What If ?

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I wish that all my efforts and experiences always added up inside me to something that felt like beautifully built monuments. Sometimes striving leads me to feel like pieces of me have been stripped away. Memo to self: work on that one step at a time.

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I once shared notes with classmates about a client I was working with on while pursuing my MSW. I explained that I went through something difficult with a case but that "in the end it was OK." Classmate Lissette asked, "What if it wasn't OK?" Sometimes things aren't OK. I need to work on that, being OK with things not being OK.

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People always quote "Nachamu, Nachamu" (Yishayahu 40:1) - I wonder how many people know that another famous line is the last verse of that same haftorah (40:26): "Se'u eineichem marom ureu mi barah eileh" -"Lift your eyes up high and see who created these." This is a classic description of the awe can be inspired by truly taking in the natural world.

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I recently rediscovered this post and the comments that flowed from it.

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I don't know why this summer I am receiving an unprecedented amount of reminders that the summer is half over. There's a feeling. Teachers sense it. The school year in all it's holy and mundane intensity is coming. Soon.

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I recently bumped into two teachers I know. One of them strongly disagreed with my thoughts on summer vacation. The other expressed the sentiment on his own first thing when he saw me. Yitzi and I both would love it if the summer break could be lessened and instead spread out through the year.

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As I type Reb Shlomo is singing Eishet Chayil. I recall him singing this at my friend Simcha's wedding atop Har Tzion, and commenting to the Chattan and Kallah how it important it is for them to learn Torah together. It was shortly after this after the Chuppah that a woman berated Rav Shlomo publicly as he calmly and patiently stood and listened with no evident anger. It was at that same wedding that he hugged me and told me that I looked sharp. He's the only one who ever told me that (not counting those who say it to me after I tell them this story).

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I'm almost done reading Bob Newhart's autobiography. It's charming. I am blessed and thankful to be a kindred spirit, a member of the club.

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There are many articles being written about that New York Times essay by the fellow that was edited out of his yeshiva's class reunion picture because of the non Jewish girlfriend (now wife) that stood beside him. When I read things like that I wonder what lesson we can learn. One thought that comes to mind is that "the best and brightest" are often not the ones that come through for us and our values in the long run. Rav Aharon Lichtenstein has said that he is often surprised by which students are the ones that stay connected and strong. Another thought that comes to mind is that in these times, this culture we're taught (commanded?) to accept everything and everyone. Few, if any, traditional/Orthodox Jews will be spared in our lifetime from having to deal with people close to us intermarrying. What will we do?

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Goodnight and G-d Bless.