8 Crazy Nights

Tuesday: My day in Amsterdam. Took the train to Amsterdam Centraal after buying a map of the city in the airport. Used my map to navigate to the Anne Frank House. The line for the Anne Frank House was long, but I met two girls who were traveling after graduating from the US Air Force Academy. They were delightful. Then I experienced the many-storied canal house where Anne Frank and her family/companions were hidden during the Holocaust, until they were caught. Two things really amazed me:
1. I was the only apparent Jew in the museum. The museum was packed. I found it hopeful and inspiring that people care, not just Jews. That seemed like a good sign to me, that everyone was taking it seriously and honoring what happened.
2. Anne Frank had an incredible inner life. Her writing was eloquent and deep. When I wrote in my diary that night about what I had seen in the museum, I felt so clumsy with my words. The way Anne Frank maintained her positivity and humanity during her years in hiding and preserved it for all the world to hear about...wow. Truly awesome.

Wednesday: Arrived in Israel at 3am. Baggage claim by 4am. In a sherut and on the way to Jerusalem by 5am. In bed by 6am. I woke up from the heat of the day at 3pm and it was time to venture out into the world. I had dinner at Chakra with Cathy and Jeff, easily the best meal I've ever had out in Israel! And of course, the conversation was top notch. Then I met up with Ilana from Nativ in Crack Square (sorry, we had to). I felt so connected to my past self to be in the place where I've made such incredible memories. Catching up with Ilana and her friends from the army was incredible. I was humbled to call myself friends with such brave young women--to be a lone soldier! I can't imagine.

Thursday: Woke up late again, whoopsies. Walked to the Old City to deliver a note on behalf of a friend to the Kotel. Took a little detour on accident, ended up getting a tour from a tour guide. He told me he loved me, kissed me on the hand, and asked for money after the tour. Classy.
After the Old City I popped in at Beit Nativ and saw some dear friends and past madrichim of mine. I met up with Yuval and we ate falafel on the corner of Azza and Berlin. I spent some of the evening reading and emailing, but then I got a sudden inspiration to go to White Night in Tel Aviv, a famous night of free concerts and parties all night long. I took a bus from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv at 10pm, made my way to Rabin Square where there was a headphones party going on, met up with Ilana and lots of her friends, and the craziness began. After spending a great deal of time trying to obtain headphones, we regrouped and Cafe Landver and decided to head toward the beach. Our group had more than doubled in size at that point, since there were lots of American-Israeli-young-people there who all knew each other. At the beach, we joined in an Israeli folk dance circle for a long time. My feet blistered and started bleeding but I wasn't ready to call it a night and limp to a bus station so I had a little something to take the edge off and prayed that the sand wouldn't infect my open wounds. Then we went to Mike's Place, the mecca for Americans in Israel. There I met up with more friends, went to a beach club with them, and decided to go for a spontaneous swim in the Mediterranean. It was about 5am by that point, and the sky was starting to get lighter. At that point we just HAD to stay to watch the sunrise (which was totally anticlimactic, by the way) and get breakfast. I got back home to Jerusalem at 8am.

Friday: Brief nap, met Shiri for lunch at DeMasa on Ben Yehuda. So great to see that chamudi again. Then I braved the shuk on a Friday afternoon and took a bus to Efrat where I spent a most restful and educational Shabbat with my Nativ madricha Cori and her new husband and baby! We ate delicious food, talked about politics, read World War Z and discussed the complex issues surrounding a worldwide zombie war, and played with the beautiful baby.

Saturday: A restful day in Efrat, complete with guests for lunch, a bit of reading, a bit of napping, a walk to the playground, and post Shabbat blues. I got on a bus to go back to Jerusalem and went straight out to the bars to meet up with friends, backpack and all. I was going to call it a night around 1:30am when I ran into more friends as I was walking back. I turned right around and we danced the night away.

Sunday: Toured Jerusalem on foot with Shayna! We walked the city twice it seemed like. Lunch at Rimon in Mamila, strolling on Emek Refaim, a wifi/bathroom/fanta break in the lobby of the King David Hotel, a visit to Beit Nativ, a frantic search for a specific Yehuda Amichai poem in an empty Pomerantz bookstore, and a scenic route through Ben Yehuda and the shuk back to the bus station. Then I had a delicious dinner with Shiri and Shy at Foccacia and a great last night out in Jerusalem with Liza and friends!

Monday: My day in paradise/Herzeliya. Gil picked me up from the bus and we went to his pool and then to the beach, where the waves were extreme. After a delicious homemade schnitzel dinner, we went to see Monsters University at Cinema City, got ice cream, and had Stella Artois on the beach at Yam Bar.

Tuesday: The big first day! I met the group and we were off on a bus to the Luzit Caves/quarry where we had a picnic and introduced ourselves. There were scary bats and some horrid dead things in the bottom of the caves but if you ignored that you just saw what was basically an underground cathedral of limestone and sand. Then we got settled in Be'er Sheva with a walking tour of our neighborhood, a meal at a delicious Italian restaurant where youth-at-risk are given job experience and counseling, and then we did some group activities.

My apartment is gorgeous and my apartment mates are DELIGHTFUL! I could not be happier. There is wifi and a great hot shower and everything is clean and we have plenty of space. So different from my first day in Yerucham three and a half years ago. I can't believe how much has changed. And yet, some things remain. I feel at home in the desert. I love the heat and the sand and the smell of the streets. It's very distinctive here. I can't wait to be a part of this neighborhood. Already I've started meeting some of the locals and everyone is very friendly and welcoming. Ahh...to be in Israel.


Jerusalem’s a place where everyone remembers he’s forgotten something
but doesn’t remember what it is.
And for the sake of remembering I wear my father’s face over mine.
This is the city where my dream-containers fill up like a diver’s oxygen tanks.Its holiness sometimes turns into love.
And the questions that are asked in these hills
are the same as they’ve always been: “Have you
seen my sheep?” “Have you seen my shepherd?”
And the door of my house stands open
like a tomb where someone was resurrected.

Pre-Trip Jitters

Tonight is my last night at home before my seven week trip to Israel. I am very excited to see friends, visit my usual haunts in Jerusalem, and volunteer in Be'er Sheva. I am also very, very nervous.

I am nervous about packing too much and packing too little. About where I'm staying and with whom and for how long and if I'll be lonely and if I'll forget about friends I should visit and if I'll waste my phone minutes trying to contact everyone. About how often I'll get wifi so I can instagram and check facebook. About being too hot or too cold or both. About airport security and delays and jetlag and making the most of my 10 hour layover in Amsterdam. About not spending enough money because I'm scared of doing the conversion math and spending too much money because I'm scared of doing the conversion math.

And I'm sad about all the things I leave behind: the comforts of home, my parents, my kitties and--yes--even my parrot. My bed, my car, my license, my favorite restaurants, my language, my radio stations, my closet, my neighborhood, my electrical outlets, my city. My data plan, my time zone, my collection of shoes. My free time, my DVR, my TV shows, my flat running route, my friends.

(When I left for my gap year in 2009, I actually made a very comprehensive list of all the things I'd miss. The list included Rochester's highways, humidity, and the Monroe County Democratic Committee. I am what I am...)

So I've had a lot on my mind lately. But something happened today at brunch.

My friend Paulette started telling me about her friend who made alliyah and now lives in Jerusalem. Paulette described how totally surreal it must be to live in Jerusalem, the Holy City, a place so incredibly important and sacred to so many different people. She spoke of the intensity one feels there. She asked me to bring her back something as a token, and she gave me a note to put into the wall.

If she hadn't given me that note, I'm not sure I would have even gone to the Kotel.

Paulette reminded me why I LOVE Israel, and why it is so important to me. Somehow, during all of these preparations, I managed to neglect any preparation of my spirit. Over the last two years, I have spent so much time defending Israel, learning about Israel, lobbying for Israel, reading about Israel...that I forgot how to drop the politics and use my heart.

For the first time in a long time, I am remembering what it's like to FEEL Israel. The sun on my skin, the crowds invading my personal space on buses, my sandals slapping down hard on Jerusalem stone. I remember walking aimlessly around the beautiful cities, observing the shopkeepers and the stray cats and the gaggles of children. I remember that at some point in my life I had a sense of what it meant to spend 70NIS without doing any conversion math. I remember falling in love in Israel (more than once), spending Shabbat with my host family in Yerucham, and meeting some of the most fiercely loyal friends I will ever have.

Israel is my land of dreams, and I am so blessed to be returning home for seven weeks this summer. And I am ever, ever so grateful that Paulette reminded me of that this morning, for I had almost forgotten...

אִם אֶשְׁכָּחֵךְ יְרוּשָׁלָיִם, תִּשְׁכַּח יְמִינִי
תִּדְבַּק לְשׁוֹנִי לְחִכִּי אִם לֹא אֶזְכְּרֵכִי
אִם לֹא אַעֲלֶה אֶת יְרוּשָׁלַֽיִם עַל רֹאשׁ שִׂמְחָתִי

National Girlfriends Networking Day 2013 and Feather Ruffling

On this day in 1919, Congress passed the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote.

Decades later on the same date, I gathered with a group of women in an auditorium at Xerox in Webster. We came together on our lunch breaks from various jobs (or summer vacation activities, in my case) to network, to build each other up, and to participate in the nation-wide programming for National Girlfriends Networking Day, hosted by the New Agenda Foundation.

After securing my veggie wrap and Sun Chips, I started to learn about the incredible women with whom I shared that auditorium. Scientists, strategists, business women, writers, artists, and more. Each woman brought something unique to the group and--more importantly--was eager to share her experiences and expertise.

We settled down for introductory remarks and watched a live streaming of a panel discussion happening at the same time in New York City at the New York Times building. Soledad O'Brien, Lesley Jane Seymour, Kym Hampton, and Loretta McCarthy all shared their incredible journeys with us, sprinkled with practical advice and how-to's. The panel was moderated by my role model and fellow Cornell Kappa Delta Sorority sister, Amy Siskind, co-founder of the New Agenda.

The panelists all emphasized the importance of learning from failure and growing from it, the joy of being a woman today, and the absolute imperative of women helping other women. I was energized and inspired.

On my post-NGNDay run around Brighton, an old song popped up on my iPod as it shuffled through my embarrassing collection of 90's rock, country western, and the kind of music one should only hear in a frat basement.

These are the words of the song's chorus:

"I don't want to waste my time/become another casualty of society

I'll never fall in line/become another victim of your conformity

And back down."

Judging by context clues, the lyricists had something very different in mind when they penned the words to this angsty tune. But National Girlfriends Networking Day, and my experiences over the last year working with the New Agenda as a member of the Young Women Leadership Council, allowed me to interpret these lines in a completely new way.

I'm no longer thinking about conformity in terms of superficial aspects like the way we dress or the kinds of music we listen to. I think it's important to be yourself, but I enjoy trendy things and I really don't feel bad about it. Now I'm thinking about conformity in terms of ideas we accept about the world around us. Conformity as it relates not to how we look, but how we respond to challenges and how we proactively address obstacles.

Here's the conformity I can't stand: internalizing stereotypes about women (or any other minorities). Believing that women should have stereotypical roles in society. Accepting that women are underrepresented in top leadership in companies and government. Judging women who choose to work AND raise a family, or just work, or just raise a family. Maintaining society's double standard for women. Talking about a woman's hairstyle or appearance in the media in order to detract from her viewpoints or accomplishments. Doing nothing about the fact that women are not treated fairly in our country and thinking that it's okay to sit back because other people are working on it. Saying that you're not a feminist because you don't want to ruffle feathers (or avoiding ANYTHING because you don't want to ruffle feathers). Saying that you're not a feminist because you've never taken the time to think about what it means to be a feminist in 2013. Saying that you're not a feminist because you don't think guys will think it's attractive.

Yeah. That's what I can't stand. And I'll never back down.

If falling in line means going along with the anti-woman agenda that the media has laid out for me, you can bet that I will NEVER fall in line. I will not become a casualty of society.

Dear World,

Prepare to have your feathers ruffled.

Love,
Jordana

Advice for the Young Women of Distinction

When I was named a Young Woman of Distinction Scholar in May of 2009, I was excited to be a part of the weekly leadership class, to have an internship at the Susan B. Anthony House, and to meet the incredible women who shared the honor with me. I expected to have a rewarding and challenging summer. What I didn’t expect was how the lessons I learned would come into play later, during my gap year in Israel and my time at Cornell University as a student and a leader on campus.

I have just finished my Junior year at Cornell, and this is a great opportunity to reflect on what I have accomplished so far and how I became the person I am today. I am currently the President of Cornell Hillel, the Jewish umbrella organization and one of the largest groups on campus. Even though this has nothing to do with my future career as a doctor (fingers crossed!), the Jewish community and traditions have grounded me during a stressful three years as a pre-med student. I thought I would share part of that tradition with you tonight. My guiding principle comes from Judaism, from the great scholar Rabbi Hillel:

If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? 

If I am only for myself, then what am I? 

And if not now, when?

These words concisely convey all that I wish to impart to the young women here tonight. “If I am not for myself, then who will be for me?” I cannot stress this enough! If you want to succeed, you must not only believe in yourself, but you must help others to believe in you as well! Play up your strengths in interviews, take risks, answer questions in class, ask for a raise (when the time comes), and stick up for yourself because no one else will. If you receive criticism, learn from it, and move on. Take time for YOU when you need it, and know your limits. Learn how to say no, and be prepared to do it, even if it doesn't please everyone. You do NOT need to please everyone. 

“If I am only for myself, then what am I?” Of course, it is not enough to just stand up for yourself. Think about your vision for a better world, then set strategic goals and start reaching them. We won’t all be Susan B. Anthony, but we can each have a cause that is larger than ourselves. Even if that cause is simply spreading joy to those around us, treating each person with kindness and respect, improving our little corner of the world. My vision is for a world with better health care for women. Perhaps you want to build greener buildings, improve the education system, or create innovative solutions to address hunger and poverty. Whatever it is that you decide to pursue, treat each person you meet along the way as if you have all the time in the world for that person. You are already very busy women, as we heard from your bios earlier, and that is not about to change any time soon. But give each person the time of day. Not because they will be able to help you later, or because you’re “networking,” but because relationships matter. Genuine, non-utilitarian relationships. If you are only for yourself, then what are you?

And finally, “If not now, when?” Don’t let anyone tell you that college is not the “real world,” or even that high school is not the real world. If you are waiting for life to begin, then you are already late. Now is the time to lay the groundwork for your careers (even if you don’t know exactly what shape they will take quite yet), to cultivate relationships that you will carry throughout your lives, and to take advantage of the resources and knowledge available to you at college or wherever life takes you next. By sitting here tonight, you have already shown that you have a dedication to your studies and to your community. But don’t stop there! Now is the time to take what you have learned in high school, from your teachers, friends, and yes, your parents, and apply it. There is no better time than the present. 

With that in mind, I leave you with this challenge: Use this summer to learn about yourself, improve your leadership skills, and plan for year ahead. Take time to think about your own guiding principles and your vision for a brighter future. I would wish you the very best of luck, but I am quite sure you will make your own : )

[I gave this speech at the Young Women of Distinction Award Ceremony on Monday, May 20th in Rochester, NY. The 20 finalists and 4 Regional Winners were some of the most impressive people! Dr. Anne Kress PhD gave the keynote address. Thank you to the Rochester Business Alliance and everyone involved for making this award possible and for inviting me to speak!]

Back to Blogging

Since January 1st, 2013, I have kept a journal every single day. It is my Jane-A-Day Journal, a book with a Jane Austen quote for each day of the year, and a few lines to document what happened that day. A ribbon is attached to the spine of the book, and I love to watch that ribbon hold my place as the year speeds onward. It is almost halfway through the book now!

My blog came up in e-conversation today, and so I thought I'd have a look at what I had written when I last visited. It made me think about why I do this. Even when I wasn't blogging this year, I was still keeping a record of my daily activities (and a dear new friend, Nina, gave me an additional journal to work through some more personal issues...so I was double journaling for a while there). And before the blog, I kept a diary since the end of sixth grade, as evidenced by my shelf full of awkwardly written composition notebooks in my childhood bedroom (they are all written in the style of whichever book I was reading at the time, which was sadly quite frequently one of the Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging books or the Gossip Girls series, whoopsies). Adina, I know you feel me on this one.

So, why must I compulsively record the mundane events of my life? Why must so many of us, who blog or journal, or take a photograph every day, have something to show for our time?

I like to think that I don't blog because I'm self centered (although I am...it's just not WHY I blog). I like to think that I don't blog because I think my life is that interesting that other people need to read it (although...it is rather interesting). I like to think that I blog to share a piece of my humanity, to share my inner life. To make myself a little vulnerable, which (as I learned--with Elysha and the rest of my sorority--in Human Bonding this semester), leads to intimacy. After reading some of my posts, you might think you know me a little better, or understand a part of what I'm trying to achieve in this life. You might find that you connect with my inner life in a way that you couldn't connect with my outer life.

But most of all, I record the goings on of my life because time is precious. I do not want a week, a day, a moment to go by unrecognized or unremembered. I do not want to forget the jokes, insights, tenderness, and love of my friends and family members. I do not want to forget WHY my favorite professors were my favorite professors, and I do not want to wake up one morning as a college grad and think, where on earth did four years go? Because even though I might think it for a moment, I will just consult my little books, my posts, my memory box, and then I will realize--through ticket stubs I hoarded, bar wristbands I labeled with the date and place, flowers I pressed, old text messages on old phones I can't get rid of--that my life has been magical, miraculous, that, even though it can't always be seen in the moment, it can be seen afterward, and only magnifies with time. In retrospect, it is easier to add up the little things so they amass to something greater than the sum of their parts.

So, I will conclude with my day:
I worked with Lena, and we went on our traditional walk around Fall Creek neighborhood to CTB, where the same cute punk rock bagel boy took our order (WHO ARE YOU BAGEL BOY???), and we saw a blue heron on the way. I took a much deserved and longer than expected nap, I listened to the soundtrack from the Great Gatsby movie, ate dinner with Liz, Claire, and Bridget at the KD house, and studied on 7th Olin where I ran into Andrew and said goodbye to Simon (who, if you must know, came bearing a lilac flower). And now I'm blogging. Solid day.

Tonight I

hosted Professor Ted Merwin (Dickinson College) at Risley for a talk on the history of the Jewish Delicatessen. First of all, let me say that it never ceases to amaze me just how specific research in academia can be. Like honestly this is a cool topic but I just can't imagine being so focused on something so very specialized! Second of all, I will say that this was a very charming talk, about something I never knew would be interesting, and has a lot to do not only with Jewish culture but also pop culture. We listened to music clips, watched bits of Annie Hall and When Harry Met Sally, and talked about New York City through the ages.
Although I was born in upstate NY in 1990, I still feel a sense of nostalgia inside me for interwar New York City, and I feel a connection to the Jews of NYC. I don't eat meat, I don't spend money at restaurants, I don't speak yiddish, I don't live in New York City, I don't want to do any of those things...and yet, there it is. The feeling that in a past life, I did all of those things, and I was a middle aged Jewish man, and I hung out at a deli with all my middle aged Jewish men friends.
So it goes.

Today I

participated in a food packing event called Feed My Starving Children. We packed over 25,000 meals in two hours, and the volunteers ranged from 5 years old to 70, and all religions and races. I signed up with Hillel, and I am proud to say that the Cornell Jewish Community had a strong showing!

The meals are packed like this: a scoop of chicken flavoring, a scoop of dehydrated vegetables, a cup of soy protein, and a cup of rice. This all goes through a funnel and into a bag, which is then weighed and sealed. We box up 36 bags at a time (each bag makes 6 meals of about 250 calories each). There are about 8 volunteers at each station.

Feed My Starving Children is a Christian organization, and the bags of food are called "Manna Packs." We said a prayer as we loaded up the truck with boxes, and much of the distribution work is done by missionaries. Service is a beautiful way for religions to intersect, and this was no exception. I felt very spiritually fulfilled as I walked back to campus from the church.

This was my second year participating, and I'm sure I will participate again next year and hopefully in the future. If you ever hear of a Feed My Starving Children event in your area, please volunteer and/or donate!

The picture shows me with my friends Adina and Meredith, other Hillel Student Board members!