hallmark hall of fame

Last night I watched yet another great Hallmark Hall of Fame movie on CBS. Really, I don't think I've ever seen a Hallmark movie I didn't love. They are such great, touching stories that really make you think about life and relationships.

This one was call "Loving Leah," and it was about a Hassidic Jewish girl whose Rabbi husband dies suddenly at a young age. They had no children together, so by a widely-unpracticed Jewish law, Leah was supposed to marry her husband's brother (as long as he was single). To get around this law, they had to perform a ceremony where Jake (who was not a practicing Jew) basically had to denounce his brother's existence. Jake just could not bring himself to do this, so he and Leah decided they would get married, and live as platonic roommates in D.C. Leah had never been away from the safety of her Brooklyn community, but was eager to take the SATs and go to college, starting a new life for herself. While living together (in separate bedrooms, of course), Leah and Jake surprise themselves by actually falling in love, even though Jake had a girlfriend of over a year. They came from very different lifestyles, and they, along with their families, had to give and take to fit into each other's worlds. Leah stopped wearing a wig to cover her hair. Jake started going to shul. Leah's mother began to accept that even though it wasn't with a very religious man, her daughter had found real love. And everyone lived happily ever after.

The movie was heart-warming and taught a lot about Jewish traditions and beliefs. It reminded us of the importance of family, and how things happen for a reason, even if it's hard to understand that reason right away. Leah and the Rabbi's marriage was set up by a family friend, and while they took care of each other and had a good life, true love just wasn't there. Leah always felt like something was missing from their marriage. When he died, she thought that marriage just wasn't for her, but through an almost forced, fake marriage with Jake, she found the love that was always missing.

The story definitely touched me, and reminded me how much I love Jewish traditions. As I've said in the past, I don't believe all that Judaism teaches, but I do love so many of the rituals and traditions, and the feeling of belonging in a community. While not being preachy or educational, the movie explained many of these traditions, and definitely cast Judaism in a positive light. It also showed that it doesn't matter if you are orthodox or reform, what kind of temple you attend or if you attend at all, if you keep Kosher or mix your meat and dairy, but what matters is how accepting you are of others and your ability to see beyond classifications and just love the one you love.

looking ahead

I can't wait to go to Lehigh next weekend. Really can't wait. It will be the much-anticipated break from the craziness that is event season at work that I need to survive. It will be a good change from the weekends I've had lately, spent mostly sleeping and eating and shopping. It will be amazing to see Katie and Jill, whom I miss terribly. It will be careless and fun. It will be. Period.

However, before that, I have the doctor on Wednesday (ick!) and a big conference I have to work on Friday - not such great things. But even before that, I have Rosh Hashanah, which I am definitely looking forward to. Two and a half days off of work, cooking and eating, and spending time with the family. In keeping with my new-found appreciation and love for Jewish traditions, we're doing a few things this year that we've never done before. Round challah, symbolizing the circle of life, although we're buying, not making this (we have too many other things to cook and bake!). Apples dipped in honey, apple cake, sweet potatoes and carrots (all home made) for a good and sweet year ahead.

I'm also looking forward to going to the Mets game with my dad tomorrow. Not only is it going to be an extra exciting game since it's the last regular-season game at Shea Stadium ever, but it's a very important game that will decide if the Mets are in the playoffs or not. Big game! The stadium is going to be really packed, and I think the atmosphere will be amazing. It should be a really cool and fun day, so I hope the rain holds out for us. Let's go Mets!!

I really have a lot of things to look forward to. How great is that? Sometimes, life is so hectic and crazy, and there are not-so-fun or bad things going on, that you forget the good aspects. While there are certainly things that get me down and I feel bad about lately, I have a lot of wonderful things going on as well. And now is the perfect time to look back on the past year and think about all that has happened, all you've done, all the good and the bad. It's a time to make improvements and changes for the new year. I'll definitely be doing a lot of thinking this week (really, when am I not?), and making some goals and wishes for the year ahead. What will you be doing this Rosh Hashanah?

the tribe

OK, so I don't ever post twice in one day (nevermind within two hours), but I just watched a YouTube video (brought to me by Jewlicious) that I just had to share with whomever is reading this little blog of mine. I think everyone should see this short film, entitled "The Tribe," no matter what your religious background. It's one of those pieces that makes you go "hmm." Enjoy! (And let me know what you think!)

jbloggers unite

I've been inspired to write a "post-conference" post after reading those of Jewlicious, DovBear, Frum Satire and many more. I am so glad I found out about the First International Jewish Bloggers Convention and was able to attend yesterday via live webcast (even if the video feed/sound did cut in and out a lot). I was secretly, or maybe not-so-secretly, listening in from my office at work, so I couldn't really blast the sound, and I definitely missed what several of the panelists had to say. But all in all, I found it to be very interesting, and I met a lot of great JBloggers who were chatting while watching online from all corners of North America. And now I have tons more blogs to check out while I'm procrastinating at work, so that's always a plus.

It was great to see Esther K. of My Urban Kvetch and JDaters Annonymous, since those are two blogs I've actually read before. Also, "ck" of Jewlicious was there and definitely had some great things to say about the Blogosphere and the influence of Jewlicious on young Jewish Americans, which I definitely agreed with. Jewlicious was one of the first "jblogs" I read. All of those who contribute to the blog write very freely, and each have their own unique experiences, opinions and points of view - I enjoy it very much.

I think my favorite speaker of the entire convention was Treppenwitz. I've never checked out his blog before, but now I definitely will. I thought he was a great speaker - definitely captivated the audience - and he had interesting things to say about the blogging community. I thought Frum Satire was also very funny and relatable, which I think was important at a convention reaching people all across the world and of many different backgrounds.

Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, the former Prime Minister of Israel and current Leader of the Opposition, spoke for way too long and got way off topic. I'm still not completely sure why he was there, but then again, I turned off the sound about half-way through his portion of the evening, so maybe he did have some sort of blogging connection in there (Yes, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.)

The last presentation I caught before I had to leave was Zavi Apfelbaum from the Foreign Ministry. I at first had trouble connecting her lecture about brand management to blogging, but by the end, it all made sense to me. While most people don't think of brand management for another other than companies or products, it's also important for countries. And as Jewish Bloggers, it's part of our unofficial job to create an image, or a "brand," that is real, honest and truthful. We need to show people who don't know much about Israel, Israelis or even Jewish people, what it's about. It's not all about the war zone and religion - it's about a culture, tradition, history, community and so much more. When I was in Israel, I have never felt more welcomed, and by complete strangers. The people I met in Israel were helpful, caring, warm and generous. Yes, you do see soldiers everywhere you go. Yes, people do carry weapons around. Yes, war is a constant there. But there is so much more about Israel that many people in other countries don't see - and we jbloggers need to be part of the effort to show the other side of the story.

So after that, I tuned out, and I'm a little disappointed I missed Benji Lovitt of What War Zone? because I think he is very funny and I enjoy the perspective of a non-orthodox American Jew living in Israel. Maybe I'll watch the end of the video another day.

The chatroom discussions were also great, and I think I've made a few new blogging friends through it all. I'll definitely be tuning in to Jacob Da Jew and Lady Light and all the others I traded URLs with. It was nice meeting you all, and I hope we can meet up again soon!

feeling the love

Today is the Jewish holiday of Tu B'av - the day of love. On the Jewish calendar, this lesser-known holiday falls on the 15th day of Av, and is sort of comparable to Valentine's Day. Traditionally, unmarried women would go out dressed all in white and dance in the vineyards. They dressed in white so as to not stand out from each other. Young men were supposed to see them not for their wealth (or lack of it) and not for their outward appearance, but for their complete and overall virtues. Bangitout.com was even holding a White Party in honor of Tu B'av, but was postponed until Monday due to the torrential downpours we had today in New York. In LA, JconnectLA hosted Love Fest to celebrate Tu B'av with music, a book signing and, of course, food.

These are the things I really love about Judaism and Jewish culture/traditions/feelings. I never knew anything about Tu B'av before today, but now that I've been discovering more about my Jewish heritage, I'm finding more and more aspects I like and agree with - who knew? I don't think I'll ever be super-religious, nor do I really want to be, but I don't think that's necessary in order to be connected to the Jewish community. I've been reading a ton of Jewish blogs, and have registered to attend the live webcast of the First International Jewish Bloggers Convention. I feel more connected than ever, but find myself wanting so much more. I don't necessarily feel like I want to go to temple but I want to know about these Jewish holidays, I want to learn Hebrew, I want to know the stories of my ancestors. It's hard, dare-I-say impossible, to go from a very, very reform Jew to a Jewish expert overnight, so I guess I need to take things one step at a time. Reading Jewish blogs such as Jewlicious and Jspot and Jewesses With Attitude are the first step I think. I've been trying to find Hebrew classes to take, but the local community colleges don't have night classes, and local adult education programs don't have Hebrew as a language choice. But that is definitely my next project - maybe I'll buy those Rosetta Stone tapes (mental note: look up Rosetta Stone tomorrow).

Eventually, I'd like to take Bat Mitzvah lessons and finally have my Bat Mitzvah. I think that will definitely help me feel more connected to Judaism and the Jewish community, but I want to wait until I have the time to commit to something like that.

You don't have to be religious to be Jewish. That is the main thing I'm coming to realize. I have always felt less Jewish because I was not religious, but now I don't feel that way at all. Maybe people will disagree, but to me, being Jewish is more about a sense of community, a common background, a common history, a shared upbringing, and less about religious beliefs. I know I feel strongly about these common threads among Jews, and have always enjoyed and cherished the Jewish traditions, values and feelings my parents always taught us. And I don't have to go to temple or be a religious person to feel that way. But I do have to learn more, everyday, in order to pass these traditions and values on and to keep the Jewish-American community alive. I am Jewish, hear me roar!!