A Dance, Not A Fight

As I start writing Elif Shafak is interviewed by Terry Gross. She's a Turkish writer who says that she is a shy person who is not shy when she writes and she wishes she could be that person even when she's not writing. That resonates for me.

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A colleague told me today that he feels that this blog's been a bit "schvach" lately. What can I say? I dedicate this poem to my colleague.

Hello

This is me,
this is my diary,
this is written freely,
why, why can't you see?

I breathe as I write,
it's a dance, not a fight
the clichéd rhyme is light
but I'm going to go with insight

One day at a time
I write and I rhyme
With others intertwine
I think it's something fine

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This Morning I Wondered

What is prayer?
And is it fair?
To try to force
something that's a source
of inspiration and strength
and is of such a long length
that can be hard to recite
in full each day and night
each day and night

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The author of the Chovat HaTalmidim, Rav Kalonymus Kalman Shapira) cites the pasuk from Devarim 20:5 which describes "banah bayit veloh chancho" - "one who builds a house and hasn't yet been mechanech it." He notes that Rashi says chinuch is "lashon hatchalah" - this language connotes a beginning. But he then points out that clearly not every start is described by the word chinuch.

Curiouser and curiouser.

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Today I returned tests that I gave on Wednesday. I gave in some paper-work. I had a good talk with seniors about the point of high school. One of them actually wanted to know what I thought was the point - to walk away from a Yeshiva HS with what? We discussed why so many nice sweet kids seem to turn away from Judaism. Opinions were strong. Most touching to me was the student who said it calls comes down to a few people or even one person that rub you the wrong way. I referenced the adage about how one shouldn't judge Judaism based on Jews. But asking someone to rise above his or her experiences is asking a lot.

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