exactly what i needed

Thank you to Robbie Gringras for your entertaining and educational performance at JTS this evening. The music, the stories, your ability to teach us the importance of love, sensitivity, and interconnectedness of the Jewish people - thank you. You bring a sincere love of israel that others born abroad can relate to - even if some of us may be more observant and less zionist than you are.

During the discussion after the show, Robbie articulated the exact thing i needed to hear at this moment in my life, and it rang lound and clear: Jews believe that there is a way about arguing that is sacred - a machlochet l'shem shamayim (an arguement for the sake of heaven). Americans especially are too afrait of conflict - we are so afraid of stepping on each others toes, we create barriers and separate ourselves out. Yet a true community is not made up of people who agree on everything. Rather, a community is created over what people argue about. By arguing with another, we show we care, that we want to understand, and that we value the other. Blind agreement does not show committment; it shows apathy.

Finally, on the topic of having a relationship with the State of Israel, and all world Jewry, Robbie reminded all of us that the Jewish world can no longer pretend that we are not connected. Even if we don't understand.

Okay it's time for this Shamir to get out there! Live the journey! Be the ball! (Huh?)

"Cutting Down the Shoots"

Ariel Beery gives a fascinating explanation of the obscure phrase and Elisha Ben Abuya's Platonic philosophy. Assimilation is nothing new, folks.

Shabbat Shalom!

that tzur mishelo tune

e was right. we all sing it wrong!. thanks to ZT for the tip.

[update] oh crap and that lecha dodi tune is off too...

Purim tonight!!!

Don't know where to go for megillah reading this year (and live in NYC)? Now, you don't have to choose. Storahtelling, with Zeek Magazine and Jewish Women Watching bring you a crazy parade up Broadway that will include music, singing, chanting, and surprise giveaways. If you can't make it for the parade, then definitely join us for the party afterward. Here's all the info:

DATE: Monday, March 13, 2006—Erev Purim, Adar 13, 5766
SCHEDULE: (times estimated)
6:00pm PROMPT —JCC, 334 Amsterdam Ave. at 76th Str.
6:45—Ansche Chesed, 251 West 100th St.
7:45—B’nai Jeshurun Adult’s Service, 86th St. and West End Ave.
8:45—Carlebach Shul, 305 West 79th St. (Between West End and Riverside)
10:00—Crossroads (a funky bar, formerly Raccoon Lounge), 480 Amsterdam Ave at 83rd St. [no cover!]

JOIN US IN COSTUME (Think Brigade - Putting the Fun in Fundamentalism…)

For Rebbetzin Hadassah Gross' Megilla Guerilla Brigade March 2006 PuriManifesto,

I Am Seattle

Lots of love to my cousin's the Moore family out in Seattle.
Take the quiz:
Which American City Are You?

Seattle
Your dark exterior masks a caffeine driven activism. You'll take up a cause and you'll get ugly to advance it.

happy birthday to me!

well computer is still in the shop. they are waiting for a new something board or board of something - they do not know when i will have it back. luckily for me, both my birthday and purim are taking place during this crazy computer-less time. below are some of the highlights from last thursday's big celebration:

chillin with the newly engaged couple


love it when the family comes!

am i attracted to beards or are beards attracted to me?


yza and i surrounded by men who manage to be hot without beards


big bear hug with nd and ns


"one love, one gulp, let's get together with ys..."

Good news, so far

According to my buddies at the Mac store, they were able to recover all of my data before sending it in for repair. Wahoo! The repair center sent me an email today to let me know that they are waiting for a part before they can repair it. In the meantime, everyone should read: Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi's A parable on the state of the Jewish mythic world after my hard drive crashed.

please say a prayer for my laptop

[fyi i am writing this post from the sexy grey/blue dell of my roommate. thanks, ns.]

on friday morning, march 3 i looked over and my laptop had shut herself down. so i plugged her in and booted her up again. she seemed to be fine. then i left her alone for a few minutes while i did a few things in the kitchen. when i came back, she was off again. a strange smoky smell was coming out of the vents in the back. i tried turning her on again. i tried hitting all the keys. nothing.

after many phone calls, many waits on hold to bad music, and the eventual trip down to the mac soho store, i put my laptop in the hands of a mac genius (i'm not making that title up) named peter. even though i have a backup at home (thanks mom and dad for the external hard drive, and thanks mobius for telling me to get one), i still don't trust myself to put it all back on my computer, so i told peter to, if possible, download the contents of my hard drive to a server at the store before sending it out to be repaired.

it was such a difficult day. as much as i keep feeling guilty to comparing the crashing of my computer to losing a person - that is ultimately what i am going through. the metaphor is somewhere between being dumped and losing someone to illness. thoughts in my head: "i should have treated my laptop with more respect. i should have deleted more unneeded files. i should have backed her up more regularly. i shouldn't have dragged her around so much. perhaps then she would be okay now."

another thought that came to my head is that of my being punished for stam overusing my computer. not literally overusing, as in a laptop cannot take that many hours per day (though that is possible), but me, as a person in the world - perhaps i spend too much of my waking hours on my laptop. now that she is gone (temporarily), i have some time to sit and think about her - what do i really need her for? why would i spend so many hours on her? what of that was worthwhile productive work and what was lounging on the couch and playing around, reading blogs, iming, diddling?

as much as this whole thing has been a disaster, i cannot help but view it as a blessing in disguise to remind me that this is a good time to chill out, take a break from dating my laptop, focus on my studies and just make the best of it.

but in the meantime, i ask all of you to learn from my situation...
1. back up your hard drive. a cd is not enough; spend the $100 to get an external hard drive so you can make a rebootable version of your computer. do it today!!!
2. take some time to think about what you really need your computer for. perhaps your daily calendar would be eaisier on paper? perhaps you don't need 5 email accounts? maybe it's time to get some of those photos printed out so you can share the hard copies with family and friends anytime.

...and please please please say a prayer my laptop comes back as good as new. (and that i will deserve to get her back having learned my lesson)

thank you.