March 23, 2003
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One of the best stories that Mark tells me about his Mom, Susan, is how she always wanted to publish a newspaper entitled, "The Good News." Not only is this another example of her creative and positive thinking, but it was also an excellent idea! How wonderful it would be to pick up the paper one day and instead of endless stories about the challenging state of the world, there were articles about goodness, honest achievements, compassion, and celebrations. I'm trying my best to maintain a balance of staying responsibly informed yet avoiding the potential saturation that the media offers
When Mark and I were in Italy we were catching up on the news via CNN International. The lead story was about the nine Pennsylvania miners who were rescued after three days underground. There was a lot airtime given to this story and our first response was, "Wow, there must not be much happening in the world right now." But then we started talking about it more and came to the conclusion that hours spent on a rescue story with a happy ending are the best hours CNN could ever broadcast. Good news!! We don't get enough of it.
And so, in the spirit of Susan's vision of a happier world, I share with you my own little version of "The Good News."
At the YMCA the other day, as I was finishing up my post-workout shower, in stormed a whole swim team of 8-year-old girls. Soon the locker room was filled with giggles, screams, and song. At one point they started a tongue twister -- "Sarah sang a happy song" (for those of you who know Hebrew, you can figure out that it's really hard to say). Over and over and over and over. Such joy and innocence in their little voices. I wanted to stay there forever...
As some of you may know, we have just finished up the Purim "season." The celebration is based on the story of Queen Esther, a strong and courageous Jew from the city of Shushan (Persia), who saved the Jewish people and helped goodness triumph over evil. Many scholars don't believe the events recorded in the Scroll of Esther are actual history, but rather paradigms of historic events which have challenged the Jewish people in every era. Purim is always a crazy experience. It is traditional to dress up (often as the characters in the story), go to parties, participate in shpiels (skits), and get drunk! It's true! So you can imagine what a fun time it was here in the last couple of weeks leading up to Purim (don't get any wrong ideas...we weren't drunk every day leading up to Purim :).
The celebrations began with a party for our Ethiopian olim (new immigrant) families. I rented a car to pick up my family, the Ayales. I managed to round almost everyone up in about half an hour (not bad for someone with limited Hebrew), all except 8-year-old Woovenesh. We looked everywhere for her, but her whereabouts were a complete mystery. Finally, the mother suggested we go on without her, so the rest of the kids wouldn't miss the party. I didn't feel great about this, though, as I knew Woovenesh, especially, would be disappointed to miss out. We drove out of the neighborhood, but a few blocks down I pulled over to make sure the seatbelts were secured. After a few minutes of rearranging, just as we were pulling out, we heard a faint and familiar voice -- it was Woovenesh, running her fastest down the street and calling out to us to stop. Perfect timing! Perfect party! Perfect beginning to a wonderful celebration! See below for the link to our website with many new pictures from this party and more.
The Purim madness continued with a party and Megillah (scroll) reading at Hebrew Union College. How wild it was to see our whole community (including the Dean) get into character and let go of traditional roles and standards. It's so interesting that masks and costumes allow us to be a little crazier, a little freer, a little more like ourselves. There's a teaching that connects Purim to Yom Kippur (which loosely translates to "a day like Purim"). On Yom Kippur, we search deep within to discover/evaulate who we really are at the core. And on Purim, when we put on masks and have the chance to "let go," we're actually closer to our true selves, not bound by any societal norms. It's so liberating. Now, many of our friends wanted to know the "deeper meaning" of the costume I wore -- which can be seen on our website -- but I'll just tell you now that we have no big announcements to make :) ...
Many other great things have been happening here --
A Rosh Chodesh (new month) celebration with all the women of our community. Fun! And the same night all the guys got together for a poker game and to speculate about what exactly happens at a women-only gathering (they'll never know...)
The Dean of the Los Angeles HUC campus came to visit, to share information about next year, and to get to know the LA-bound students and families. It's a great group heading off to the City of Angels next year.
Mark and I began a weekly tradition of walking through the Old City on Friday mornings and sitting with a view of the Western Wall while having bagels. We're living 15 minutes from a richly historic place...and it's a great way to start Shabbat preparations.
We spent a wonderful afternoon at The Israel Museum, one of the most frequently visited sites in Jerusalem. Wandering through the sculpture garden and the rest of the Museum brought back very fond memories of walking those same steps with my Grandparents in 1984. The Museum has a fabulous website: http://www.imj.org.il/
And the list goes on...we feel so very fortunate to be here. Yes, good news is important and no, we don't hear enough about it. But we also know that no matter how much we focus on what's positive, there are still difficult things happening in the world to which we owe our attention. I'm not trying to completely tune out the bad, just to let in a little more of the good. I'm devastated about what is happening in Iraq and Kuwait. I pray for a rapid end to this horrible situation, for a quieter, more peaceful time, and for the good news in the lives of all people to be the lead story.
Love,
Rachel Ann
New pictures and stories on our website: https://millers18.tripod.com/recent.html
P.S. Happy Birthday, Joel!!! We're thinking about you here...
