A post of a different sort

I recently had the privielge of attending the Lewis Marshall Dinner at JTS.  My Uncle Ira Schuman has been instrumental in organizing and creating The JTS's 21st Century Campus Project.  You can see more about that project here:
https://www.21stcenturycampus.jtsa.edu/

I admire the work of my alma mater and look forward to seeing how this new dorm and library will help improve the feeling of community that I had whilst living in Brush.  There was something very special about living IN the Seminary.  While I did regularly entertain my classmates by coming to class in Na'ot, t-shirts and shorts in the middle of winter, it was inspiring to know that the desk in my study/living room could have been used my generations of students, many of them brilliant minds and scholars.  It was powerful to know that the halls I walked, the kitchen I shared, and the bedroom I slept in had been a part of the Seminary's history for almost a hundred years.  There was something very powerful about sleeping in the building, being able to walk to class without really going outside, living, breathing, the Torah, the Talmud, grabbing a book from the Beit Midrash in the middle of the night, or sitting in the library until it closed.  One loss was that after I married, I had to move out!

With the new campus project, EVERYONE will be able to have that experience.  Their fixtures and furniture will be much more up to date, but they will be able to live and learn in community in a way that I was able to--as well as generations of single students before me.  I am encouraged by the work of JTS and support this endeavor--and my uncle's leadership in it.

Coming into NYC from Newburgh is a schlep, so I made it an afternoon and saw The Band's Visit.  NPR has a great review speaking about how the show demonstrates common ground.
"It suddenly felt really urgent to say that people are people," says Moses. "And when you strip away politics and the sort of rigid tribes that we seem to cling to and belong to, everybody can connect over the need for food and shelter and music and the need for love itself."

The show is not about "the conflict".  It is not about hate or mistrust.  Rather, it is about how in our hearts, as human beings, we all have the same needs.  We need food, clothing, shelter and love.  I would argue we also need faith--belief--hope--however we call it.

By Tdrivas - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66957987

The music was inspiring and a beautiful blend of Middle Eastern styles--Egyptian, Israeli, Lebanese, with a little bit of Broadway flair!  By the time it was done, I felt the desire to get lessons in OUD!

Overall, it was an inspiring and enjoyable show.  I highly recommend it.

A Narrow Bridge

A few years back we had Mama Doni for Hanukkah.  They previewed a couple of their beautiful Jewish Bluegrass songs.  Now singing as Nefesh Mountain, they have made it big.  They are on the Top Ten Country Chart from Rolling Stone! https://www.rollingstone.com/country/lists/best-country-songs-to-hear-now-tyler-farr-tenille-townes-w519353/nefesh-mountain-the-narrow-bridge-w519356

Click here to listen to the beautiful song:

As I'm listening to their incredible entire album now (Beyond the Open Sky), I was especially moved by this song.  Based around Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav's famous statement: The whole world is a narrow bridge, the important thing is not to (make yourself) afraid.

Nefesh Mountain wrote beautiful lyrics and melody to add to the words of Reb Nachman: (Lyrics courtesy of Nefesh Mountain)

The chorus is especially powerful:

Troubled times, troubled times

You don’t ease a worried mind

Troubled times, troubled times

Just stay behind

It’s not far from our homes

This song speaks to our own life journeys. Some days we find ourselves challenged.  Some days we find ourselves overwhelmed, but in the beauty of this music we can lift ourselves up.

I have walked this world on the Narrow Bridge

Kol haolam kulo

From the lowlands so low, to high up on the ridge

Gesher tsar meod

The bridge may FEEL narrow, but our lives are filled with possibilities.  No obstacle is insurmountable.  As I listen to this song, I'm inspired. These last few weeks have been filled with so much tsurris, so many troubles, but this song brings me hope.  We can overcome anything.

All we need to do is find ways of changing our perspectives.  Any problem can seem overwhelming if we look at it from the wrong angle.  If we can step back, if we can recognize the interaction of our emotions and our logic, we can find a new way to tackle them.  This may sound like pop psychology, but it is really ancient wisdom.  The world may be a narrow bridge, but it is a bridge that can take us to our next adventure. It is a bridge to our future.  It is a bridge to love, life, and all the good that is coming!