Pre Med Musings on Coursenroll and House

Last night, after a successful day of nothing-but-bio, I rewarded myself with back-to-back House episodes. I sat with my llama piñata on my lap and ate cookies-n-cream Hersey's kisses out of its belly for almost a full hour. This seemed to me to be the life: candy, doctor show, and imagining my blossoming career as a medical professional (especially after my aforementioned success in biology-I am practically a doctor already).

At the end of the second episode, however, House lost a patient. This has happened before. We've dealt with it. It happens! I know. Maybe it was the slow motion, or the Coldplay-ish song, or the wife's face and silent scream as her husband passed away, but I got really upset.

I watched as Chase tried to keep reviving the patient in vain. The team of doctors had solved the case and made the correct diagnosis, but not in time.

I sat and thought about my classes for next semester, which I chose this morning. Chem, physics, human biology and evolution, human sexuality, and statistics, or some combination. I am on a track to medical school, hopefully at least, and I am usually really enthused about this prospect. I think about all the people I will help and how proud I will be of myself and how many incredible discoveries I might make should I ever do research.

But on the eve of choosing my classes for next semester, I thought for a while about the darker side of medicine. When you don't solve the case or save the patient or make a difference or discover something incredible. Of course, when moving forward, this is not the kind of thing to think about on a regular basis. The same way people in Israel don't go around being afraid of bombs and people still fly in planes even though they could crash. You can't, otherwise you'd never leave the house, or declare a major.

So I am generally pretty positive. In fact, I'd say I'm ecstatic about my future possibilities. I do honestly believe that I am going to save lives and help people. But last night made me realize--for some reason, in a way that I had not totally absorbed before on this level--that I will lose patients. I will not solve every case, and there will be families who blame me for the loss of their loved one. There will be families that are broken because I will not be able to save or treat my patient. I might have to give people terminal diagnoses, or tell someone there are no more options left. I will have to witness death, something that I have yet to experience.

This may seem egotistic. Indeed, it is. I am worried about how I will feel when I fail to treat my patient, and how that patient's family will feel about me. I cannot pretend that while my profession is about treating patients, how I feel about my job will probably be more related to how I feel about my own success and reward as a doctor and not my patients (although these are inextricably linked). I realize that I will be working with a team, most likely, and that there will be uncontrollable factors, but I know that I will still feel enormous responsibility (the same way I would want to feel enormous responsibility for something positive).

I also recognize that I have not yet chosen my specialty, and I might choose a nice calm field where I deal mainly with adolescent acne or overeager parents who spend too much time on the internet and invent diseases for their children. But I probably won't choose such a specialty, because while the risks are lower, so are the gains and opportunities to really change lives. I'm also assuming that I will be part of a variety of procedures and dabble in many areas during medical school and training (in fact, it is my understanding that it is somewhat the entire point to dabble in many areas).

These are my thoughts of the day. Obviously, I am writing these in a public forum and welcome opinions, especially those of people with more life experience

(or at least people who more regularly watch doctor shows).

Life and all its glory

In this post, I will attempt to do justice to the glorious month of March.

Saturday, March 5th, was a particularly glorious day. While babysitting, L and I took our usual walk to CTB in the Commons. Along the way, she pet dogs and even said, "Hand," and we held hands. It was a victory.

Right after babysitting, I went to the KD/Sammy brunch. There was an assortment of brunch foods, pink Andre, and Sammy boys. These are all things I greatly enjoy.

Then I did laundry in preparation for...BIG/LITTLE REVEAL! I arrived at the KD house and waited with my pledge class in the basement. We all received gift bags with apparel in them, so we could get changed and then match the rest of our lineage. Everyone opened her bag and found a cute puffy-painted tank top or maybe, if the lin got fancy, an AmerAppar v-neck with screen print. Then I opened up my bag; there was no v-neck to be found, no plays on words (Gineage...?). I had received...a ONESIE. I proudly donned my onesie and was eventually called up to meet my lineage. Finally-Emlyn and Katie!!! I could not have been happier. We rolled around in our onesies for a while, ate stir fry in our onesies at RPCC, ate a colossal ice cream sunday at Purity in our onesies to benefit the dinosaurs at Museum of the Earth, went to a frat in our onesies and ate chocolate covered strawberries, and then we went to a different frat in our onesies and danced the night away. We took many glorious pictures and loved each other very much. Emlyn dropped Katie and I off at Sammy to end the night there, in our onesies.

That Monday was glorious because we had a snow morning! The next night, 7 members of the Hillel Executive Board dined with 3 members of MECA, the Muslim Education and Culture Association. It was great! The next night I took an exam for KD and memorized many, many bits of useless information ("the purpose of Kappa Delta is to create true friendships among its members by inculcating into their hearts and minds....").

On Friday night, I celebrated Shabbat on North Campus with Gil and some Cornellians and some non-Jews who were there as part of the Multi-Faith Ambassadors group. Services were lovely and then we went to our dinners, then joined back up for hamentaschen dessert! I ran out from Shabbat to go to Sammy for date night. Jesse was already at the restaurant when I got there--there was a bouquet of flowers at my place!! FLOWERS!! And they were beautiful. He proved to be a perfect date and we had a perfect evening of edamame at Miyake. Then we retired as a group to an apartment in Collegetown. At the party, I sort of felt like I was making the rounds at a Saturday morning kiddush, because I made sure to circulate so I could speak to all my friends who were throughout the room.

Jesse really outdid himself as a date when he walked me through Ctown to my next destination-the Phi Tau annex where JONATHAN KRISTINE JULIA AND EMILY WERE WAITING. The gang was reunited (at least in part!). We partied and caught up and walked home together in terrible weather conditions. It was amazing to see my best friends.

The next day after babysitting, I went to Shabbat lunch because a couple was visiting. They were applying for the job of Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus, which is basically an Orthodox rabbi and his wife who come to Cornell for two or three years to teach and guide students, and it is partly funded by the OU. I am on the search committee for this position so I wanted to meet with this couple, listen to their study sessions, eat with them, and of course we had to interview them. The interview took hours. It was very interesting, however, to decide (as an all-student search committee) what is important to us for our campus and for our Judaism and just personally. It was a great experience (there will be more couples coming this month as well).

On Sunday, I was initiated as a full sister of Kappa Delta Sorority. The initiation ceremony was a little bizarre, but I was really happy to finally be a sister and participate in the chapter meetings, etc. Then, of course, Adina, Juhi and I danced ethnically.

The next week we had a Purim Carnival at Cornell, which was a grand success and lots of fun for everyone who came! Susu did an amazing job of putting it together. I babysat L again because her mother was at a wedding in Argentina and we took a different walk than usual-Ithaca is beautiful! It was a gorgeous day out and we went around a big neighborhood loop. We stopped and played with THREE kitties!! Lots of older houses with a lot of character and big porches that the residents clearly make good use of, because there were beautiful lanterns and wicker chairs and swings out on the porches. Beautiful. I want a big ass porch when I grow up.

The next day was Dragon Day at Cornell, and there was a big parade and a metal dragon and lots of festivities. It was a gorgeous day yet again, so the whole community came out for the parade and it was a picture perfect kind of day. People wore great costumes and everyone was in a festive mood. Then Adina and I peaced out. We wore really exciting outfits and listened to really great music and talked in the car for hours. We also stopped in Roscoe, NY for a photo shoot. It was A-MAZING. The town had so much character and there were trains set up and we climbed on them. There was a hanging sign outside a grocery store that said "Newspapers Sold Here" and there were people on the sidewalk milling about. It was so American! The most exciting thing about the photo shoot, though, was that I have a friend who is also interested in doing things like this! We took turns being the photographer and the model. We each used our own cameras so we got different kinds of effects, and we are both very different models (Adina is an actress and SO good in front of the camera, while I can't hold a serious face long enough and just end up breaking out into a goofy looking smile). The shots we got were amazing!

We got into Mamaroneck, NY around dinnertime, and chilled with the fam for a while. The dinner was delicious and the house is beautiful. We had a super fun sleepover night that included two episodes of the OC, which really brought us back to our childhood (I liked it a lot more when I was in ninth grade though).

Adina and I got breakfast at a SUPER cute little place the next morning and then we got froyo, mostly so we could just quote the Harvard Sailing Team video. Then Adina drove me to Queens, where she met Mimi and Grandpa Beast! Mimi immediately whisked me off to a hairdresser because my locks were getting a little straggly, and then we watched a Sex in the City marathon (also better when I was 16..hmmm) and had dinner, then went back to Sex in the City. It was just the relaxing night I was craving.

The next morning, I set off for Jewish Organic Farm School with Cornell Hillel. We took a plane to San Diego and vans to Tierra Miguel Farm, which is about an hour and a half outside the city, in one of the most beautiful valleys I have ever seen. We read the megillah when we got there, because it was Purim, and we prepared a feast. The food was INCREDIBLE. Everything was natural, everything started out as raw ingredients, and we just cooked and cooked and cooked the whole week.

Some highlights of farm school:

• our staff members, Gabe and Elana, were amazing human beings. At first, I was skeptical of their serenity but by the end I could tell they were genuninely the most tranquil people I've ever met.
• working on the farm-we weeded chard, we set up a chicken coop, we reorganized a greenhouse, we moved dirt around, we planted tomato seedlings and their companion crops (chives and parsley), and generally just helped wherever we could be of use
• discussing food justice-we talked about food deserts (like West Oakland) where there is no grocery store within walking distance and most people do not have cars so getting produce is near impossible
• the natural beauty everywhere
• helping out in the garden at the San Diego Jewish Academy and meeting with students and staff there
• hanging out with our farming crew-what a mixed bunch! I got to know some really amazing people this week and I got to bond even closer with others
• going to a huge beautiful house in San Diego, right on the beach, and walking along the beach
• walking 5 minutes to a working toilet, sharing a shower with 16 other humans, having our toilets explode multiple times
• meeting the other workers on the farm and learning from them
• learning about Community Supported Agriculture, biodynamics, holistic healing, and organic farming (when we were weeding, we didn't pull out clover plants because they are nitrogen fixers for the chard plants)
• applying my biology knowledge!
• taking really, really beautiful pictures

Now I am back at school and trying to get into the swing of things once again. Of course, with all of my glorious March activities, I also am taking 19 credits. School is challenging but manageable and I like most of my classes (Civil Rights has been a disappointment, Calc is a fine subject but just annoying to have to take it in college).

There's a lot going on with Hillel and Jewish life right now as we prepare for Passover and the end of the year. I've been very busy with that, and I'm now part of the Multi-Faith Ambassadors group on campus so that has been exciting but also time consuming. I think it is very worthwhile though so I will continue to make time for it.

This weekend I am getting initiated as a "Sammy Sweetheart," babysitting, Shabbating, attending a 4 hour lab on the Microbial Ecology of My Mouth, going to an a cappella concert, attending several parties, brunching with Jews, and of course, ethnically dancing.

Famous Again

My article!!

Natalie Page wrote a two page spread about me in this month's Haaretz Educational Supplement, about the Building Future Leaders Program. nbd

Reflections on a Week of Living Large

It is not often that I surprise myself with how many things I do. It's my m.o., so I don't like to kvetch about how busy I am because it simply doesn't accomplish anything.

This week, however, I really lived it up. Every step of the way, I was wondering if I was going to be able to fit in my homework and stay awake all day during classes. Now that it is Friday afternoon and Shabbat is imminent, I can safely say I made it through-no naps, no late homeworks, no failures of any kind. In fact, it has been one of the best weeks I've had in my life.

I have already blogged about this, but let's say the week started with Friday (Shabbat, dinner at AD White House, Jesus Camp documentary with Adina) and then Saturday (babysitting, shopping with Adam, partying all over the world, Filthy/Gorgeous), then Sunday (brunch with my research group, biology homework, sorority education, meeting with Risley Residents to talk about the RA Position, International Ethnic Dance), and Monday (blood drive, falafel).

Tuesday began Big/Little Week. This is five days of complete and utter spoiling on the part of my anonymous "Big Sister," who will be revealed on Saturday night.

On Tuesday, I had a biology lecture about invertebrates (every new unit in biology makes me reconsider my career plan...so many great possibilities!!!!!) and a Civil Rights Class about the JFK era. Then I "tabled" at Trillium (translation: I sat with Rachel at a table in a campus cafeteria and gave people buttons and information about diversity in Israel). After tabling, I went to a talk with Dr. Carla Boutin-Foster, an incredible woman/doctor/researcher who works at Weill Medical College in New York. Her speciality is in health disparities related to diversity. The talk was a conversation between her and about 9 students, including me. We picked her brain for an hour and she inspired me so much. She talked about going home to Haiti after the earthquake, after she hadn't been there for over 20 years, and she talked about her path through college and medical school, and she talked about balancing family and work. I want to be her!!!!

After Dr. Boutin-Foster, I went to another lecture-this time by Marc Sacks, the father of my bestie Joshy. Marc was talking about his private equity business that provides pension plans for various groups like police forces and stuff like that. I was in the lecture for 45 minutes, and that's about all I understood. He introduced me to the class and I turned scarlet. I'm not used to a) being in a class with mostly boys (sup Human Ecology), b) getting singled out by a visiting lecturer, c) listening to someone talk about equity for 45 minutes. So it was a new and exciting experience!

Then I got tutoring from Dr. Marty Taylor, the angel who was brought to earth to teach me biology. She makes everything so easy! And she cares about me, which is precious at college. I adore her, I simply do. Then I took my quiz and I got a perfect score! Then I went back to Marty's office and wrote her a thank-you note on the whiteboard on her office door : )

THEN I met Marc Sacks and Jesse at the hotel. We set off for The Heights, an incredible fine-dining experience just north of north campus. I can't wait to take Bob Goodman there. I had a salad with balsamic truffle vinaigrette and gnocchi in some kind of thin, cream sauce. Jesse and I shared a chocolate souffle! Dining with Marc is always an amazing experience. He is incredibly generous and the conversation is always interesting and meaningful and political. We had a ball.

THENNNN I met up with KD girls and we were walked to a mysterious location-a frat party! It wasn't so much a party, but we all just sat on couches in the frat and talked to the boys and they brought us hot chocolate. We played charades. It was adorbs.

When I got home, my room had blue and white streamers everywhere (for Israel!) and a goat pinata, and balloons, and blue gatorades, and apples, and chocolates, and disposable cameras and a stuffed animal and more things I am forgetting. My "big" had left me a surprise!!!!!

On Wednesday, I had Hebrew, and then, in Gerontology, I was surprised again when Maggie brought me a gift bag of all kinds of wonderful goodies. Then I had lunch with Ranan, which was so necessary since I hadn't seen him in literally years. Then more class, then I took my oral test for biology (I had a seriously socially awkward TA giving the test...it was an uncomfortable 35 minutes. He kept fidgeting and kicking and looking around and when I got something right his facial expression didn't change and neither did his voice so the whole time I was just waiting for him to be like "oh well sorry you failed" but he didn't and I passed but it was hard!), then I went to Meinig to talk about our research progress.

After Meinig, Adina surprised me by telling me we were going out to dinner, paid for by my big! It was a great plan. She drove us to the Commons and we ate at Delilah's. We got two things to share-this spicy mac and cheese and an open-faced vegetable melt with sweet potato fries. So delicious!!!!!

After dinner, we went to see NESHAMA CARLEBACH in concert at the State Street Theatre. She was performing with a gospel choir. It was truly a spiritual experience. I can't even describe the happiness. I so wish I could bottle up that feeling of highness and life that I felt that night. Adina and I were standing up and clapping and dancing along with all the characters from Ithaca. So much happiness!

When I got home, I went to the library to do my prelab. I sat with Susu which was great and then she made me feel scared about walking home alone at night so I called Andrew and he came to meet me (THANK YOU ANDREW) and then I wasn't kidnapped. Major success.

The next day, along with classes, I dissected invertebrates for four hours. We cut up clams, squids, snails, earthworms, crayfish, horseshoe crabs, and grasshoppers! It was so crazy! I love animals!!! I did get really tired though, 4 hours is a long time to do anything, especially intense thinking and careful cutting!

Then I had dinner with Adina and did some of my calc homework. Then I showered and dressed and hit the town for the AXO Crush Party! I took a school bus with friends to the location, a club downtown. Then we danced the night away with everyone I know (especially Josh Markovic-don't think I forgot you)! I almost lost my coat, my keys, my phone, and my scarf (all separately), but I found each one of those items eventually!!! Getting on the bus to go home was a mad house, but the soldiers at the bus station in Be'er Sheva prepared me well--I pushed and shoved onto the bus like the best of 'em.

I got home at 1 and was asleep around 1:30. I woke up at 7:30 to do my gerontology assignment. I had to find scientific articles that supported the statement: "we do not have control over how we are aging." Depressing shit, let me tell you. Then we had a debate in section about it. Eat your veggies!!!!!!!

Then I finished my calc homework and I just had lunch at One World Cafe, the organic/local/vegetarian cafe on campus.

After calc, I'm going to see Jesse in a play called Waking Up, and then MAMA IS COMING FOR SHABBAT!!!!!

so much happiness : )

Precious Life

On Thursday evening, I went to see a movie at the Cornell Cinema sponsored by the Cornell Israel Public Affairs Committee and the Islamic Alliance for Justice. The film is called Precious Life and it tells the story of a family from Gaza coping with their son's immunodeficiency disorder.

The movie begins with footage of war in Gaza. I thought, it's going to be that kind of movie-the kind made by super left wing Israeli journalists who want everyone to feel sorry for everyone but Israel. As the movie progressed, I was proved wrong in so many ways. It wasn't one kind of movie or another, it just beautifully demonstrated the complexities of the situation.

The sick baby was the third child of this family to be born with the disorder (the two girls had died before the movie was made). Somehow, the family got into Israel to receive medical attention at an Israeli hospital. An Israeli doctor--or perhaps, angel--took up the case and began monitoring the baby in a completely sterile environment and searching high and low for matches. When the doctor is first introduced, we see him enter the room and give the baby's father a huge hug, and the doctor asks in Arabic, "What's up?" They joke about how they are trying to learn each other's languages. I instantly bust into tears.

The plot thickens. It takes a long time to find a proper match, although it is easier because the Arabs in Gaza marry their cousins, so there is a large extended family with similar blood. The doctor jokes about this with the family too-they laugh when they use the blood tests to find out exactly how everyone is related. Getting the blood samples out of Gaza is hard enough, though, and it highlighted the major issues with Checkpoints along the borders.

Once a match is made, the cousin is brought to Tel Aviv for the first time to donate. The journalist asks her, "Do you know what you are walking on right now?" She looks down at the grass under her feet and shakes her head no. "You are walking on plants-little tiny plants," the journalist answers. The cousin is amazed. She has never seen grass before.

The scenes that follow are tense. Everyone is worried that the baby will reject the graft. While all the waiting is going on, the journalist interviews the mother, Raida, a beautiful Muslim woman who has lived her entire life in Gaza, except for the last few months, when she has been in Israel. She has learned all about Jewish holidays and she is picking up the Hebrew from the lullabies the hospital puts on for her son. She loves her children and is extremely affected by their welfare-at one point she completely breaks down when she feels they will not find a match. So when she tells the journalist that she would be proud if her son became a shahid-a martyr-for Jerusalem, he is a little shocked. A lot shocked, in fact. An argument ensues. She has never been to Jerusalem; it is her life dream. She feels that if Allah saves her child from this disease, she owes it to him to let the child die serving Allah and the Palestinian people.

She explains that for her people, death is precious. Death is permanent, it is not a surprise, it is not rare, they must accept it and expect it. The journalist is dumbfounded. For Israelis, life is the most precious thing. That is why an anonymous Israeli donor gave all the money needed for the baby's operation, even though his own son had been a soldier and had been killed in Gaza. He wanted to give some other son, somewhere, the chance at precious life. The journalist explains how the Israelis treasure life. They simply do not understand each other.

Now the journalist shows footage of Tzeva Adom-the red alert system in Israel that is engaged whenever Qassam rockets fall on Israeli cities near Gaza. I couldn't handle it. The towns look like Yerucham, the place where I lived for four months. The lights of Gaza are the same lights I saw twinkling as I stood in the fields of Kibbutz Sa'ad on an unseasonably warm night in January, waiting for my mom to pull up in her rental car. It was all too close for comfort. I couldn't bear to see the wailing child in the supermarket screaming for her mother, with the same array of merchandise and the same arrangement of sodas that were common in every Makolet-or market-in Israel.

The baby accepts the graft and the family cal

ms down a little bit. The journalist brings up the topic again to the mother. She qualifies her statements, explaining the pressure she has felt from people in Gaza. They view her as a traitor, a Jew-lover, for accepting help from the Israelis and living in Israel. They don't understand or respect what she is doing for her baby. She says she hopes that if her son dies as a shahid, that he will die in some peaceful demonstration; she hopes he will be killed as a protester, not as a suicide bomber. But she doesn't seem too shaken by the idea of him being a suicide bomber, either. The journalist tries to shake her: WE JUST SPENT ALL THIS MONEY AND TIME AND ENERGY AND EMOTION ON SAVING YOUR CHILD-AND NOW YOU WANT HIM TO DIE?

Shortly after the family returns home to Gaza, Operation Cast Lead breaks out. There is extremely limited communication flowing in and out of Gaza, but the journalist manages to make contact once so we know the family is all all right. The doctor is called in for reserve duty and he serves as a doctor for the troops. Everything is turned upside down.

When the operation is over, security is extremely, extremely tight. Muhammed, the baby, has complications, and the journalist tries to see him at the border. He has grown a lot and he is really the cutest child. Finally, they get him back to the hospital in Israel. On the ride there, Raida explains to the journalist that she is pregnant again. PREGNANT AGAIN?!?! She explains that in Gaza, the women do not have a choice about when they get pregnant.

The doctor is back from reserve duty, and the gang is all together again. He tells Raida she will have to give birth in the hospital in Israel in case her new baby has the same immune disease and needs to be put immediately in isolation. In the mean time, they work on helping Muhammed. The new baby is born and she is not sick, thank God/Allah. There is happiness for a moment. Then the journalist unveils his big surprise: he is going to take Raida to Jerusalem!

Raida is seen pushing two strollers up the ramp to the mosque on the temple mount. Then she tells us: since she has just given birth, she is not able to enter the mosque. WHAT!!!!!!! The journalist is upset because he thought he was making her wish come true. The movie ends with Raida looking over Jerusalem--my Jerusalem, my city--and middle eastern music, the melodies common to both cultures, playing in the background.

I was astonished. What was the agenda? What was the bias? The fact is, I was more upset because there had been no bias. It showed both sides. It showed the complexities. It showed that both Palestinians and Israelis suffer because of their conflict. The doctor, at the end, says to Mohammed's parents, I hope that our children will play together, and if not our children, then their children or our great-grand children. I hope so too.

After the movie, I felt like I had been beaten up. It was so close to home, and so powerful. And I thought-how can life not be the most precious thing?

The next day, a student at Cornell died. We all got an email from the President. I overheard an EMT talking about responding to the call in the Bio study center. At night, Jewish brothers from his fraternity came to services to say Mourner's Kaddish for him. They were all such wrecks. Everyone in the service stood with them when they said Mourner's Kaddish. I gave a d'var torah (my plan is posted in the previous post) in which I focused mainly on this point: Just as God endowed Bezalel with the incredible creative skills necessary to make a beautiful tabernacle, we have all been endowed with talents and skills necessary to beautify our corner of the world and do God's work on earth. There were so many things I wanted to say, about how precious life is, but it wasn't appropriate. But the whole time I was thinking--if only we could always remember how precious life is, we'd never take a moment for granted.

The next day, I babysat for L, and it was a typical day-we walked to the bagel place, we made some bathroom stops along the way, we walked home. Then I met up with Adam in the Commons for some serious bargain shopping. I felt like we were on The Look For Less. We had such a blast...I definitely didn't take it for granted!

I went to Mann to do bio for a while, and then I went to Moosewood with Ben, his dad, and Ben's other friend Amy. We had great food and great conversation. When I returned, major evening plans were in the works. I showered, I prettied, I planned. Rachel, her sister, and I formed a group. We started to wait for rides to a frat party, but decided instead to go to a Collegetown party. We walked in the snow and it was quite enjoyable because of the company, although it was a long walk!

The party was fun for the short time we were there, and then a group of us gathered to go to Filthy/Gorgeous, a concert/party in the Student Activities Building on campus. The building had been turned into a gay club for the night, complete with strippers, trannies, drag queens, and gay people EVERYWHERE. It was magical. It was just so outlandish I couldn't believe it. Everyone was just celebrating life and who they were. It was beautiful.

On Sunday, I had brunch with Meinigs as usual and did a great deal of homework.

I also met with Risley residents, who gave me the low down on how things work

around there. Then I went to Kappa Delta for a little sorority meeting and I

memorized the KD Creed. What poetry. Then I had International Ethnic Dance

and it was so much fun, as always, although I missed Adina! I did a partner dance

with the teacher and it was so fun-it's from the Brittany region of France.

Amazing.

Today was a regular school day, plus I donated blood (life is precious!) and

got free falafel in honor of Israel Peace Week.

I am so Jordana sometimes it hurts.

Dvar Torah

Vayakhel-no fire on Shabbat, instructions for tabernacle, constructing the tabernacle, God dwelling in the tabernacle, symbolizes the end of the Exodus

1. “The lord has singled out by the name Bezalel...he has endowed him with a divine spirit of skill, ability, and knowledge in every kind of craft, and has inspired him to make designs for work in gold, silver, and copper, to cut stones for setting and to carve wood-to work in every kind of designer’s craft...Let, then, Bezalel and Oholiab and all the skilled persons whom the Lord has endowed with skill and ability to perform expertly all the tasks connected with the service of the sanctuary, carry out all that the Lord has commanded”
1. the idea that God endows humans with abilities
2. the idea that we are supposed to do God’s work with our God-given abilities
3. that is how we can bring the Shechinah, the divine presence, to our world
4. besides beautifying religion-what are ways we can use our abilities to beautify the world, to do God’s work? With what skills have we been blessed that can improve our corner of the world?
2. Verse after verse is dedicated to painstaking detail about the construction of the Tabernacle-why?
1. the tabernacle is the place where the Lord dwells
2. it is the end of the Exodus (God was not with them in Egypt, now they are out of Egypt and God will dwell in his house, in the tabernacle)
3. at the end of the parshah, a cloud fills the tabernacle by day and a fire by night because God is present
4. beautifying religion-hiddur mitzvah-our own creation, our own stamp on the world, something productive, everyone could contribute, concrete
5. reconciliation for the golden calf-instead using gold and donating gifts to the tabernacle-the exact opposite purpose of the golden calf but the same motivation (people want to feel like they are doing something to contribute), there was even an excess of materials and Moses had to tell them to stop
3. Role of women: כל איש ואשה repeated over and over again-”men and women, all whose hearts moved them, all who would bring with outstretched hands to the Lord, came bringing brooches, earrings, rings, and pendants--gold objects of all kinds,” ALSO “ “and all the skilled women spun with their own hands...and all the women who excelled in that skill spun the goats’ hair...”
1. women were a key part of the skilled labor in creating the adornments
2. use of language makes them seem equal
4. “He made the laver of copper and its stand of copper, from the mirrors of the women who performed tasks at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting”
1. when I first read this, I’m thinking vestal-virgin-300-style
2. translation is tricky, probably means “women arrayed for a sacred task,” could refer to praying at the foot of certain statues (based on a tradition of a different Near Eastern ancient culture) or it could refer to sexual acts
3. mirrors symbolize the physical, sensual side of man-the physical was not to be excluded when constructing the tabernacle, it is an essential part
4. Rashi: Moses at first refused to accept a gift which appealed to the evil impulse (vanity), but God insisted because in Egypt the women had sustained their men with food and drink and used their mirrors to adorn themselves and seduce their husbands in order to give them children and carry on the Israelite race

Going Green

organic grilled cheese on wheat: 5.50

tropicana carton: 2.50

food that's good for me and the environment: priceless, but still way too expensive, if i'm being honest with myself

also, my reusable water bottle smells a little like death, but at least i'm using tap water...