Mark your calendars!

A few weeks ago, I blogged about potential good news to share. I can finally divulge the secret.

On Sunday evening January 15th, literary editor of The New Republic, Leon Wieseltier, will engage a wide-ranging dialogue on religion, law, and American life at my synagogue with non other than Justice Stephen Breyer of the U.S. Supreme Court.

To get in on the fun and guarantee yourself a seat (this event WILL sellout), call or email the synagogue office. Tickets are $10 in advance/$15 at the door.

Day of Reckoning

Thanksgiving is a very special time for me. I’m not sure why, but there’s something about Thanksgiving that I enjoy more than any other holiday. Truth is, it’s the only holiday that I celebrate that doesn’t have any real distinct Jewish character to it, and I sometimes feel guilty describing how much I actually love it despite that fact. While for every holiday my family goes through the same routine, there’s something about Thanksgiving that’s just not there with the others. And I think it’s something more than just the TV being on or the phones ringing. But I just can’t quite put my finger on it. It’s just different.

The last two Thanksgiving holidays weren’t so sweet for me; in fact, they each marked the beginning of brutally intense life-altering chapters. Each powerful emotional rollercoaster began around this time and ironically enough, both leveled out somewhere near the second week of January. All this probably explains my subconscious contemplative mood lately. Oddly enough, I’ve been walking around all day thinking that tomorrow is Yom Kippur.

A joint result of both of these experiences is that I’ve mellowed and relaxed a bit, and also have become more confident in myself and my actions. But no matter how confident I am, one thing that still causes a great deal of grief is returning home to NY. It’s not the returning home that causes this grief, but the returning home to NY. There’s something about the Judaism, Orthodox Judaism to be exact, that just isn’t right there.

(OK, taking deep breath now.)


Not so long ago, I decided to start wearing pants. (There, I did it. I said it in public and I'm not hiding. Wow, and I haven't yet gotten struck with lightening.) Why is this such a big deal? Well, without going into the detailed halachic issues involved, it’s fair to say that most common interpretation of the law is that women are not allowed to wear pants, even in today’s world. (Note that I wrote “most common interpretation” and not “the most halachically true.” There’s a difference.) When I decided to start living my life according to an Orthodox lifestyle (now 10 years ago), I threw out my pants and started wearing only skirts. This served me well through high school, my year in Israel, and even college and graduate school. And I felt fine about it. I really didn’t think twice about it- that’s just what good Orthodox girls do.

Then I moved to DC. And I noticed that women who considered themselves to be Orthodox (and who I would definitely consider to be halachically observant, Orthodox, whatever you want to call it) wore pants. Still, nothing bothered me much, per se, but I was curious to know how they interpreted the halacha and on what, if any, halachic grounds they stood. And after two and half years of new experiences and a lot of soul searching on many different levels and for many different things, I finally pursued the answer. I talked to a few people about this (including my LORAHW [local Orthodox rabbi and his wife]), and learned that a very prominent Rav ruled a while ago that in today’s society, one of the two major halachic topics involved, begged ish, doesn’t apply. And the issues involved with the second topic isn’t as clear cut as I was originally taught. Imagine my surprise.

So how does this tie in with the anxiety I feel going to NY? I’ve never felt comfortable in the majority of Jewish communities in NY. For years, I had always felt like I was being judged on what I wore, how I looked, and how I practiced my Judaism. If I did x or y, would they still want to be friends with me? Would that guy want to date me if he knew? Would I fit in with these communities if I didn’t conform or do things exactly like they did? Am I really a rebel in disguise? And so on.

And in truth, no matter how confident I feel in myself, I can’t get over this fear. I secretly wonder to myself, What will they think when they see me in pants? If I bump into former friends from high school or college, how will they react? What will they think of me? What will they think of the community in which I live now? And so on.

Maybe it’s not really a problem with the Judaism of NY, but a problem with me. Maybe I shouldn’t really care or worry about what they think. But I can’t help feeling this way. It’s just one of my many complexities and blemishes.

I haven’t done justice to the halachic issues involved with women wearing pants- there’s obviously more involved in it and in my ultimate decision to do what I’m doing today. And of course, its very much alive in me- it’s something I’m struggling with, and who knows. I may just decide to cross back over.

Looking back over the last two years, I’m strangely thankful for those rollercoaster rides, because in the end, they’ve turned some of my weaknesses into strengths. And, have no fear. I’m still working on the rest.

Alito

I've refrained from forming any solid opinions on the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito, Jr. to the Supreme Court until I was able to learn more about his views and judicial philosophy and temperment.

For all of you keeping score, a memo was recently released where Alito claimed 20 years ago that "the Constitution does not protect a right to abortion." To give background, Alito wrote this memo in 1985 when was in the process of applying for a job with the Justice Department under the Reagan Administration. Part of the job application was a Personal Qualifications Statement, where he wrote the following:

I am and always have been a conservative and an adherent to the same philisophical views that I believe are central to this administration. ... I am particularly proud of my contributions in recent cases in which the government has argued in the Supreme Court that racial and ethnic quotas should not be allowed and that the Constitution does not protect a right to abortion.

Today, Alito has, not surprisingly, backed away from the memo. He recently had a meeting with Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and she quotes him as saying about the memo, "It was different then. I was an advocate seeking a job. It was a political job."

Politics and ideology aside, here's my question: was Alito lying just to get this job?

Get your fix in!

http://blueballfixed.ytmnd.com/

THE BLUE BALL MACHINE!

(if you're a work, I suggest your lower your speakers. But you gotta have them on to get the full effect...)

:-D

Random musings before I go to bed

I don't think I've ever been so productive at work for such an extended period of time.

Nah, that's gotta be an exageration, but it sure feels that way. When I first started last week, I thought not having access to Yahoo mail and instant messenger would kill me, but the truth is, I'm so busy, I don't have any time to converse with my friends. For the last 4 days, I've worked nonstop on project documentation. Which is why I haven't had any time during the day to update my blog; and by the time I get home, I'm too tired to actually think of what to write.

While working in my little cube, I overheard a few pathetic conversations. Luis, the guy sitting next to me, apparently didn' t know that today was Election Day, and that his state of Virginia was actually electing a new governor (Go Kaine!). Apparently, Luis doesn't vote. And he's not the only one at GT who didn't have a clue. Another woman asked at 11am if they announced the winner of the election yet. Uh, lady. The polls just opened!

Granted, there aren't many major elections across the country. But why is it news to people that the second Tuesday of every November is Election Day in this country? I WISH I had something to vote for this year. Unfortunately, DC only holds elections every other year. What is there to vote for here, anyways, right? The whole thing just makes me sad.

So there's not much else to share, and I'm too tired to rant about David's latest post. The pamphlet he links to is certainly NOT source-based at all. I didn't see an extensive bibliography and/or footnotes, citing where the author got his facts from. When writing on hotly-debated issues such as the Middle East conflict, it is absolutely essential to cite and list where you get your information from. There are few references in there, but certainly not enough to satisfy my curious mind. And I wouldn't necessarily say that everything written in there is fact, based on objective historical truthes. There's a reason why this is a hotly-debated issue.

Ah, and one last thing: I'm going to sleep happy. I got some potentially exciting news this evening, but can't share it until I get confirmation. And that may take some time. So sit tight. And wait for it.

Good morning!

As I stumbled out of bed this morning, rubbing my eyes, I clicked on check mail. A smile quickly ran across my face, as I downloaded these beautiful images:










Can it get any better than that?