summertime

at present i am at camp jorge serving as a faculty member. i am in northern ontario, where the mosquitoes are as large as my watch face, the trees are green, and the food is kosher. for real. i didn't go to overnight camp as a kid, mostly because i think it was not introduced as an option until i moved to mn and by that time i had too much going on inside to want to be far away from home for any serious length of time. this was during middle school, prime going to camp years and looking back this might be one of the few things i would change from my childhood. i think that camp would have helped me in a lot of ways. this is using hindsight as my lens, of course. i don't know that i could have been convinced to go by anyone.

i am fortunate now to be in a position where it is part of my job description to go to camp for a week. after working at shmutz for two summers as faculty, this is my second summer at jorge and i feel like i am in my element as a rabbi and as a human being. everything at camp is so casual! i spent the entire day in sweatpants and flip flops and no one could imagine any different. i worked with a senior girls cabin on a service for next week and we came up with the theme of a circus. the circus will have three rings just like the prayer service has three. it all worked so seamlessly. intellectually i know that camp is not the real world. i will not go home on sunday to anyone serving me three meals a day. is there a way for me to infuse more of my rabbinate with this authentic, chill, creative judaism that i find so relevant? i hope so.

do you have any ideas?

quote from "the toss of a lemon"

"most of what matters in life takes place in our absence: but i seem to have found from somewhere the trick of filling in the gaps in my knowledge..." salman rushdie

wow. this feels so true. thoughts?

i've been no longer an 'ish' for over a year

it is hard to believe it, but may 18th marked one year of being no longer an 'ish'. it seems strange to think that it was basically a year ago that i was packing up and leaving la-la without a clue as to what would lie ahead. i have seen tremendous growth in myself in the last year, i am not sure if that is entirely due to the whole not being an 'ish' or just not being in school or just being another year older, but generally speaking, i like myself. i happened to move to one of the most difficult cities in north america to meet people but that doesn't stop me from trying. i am working more than i thought humanly possible and simultaneously i am attempting to find some semblance of a social life.

one thing that i am profoundly grateful for is the love of my family and friends. when the going has gotten tough, which unfortunately has happened more than i might like, so many people have been just a phone call away. i am very blessed.

in a few weeks i will leave on my first ever grown-up vacation. i can't wait to get away and disconnect from the world a little bit. it will be a really incredible time away and i will come straight back and head to camp which is pretty much my ideal way to head back into work after two weeks in paradise.

one of the things i hope to do is get better at blogging and actually keeping up with whomever reads this and if it is no one, it is still worth it to me to keep writing.

the sun is shining!

after what seems like an eternity, mostly because it was, i am back on the tennis court. all of that knee rehab from the acl injury in 2006 has paid off and i can play as i once did. it is also helpful that i have been working out so much since moving here. it is as though i do not know my own body and am re-learning all of my strokes. this of course is fine and is what should be happening after almost three years off the court.

on another note, i went to the homeland for ordination. it was amazing to think about all that has transpired in the past year, how much i have changed, and what it really means to be a rabbi. it is my intention to constantly be in a process of considering what it means to be a rabbi as i do it for longer and i learn new things about myself, about working with all different types of people, and learning new skills. there is a lot more to say but i am really tired after two hours on the tennis court today.

i'm a little famous'ish'

click here for my article in the canadian jewish news.

i'm kvelling!

check this out!

baruch dayan ha'emet

when a jewish person learns that someone has died this is the prescribed formula to recite. today those words seem wholly inadequate. a dear family friend died last night from the treatments related to his recently diagnosed tongue cancer. this person was in his late 80s and prior to the diagnosis was definitely slowing down though full of life. a significant philanthropist, a generous soul i cannot even imagine what it will be like to go to MN without seeing him.

maybe it is good that there is this phrase to say since right now i don't have the words.

baruch dayan ha'emet.

awesome article about my friend here.