Pros and cons of the last two days

GOOD: Funny interaction in my Missionizing class. We were talking about possible motives for missionaries to convert Jews.

Dr. Cook, speaking as a missionary: "What do you do about Jews who hate you because their people have been tortured in the past by Christians? How do you overcome that hurdle?"

Me, whispered to my neighbor: "Bring chocolate."

Without missing a beat, the prof reaches into his pocket, pulls out a packet of Peanut M&M's, and tosses me one. Now that's timing!


BAD: Xander is getting in his two top molars. Cue whining. We feel sorry for him, but still...


GOOD: In my Bible class last week, a classmate mentioned something about the authenticity of the Bible. I said, randomly, "Wow, Jean, I wrote a whole paper on that, and you summarized it in three sentences. I feel stupid." Well, the professor asked me afterwards what paper it was. I said it was from my first year at HUC in Cincinnati, when we spent a lot of time disproving the historicity of the Bible. I wrote a paper on how I could still maintain Torah as a sacred text if it wasn't historically true. He asked to read it. I said sure, so I emailed to him and forgot about it.

Today, he gave it back. Marked up with more comments than the original professor had given. Then he handed me three handwritten pages on his own musings on sacredness of text, as related to my paper. Then he handed me a photocopied academic article, which he said he had referenced in his response and that he thought I might enjoy reading. I LOVE this man. He is so kind, thoughtful, and respectful - he's exactly the reason I came to HUC.


BAD: I have a cold. Sinus infections suck. So do sore throats.


GOOD: So this youth group, bat mitzvah tutoring, and 2nd grader tutoring I started at my pulpit? Going very well. They really like it. But this directly leads to BAD: I have more work to do now. Ugh.


BAD: Probably due to his teething, Xander has been an extremely picky eater this week. So you know what we've done? We ask him if he would like pepper. He makes his chirpy sound for yes. We sprinkle a pretty decent amount of pepper on... peas, chicken, potatoes, most things. And GOOD: he still doesn't eat much, but he eats more than before. Our child is weird.


GOOD: The librarian said I could have a carrel at the library. I would usually like this. Except for the fact that she only said it because, BAD: Some random rabbi from Cleveland is in my library spot! For two days in a row! He's writing a book, he says, and he's covered my table completely with books. I don't think he's planning on moving for at least a week. So I camped out in my carrel today. I was not happy. BAD: The carrel has no window.


And let's end on a GOOD note: each student is required to lead services at school about three times a year. One of my days was yesterday. And I had the kids from JELC (Xander's daycare) come in. Everybody sat on the floor and I led a "Tot Shabbat." It was very cute, and I got some great feedback from the other students and profs who were there. I loved the practice, and the kids were adorable!