools spanning the entire Reform/Conservative/Reconstructionist spectrum – I always find it interesting to see how congregations navigate the “Halloween dilemma.”

While on one hand few families I know seriously question whether they should allow their kids to dress up and go trick-or-treating, the religious schools that educate these kids often have very intense discussions about the holiday, especially when it lands on a school day. Should the kids be invited to come to school in a costume? How should teachers react if the kids aren’t invited to dress up, but show up in costumes anyway?

Most thorny of all: Should school be cancelled? On the one hand, if you cancel it, you’re basically sanctioning the observance of a pagan/Christian holiday. But if you don’t cancel it, half the kids will be absent! The most ingenious solution I once heard about was the congregation that scheduled a teacher’s meeting on Halloween. That way, the kids who wouldn’t have shown up anyway wouldn’t technically be absent, but the school wouldn’t technically be cancelled. Clever!

For my part, I love teaching religious school on Halloween because it gives me a chance to teach about one of my favorite topics: Judaism and magic. At first blush, people are often shocked to see these two words in the same subject line, but the truth is, our tradition has a long and rich magical tradition that began in the days of the Torah, became particularly rich in the middle ages, and in some communities, continues on even to this day! (Check out some practices found in certain Israeli Sephardic communities if you don’t believe me).

Jewish magic is mentioned as early as Deuteronomy 18, where various groups of diviners, astrologers and exorcists are named, and their ceremonies are prohibited as idolatrous. The fact these practices are derided so repeatedly in the biblical canon (Kings 21:6, II Chronicles 33:6, Micah 11, Jeremiah 26:9, and so on and so on) is evidence of just how widespread these practices actually were!

For all these instances of divination or magic being criticized, there are other instances in which similar-sounding acts are described as legitimate forms of worship, some even taking place in the Temple itself! The purifying ritual of the red heifer (Numbers 19) and the scapegoat ritual of Yom Kippur (Leviticus 16) depict what are essentially magical acts: the mysterious ability of ritual to effect change on a spiritual or cosmic plane. The Sotah ritual of a suspected adulteress in Numbers 5:11 is a particularly peculiar ritual in which a potion has the mysterious ability to reveal the truth – a soothsaying of sorts.

And let us not forget the very presence of the prophets themselves! While scripture goes to great lengths to admonish anyone who claims to predict or affect the future (“There shall not be found among you any one who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or who uses divination, or a soothsayer, or an enchanter, or a magician, or a charmer, or a medium or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination to the Eternal!” Deut 18:10) – the entire second section of Tanakh is dedicated to the sermons of men doing precisely these things!

What is the difference between a prophet and a magician?

About the same difference as there is between an “environmentalist” and a “tree-hugger.” The truth is in the eye of the beholder. The person with the pen gets to decide which is a legitimate sign from God, and which is a divinatory act of “abomination.”

Not surprisingly, these lines are drawn in all the places you’d expect them to be. When the person doing the supernatural act is affiliated with the Temple cult or supports their agenda – they are receiving a sign from God. When the person engaging in divination is an outsider or even an opponent to the Temple-sanctioned polemic – it becomes magic.

I hope you enjoyed this short mini-lesson on magic and the Bible. The truth is, this only touches the tip of the textual iceberg! The Talmud, Apocryphal literature and medieval writings all reveal their own rich and fascinating versions of magic – and what better time of year to study some of these treasures than at Halloween!?

Nothing But Nets

Second only to the "team" that launched the Nothing But Nets campaign, the Union of Reform Judaism team is the top fundraiser in this campaign so for. Rock on achot v'achim (sisters and brothers)!

3,000 children die every day from malaria. Wouldn't it be great if all of our religious schools could take up this fundraiser for the year?

Which Star Trek character are you?

The premise of this is really cool, but unfortunately, most of the nifty ST characters aren't even on here. Before taking the text, Aaron said I'm most like Belana Torres -- and I like that much better than Will Riker!

Your results:
You are Will Riker

Will Riker 70% James T. Kirk (Captain) 60% Jean-Luc Picard 60% Chekov 55% Beverly Crusher 50% Deanna Troi 50% Geordi LaForge 40% Worf 40% Spock 35% Uhura 35% Leonard McCoy (Bones) 25% Mr. Scott 25% Data 25% An Expendable Character (Redshirt) 25% Mr. Sulu 10%

At times you are self-centered but you have many friends. You love many women, but the right woman could get you to settle down.

Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Test

Is it possible to be a religious atheist?

Martin S. Jaffee offers the following definition of 'religion' in his book Early Judaism.

"Religion is an intense and sustained cultivation of a style of life that heightens awareness of morally binding connections between the self, the human community and the most essential structures of reality. Religions posit various orders of reality and help individuals and groups to negotiate their relations with those orders."

You may have noticed that this definition does not focus on beliefs or rituals. This may surprise you. Jaffee argues that the idea of religion as a collection of beliefs about divine beings expressed in moral behavior, prayers and various forms of communal worship is actually an idea that emerged out of Europe in the 16th century. It was advanced by philosophers, politicians and theologians struggling to define the role of the Church in the emerging national states of Europe.

For that time and place, that definition served a useful purpose: to create societies in which Church and State had separate and distinct spheres of life, enabling citizens of different religious beliefs to coexist as relative equals in society.

This particular definition of religion however, has not been reflective of the many ways in which non-European and non-Christian peoples have constructed their own conceptions of the role of holy communities and their institutions in the larger social and political order. Thus, he offered that alternate definition of religion, broad enough to explain human religious behavior across civilizations and millenia.

According to Jaffee, religious patterns of behavior encourage human beings to interpret themselves as moral beings whose destiny is bound with others in a project that brings them into relationship with the fundamental reality of things. In religious systems, the self identified through personal, autobiographical memory tends to be enlarged or enriched as it is interpreted in contexts well beyond personal experience. Personal identity includes a conception of how all these relationships are connected to generations of the distant past and the far-off future, as well as to the forces and powers that are held to account for the world as it is. (page 7)

Finally, while most religions have gods, not all of them do. (Certain types of Buddhism, and even, Judaism come to mind). What all religions share though is the desire to participate in the essential structures of the world -- to those spaces beyond our immediate world where "God" or "enlightenment" or "consciousness" reside. The means of transport and the conceptualizations of these alternate worlds differs from religion to religion, but constant is the tendency of religions to puncture the apparent solidity of mundane experience and to privilege intimations of other worlds at profounder levels of being.

I don't know about you, but I love this way of describing religion. Perhaps this is because these days, I can personally relate to it so much. So many times when I'm praying, the concept of "God," no matter how nonauthoritarian and nonpersonal I make it, simply doesn't work for me. I feel my consciousness strive and lift toward another dimension, to reach out toward some ineffable connection beyond my material world, but what is traditionally called theism doesn't enter the experience.

I wrote the title on this entry in jest, but it is not entirely a joke. It's answer all depends on your definitions.

Is it possible to be a religious atheist? Well, if you take Jaffe's definition of religion (above), and a fundamentalist definition of God (an omnipotent, authoritarian entity concerned with the daily affairs of humanity) -- then yes, I think you can be.

Creative Explorations of Elul

One of my duties with my rabbinic internship at a Reform temple is to write a monthly column for the congregational newsletter. I plan to post them here, around the beginning of each month. If anyone enjoys them -- great!

Creative Explorations of Elul

I don’t know about you, but I’m busy. Between work, classes, family, children, cleaning, kvetching – it sometimes feels as if life is passing me by in a whirlwind, and I’m barely hanging on.

It’s like that for almost everyone these days – and then Elul arrives, and our tradition hands us yet one more thing to add to our “to-do” list.
“Contemplate!” we are told.
“Prepare to make amends!”
“Think about your life and where you’ve fallen short, and how you’d like to do differently in the coming year!”

It’s a valuable and deeply meaningful exercise. And it’s a mandate that sometimes makes me groan.

The 12th month of the Hebrew calendar, Elul, begins on Sept. 1 this year. Considered a time of repentance, Elul means search in Aramaic. It was given this name because it is a time to search our hearts in preparation for the coming High Holy Days.

Elul doesn’t receive much attention these days in most Jewish communities, and I think I know why: Time. Who has the time?

For many of us, we forget about the Holy Days until they are suddenly upon us, and then we are scrambling trying to find that flier that came in the mail giving the time and location for the Erev Rosh Hashanah service. The night already upon us, we hastily don some white clothes and race out the door. When we arrive (probably at least a few minutes late, truth be told), we pick up the Machzor, look up to the rabbi and chazzan and only then, for the first time, try to center ourselves and say: “Okay, here I am. Here is what I am here to do … .”

It’s a tough task to take on all at once. It’s kind of like jumping into a really cold lake – rather than easing yourself gently in, giving your body time to acclimate to the climate change, you give yourself a physical and psychic shock. It’s the same with the High Holidays. Jumping into long, all-day services centered on heavy, sobering themes isn’t for the light of heart, and doing so without any preparation at all makes it even more challenging.

There is good news, however. This year, you can do it differently! Elul lasts an entire 30 days (from the 1st to the 30th), so you have 30 days to carve out a small niche of time to ready yourself.

Toward that end, I wanted to offer a few online resources to help you on your journey. Whether you are a reader, a listener or a hands-on doer, hopefully you can find something here to help you prepare:

* The Jewish Heritage Online Magazine offers two beautiful poems by the famous Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai, appropriate for the season: www.jhom.com/calendar/tishrei/rh_amichai.html

* Join Rabbis Richard Hirsh and Shawn Zevit in a 25 minute audio recording on Elul and Rosh Hashanah. Why is preparation during Elul important, and how can it change our High Holidays experience? What are some creative and alternative ways of preparing? Includes music and storytelling.
www.jrf.org/pub/hmsarchives.html, and click under the header “Rosh Hashanah”

* Nothing works better to bring families together than getting your hands dirty! Elul is a great time to plan an Erev Rosh Hashanah dinner with friends or loved ones. For recipes and ideas, visit:
Mimi’s Cyber Kitchen: www.cyber-kitchen.com/holidays/highholidays/recipes.htm
High Holidays on the Net: www.holidays.net/highholydays/sweets.htm
Recipe for round challah: http://judaism.about.com/library/food/blrhroundchallah.htm

* New clothes are often a special part of preparing for Rosh HaShanah, and taking your kids shopping for a special High Holidays outfit can help them appreciate the importance of the season. Then, by saying a berakha on wearing a new garment for the first time, we express our gratitude for the abundance in our lives:
Barukh Atah Ado-nai, Elo-heinu Meleh HaOlam, Malbish Arumim
Praised are You, Adonai, Our God, Ruler of the Universe, Who clothes the naked.

* Zichronot (remembrance) is an important theme of the season – both God’s remembrance of Israel, and our remembrance of those who are no longer with us. Elul can be a wonderful time to:
+ assemble those shoeboxes full of photos into albums
+ scan old photographs into your computer and write captions
+ trace your family heritage and make a family tree
+ make a remembrance box

May you have a rich and meaningful start to the season!

Tuvok Obama

My big brother and his spunky girlfriend (who is clearly having a very positive influence on him) recently quit their jobs to go volunteer for the Obama campaign! How cool is that!?!!? First they went to Chicago and now they are in my hometown of Denver, working at the DNC.

If I weren't:

a) carrying for an infant

b) mired in a 6-year academic program

and

c) perpetually broke

I'd join them too!

Alas, that is not to be. So instead, here (at right) is my contribution to the cause. My kippah off to my buddy Josh for passing this along to me.

Go outside and play

Aaron, baby and I are just back from DLTI -- the Davenning Leadership Training Institute -- held in a picturesque Jewish retreat center in Connecticut. The weeklong program is the first of four sessions held over a two-year period, focusing on how to become a better religious service leader. I attended the program and Aaron played Papa Extraordinaire.

The program was wonderful, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to improve their art of service leading. The logistics were difficult, being away from home, away from all the paraphernalia, with a 6-week-old infant. Breast-feeding in the downright FREEZING cabin at 2 a.m., with no heat -- well, that was a memorable experience to say the least.

Sadly, this one week away constitutes our collective family "vacation" for the year, if you can call it that. I came home to find an email from a work colleague heading out for his own vacation for the year. As he pointed out (in the graph above), we Americans really don't do very well when it comes to giving our brains and our bodies a timeout.

Stephen Colbert and Breast Pumping

Having a newborn in the house creates a dangerously ripe opportunity for watching really bad television. About 90 percent of the time, I'm feeding her or holding her, both of which happen on the couch, and I'm too tired and too manually challenged to do anything other than watch lame TV programs that under normal circumstances, I would be too embarrassed to admit.

Maybe that's why that quote from The New Yorker posted in my last blog entry struck me as so gosh darn funny.

I've become a rabid devotee of Stacy London's and Clinton Kelly's antics on TLC's What Not To Wear. Who knew that watching other people's fashion foibles could be so much fun!?!

Catching up on Hugh Hefner's girl posse on The Girls Next Door provides endless amusement. I admit it, I'm hooked. Several times a week.

Thank god for Tevo, which is catching me up on all of the Chelsea Handler shows of the past year. Why would anyone spend time studying Hebrew verb patterns when you could be making fun of Jessica Simpson and Tom Cruise? Don't ask me!

Lastly, I've discovered the Colbert Report, which is actually slightly *less* embarrassing than my other TV fare these days. You can imagine just how funny this skit was then, as I was sitting at the dining room table milking myself to make a bottle for the baby and this came on the tube:

Random funny writing of the week

From the "USA Today: The Network's Newest Misfits" TV review in the Aug. 11, 2008, issue of The New Yorker, by Nancy Franklink:

"Even if you're not usually interested in distinctions between different kinds of stupid, I submit that in this not entirely pleasant year (see index under 'political primaries') there's a little room for some good stupid. While watching the ABC competition show Wipeout when it premiered six weeks ago, I became at moments a truly happy idiot, and I could hear my brain cells, one after another, packing their suitcases and walking out of my head, saying regretfully but firmly, 'I'm sorry, I just can't live here anymore.' Well, fine. Go, then. Still ,it's not as though I'm addicted to stupidity, so after a couple of episodes I forgot about Wipeout and moved on to Bill Moyers. Then, scanning last week's onscreen TV schedule, I was stopped by the description of Wipeout and was pulled back in: 'Obstacles include Foamy Launch Pads and Killer Surf.' That's all I needed to hear... ."

Okay, so I couldn't care less about this TV show, which I've never even heard of before now, but that's just one damn fine piece of writing!

Adi update

Good news! On the one-month anniversary of her birth, Adi had a glowing check-up from the orthopedic doctor, who reports that her hip joints are forming beautifully. We can begin weaning her off of the body harness, and she might be completely done with it by the end of the month.

Papa was so happy he cried for 10 minutes straight. The first thing we did is give her the first full-fledged bath since she was born!

Update in Babyville

Mom headed back to Oregon a few days ago and everyone sure misses her! Aaron is back at work (he could only take one week off for Adi's birth), so my days are spent feeding the baby, sleeping with the baby and schelpping the baby around in a chest harness. She is quite the cuddle bunny. She wants to be chest-to-chest all the time, and I can only put her down when she is in a deep slumber, deep enough to not wake up when I move her.

If you are missing reading any posts from me of actual intellectual substance of late, all I can say is: Welcome to my world! Lots of love -- not much noggin' crunchin' these days!

To everyone who has sent cards, emails and gifts in the past weeks, if you have not yet received a formal thank you from me -- you will! I'm getting to them! Meanwhile, thank you via Blogspace for so much generosity. As Aaron remarked the other day, in the midst of letters and home-cooked meals from my classmates: "Wow, I am really blown away by your friends. I feel very loved."

I couldn't agree more!

Our little capuchin monkey

The cost(s) of a C-section

So the damage is in. I have received a copy of the bill the hospital sent to my insurance company for my C-section, and the 5 days of in-hospital care for me and the baby, and bidding is now open for just how much $$ the bill has come to.

Take a guess! I'm curious how much you think this would be!

Got your number? Have it in mind? Okay ... so here it is. The total was $37,000. And all I can say is: "Yowzers." Just as a point of comparison, the cost of the delivery, had I been able to do so vaginally, was going to be $7,000 and that includes the cost of 9 months of prenatal care, and no fewer than 15 visits to the birth center for monthly, biweekly or weekly appointments. The fact no one caught the baby's upside down position cost my insurer $30,000.

So here is my question: Why are late-term ultrasounds not a standard, uniform practice of prenatal care? If I had been given an ultrasound, we would have known the baby was breech and they might have been able to do a manual manipulation, before I was in labor, and turn the baby around. I don't know how much ultrasounds cost, but even it it was $1,000, that is way less money than a C-section is.

This was one of the first questions we asked after the whole drama of Adi's birth. Was I not given a late-term ultrasound just because I was in a midwifery clinic, rather than a standard hospital/ob-gyn clinic for my prenatal care? And midwives tend to have a less-interventionist approach?

It turns out the answer was no. Medical doctors don't request them either, unless there is some question about the baby's position, and that is the same policy the midwives have. Of course FIVE midwives examined me in the weeks leading up to Adi's birth and none of them remotely suspected that she was breech.

It just goes to show what an imperfect science the whole thing is.

Health insurance companies care first and foremost about costs, and since about 3 out of 100 births are breech, I can only assume that the costs of paying for 3 emergency C-sections is less than the cost of giving all 100 women late-term ultrasounds. I assume. But who knows.

As for the personal costs, I will say this to the Christina Aguilera's and J.Lo's of the world: Anyone who electively plans a C-section over a vaginal delivery really is out of their frickin' mind.

It's been 12 days since my surgery and it still hurts to bend over, to walk, and even to wear underpants. (The waist bands all seem to hit right where the scar runs.) I still can't drive, and I won't be allowed to begin exercising for another 4.5 weeks, which, when you gained 50 pounds over the course of your pregnancy really really sucks! The worst part has been the fact that for the first five days or so, I could hardly even hold her. It hurt to lift her, it hurt to rest her on my belly (which is the only position I can use because of her leg braces), and it hurt to stand up and fetch her when she was crying.

I will echo what every other woman I know who has had an unplanned C-section has said: "The most important thing is we have a healthy baby, and she is okay." That is true. And I also wish a simple ultrasound had been conducted, that I might have avoided major abdominal surgery and the ramifications it inevitably brings.