I have spent most of my time on this blog thus far discussing what Judaism means to me now. Perhaps it might provide some useful context to say where I came from. Supposedly, in kindergarten I spent a fair bit of time trying to convince my Orthodox Christian friend that Christianity was wrong and my secular Israeli friend that there was a God, but my memory of that time is rather hazy, so I will focus on what emerged in high school and mostly remained until I started to become religious.
I developed a somewhat elaborate historical theory that I will call the "assimilation pump". Basically, I divided the Jewish world into the Orthodox and everyone else, with a necessary role for each. The Orthodox served to preserve the cultural values, traditions, and possibly genetics that foster rigorous study, intellectualism, and creativity, but at the cost of being constricted to a narrow sphere that consumes all their energies. The non-Orthodox would take those benefits and apply them to secular culture at the cost of removing themselves and their descendants from the continuity of the Jewish people. In times of persecution, this would take the form of a few individuals who explicitly reject Judaism and thus gain access to the broader society. In better times, this would take the form of a brief yet brilliant flourishing, which gradually fades as they go further and further from the culture that enabled it and more and more assimilate out (slowed by a steady trickle of ex-Orthodox), until persecution inevitably kicks in again. At that point, the situation reverts to a more bifurcated state, where those who are insufficiently committed to endure persecution or exile for the sake of Judaism would abandon their vestigial ties, speeding up assimilation, whereas those who are sufficiently committed would be mostly Orthodox and some few that would be driven to join the Orthodox for lack of any other viable community. I am not sure how reconcilable this theory is to a theological view of history. Perhaps when we fail to find the correct balance that allows for synergy between productive enterprise in secular areas and a life of Torah and mitzvot, then God turns to this mechanism to allow the Jews to pursue our task. The progressive Jews do the heavy lifting of having an impact on the rest of the world, and the more cloistered forms of Orthodoxy preserve the means by which that impact is accomplished and supply the next round of progressives when these ones assimilate away. Still, rather than accept such a situation and choose which half of the task most appeals, I think that it is incumbent upon us to continue to strive for the balance, even if it is difficult. Torah im derech eretz.
That will do for now. Maybe I will talk about other things I used to think at a later date.
I have been struggling with my sleeping habits, leading to a lot of missed shacharit (morning prayers) and even some missed classes, so I am now trying to follow Rambam in countering an extreme with an extreme. Ideally, my sleep schedule is now 10:30-5:30. If you see me online between those hours, 3:30-10:30 Eastern, tell me to go to sleep.
In other news, I just went to my first wedding since being here, with another to come Monday night. Both strangers, but one is an alumnus and the other a rabbi's son, so the whole yeshiva got invitations. I love weddings.
Also, D&D is up and running and going well. Due to theological concerns of a couple players, we are in a godless world, lending the party cleric a certain aura of mystery. I play a human warlock, raised in an island village run according to a mix of anarcho-socialism and Confucianism that I haven't really thought through. Strict father, many siblings, mother taken by slavers early in my childhood, so I ran away at 14 and lived by my wits until discovering my powers at 17. We also have an elvish cleric and his ninja bodyguard, hailing from a mysterious enclave in distant woods, a halfling swashbuckler with a salty past, a dwarvish fighter with a thick Russian accent who just wants to go home and bury his uncle Piotr (hopefully dwarf corpses, being so stonelike, do not decay?), and a human wizard with all the pompous uselessness that only level one wizards can provide. We were all taken by slavers with some sort of connection to the sinister empire that rules most of the world, and in two sessions have almost managed to meet each other and form a proper party. Feels good to play again. Interestingly, all our spellcasters seem based on some archetype from the Orthodox world -- I'm clearly off the derech, our wizard has a certain whiff of the ba'al teshuva about him, and the cleric seems like a sheltered chassid. Perhaps the greater surprise is that the other characters are not.
Shabbat Shalom!
25 October 2013
11 October 2013
Maran
On Monday, I joined some 800,000 other people in the streets of Jerusalem to pay final respects to Rav Ovadia Yosef. Amazing to see such a crowd, drawing from all kinds of religious Jews, many in tears. Several times, I was literally carried by the mass of people. At one point, I lost my sandal, and could not stop -- let alone turn around -- for almost two blocks, at which point I waited for a lull in the flow and went to retrieve it. I think my favorite part was during one of these crushes when a man next to me, barely able to shift his arms, decides to pour a drink for his rabbi. Anyway, hard to think of anyone more worthy of such an outpouring. Born to in Iraq to a poor grocer, he parlayed a superlative memory, combined with creativity, flexibility, and vision, to become the most respected Sephardi posek (legal decisor) in centuries, and arguably the greatest living scholar of halakha in the world by the end of his life. Astonishingly, he accomplished this by sheer weight of genius despite openly resisting the prevailing zeitgeist of the hareidi world that greater stringency equals greater scholarship and holiness, and often contradicting the established authority of revered past poseks like the Ben Ish Chai. Baruch Dayan Emet (blessed is the true judge).
Much as I respect him, there is much that I am uncomfortable with as well. I do not speak of his controversial, sometimes inflammatory public statements; I don't understand them, but I trust the extensive record of compassion, broad-mindedness, and social responsibility in his legal rulings above sound bites that, however hard to see favorably, are generally taken out of context and easy to misinterpret, and as such I withhold judgment. Instead, I refer to his overall vision for Sephardi renewal. I will digress slightly before explaining.
I recently read Rabbi Dr Haym Soloveitchik's landmark essay, Rupture and Reconstruction, which induced me to consider yet another dialectic that traditional Judaism seeks to balance: mimetic tradition vs textual tradition. This particular tension is very difficult for me to grapple with, as a ba'al teshuva, because I have little access to mimetic tradition, and so must rely very heavily on text and theory. I do know that consideration of popular practice plays a large role in the Talmud and responsa literature. Perhaps greater familiarity will at least let me have a sense of what is ideal, even if I have trouble putting it into personal practice. This is one reason I am inclined to try to marry FFB (frum from birth), to at least have the possibility for a balanced fusion for my children. The question becomes all the more difficult because the balance has shifted in favor of text and theory in almost every sector of Orthodoxy. Almost certainly, we were too far to the other end of the spectrum before that shift; religious education was not very strong except for the elite and there was some degree of sclerosis, and many were driven from traditional practice by these weaknesses. However, it is hard to tell when we overcompensate, how to judge the proper balance. It seems to me that the best hope is a robust pluralism within Orthodoxy that can provide a living experiment, comparing different ways to combine these sources of traditional knowledge and practice. If, on the contrary, every community suddenly elevates textual authority to complete dominance over mimetic learning, traditions are lost, continuity is called into question, and the experiment loses its comparative power. Of course, there are the Conservative Jews, who swung in the other direction, and the Reform, who abandoned both, but neither provides much additional insight into the ideal.
Maran's overarching project through his life was very much a reconstruction of Sephardic Jewry according to this same pattern. True, he sought leniency in the texts rather than chumra after chumra (stringencies), but he emphatically places the Shulchan Aruch over local custom and received tradition in the name of unity and ideological purity. It is a truism that nothing can uproot the Sephardic traditionalism and inherited spirituality. If anything can, I think it might be this project, if his successors have half his brilliance and charisma.
Further reading, if you are interested:
Soloveitchik's essay (long): http://www.lookstein.org/links/orthodoxy.htm
A pair of fascinating articles on this trend in the Dati Leumi (national religious) world: http://kavvanah.wordpress.com/2013/08/21/datlash-hardal-according-to-rav-shagar/
http://tomerpersicoenglish.wordpress.com/2013/10/09/a-point-about-the-fundamental-difference-between-haredi-and-traditional-and-national-religious-judaism/
Life here is good. One week into the new zman, and classes are great. Gemara with Rabbi Hirschfeld, the rosh yeshiva I have praised here several times, is challenging and interesting, learning the laws of objects that are borrowed or entrusted to another's care. Two hours of daily ulpan provide exactly what was missing last zman. New halakha teacher continues the pattern (four now) that halakha rebbeim are among the most dynamic and gregarious people I've met. Looks like a D&D group may be forming tomorrow. I didn't realize that last Shabbat was an out Shabbat, so I ended up joining a couple of guys going to Karlin-Stolin to trawl for a meal. Within moments of entering, we were shepherded to a host, where we ate with about 30 other bochurim from various yeshivot. Very welcoming, the Karliners, but I don't think I could get used to screaming every prayer. Another exciting event: when in Meah Shearim to purchase my gemara for this zman, I happened to run into two friends from Rutgers, including one that I used to learn Daf Yomi with. They have been in Jerusalem the past year, learning, and just happened to be standing on a street corner as I was walking by. Shocking how often these small-world things happen in Jerusalem. One of the things I love about this place.
Shabbat Shalom l'culam!
Much as I respect him, there is much that I am uncomfortable with as well. I do not speak of his controversial, sometimes inflammatory public statements; I don't understand them, but I trust the extensive record of compassion, broad-mindedness, and social responsibility in his legal rulings above sound bites that, however hard to see favorably, are generally taken out of context and easy to misinterpret, and as such I withhold judgment. Instead, I refer to his overall vision for Sephardi renewal. I will digress slightly before explaining.
I recently read Rabbi Dr Haym Soloveitchik's landmark essay, Rupture and Reconstruction, which induced me to consider yet another dialectic that traditional Judaism seeks to balance: mimetic tradition vs textual tradition. This particular tension is very difficult for me to grapple with, as a ba'al teshuva, because I have little access to mimetic tradition, and so must rely very heavily on text and theory. I do know that consideration of popular practice plays a large role in the Talmud and responsa literature. Perhaps greater familiarity will at least let me have a sense of what is ideal, even if I have trouble putting it into personal practice. This is one reason I am inclined to try to marry FFB (frum from birth), to at least have the possibility for a balanced fusion for my children. The question becomes all the more difficult because the balance has shifted in favor of text and theory in almost every sector of Orthodoxy. Almost certainly, we were too far to the other end of the spectrum before that shift; religious education was not very strong except for the elite and there was some degree of sclerosis, and many were driven from traditional practice by these weaknesses. However, it is hard to tell when we overcompensate, how to judge the proper balance. It seems to me that the best hope is a robust pluralism within Orthodoxy that can provide a living experiment, comparing different ways to combine these sources of traditional knowledge and practice. If, on the contrary, every community suddenly elevates textual authority to complete dominance over mimetic learning, traditions are lost, continuity is called into question, and the experiment loses its comparative power. Of course, there are the Conservative Jews, who swung in the other direction, and the Reform, who abandoned both, but neither provides much additional insight into the ideal.
Maran's overarching project through his life was very much a reconstruction of Sephardic Jewry according to this same pattern. True, he sought leniency in the texts rather than chumra after chumra (stringencies), but he emphatically places the Shulchan Aruch over local custom and received tradition in the name of unity and ideological purity. It is a truism that nothing can uproot the Sephardic traditionalism and inherited spirituality. If anything can, I think it might be this project, if his successors have half his brilliance and charisma.
Further reading, if you are interested:
Soloveitchik's essay (long): http://www.lookstein.org/links/orthodoxy.htm
A pair of fascinating articles on this trend in the Dati Leumi (national religious) world: http://kavvanah.wordpress.com/2013/08/21/datlash-hardal-according-to-rav-shagar/
http://tomerpersicoenglish.wordpress.com/2013/10/09/a-point-about-the-fundamental-difference-between-haredi-and-traditional-and-national-religious-judaism/
Life here is good. One week into the new zman, and classes are great. Gemara with Rabbi Hirschfeld, the rosh yeshiva I have praised here several times, is challenging and interesting, learning the laws of objects that are borrowed or entrusted to another's care. Two hours of daily ulpan provide exactly what was missing last zman. New halakha teacher continues the pattern (four now) that halakha rebbeim are among the most dynamic and gregarious people I've met. Looks like a D&D group may be forming tomorrow. I didn't realize that last Shabbat was an out Shabbat, so I ended up joining a couple of guys going to Karlin-Stolin to trawl for a meal. Within moments of entering, we were shepherded to a host, where we ate with about 30 other bochurim from various yeshivot. Very welcoming, the Karliners, but I don't think I could get used to screaming every prayer. Another exciting event: when in Meah Shearim to purchase my gemara for this zman, I happened to run into two friends from Rutgers, including one that I used to learn Daf Yomi with. They have been in Jerusalem the past year, learning, and just happened to be standing on a street corner as I was walking by. Shocking how often these small-world things happen in Jerusalem. One of the things I love about this place.
Shabbat Shalom l'culam!
02 October 2013
Pew Report on American Jewry
http://www.pewforum.org/files/2013/10/jewish-american-survey-full-report.pdf
I know I posted yesterday, but this report just came out, and these things are so much fun. Hence, a few comments as I read:
Page 9- I had heard that intermarriage rates were stable or declining since the 90's, when they were around half. That does not seem to be the case, with rates near 3/5 since 2000.
Page 11- I would like to see the Conservative and Reform denominational switching numbers broken down by age as well. It certainly changes the picture for Orthodoxy (on page 49, will get to it later). Also curious about the "no-denomination" group that still identifies as religious; Pew's spectrum places them right on the border of non-religious, yet the more observant the upbringing, the more likely to end up there.
Page 13- Jews of no religion confuse me. 16% believe God gave Israel to the Jews? Not that I'm complaining...
Page 24- 1.3 million adults with Jewish mothers aren't being included here at all, identifying neither religiously nor culturally. Also, 900,000 of those adults who are counted do not have a Jewish mother. A count of halakhic Jews might give very different answers to many of these questions.
Page 36- Text and chart contradict. Among religious Jews since 2005, is the intermarriage rate 55% or 45%?
Page 40- Completed fertility has its advantages, but I would like to see TFR (total fertility rate) as well. This only tells about the previous generation, and I am skeptical that there are no generational differences in fertility.
Page 43- Interesting to note that hareidim graduate college at the same rate as Christians and are slightly more likely to be well off than Conservative or non-denominational Jews.
Page 49- Weird stuff going on with orthodoxy. Only 1% of 18-29 year old Jews are Modern Orthodox, compared to 3-4% of older Jews? And even the Hareidi share declines in that age bracket? Despite dramatically lower attrition rates for that age bracket than any other? Also, is there any rhyme or reason to the numbers becoming "not Jewish"? I can't think of any historical background that would explain the massive fluctuations. Aside from that anomaly, it looks to me like the phenomenon of becoming non-religious (low level, constant over time) is separate from the phenomenon of whether to remain Orthodox given the decision to be religious. There, not only do we see more retention, but also those who leave have become much more likely to become non-denominational rather than join the progressives. Very interesting.
Page 52- Modern Orthodox have the least pride in being Jewish of any religious group, but the highest level of identification with the Jewish people. Curious.
Page 57- Lots to say here. Women rate every single aspect as more essential than men do, sometimes by large margins. Holocaust remembrance rates surprisingly high, topping every non-Orthodox list except post-graduate degree holders, where it is well within the margin of error to be beat out ethical living. Modern Orthodox are most committed to most of the things I would put on top (ethical life, intellectual curiosity, Jewish community) and close seconds on others (justice/equality, halakha). Also interesting how much observance corresponds to valuing traditional foods. Did not expect that. Isn't "bagels and lox Judaism" a byword for secular/cultural Judaism? Is there some chance that large numbers thought this referred to kashrut, separately from the halakha category? Also surprised that, with big gains for the non-religious and unaffiliated in the younger generation, some of the essentials that took the biggest hits were working for justice/equality and having a sense of humor, while being part of the community and observing halakha were among the most strongly maintained between old and young.
Page 58- Jews of no religion continue to confuse me. 22% say you cannot be Jewish without believing in God?
Page 59- One of the strongest impacts of increasing education on your definition of the bounds of Jewishness: more permissive about belief in God, less permissive about belief in Jesus. Why? I don't know. Also, hareidim are the least tolerant of criticism of Israel? Really?!
Page 63- 2/5 of adult religious Jews do not know the aleph-beit. Problem.
Page 72- Jews of no religion continue to confuse me. 8% consider religion very important in their lives. Also, interesting that Conservative Jews almost exactly match mainline Protestants. Coincidence? I think not.
Page 80- Attendance at non-Jewish services is almost constant across ages and denominations; even the intermarried don't go more often. However, there is one exception: Conservative Jews are half again as likely to go. Weird.
Page 99- Hareidim don't know or don't care about Obama's performance in numbers way beyond any other group. Do the gedolim not get involved in national politics?
Section on people of Jewish background and Jewish affinity is somewhat interesting, but not many surprises there, and very little granularity to the information. Not going to go into it.
Appendices on methodology- I'll trust Pew on this one.
I know I posted yesterday, but this report just came out, and these things are so much fun. Hence, a few comments as I read:
Page 9- I had heard that intermarriage rates were stable or declining since the 90's, when they were around half. That does not seem to be the case, with rates near 3/5 since 2000.
Page 11- I would like to see the Conservative and Reform denominational switching numbers broken down by age as well. It certainly changes the picture for Orthodoxy (on page 49, will get to it later). Also curious about the "no-denomination" group that still identifies as religious; Pew's spectrum places them right on the border of non-religious, yet the more observant the upbringing, the more likely to end up there.
Page 13- Jews of no religion confuse me. 16% believe God gave Israel to the Jews? Not that I'm complaining...
Page 24- 1.3 million adults with Jewish mothers aren't being included here at all, identifying neither religiously nor culturally. Also, 900,000 of those adults who are counted do not have a Jewish mother. A count of halakhic Jews might give very different answers to many of these questions.
Page 36- Text and chart contradict. Among religious Jews since 2005, is the intermarriage rate 55% or 45%?
Page 40- Completed fertility has its advantages, but I would like to see TFR (total fertility rate) as well. This only tells about the previous generation, and I am skeptical that there are no generational differences in fertility.
Page 43- Interesting to note that hareidim graduate college at the same rate as Christians and are slightly more likely to be well off than Conservative or non-denominational Jews.
Page 49- Weird stuff going on with orthodoxy. Only 1% of 18-29 year old Jews are Modern Orthodox, compared to 3-4% of older Jews? And even the Hareidi share declines in that age bracket? Despite dramatically lower attrition rates for that age bracket than any other? Also, is there any rhyme or reason to the numbers becoming "not Jewish"? I can't think of any historical background that would explain the massive fluctuations. Aside from that anomaly, it looks to me like the phenomenon of becoming non-religious (low level, constant over time) is separate from the phenomenon of whether to remain Orthodox given the decision to be religious. There, not only do we see more retention, but also those who leave have become much more likely to become non-denominational rather than join the progressives. Very interesting.
Page 52- Modern Orthodox have the least pride in being Jewish of any religious group, but the highest level of identification with the Jewish people. Curious.
Page 57- Lots to say here. Women rate every single aspect as more essential than men do, sometimes by large margins. Holocaust remembrance rates surprisingly high, topping every non-Orthodox list except post-graduate degree holders, where it is well within the margin of error to be beat out ethical living. Modern Orthodox are most committed to most of the things I would put on top (ethical life, intellectual curiosity, Jewish community) and close seconds on others (justice/equality, halakha). Also interesting how much observance corresponds to valuing traditional foods. Did not expect that. Isn't "bagels and lox Judaism" a byword for secular/cultural Judaism? Is there some chance that large numbers thought this referred to kashrut, separately from the halakha category? Also surprised that, with big gains for the non-religious and unaffiliated in the younger generation, some of the essentials that took the biggest hits were working for justice/equality and having a sense of humor, while being part of the community and observing halakha were among the most strongly maintained between old and young.
Page 58- Jews of no religion continue to confuse me. 22% say you cannot be Jewish without believing in God?
Page 59- One of the strongest impacts of increasing education on your definition of the bounds of Jewishness: more permissive about belief in God, less permissive about belief in Jesus. Why? I don't know. Also, hareidim are the least tolerant of criticism of Israel? Really?!
Page 63- 2/5 of adult religious Jews do not know the aleph-beit. Problem.
Page 72- Jews of no religion continue to confuse me. 8% consider religion very important in their lives. Also, interesting that Conservative Jews almost exactly match mainline Protestants. Coincidence? I think not.
Page 80- Attendance at non-Jewish services is almost constant across ages and denominations; even the intermarried don't go more often. However, there is one exception: Conservative Jews are half again as likely to go. Weird.
Page 99- Hareidim don't know or don't care about Obama's performance in numbers way beyond any other group. Do the gedolim not get involved in national politics?
Section on people of Jewish background and Jewish affinity is somewhat interesting, but not many surprises there, and very little granularity to the information. Not going to go into it.
Appendices on methodology- I'll trust Pew on this one.
01 October 2013
Affordability of yiddishkeit
Many of you are already familiar with these issues, but to briefly summarize in order of increasing difficulty, kosher food is expensive, housing in Orthodox areas is generally expensive, and day school tuition is expensive. As far as I can tell, this is the biggest issue facing the Modern Orthodox community today. Maybe I am thinking about this because I overpaid for my arba minim (lulav and etrog), maybe it is all the yeshiva engagements, maybe parashat bereshit talking about the transition from gan eden where we were completely supported to the outside world where we must work for a living, not sure, but here are the options I see.
Option 1: Go for actuarial exams or a masters in something finance-y. If my wife has a similarly lucrative career, we might be able to scrape by. Pros: provides most flexibility regarding where to live, supporting community rather than being a burden (assuming the right kind of finance...). Cons: probable long hours leave relatively little time for family, learning.
Option 2: Go somewhere with lower real estate costs (Pittsburgh? Rochester? family ties are nice). Work part time (sofer? potter? tutor?) and leave enough time to home-school properly. If land is cheaper than marginal cost of food, get enough land for a serious garden and some chickens, maybe goats. Pros: I like the idea of homeschooling. I think I would be good at it, it would allow lots of time with family, and outcomes are generally superior to conventional schools. Cons: Need a wife comfortable with living in desperate poverty, little flexibility in where to live, less connected to broader community.
Option 3: Aliya. There are many problems with the education system here, but there are some very good schools that are state funded. Salaries are lower and housing is expensive, but people get by. Also, basically free healthcare. Pros: big mitzvah to live here, Hebrew fluency, love the land and culture. Cons: far from family (so far...) and flights are expensive, more polarized Jewish community.
Option 4: England. Day schools heavily subsidized, but the Anglos here make it sound as though they aren't much better for limudei kodesh (religious studies) than afterschool religious school in the States. As above, free healthcare. Pros: Hirschian Yekkish centrist Orthodoxy is appealing, although I hear the community is in flux and may lose that character. Cons: I have some family there, but not much and they may be moving, flights still expensive.
Option 5: Rabbinate. Tuition breaks make could more than make up for poor salary. Pros: get to learn. Cons: mixed feelings about professionalization of the rabbinate, not sure I would be good at pastoral duties.
Option 6: Smaller family and/or public school. Outrageous! Why would I even suggest such a thing?
Anyway, for those who are facing these issues, how are you planning on managing? Also welcome feedback and criticism from all and sundry.
Yeshiva life goes on. My sleep schedule has gotten progressively worse since the holidays ended, need to fix that before zman restarts. Got to do a little leining for the minute second day Simchat Torah minyan. Hakafot (singing and dancing circuits with sifrei Torah) were long, wild, and intense Wednesday night, got progressively less so with each reiteration, but there was something beautiful and intimate about our exhausted attempts Friday morning, and, with a davener/scroll ratio under 3, we each got to hold the scrolls as much as we pleased. I think I carried for four of the seven hakafot, leading one of them. We had a little echo of Simchat Torah today, with a hachnasat Sefer Torah (celebration of completion of a new Torah scroll). More dancing through the streets with the Torah, more hakafot, good times. Unfortunately, I was feeling under the weather, and unable to get as into it as during chag.
I think there was more I wanted to relate, but it eludes me at the moment, and it probably isn't important.
Shalom.
Option 1: Go for actuarial exams or a masters in something finance-y. If my wife has a similarly lucrative career, we might be able to scrape by. Pros: provides most flexibility regarding where to live, supporting community rather than being a burden (assuming the right kind of finance...). Cons: probable long hours leave relatively little time for family, learning.
Option 2: Go somewhere with lower real estate costs (Pittsburgh? Rochester? family ties are nice). Work part time (sofer? potter? tutor?) and leave enough time to home-school properly. If land is cheaper than marginal cost of food, get enough land for a serious garden and some chickens, maybe goats. Pros: I like the idea of homeschooling. I think I would be good at it, it would allow lots of time with family, and outcomes are generally superior to conventional schools. Cons: Need a wife comfortable with living in desperate poverty, little flexibility in where to live, less connected to broader community.
Option 3: Aliya. There are many problems with the education system here, but there are some very good schools that are state funded. Salaries are lower and housing is expensive, but people get by. Also, basically free healthcare. Pros: big mitzvah to live here, Hebrew fluency, love the land and culture. Cons: far from family (so far...) and flights are expensive, more polarized Jewish community.
Option 4: England. Day schools heavily subsidized, but the Anglos here make it sound as though they aren't much better for limudei kodesh (religious studies) than afterschool religious school in the States. As above, free healthcare. Pros: Hirschian Yekkish centrist Orthodoxy is appealing, although I hear the community is in flux and may lose that character. Cons: I have some family there, but not much and they may be moving, flights still expensive.
Option 5: Rabbinate. Tuition breaks make could more than make up for poor salary. Pros: get to learn. Cons: mixed feelings about professionalization of the rabbinate, not sure I would be good at pastoral duties.
Option 6: Smaller family and/or public school. Outrageous! Why would I even suggest such a thing?
Anyway, for those who are facing these issues, how are you planning on managing? Also welcome feedback and criticism from all and sundry.
Yeshiva life goes on. My sleep schedule has gotten progressively worse since the holidays ended, need to fix that before zman restarts. Got to do a little leining for the minute second day Simchat Torah minyan. Hakafot (singing and dancing circuits with sifrei Torah) were long, wild, and intense Wednesday night, got progressively less so with each reiteration, but there was something beautiful and intimate about our exhausted attempts Friday morning, and, with a davener/scroll ratio under 3, we each got to hold the scrolls as much as we pleased. I think I carried for four of the seven hakafot, leading one of them. We had a little echo of Simchat Torah today, with a hachnasat Sefer Torah (celebration of completion of a new Torah scroll). More dancing through the streets with the Torah, more hakafot, good times. Unfortunately, I was feeling under the weather, and unable to get as into it as during chag.
I think there was more I wanted to relate, but it eludes me at the moment, and it probably isn't important.
Shalom.
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