The Rachel Chronicles

Yom Kippur Reflections

I have a strong dislike for blanket emails that says "if I've done anything to hurt you, please forgive me"....um, no - if you've done something to hurt me, I expect that you either know it (and actually want to apologize for it) or don't (in which case there is a problem with our relationship). Some people add a caveat to those emails and say "if I've done something to hurt you, please tell me so that I can make ammends" - that is significantly better, but still not sufficient.

I know who I have hurt - and I know who has hurt me. The Rabbis may or may not agree with me, but it is up to me to come to a place where I can decide to forgive someone, and that forgiveness often comes a long time after the apology. For me, Yom Kippur is a time to let go of old grudges and hurt feelings - not a time to just now first start to apologize for something that happened months ago. It is a time to wipe the slate clean and start again - with God and with our friends and family. It is not a time to rehash petty arguments and silly disagreements. In order to forgive someone, you also need to love them.

On a tangental note, I woke up rather early yesterday morning and finished reading "The Five People You Meet In Heaven"...and cried. Understanding that I was over-tired and tears were coming more easily, I cried for the mistakes people make, the opportunities they have lost (or not realized they had), and that at the end of your life, you may not be happy with the way things turned out. I very much liked the premise of the story - that when you go to heaven, you meet five people who had an impact on your life, and they help make sense of your life for you.

This felt like a particularly relevant book for the Days of Awe for me because I think sometimes when you let someone into your life) you can know that they are one of those people who have changed your life, put you on a different direction, and would be someone who, if there really were five people you met in heaven, would be one of them. They understand a piece of you in a way that no one else does.

So...on this Yom Kippur, this Day of Atonement - which I prefer to read as "at-one-ment", it is those people who have helped shape me to be who I am, who I have hurt and who have hurt me, that I will thank in my prayers. I am grateful for the friends and family who have made me who I am today - and who have forgiven me even as I have hurt them. I am a better person because of them, and I strive to be the same for them.

"Haman in the 'Hood"

That was the title of an email that I received from the new dean of the rabbinical school. WHAT?! Temporarily disregard the content - which I will get to in a moment - but since when do JTS peeps talk like that?! What happened over the summer? Did the old crotchity-ness (ok, a nicer way of saying that would be "formality") of the Seminary leave the building and re-enter as young, hip-ness?!? As much as I am LOVING Israel, why am I missing all the excitement?!?!

Now you want to know what called for an email with such a title? Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been invited to speak at Columnbia University. And this was the email sent out by our new dean of the rabbinical school:

As you may have heard, The President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has been invited by Columbia's School for International Affairs to speak at 1:30. A protest has been announced at 12:30, and I want there to be a strong JTS presence at this rally. I will walk there at 12:15, and invite you to walk with me. You can be back for class at 1:20. I plan to chant Psalm 94 which decries those who plot violence in God's holy name. I don't think that you need to be reminded that this man has repeatedly called for Israel to be wiped off the map, has funded and armed Hizballah, Islamic Jihad and Hamas, and is already in possession of long-range missiles that can strike all of Israel. He also is pursuing nuclear technology that poses a existential threat to the State of Israel.

We frequently note that the tenth of Tishri is literally "a day like Purim" (Yom Ke-Purim) and darshan about putting on and taking off masks. This year it seems that the message is even more literal. A wicked ruler in Persia is hoping to wipe out the Jews. No, we are not aware of specific plans yet. And no, our protest will not change his mind. However, our presence matters a great deal. Who knows if we did not come to this place of Torah just for a moment like this?

How did we get such an amazing new dean?! Way to go JTS search committee!!!
When I told my mom that I was bummed to miss the excitement, she said that Columbia probably waited until I was gone, because they knew I would have staged a protest....I guess they misjudged other people's passions.

Promotional Video

Here is the Rabbinical School's new promotional video. Can you find me?!

Sort of makes you want to go to JTS, huh?

Free Advertising!

Check out this well-written, very witty piece by Jordie Gerson, an HUC rabbinical student. If you read through the whole thing, you'll notice a fun surprise on the right side of the page! (hint, its a picture of my t-shirt!!!)

Rachel 1, Israeli Consulate 0

I got a taste of the Israeli government the other day - and its beurocracy. I went into Boston to get my student visa at the Israeli Consulate. At first, I walked into the room and saw that there was a woman at the window, not really being served - actually just talking on her cell phone. I found it ironic that there was a sign next to the window. I expected it to say "please do not use your cell phone at the window", but instead it said "please refrain from changing your child's diaper in the waiting room"! I asked if there was a way to sign in or something and told to "just sit down".

So I sat down. Then when I was called up to the window, I told the lady that I wanted to apply for a student visa. She asked where I was studying. I said "Machon Schechter" and she said that she couldn't give me a visa to study there! I said that I really thought she could (ok, admittedly, perhaps i was a little rude when I really said "i don't believe you"). She was rude right back to me (perhaps I deserved it, but come on, in America the customer is always right!). And we went back and forth for a little while. We each called in back up - I called my school, she spoke to the consul general herself. But nothing. She was refusing to give me the visa. In fact, her words were, "you're welcome to apply for it, but you'll just be wasting your money because it'll get rejected". I asked her to speak to my dean from JTS, and she told her that I was being very rude. I checked in with my mother, who is the queen of making sure i'm not rude, and my mom said, "no, you were just being persistent, like an Israeli!".

Anyway, this went on for a long time, until I finally got her to let me speak to the consul general myself. She explained that although she has asked for a list from the Misrad ha-Panim (the interior ministry of Israel) of acceptable education institutions to grant visas for, she hasn't gotten it. Therefore, even though she knows of Machon Schechter (and even knew that it was the Conservative Rabbinical School - and could compare it to HUC in Jerusalem), because she didn't have the list, she would only grant visas to students studying at Israeli Universities. So I countered with "but machon schechter IS an Israeli university!" and she said, "i mean the public ones". Anyway, this went back and forth for a while until I suggested that she call someone at the misrad ha-panim and ask. And she looked at her watch and said, its 7pm in Israel now, they're closed.

[Let's take a break from the story for a minute and note that the Israeli consulate of New England is open to the public from the hours of 10am to 1pm on Monday through Friday. They OPEN when it is 5pm CLOSING time in Israel. There is NEVER a time when they are open to the public that they could call Israel and have the misrad ha-panim also be open. Coincidence? I think not...]

Anyway - after this little roadblock, I suggested that I leave the paperwork with her, and she could call them in the morning. (or email or fax or leave a message - after all, this is the 21st century!). She sort of look dumb-founded by that suggestion. Had I really come up with some way that this would work? Some solution that she couldn't refute? She turned to her assistant, they mumbled to each other, and then....THEY TOOK MY PAPERWORK!!! I mean, they also took my money and were quite clear that I wasn't getting the money back if my visa application got rejected. But let me point out....I GOT WHAT I WANTED!!!! I don't have time to come back to the consulate again before I leave. So by leaving my paper work, it'll either happen or it won't (if it doesn't, I'll have to take care of it in Israel). But at least now there is a chance that I'll get my visa before I go!

As my mom said, i "out Israeli-ed the Israeli!" I won!!! I did a little victory dance outside the consulate's office, once we left. I conquered an Israeli government office!!!! I rule!!!!