Jews Flock to Michelangelo's Moses

Chagall's Hadassah windows were displayed in the Louvre and the Museum of Modern Art prior to being installed in Jerusalem. At MOMA 176,000 visitors came (and paid) to take in the majesty of the widows in a brief six-week period. Alfred Werner highlighted this impressive fact and continued to note:

 

 

Instances of large masses of people participating in an event of artistic importance have always been rare. We have the account of the Renasissance chronicler, Vasari, that a Madonna which Cimabue had painted for a church in Florence, was, "an object of so much admiration to the people that it was carried in solemn procession, with the sounds of trumpets, to the church." The same Giorgio Vasari wrote about the Moses carved by Michelangelo in Rome that "Jews were to be seen every Saturday, hurrying like flights of swallows, men and women, to visit and worship this figure, as though it were something divine."

(See Alfred Werner, "Chagall's Jerusalem Windows," Art Journal 4.21 (Summer 1962), p. 224. He does note on the following page, "We do not know how reliable a historian Vasari is in these two cases.")

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When I Grow Up I Want to Be . . .

At various times Ora has stated that she wants to be a number of things when she grows up. If you ask her now, she responds that she wants to be a cat.

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In general Ora is very indendent and she always wants to do everything herself. Getting dressed, eating, climbing into the car, etc. I think this type of tenacity bordering on stubborness is a good quality, but it becomes a real pain when we're in a rush and we have to wait ten minutes for her to pull her short frame into the car.

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(Click here to register as a bone marrow donor. It's the easiest way to save a child's life.)

Why God Created Saliva

So that when you are standing at the door of the day care with your kid and you realize her face is filthy from breakfast, you have something with which to clean it.

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(Click here to register as a bone marrow donor. It's the easiest way to save a child's life.)

Living a Lie

For the past few summers David has been attending a camp that while is under Orthodox auspices, isn't very strong Jewishly and has many campers from non-religious homes. We had been perfectly content with such a camp, but now that David isn't in yeshivah we decided that he could benefit religiously and socially from being in a camp that is stronger Jewish-wise. We filled out an application for a local right-wing camp that we had heard good things about and waited to hear back from them. And waited. And waited.

I finally called up the office and was informed that they weren't sure what to do with his application because he doesn't attend yeshivah.  There was some (civil) back and forth during the course of which I assured the camp we are shomer shabbos, etc. and that David is on the same level in terms of observance and knowledge as many of the campers who come from our neighborhood. The camp wanted to know why he is in public school. I explained that it was an educational choice we made. I told them I have nothing to hide and suggested they contact David's tutor, our shul rabbi, parents of David's friends who go to the camp, etc. to get more information about us.

In the end David was accepted to the camp. I'm just nervous because while he is generally well behaved in school and camp, I'm sure he will inevitably have a bad day and get into trouble at least once. And I'm sure when that happens the camp will regret having accepted a public school kid. (I also hope he doesn't he doesn't spontaneously sing his favorite Beatles medley.)

I was serious when I told the camp I have nothing to hide. I wasn't going to play that game of lying about this or that or change my behavior so our kid would be accepted. Nonetheless, Kinneret and I alternated between anxiety and anger until we finally heard back from the camp with a positive response. All this anxiety and anger just to get my kid into a camp? I know plenty of people who live like this all year round, and year after year. Their entire anxiety- and anger-filled lives are one big lie, all in order to please the yeshiva, camp, shul, friends, neighbors, in-laws, customers, shadchan, etc. What a terrible way to live.