MY URBAN KVETCH

PresenTense Group Receives AVI CHAI Fellowship

The AVI CHAI Foundation has announced that it is allocating up to $1.15 million over the course of the next three years to four individuals and one team of two whom it has selected as the first recipients of The AVI CHAI Fellowship. It won't surprise any of you who follow the Jewish innovation beat to learn that the "team of two" is that of Beery and Horwitz--Ariel and Aharon are sharing the fellowship, with the goal of "expanding PresenTense Magazine and the PresenTense Institute for Creative Zionism to form a corps of forward-thinking social and communal pioneers, specially trained for the Information Age."

The other fellows and their projects are:

Dr. Betsy Dolgin Katz, writing a book about the development of adult Jewish learning against the backdrop of contemporary America society; Rabbi Elie Kaunfer, who is working on the expansion of Yeshivat Hadar beyond its present parameters, allowing the institution to have a national and potentially global influence; Rabbi Dov Linzer, who is creating a rabbinical school curriculum for educators, allowing the Orthodox rabbinate to gain enhanced pedagogical training, so that they are better trained to be Day School educators; and Rabbi Menachem Schmidt, who is expanding innovative Jewish programming in the Philadelphia area.

This program constitutes the largest cash award -- $75K per fellow or team per year -- to emerging communal and educational leaders within the North American Jewish community. The award will go towards their proposed activities, the purpose of The AVI CHAI Fellowship is to advance and promote the individual winners as important forces in building a vital American Jewish future built upon these values.

More than 40 nominations were submitted by twenty nominators (18 located in the United States and 2 in Israel) and the seven members of the selection committee met privately over the course of four months. The AVI CHAI Fellowship was kept under wraps and the nominators and selections committee remained anonymous so that the integrity of the nomination and selection process not be compromised. Winners were informed of their achievement in late April.

May in Jerusalem

Greetings from Jerusalem, everyone, where my phone doesn't work yet, typos abound and I'm inexplicably up by 5:30 am. 'Tis a city wherein we discover our great contrasts.

The flight was fine--we were in one of El Al's new planes, with souped up entertainment systems so new that they weren't working for most of the flight. But theoretically, the entertainment featured about eight movies, several TV shows from Israel and the US (24, which I'd never watch on a plane; some Israeli dramas, and an Israeli video music channel that featured a clip in which a woman shacks up with a Muppetish thing: they do seem happy together, though...), and several music channels. Lindsay and I managed to watch "Juno" together before we and the system conked out. Then, once the systems were up again, we went to the "Games" section and played some Tetris against each other on our personal handsets/remotes. (If you've ever flown Virgin Atlantic, you might be familiar with this type of system.) Hopefully, once the kinks are worked out, this system will rule and make life easier, especially for those of us who have trouble sleeping on planes.

The new plane features three sets of three seats in each row across. This means no section of five in the middle, which is great. There's decent legroom underneath the seat if I stretched out my legs straight. But who can sleep like that? Any other position seemed uncomfortable. Had a neck pillow, but it made my neck warm, so I couldn't use it for extended periods of time. Also, cool lighting in the morning made waking up seem very loungey, which was nice. But the food seemed less edible than I'd remembered, which was disappointing, because that El Al breakfast is usually so nice, varied and fresh. Still, a decent flight all told.

A driver picked us up and drove us to Jerusalem...the spiraling ascent to the city was peppered with flags all along the route, and once we were inside the city, smaller flags were posted on people's cars, maintaining the sense of energy and celebration that people undoubtedly felt last week in celebrating the country's 60th. While the weather was a bit overcast yesterday, the air, as always, is wonderful.

We were in Jerusalem all of two hours before we went to dinner (at Caffit, in case you're wondering) and noticed they were serving "Beagle Toast." (Tough luck, Snoopy. Good grief.)

More reports from Jerusalem--and from tomorrow's President's Conference--to come.

Next Post in Jerusalem

The President's Conference is next week, and I'm flying right after Shabbat. Which means that this is my last post from American soil until August. But luckily, they have internets in Israel too, even more accessible than it is here, in some places. So I hope to be back to blogging as early as Sunday night, from holy ground, which means that I will be barefoot when doing said blogging.

But in the interim, I leave you with this poorly filmed, incredibly short segment from a Hebrew sketch comedy program called "Ktzarim" (literally, "shorts"). The program itself is pretty incredible, in that their sketches are terse--no extra drawn-out "this sketch is too long" moments--just pithy hilarity. But it also displays an incredibly uniquely Israeli sense of humor, as you can see from this clip. Shabbat shalom, and l'hitraot!

Pre-Blog: Prospective Band Names

Circa 1998 or so, a list of names for my non-existent band, some inspired by real-life events:

External Sources of Confusion
Let Me In: The Locked Door Experience
Alternate Forms of Cancer
Ready When You Are
Social Commentary
Space for Rent
Frank Lee Scarlett and the Damn-Givers
Cajun Living
Flash Cards
Vicarious Pasta
Carbon-Based Life Forms
Save Before You Quit
A Place LIke Home
Princess Looseleaf
Cornish Game Hens
Vegetarian Leather
Brand New Thesaurus
Radical Templates
Five Stoned Beatniks
Flying Yogurt Lids
Suicidal Fish
Lawyers on the Ocean Floor
Intro to Physics
Diplomatic Acts
No Apparent Reason
Marcy and the Pet Peeves
Pedestrian Audacity
Pet Supremacy
Miscellaneous Expenditures
Severed Digits
Dogs With Names
Anonymous Pets
Grammatically Incorrect

What's your favorite?

How to Celebrate Yom Ha'atzmaut (Even If You're Not in Israel)

People sometimes get weird about celebrating Independence Day for a country in which they do not reside. But the beauty of Israel is that there are lots of ways to celebrate-- gastronomically and culturally--that are easy, fun and tasty, so here are a few I've thought of. Feel free to suggest others! (Will be revised as possible throughout the day.)

Upload a photo series that you think presents the transition between Israel's Memorial Day and Independence Day. (Um, see above.)

Drink Limonana (lemonade mixed with fresh mint)--easier than ever now that Cosi has added it to the menu. But really best to make it yourself.

Eat falafel or shwarma. Duh. Or Israeli salad.

Watch "Ktzarim" or "Eretz Nehederet" on YouTube. You can really get a sense for a culture through its humor, and especially on "Ktzarim" (which literally means "shorts"), the pieces are just the right length, a skill which SNL sometimes forgets.

Do NOT drink Manischewitz. I mean, drink it if you really prefer it for kiddush, but Israel's got a whole host of wineries and varietals to choose from. Check out Yarden, Golan, Galil, Barkan, Tishbi and others--available in supermarkets in Israel (which rocks)--or if you're in Israel, try them out at the annual Jerusalem Wine Festival at the Israel Museum (scheduled for mid-July).

Listen to Galgalatz. Not only will this popular channel on Israeli radio give you a decent understanding of how eclectic the music scene in Israel is, but over Yom Ha'atzmaut, they're doing 60 hours of programming that was programmed by various army units who are currently serving on this national holiday.

Join the Worldwide Live Hatikvah...sing Israel's national anthem at the same time as thousands of others all over the world!

Check out the Israel issue of PresenTense Magazine, now online in all its glory!

Buy a second (or a third!) cell phone. Make sure to take them all with you at all times, and if you sit down to eat with friends, put all your phones in a row (or pile, depending on how many you have) on the table. This shows someone that you are very important, to two, sometimes three sets of separate people. You're complicated. And so's Israel.

Read about all the people using Israel60 as a marketing tool, and inventing things the world never needed, like hummus flavored ice cream. Yuck.

View one of the Israel tribute videos that are running around the internet. (Tasha and Dishka and the Carsitters for Birthright Israel, Yael Naim for Israel 21C et al...)

Check out the one-time-only blogcarnival of posts about Israel @ 60.

Create a Yom Ha'atzmaut playlist on iTunes. Mine's got everything from Hatikvah to hip-hop. Details to come in a separate post...

Read the 60bloggers blog, start to finish...or at least until today. Read about people's journeys and Israel experiences--it's amazing how they all differ.

Have Israel-related contests with your friends. Ask trivia questions, for instance:

Which of the following is not an Israeli snack?
a) Kif-keyf
b) Bamba
c) Kookiot
d) Krembo

Subscribe to Davy1031's channel on YouTube. He regularly posts video clips of Israeli musical artists that include usually at least one set of subtitles (either Hebrew or English, and often both). So catch the lyrics and learn to understand them. The next time you go to a Subliminal concert, how awesome would it be to know all the lyrics to "Toro" and understand them?

Happy Israeli Independence Day, everyone!!

You Hear It First: Israel Independence Day Edition

It's still Yom Hazikaron in New York, but in Israel, after a somber day of remembering the men and women who fell in battle, Israelis have already transitioned into Israeli  Independence Day, a holiday that ushers in a summer of celebration.

Months ago, I posted about the new collaboration between Subliminal and classical Israeli folk band Gevatron. I proudly present the newly YouTubed "Bat Shishim" music video. (How new? I was view #9.)

For a version with Hebrew subtitles, see here. I've been looking for the English translation-- I know I saw it somewhere--but for now, here's my translation of the chorus:

For she is true, and not a symbol, nor a flag, nor a sign.
The past now behind her, she looks forward to what is coming.

Kol Hakavod to Israel on her 60th birthday.

President's Conference Update/Rumor Mill-Updated

So, here's what I heard...

There was supposed to be this "crowned heads of internet" type panel at the President's Conference, featuring Sergey Brin from Google, Sue Decker from Yahoo and Mark Zuckerberg (not Zuckerman, as many of the press releases indicated) from Facebook. Note my use of the term "supposed to be." Rumor has it that Zuckerberg has canceled and will not appear. Speculation is that he's a little uncomfortable with my "Weekly Zuckerberg" category. Or perhaps this is a reflection of the recent migration of several of Google's top people to Facebook? Or more likely, that he's really just too busy. Although I don't see why Sergey can't just pick him up in his private jet on the way east. (UPDATED MAY 7: This release lists Brin and Decker, but not Zuckerberg, so I guess it's official.)

So to recap: Zuckerberg out. But Voight in. Angelina's dad, actor Jon Voight,  is coming to Israel to attend the conference and to pay a solidarity visit to the city of Sderot, as well as welcome Chabad’s Children of Chernobyl’s (CCOC) 80th rescue mission airlifting children from irradiated regions in Ukraine, Belarus and Western Russia.

Seinfeld fans remember the episode about Jon Voight's car...here's Voight on the episode:

This Week/Next Week

This Week...

I'm waking up in New York City, in my studio apartment, and walking the five steps from my bed to my office. Most of the time, this is where I spend my mornings, at least, in front of the computer, pecking out blog posts and columns, sipping coffee I made myself in my black Gevalia coffeemaker ("FREE! with purchase of really expensive coffee"). If I listen to morning news, it's from Galgalatz, so I know which neighborhoods in Israel are experiencing traffic. Very important.

I'm packing, both to vacate the apartment for a subletter and to make sure I have 2.5 months of clothes, Duane Reade supplies, and electric converters. I'm stocking up. I'm writer's blocked on my second to last column because I have so much work to do. The apartment floor, viewed from above, looks like Tetris; oddly shaped suitcases and boxes pushed together to save space as I organize (and apparently earn valuable points).

Next Week...

I'll wake up in Jerusalem, in a 2BR apartment I'll be sharing with a friend, and we'll pack up our computers and head to the German Colony, where we'll sit all day at cafes, letting the bustle and diversity of Jerusalem inspire our work. First we'll attend the President's Conference, even though the press release somehow forgot -- in apparent frenzied enthusiasm over people like Mark Zuckerberg (even if they do sometimes refer to him as Zuckerman), Sergey Brin, Mikhail Gorbachev and George Bush -- to include our names. (Go figure.)

As the summer descends, with its searing Middle Eastern heat, we'll drink cafe hafooch and ice caffe and limonana to cool off, and enjoy giant Israeli breakfasts that keep you full all day. We'll meet 120 Jewish innovators from all over the world, and learn from them as we inspire each other with creativity and passion. We'll meet up with internet friends old and new, and cross the virtual boundary into reality. We'll add friends to our Facebook accounts, and post on their Walls before heading to the Old City, note in pocket, to post on God's Facebook wall.

We won't be the typical American tourists...we'll ask for Hebrew menus in restaurants and insist on ordering in their mother tongue rather than ours. We'll learn confidence in Hebrew, enough to curse or compliment in the holy language. We'll try to walk from the top of Ben Yehudah Street down to Kikar Zion without yelling "Oh, migawd! I can't believe you're here, isn't it AWESOME???" We'll criticize the pizza and the bagels, and wonder why there has to be olives on everything. And there will be shwarma.

We'll welcome the influx of friends and family members, the exiles being ingathered for summer celebration of Israel's 60th; we'll attend family celebrations, and we'll call them "smachot" instead of "simchas." At night we'll appreciate the cooling air that finds Jerusalem, and don light sweaters as we head out to participate in Jerusalem nightlife or head to Tel Aviv for a few days to join the collective heartbeat of that city, which is somehow simultaneously the MidEast sister to both New York and Los Angeles. Drinks and dancing by the Namal, breakfast networking with tech friends, beach days, book launch parties and concerts woo us, and friends and family succeed in luring us to other parts of the New Jersey-sized country, but we come home to Jerusalem.

It's gonna be a big summer.

Yom Hashoah in Jerusalem

Impulse: To Fight, or to Surrender?

I think Crocs are ugly. They seem too lightweight to be able to provide much support. They're made of rubber, which doesn't seem like a good idea for breatheability.

And yet, especially when I'm preparing to go to Israel, the urge comes strong and unexpectedly: "Buy Crocs," it says... "You know you want to." I resist, because of all the aforementioned reasons. But when I get there, everyone has them and everyone loves them. "You should get a pair, they're so comfortable."

But they can't be, can they?

A Shekel for Your Signature: Your Name Helps Hillel

Just got this notice from Hillel: if you sign the ecard for Israel's 60th Birthday, a donor will donate a shekel in your name to Hillel, up to $10,000. The money will go to support Hillel's Israel centers.

So sign the card and earn Hillel a shekel while celebrating Israel's 60th!

Pre-Blogging

Every once in a while I'm cleaning my apartment or stuff at my parents' house, I find a pre-blog. It's a piece of writing that would have been a blog post, but for one fact: I didn't have a blog when I wrote it. These written time capsules sometimes aren't even worth the paper they're typed (or sometimes, handwritten) on. But they usually provide me with some insight into the person I was at a particular time in my life, or occasionally, even make me chuckle. Here's a pre-blog for you, undated, but (based on other references on the same page, not reproduced here because it's private...) likely circa 1999.

People think that working with words all day means a professional life of tedium and drudgery, and a social life inhibited by rules. This is far from the truth; if you check any of my report cards from grammar school, all will tell you that I "get along well with others." Getting along with others just requires submission to the assumption that human beings, by their very nature, are like pendulum swings. They seem to be traveling a set course, but analysis of the situation will yield the discovery. Just because you cannot see the pendulum deviate from its path doesn't mean it isn't moving of its own accord.

Grammar requires rules, sentence structures, a few notable exceptions to the rule. A sentence can be diagrammed, all its vital parts identified and dissected. Not so with people. They don't adhere to rules, they cannot be broken down and categorized with any degree of ease. The god of randomness governs their every movement; just when you think you have them pegged, they go and do something completely out of character.

Gathering in a Friend's Memory (Wed night, midtown NYC)

I don't know if I wrote about it here, but in January, a friend of mine died in an accident in Petra. Dave Burnett was very young, with a promising future ahead of him. In every moment and syllable, he fully embodied his Aussie pride/sense of fun and his passion for his Jewish identity and connection to Israel. Those two parts co-existed in equal force, and served as energy boost to everyone who knew him. I first met him at the ROI Summit in 2006, and then we bonded further on the Leading Up North trip, where I got to know him a bit more personally. (In the photo on the left, taken as we painted a bomb shelter in the north of Israel, Dave's in the middle, and that's me on the right.)

Dave loved a good party, and lived life with unabashed enthusiasm, but was more than a party boy: he was one of those people about whom you can honestly say was a source of creative inspiration and human energy beyond his years to everyone he touched. (An online Facebook tribute group has more than 1200 members.) He was a leader, and a friend, and we miss him.

Dave always brought people together, and loved expanding his circle of friends. So in his memory, some friends are planning a night out tomorrow night at the Australian Bar in midtown New York City (20 West 38 Street, btwn 5th and 6th Avenue). The restaurant will be open and there will be a cash bar. The Facebook invite is here, and everyone's invited--Dave would have totally wanted it that way.

$18 suggested cover donation. All proceeds go to the Dave Burnett Memorial Fund, established through AUJS. If you are unable to join us in person, but wish to make a donation, you can do so through Paypal (www.paypal.com.) Just sign on to the website, indicate that you'd like to send a payment to Gabby Sirner at gsirner@hotmail.com and we will send one large check to the Fund on behalf of the group.

Hoping to see you there.

Happy 4th Birthday, JDatersAnonymous!

It's a milestone, one I forgot to mark with this blog in February (but you can always check out my archives, or the posts from my first month of blogging, here). But with second child, JDatersAnonymous, I'm remembering. For a retrospective, see this post.

Journeys and Transitions: An April Update

As we welcomed spring with taxes, cleaning, holidays and saying things like "I can't believe it's April already!" I had my eye already trained on summertime--not because it brings vacation during an academic year, or because I'm dying to sit on a beach somewhere. (My skin, in case you haven't noticed, does not tan.) But because I've been invited to participate in several special projects this summer that I think could really make an impact, I've had to make summer plans early. And since I already owed some people an update, I thought I'd share with the class.

April and May will mark a major transition for me: I've decided to leave the singles column at the Jewish Week (most recent column, "Spring Cleaning, Relationship-Style," is here--two more to go). This was an extremely difficult decision--to walk away from something that's been so much a part of my life for four years. It's often been a challenge to be the Lorax for single Jews, but it's always been a privilege. It was good for my ego, becoming the most minor of local Jewlebrities, and alternately encouraged and discouraged me to learn that the challenges I faced were also faced by others.

But it was a challenge for me personally, in my dating life, and when I was otherwise "off the clock," to not become the column. I faced the regular charge of trying to share enough personal insights so that the columns were meaningful, without giving too much (of myself or my emotions) away. I ended up watching reruns of late Season Six episodes of "Sex and the City," watching as Carrie grappled with identity within her column and how she insisted that she was her own entity, apart from the context in which people knew her. And I thought, well...sort of.

But after being seduced by the romance of--and moving her life to--Paris, Carrie was pursued by her past, and sucked back into it. A happy ending, most people thought. But I had always resented her ending--she went back to her old life, her old patterns, even the ones she'd identified as dysfunctional. I was not anxious to stand in her fictional, yet clearly uncomfortable shoes. I'm not entirely done with the subject--I'll keep writing about dating and relationships on JDatersAnonymous, and will likely use the experience in a longer, dare-we-say "book-length", venue someday--but the day-to-day focus of my writing will be elsewhere.

But wait...there's more.