Mazeltov Classmates for our 25th!

Here we were, way back in the last century.

And five years later, the ordinands of 1996 at Emanu-El.

Mazal tov to us all, 25 years later. Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa. So many different journeys. Stay safe and well everyone, and hopefully one day we may have our reunion in person!

 

Say it Ain't So, Nigella!

O Nigella, tell me you were joking ... maybe you just binge-watched several series of 'Allo 'Allo ...

I have arrived very late to this meme, and now must feed my procrastination by googling Nigella's response to the mockery I'm sure this clip engendered.

[a few moments later]

Here is a video that covers the general response. And the kitchen goddess herself tweeted:

As for me, I mock not. After all, she was making mashed potatoes!

The Retirement of Fara Williams

 

2016 Williams corner for Arsenal at Meadow Lane

The footballer Fara Williams announced her retirement today. She has one of the great sporting stories. You can get the stats here, but suffice it to know that she was homeless for six years during the early part of her career, and ended up with the most caps ever (172) for England, having played in 3 World Cups and Team GB at the 2012 Olympics.

2015 corner for Liverpool vs Arsenal at Meadow Lane

I was glad when she played for a team I supported, and thank her for the hard work she always put in, as well as the football joy I got from watching the matches. I understand she is now studying for coaching qualifications and doing media work. Wishing her well for this next chapter!

Piglet Retrospective XIII

This post is part of the Piglet Retrospective, but it is also representing comfort food. My grandmother's grandmother came from Minsk, the potato capital of all the Russias. I love potatoes in all shapes and recipes. I believe that potato is probably part of my DNA. And so, when driving through Wyoming, I felt compelled to visit Devils Tower. I did not pay the $10 entry fee to the park, because what I really wanted was this view. And what does it have to do with potatoes? 

Ha-mayvin ya-vin.

Nu, the tower plays a prominent part in Steven Spielberg's movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", an old favourite of mine. So I went to have a look, and Piglet posed.

Remembering Rita Levi Montalcini

Outside Italy, and the scientific world, you may not have heard of Rita Levi Montalcini. I certainly had not until I came here. She was born today, 112 years ago. She was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (jointly with her colleague Stanley Cohen) for discovering the nerve growth factor (NGF), the importance of which may be explained here. She was the first Nobel laureate to live to be 100 years old and actually lived to the age of 103. The main details of her life are recorded here.

In an interview in 2010, Viviana Kasam asked Dr Levi Montalcini what was the greatest satisfaction in her life. She replied, "The relationship with young people ... Being able to pass on what I know, to learn from them, to discover something new. This is what keeps me alive, the daily miracle of my existence."

Auguri Rita!

RIP Walter Mondale

Today we heard the news that Walter Mondale has died in Minneapolis at the age of 93. 

I have posted an image of this poster to recall that my first ever vote as an adult was in 1984, and I voted Mondale/Ferraro. I took that election very seriously, listening to the views of all the candidates on all the issues that were important to me. I chose these candidates, and they suffered one of the greatest losses in the history of Presidential elections. I remember seeing my father's tears after McGovern lost in 1972, but McGovern got 17 electoral votes and Mondale got 13. I think Alf Landon got 8 versus FDR in 1936, but can't find anything worse than that. 

The poster stayed on my bedroom wall at university for the rest of the year. Hey, I am a QPR fan - losing doesn't mean I stop loving you!

My thanks for your service, Vice-President Mondale, and my condolences to all who loved you. May you rest in peace.

 

Piglet Retrospective XII

 

It has been rather a while since we went on a trip to see friends and did anything touristy. It may yet be another while before we can do it again. Meanwhile, as the new James Bond movie prepares to open, the trailers show that they filmed some scenes in the town of Matera. Let's just say that Piglet got there first.

Do You Believe in God?

I've been in a bit of a fog for the past few weeks. No need to discuss why - I'm sure each of us has had much to deal with in our own situations as this time of Covid continues its journey into the unknown. We all seek support and comfort in our own way. One of my go-to responses is reading what my peers are posting on social media. Earlier this week I saw this tweet from my colleague Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg:

Clearly my title and profession suggest that I am likely to be one of those who believe in God (although that question was never asked at any point in the interview process for rabbinical school. Nor was it part of any required course that I took over 5 years of classes. It did come up in one elective class - homiletics - and 40% of the students did not return for the rest of the course, having been challenged on what God was for them). 

I am also aware that many of my friends consider religious beliefs to be at the core of so many problems in the world today. 

TheRaDR captures it in a nutshell - the traditional Western perspective of an "Angry Sky Daddy". Succinctly put. I might add also some kind of Superhero that one expects to swoop down in his cape and save the day when things get out of hand. It is a religious icon that's embedded in our secular culture, and we rarely think about it or question it. We either accept it or reject it.

For me, those are perspectives of a child. We may be the Children of Israel (or possibly the Teenagers of Israel by now), but we need to grow up. One of the big decisions facing us as the fog lifts is:  what are WE going to DO NOW? It is clear in so many ways what has gone wrong, and  if we want post-pandemic life to be any better than the path that led us to this moment, the responsibility is on us to make some changes.

So I will come right out and say it. If God does not exist, then the onus is on us, only on us, for who or what else is there? And if God does exist, and placed us in this world to care for it and each other, then the responsibility is just as clear:  the problems that we have are the consequences of our actions, and we have to fix things. This is the freedom that we received at Pesach, and continue to hold so dear.

My job has never been about persuading anyone regarding the existence of a Deity. I am trying to learn about how relationships work, how to develop strong and healthy ones, and sharing what I've learned with others so that we can DO something positive in our lives. Do you believe in God? None of my business. All I care about is that you find the support and strength, in whichever way works for you, so you can join in the work of tikkun olam. 

Shabbat shalom!

 

A Cagney & Lacey Passover

My love for the tv cop show "Cagney & Lacey" is boundless, so I was rather happy to come across this tweet today of the two actresses celebrating Pesach with a Seder last week.

And then I remembered the time I encountered Al Waxman, who played their boss at the 14th Precinct. I was living and working in Toronto. I'd had a night of insomnia, and had kept going by watching back-to-back-to-back-to-back episodes of the show. I was leading the Torah service in the morning, for a Bar/t Mitzvah. Mr Waxman had an aliyah, and when he was done I congratulated him, "Mazeltov Lieutenant!" I wasn't making a joke about the show, I was so sleep-deprived that I thought I was in it. Such fun.

It's After Noon So Now I'm Serious

According to the QI Elves "No Such Thing as a Fish" podcast, episode 72, there is a museum in North Korea that has a scaled-down replica of the world's largest table.

I have tried to follow the links given and also asked R. Google, but to no avail. Can anyone confirm this to be a fact? 

Grazie.

That Easter Monday

I don't seem to have many photos from this match. Which match would that be? Easter Monday, 31st March 1986. 35 years ago today. QPR 6, Chelsea 0. That day the fan within could not be controlled, and many more pics than usual were a bit out-of-focus. By the 6th goal, I couldn't even take them I was so excited. A great memory. A great day to be an R. Still get a bit hyperbolic about it:

And gentle folk in England now a-bed

Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,

And hold their persons cheap whiles any speaks

That fought with us upon that Easter day.*

* with apologies to W Shakespeare

Piglet Retrospective XI

 

This is one of my all-time favourite Piglet pics. Very An Affair to Remember (or Sleepless in Seattle for the slightly less ancient). This view from the top of the Empire State Building includes the World Trade Center towers, Liberty Island (with a teeny tiny statue) and my beloved Flatiron building amongst others. It evokes a lot of memories.

Keep on Drawing!

 

Drawing is difficult. Well, it feels difficult. To me. Possibly I focus on that too much. Anyway, it's a struggle. One of the great things about our #DrawingTogether group is the support that is given to anyone who dares to share how they feel. I have not yet stopped feeling intimidated by the quality of work so many seem able to produce so quickly. Yet these same artists always find something positive to mention about what I (and everyone else) share onscreen. This is a blessing.

Today's warm-up was 5 minutes to draw the Coronavirus. Quite a few people in the USA seemed hopeful and positive, looking towards the light. I still feel it looms over us, certainly here, so that's what I drew. 

The main exercise was to draw four panels, with 5 minutes for each one. The first was of three new objects with which we have become familiar during the pandemic:

I drew my drawing pencil (gosh it is getting short), with which I entered this group, a mask, and the white hair on my head revealed by the lack of access to a hairdresser (combined with my unwillingness to try and dye it myself which goes back to an incident with some cochineal when I was a teenager).

Then our moderator, the Spanish doctor and cartoonist Monica Lalanda, asked us to bring these three objects to life and name them:

The directions for the next 2 panels were tough for me:  we were to draw our creations interacting with each other. My mind went blank. All I could think was, I cannot do this. I wrote this thought in the chat, I said I couldn't see them interacting. Monica and others encouraged me not to give up. Someone suggested that I should draw them meeting, and I thought ok I will have a go. 

I don't know how Mascherina became the bad one, but that's how she turned out. Wispo appears to have gone to Egypt*. And then Tip found a way:

Not great drawings technically, but important for me because I didn't give up. & Monica made a point of saying to me that when the pandemic is over, I must keep drawing. 

That moment when it seems too hard, and you just want to stop. Or, you can whine for a moment, and then have another go. Thank you for the blessing that is Drawing Together.

* not a Pesach theme but a bad pun (they are in denial. I'll get my coat).

George Segal z"l

Sad to hear that the actor George Segal has died. From A Touch of Class to The Goldbergs, I greatly enjoyed his work in film and on tv. I met him once, when he came to visit my father to arrange his wedding to his second wife, Linda z"l. He sat in the big guest armchair in the front room and was charming and witty and discussed Torah with my dad. May he rest in peace. May all those who mourn him be consoled with the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

Piglet Retrospective X

 

Feeling the need to escape from everything at the moment - too many plates spinning and don't want any of them to smash. The most random thing that came to mind was the Atomium. My mind is now in Belgium. Here is Piglet's view from a birthday bus tour of Brussels. 

Let's Talk About Chametz

This coming week is all about chametz. Technically, this is food with leavening agents that are forbidden during the festival of Pesach. Yeast, and many items that puff up when in contact with water (unless you are Sefardi, or Italian - it's not as complicated as it feels) are removed from your home down to the last crumb you can find. And then, throughout the festival, you eat only permitted foods. No challah for Shabbat, but matzah. No pancakes for breakfast but matzah brei. Sheets of matzah replace lasagne. Balls of matzah cook in broth. And we eat too much of Nigella's flourless chocolate cake. Or Ottolenghi's. Or your grandmother's.

So this is a time for spring-cleaning. But we don't just clean the kitchen, there is also the idea of a spiritual cleansing. How puffed up are our egos? What emotional chametz do we need to discard? 

This week I received a gift. Someone who had been a friend many years ago, but I felt had let me down badly maybe ten years back, they wrote me a brief note. For all these years I held onto my anger. Every time I saw something from them on social media, the feelings would blow up and I'd be mad all over again. What a lot of energy I invested in those feelings. And I couldn't, or wouldn't let them go.

Nu, we met up by chance at a Zoom gathering the other day. The next day they sent me a brief note:  "glad to see you so happy". And on seeing a message from them my anger did not blow up. No, my anger melted away. It's gone, really gone. What a blessing! I feel like some chametz has been removed from my heart. A perfect start to the preparation for Pesach. Thank you.

Wishing good luck to all who will be searching for chametz this week.

How Can it be 25 Years Already?!

 

The beginning of May will mark 25 years since my rabbinic ordination at HUC-JIR. Sadly this year we will not be able to gather in person to celebrate the milestone, but earlier in the week during the CCAR convention c. 20 of us met in a Zoom room to catch up and congratulate each other. It was important to me to hear about the oys and joys of these classmates over the years. I can't wait to be able to celebrate in person, but meanwhile a hearty mazeltov to all my co-DD-ers!

Piglet Retrospective IX

Oscars have been announced. Nominations apparently more diverse than ever before. To be honest, with all cinemas closed here, and without a Disney+ subscription, we have no idea who anyone is or what they were in. O, wait, we did watch "Mank". A very long movie that for some reason reminded us of "Citizen Kane". Except that was shorter. Although, surprisingly, only by 12 minutes. 

Anyway, good luck to everyone. Piglet dreams of a time when once again we may leave town and take tourist pics of famous sights.

Drawing Inspirations

There are some dreams that are just that, a wish for something that will probably never be, but now and then one may procrastinate for a moment and think what if ...? And then there are those that one may actually try to reach, which involve drive and stamina, and practice. 

I've always been a bit lazy, and definitely afraid of doing things badly. When I was little, I wanted to be a cartoonist like Charles Schulz. I decorated my exercise books with wobbly Snoopys and Charlie Browns. I doodled. I doodled on my schoolwork so much that the History teacher suggested I should transfer to the Art department. Or away from the History department. I made cute cards for my friends. I created a character. But although he wandered in and out of my notebooks and diaries, I never explored his world. There are so many excuses. But the fact is, I did not put in the practice. 

A few years ago an ad led me to attend a JW3 Masterclass with Ariel Schrag.  Then a gift from my beloved L of the ticket to an evening with Alison Bechdel (who did not flee from my fangirl affection and had a serious chat with me) led me to Laydeez Do Comics and the wonderful Sarah Lightman. Sarah, who forbade me to buy her book until I could show her six months of drawings done every day, sent me to Graphic Medicine and their weekly Drawing Together online meetings which included, a couple of weeks ago, a class with Lynda Barry. 

The encouragement of these individual people, as well as the kind and enthusiastic members of the Drawing Together group, have given me wings. After Lynda's workshop I wanted to draw. In fact, while I was waiting to be let into the Zoom room, I looked at the holding page and sort of sketched her face (that's the first pic above). And after it was all over, I thought I'd have another go (2nd pic), and then another:

Ok, they probably all look like different people, but it was good practice to draw what I saw and see how that comes out (proportions need a LOT of work). And this next one I was quite pleased about:

There are a couple more, and I guess I will keep drawing Lyndas for a while. I'm using some screenshots from the video as a model. Meanwhile, I want to thank everyone for being so positive. It really helps me to be less afraid and draw more.

PS  Here's a link to Lynda's #DrawingTogetherGM class.

UK Mothers Day 2021

Mothers Day can be tough for many reasons. A friend of mine lost her mother this week, and even before the shiva service she has to face the first of these days as an orphan. One may have, or have had a troubled relationship with one's mother. It's clearly not all breakfast in bed and flowers and chocolates.

This is the second of these days that I have not been able to celebrate my mother. As you may know, she loved Chinese food, and Mothering Sunday was a day when I would take her to lunch in a restaurant of her choice. We are currently under full lockdown again, so I can't even get some rubbish Chinese food here (we haven't yet discovered the best place in town, but we have been trying!) to eat on her behalf. So I am remembering past meals, under the watchful eye of the Dragon Lady of Old Brompton Road, after parking illegally somewhere off Baker Street, at the Red Sun near WLS, takeout from the Stick and Bowl on Ken High Street ... many good memories of quality time spent together.

As for the photo I've posted of a purple Kent House, if you look closely there is a light on in the flat on the second floor. That was where my mother spent so many evenings, watching her favourite tv shows, having a snack or a meal. I can be sad that today I'm not making her eat all the prawn crackers so I won't be tempted, or that light can remind me of the positive memories I have, and thus she will continue to shine on my life. 

Hoping that this day can bring us all something positive.