Reflecting on the past decade....

Last night, as we approached midnight, Lindsay and I were reminiscing about where we were 10 years ago. The year 2000 was upon us, and we were in Jerusalem.

I was in my first year of rabbinical school at HUC-JIR, on the Jerusalem campus. I lived there for one year, and Lindsay was kind enough to come out for a visit over winter break. We were so afraid that either, a) the world would end (Y2K, etc) as midnight approached, or b) some crazy group would decide to decimate Jerusalem. Thus, my class chose to celebrate the new year at school, a few yards from a bomb shelter. We were overlooking the Jaffa Gate to the Old City, and we watched as Christian pilgrims carried torches into the gated city. It was majestic, awe-inspiring, and even a little terrifying.

Nothing happened, of course, but there was nowhere else I wanted to be as the new decade began (and, yes, I know that, technically the decade began in 2001, but no one seems to count that way).

What an amazing way to enter the new decade.

Here are some highlights of the decade in my life:

1. Moved to New York for the duration of rabbinical school in August, 2000.
2. Ended the engagement to my college fiance, started to figure out who I truly was for the first time - Fall, 2000
   
3. Appeared on the short-lived Oxygen Network game show, "Trackers," and won! (a karaoke machine, naturally!!) - Fall, 2000
4. Adopted my calico, Precious, in January, 2001
5. Developed a long-standing passion for KARAOKE!
   
6. Began a two-year student pulpit in Brandon, FL at Congregation Beth Shalom - learned so much about being a rabbi - 2001-2003
7. Lindsay moved to NYC, and in with me, in 2002
   
8. Was in a longterm relationship from 2003-2007
9. Ordained as a rabbi in 2004
10. Worked at an amazing NYC congregation for five years (2004-2009)
11. Started THIS BLOG in February, 2007!
    
12. Underwent successful spinal fusion surgery in December, 2007
13. Joined the Temple B'nai Torah family in Wantagh as their rabbi this past summer.

So much to celebrate - and these are just a few of the highlights. Wishing you all a blessed 2010 filled with light, joy, and love. Here's to another terrific year!!

Heads or Tails Tuesday - Recipe

Welcome back to Heads or Tails Tuesday! If you want to participate, check out the weekly theme and then have fun - you can free associate, be very literal, or anything in between.

Today's Theme? Recipe

I feel like focusing on the word "Recipe," particularly in regards to the Jewish New Year, Rosh HaShanah, coming up on Monday night, September 29. Here goes:

What is the recipe for a good year? What encourages God to write our names in the Book of Life for the coming year? Though we should be aiming for goodness, honesty, and compassion all year, the High Holy Days really remind us the importance of owning up to our mistakes and trying harder the next time. Here is our yearly opportunity to remember the past year, reflect on our actions, and promise ourselves, our friends, and God, that we will do better in the coming year.

The prayerbook tells us that three things can temper God's severe decree: Tzedakah (charity), T'shuvah (repentance) and Tefilah (prayer). Adding more of these three acts into our lives can make our days more meaningful, and can truly aid in the repair of the world. Yet, these are not the only ingredients, I would like to suggest, for our recipe for being a good person.

New ingredients for a good life:

1. Staying involved and informed in local, state, and national politics (and voting!!)
2. Donating time, in addition to money, to important causes
3. Making sure to do "the little things:" giving up a seat on the bus/subway to someone who needs it more than you, allowing someone with a few items to pass in front of you in line at the grocery store, etc.
4. Recycling
5. Finding a good therapist
6. Meditation and Prayer
7. Being silly as often as possible
8. Exercising your brain in a hearty debate
9. Exercising your body whatever way feels good

What would you add? What is your recipe for being a good person and living a good life?

Why are these movies on all the time??

Have you ever noticed how there are a few movies that are ALWAYS on television? I mean, whenever you flip through the channels, you are guaranteed to find at least one of these at all times? What is the deal? Are they cheaper to show? Do these basic cable channels have unlimited access to these particular films? Granted, I am not saying that they are bad, just that they are OVERDOING IT!! Seriously, this is verging on abuse...



1) The Fifth Element
2) Dirty Dancing
3) The Wedding Singer
4) She's All That
5) Grease (and Grease 2)
6) The Mummy
7) Some American Pie movie
8) One of the Godfather series
9) A John Grisham or Michael Crichton movie
10) Sleepless in Seattle

What is the deal? Have you noticed this??????

I've Been Tagged!

Kentucky Shan over at Rambling Shan tagged me earlier today. So, friends, what does this mean? It means I get to be a part of a fun new game (a meme) that involves sharing some information related to things in history that have taken place on my birthday.

If I tag you, you have to go to Wikipedia and type in your birthday (month and day)...Then write down 3 events, 2 births, 1 holiday, and tag 5 friends (leave them a comment saying their tagged and refer them to your blog for the rules).

Here's mine, for March 28!

Three Events:

• 1930 - Constantinople and Angora change their names to Istanbul and Ankara.
• 1978 - US Supreme Court hands down 5-3 decision in Stump v. Sparkman, 435 U.S. 349, a controversial case involving involuntary sterilization and judicial immunity.
• 1979 - In Pennsylvania, a pump in the reactor cooling system fails in the Three Mile Island accident, resulting in the evaporation of some contaminated water causing a nuclear meltdown.

Two Births

• 1969 - Brett Ratner, American film director
• 1981 - Julia Stiles, American actress

One Holiday

• Slovakia, Czech Republic - Teachers' Day.

I Tag:

Come One, Come All

Superconductor

I Speak Because Others Babble

stuff.

Writing? Loves it...

If you want to do the other meme (The Mutation Meme), Here are the rules:

1. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.

2. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.

4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.

5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

If you want to see what this one looks like, check out Skittles' entry.

It's your choice!

Thanks so much, Kentucky Shan, for inviting me to play :)

Favorite Words, Part 2

Thanks to everyone who has added their own favorite words to my comments. I figured I would list some of your submissions and create an EVEN BETTER LIST!!!

"M.A. Washington" enjoys:
loquacious, menagerie, virtuoso, efferescence, and mahogany

"MZ Bivigou" prefers an adjectival version of one of the words I listed:
pulchritudinous

"Cooper" really likes the following:
pusillanimous, sputum, equidistant, splunge

These are really yummy words!!

And, one of my best friends, Jessica, merely commented that we have the same brain, which, I can only assume, means that she would have picked the same words. WOOHOO!!

My grandfather, z"l, had a favorite word that, as children, he loved to teach us and quiz us on the spelling:
SYZYGY

**And, 10 points will go anyone who can define it!!!**


Last, but not least, I asked my mom what words she likes, and her favorite words are not actally real words, but, rather, some words that she made up (gives you a little insight into my childhood, I'm sure):
Weirditude (a strange characteristic that a person might have, as in, "Well, reading magazines from back to front is just one of my weirditudes"), and,
Furchee (a piece of lint, as in, "Ooh - let me get that furchee off of your new sweater")

She also wanted me to mention how much she loves the word, and the concept (especially when it comes to food): texture

Thanks for helping out! Can't wait to hear other fun words that you all enjoy!

Hope you had a fun July 4th!

These are a few of my favorite.... words....

I've been actively compiling a list of my most favorite words. You know what I mean - the kind of words that are so fun to say, that become alive in your mouth and nearly take on an existence of their own. And some of them are just really exciting to put into use. So, here's my current list, in no particular order (and, of course, you just have to let me know what you think is missing).

- doppelganger
- poppycock
- incognito
- artisanal
- myriad
- lackadaisical
- exegetical
- pomposity
- transmigration
- tenderizer
- paradigmatic
- pulchritude

Well, that's what I've got for now. What should I add?

Top Five Break-Up Songs

As you know, I am a bit of a pop culture fiend (haha - I just accidentally typed poop culture - that is HILARIOUS!!). Anyway, I've been pondering the way in which we rely on music to convey our moods in ways that we often cannot. So, this is, perhaps, the first in a series of lists of themed countdowns. Totally my humble opinion, and you can, of course, feel free to disagree.

1. I Never Really Loved You Anyway..... The Corrs
2. All You Want...... Dido
3. Stronger...... Britney Spears
4. Fighter....... Christina Aguilera
5. Every Rose Has its Thorn...... Poison


There are probably songs I am totally forgetting, so I am counting on all y'all to help me out here. Let the lists begin!