Deityblog

I've been resisting writing more, because I hate recanting the past, and then, you know, life goes on, God willing, and you find yourself even more removed from the situation than you were before. So, in a nutshell:

1) Sulha rocked, especially the intense sicha in the Beit Tfilah on the last day. Wow. You had to be there. And it was just amazing seeing everyone again, and seeing Laura's film from last year. Check it out: www.roadtosulha.com. Follows the stories of Rana and Nevim, people I met last year, and others, encountering the Sulha. Has its ups and downs, but generally very worthwhile. I caught glimpses of myself, and there were two incredible scenes with Casey and Sarit. Casey was interviewed saying how he'd never met his neighbors in the West Bank, living in Bat Ayin all of these years, and how it was a very meaningful experience for him. Sarit, wow. I can't believe they captured this on camera. There was this beautiful moment where it was after lunch, and were in the chader ochel with about four Palestinian guys, and none of us were talking between the groups. Sarit takes a paper cup, and says, "Humans, play with me." And we all played Keep the Cup in the Air for about half an hour. It was great.

2) Long story short, Yaakov and I are the new co-Directors of Development for Bustan, an environmental peace agency based in Nachlaot, that does work with marginalized communities in Israel (specifically Bedouin at the moment). It's an incredible organization headed by a true tzadeket, the one and only Devorah Brous, and we're spectacularly lucky to have this opportunity. Check it out: www.bustan.org.

3) Katrina. That bitch. Up yours, Katrina. No, but seriously. It's been a tremendously difficult couple of weeks. Confusion, anger, and deep, deep sadness. FEMA, Bush, I don't even have the words. Beyond sickening. I'm getting involved in the volunteer effort by helping survivors being housed temporarily at the DC Armory. I would say more, but I'm of the mind at this point thta I'd rather do than say.

4) Eric Singer's daughter died. Her name was Ariel, she was 18. She was hiking in a cave with some friends in Utah, and they couldn't get out, and all drowned. So, so horrible. He's my favorite professor at Goucher, a brilliant loner with a cynical sense of humor and affection for Communism. This is just awful.

5) Shmittens. Adopted two kittens, Sammy Davis Jr. (he's black and Jewish) and Blackbeard. Yaakov and I are both so in love with them, they're already like our kids--almost :-) We have to constantly vacuum and dust to make sure my allergy-prone family can visit, and we have to hide them from the management. So far, so good. They're wonderful, they're keeping us young.