So, as you may or may not know, I have been accepted into graduate school! Yay :) but more exciting than just knowing I have somewhere to go, is being accepted into my top choice. I have accepted their offer of admission and will be attending Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion beginning this summer. The three year program beings in Israel for a year and finishes the final two in New York. I am so incredibly excited to begin this new journey. If you have been reading my blog, you know that Jewish education is a huge priority for me; almost everything I do relates in some way to Jewish education. So to be able to take this next step and earn a masters degree in the field I love is just amazing. 

One of the aspects of HUC that I love is the community. I was able to go to the institute for an open house in October and experienced what the community looks like. We went to Thursday morning services where the Torah is read. The tunes were familiar, everyone was participating and a rabbinical student gave a d'var, a short speech about the current week's Torah portion. This is a requirement of the fourth year rabbinical students, to practice sermonizing in front of a group that is supportive and critical at the same time. After shacharit, the school went down to the social hall for brunch and a discussion of the D'var. His teachers critiqued and congratulated, his peers questioned and commented, and everyone was supportive. It was a really nice experience and you could just feel the connection between everyone, something that's not really possible at a school with 45,000 undergrads. 

Something else that I am really looking forward to, and one of the reasons this school was at the top of my list is the year in Israel. I have been to Israel several times before, mostly with family or friends for two week tours of the small country. But this time, I will be able to study abroad for a whole year. Studying abroad has been something I've wanted to do since I arrived at Penn State but always felt that the cost was a major inhibition. But now, since it is part of the program, I have the opportunity to study abroad in a country I love. 

But with this amazing opportunity comes a few big stresses. Mainly obtaining a visa and an apartment. The visa shouldn't be much of a problem, mostly just time consuming. But apartment hunting across the ocean is very daunting. The HUC website has a few helpful suggestions, but there are many decisions that need to be made, and leases that need to be signed before I even step foot in the country. So now that the initial excitement has faded (only slightly) I can start to being the administrative tasks of moving to Israel for the year. Wish me luck! 

This year's THON was different from years past. My freshman and sophomore years I was a member of an OPP committee, meeting once a week throughout the entire year. THON was constantly on my radar. Last year, two of my best friends were dancing for Hillel Benefitting THON, and I spent the majority of THON weekend in the BJC, only going home to sleep during the pep rally. This year, I was not on a committee nor did I feel the need to stay and support our org's dancers all weekend long. My sister came up for THON, and I wanted to give her the very best experience. I tried to warn her that we would be standing for more than 24 hours this weekend--and she seemed okay with it on the phone, but I knew in the back of my mind that she would not last that long. 
Our org needed to move to the upper bowl early Sunday morning because there was just not enough space where we were standing. I really didn't want to go up into the nosebleeds and decided to stay in the lower bowl with my sister. She was getting exhausted, the one friend who decided to stay with us had gone home, and I was starting to feel nauseous. So we left. With about seven more hours to go until the end of THON 2013. And on some level, I'm really glad we went home; I was not feeling well and my body really couldn't stand any more and my sister was exhausted and bored. However, this was my last THON as a student and I wish that I had stayed until the end. Maybe if we had moved upstairs and had the company of my org I could have stood the weekend, but I don't know. 

THON is an impressive organization with the amount it can accomplish in a single year. However, the dedication it requires from its volunteers is quite astounding. There's a joke that some of the overalls "major in THON," focusing all of their attention to working for this one weekend. Some have to stay on for an extra semester just to complete their schoolwork because they took time off for THON. The GREEK pledges who have to stand in the stands during "shifts" just to hold seats for the upperclassmen who are coming back for specific events. The independent dancer wannabes who work all year canning and fundraising just to be entered into a lottery to dance and not get selected. The people who stand in line for hours trying to get into the BJC, only to be angry when the R&R captain turns them away because the BJC is at capacity. 

But then you meet kids in the Four Diamonds Families and you get reminded that this event is not about any Penn Staters, it is about these families and making sure they don't have to worry about anything other than taking care of their sick child. The focus of this event shouldn't be the total. While it is a very impressive number and the orgs who raise over half a million dollars in a single year should be proud of themselves, it is the families who need our focus. All of the statuses on facebook that say "I have 12.3 million reasons why my school is better than yours" have the wrong focus. This event should not be about the money. It is about and for the kids. I must commend the Daily Collegian for not putting the total on the front page, but rather a Four Diamonds Child (Hillel's THON child to be exact), because this is really the purpose of this weekend--making these kids feel like kids again. 

In his blog this week, Steven discussed the different values administrators at Penn State have for how excellence can be achieved in the next few years. Dr. Burlingame talked about co-curricular activities and how what we learn in the classroom is just as important as what we learn in extra-curricular activities. Dr. Foley wants people to expect more, to not settle for what is, and strive to make something better. It is written as if these two perspectives are exclusive--if we focus on the importance of co-curricular activities, we can't expect more in the future. Maybe this was just the way I read these messages, but I feel like they are both incredibly important. Balance, which is basically what Dr. Burlingame is talking about is important in any field. If everyone focused solely on one thing--THON, schoolwork, writing, clubs, cooking, etc, our lives would be very boring and uninteresting. By emphasizing the value of extra-curricular work, students are more well-rounded individuals. Additionally, by expecting more from everyone, there is a sense of evolution--things can always get better. Students should strive to make their experiences the very best they can be, by working to improve the situations they are in and by becoming involved in a well-rounded set of activities. 

Felix spent his blog discussing his new adventure into the world of tutoring. He is working for a tutoring center teaching students English as a Foreign Language. He got interested through his work in the applied linguistics department. Finding the right balance between teaching so that your student understands how to write a sentence and teaching so that they understand every detail of the construction and meaning of that sentence is a hard balance to find. As a tutor, I can appreciate how much Felix wants his students to know and understand as much as possible, especially because they will only be working together for a short period of time. However, his objective isn't to teach them everything, his goals are to improve the English skills of his tutors, and overwhelming them with minute details can derail any progress that potentially could have been made. When I was tutoring adult learners last semester for my ENGL 202H class, one of the first things I did with my students was clearly establish the learning objectives for this session--what did they want to do? I had to have some idea of what was reasonable to accomplish in a given setting, but I wanted the work we were doing to be something the learner wanted to work on. That way, everyone wins. 

Recently, I posed the question, are we responsible for the actions of our parents? in relation to a promotional project I'm doing for the show Hitler's Daughter that's coming to Penn State in March. I thought I would use this blog to explore this question myself. 
My immediate gut reaction is no, we are not responsible. They are their own people, perfectly capable for making their own decisions. Yet, as I think about it more, watch TV, talk to friends, more and more situations come up where children take responsibility for their parents. In one show, there is a character whose father is the town drunk. And whenever the father gets drunk, the son pays for the father's debts and tries to keep his dad out of trouble or from jumping off of a roof. He is responsible, or at least he feels responsible, for his father. 

I picture the nursing home. If your mom does not like the orderly that takes care of her and is verbally abusive, the nursing home calls you to either come deal with her or take her out of that facility. You then become responsible for your parents because of their actions. 

When we are growing up, our parents do everything for us. They hold us, clothe us, feed us, house us, bathe us, love us. They are our everything. And as we grow up, we gain our independence and take care of ourselves. And then we become the parents, responsible for a new life. But when our parents get old and can no longer take care of themselves, isn't it our responsibility to take care of them, the same way they did for us when we were incapable? 

In many organizations the boss is responsible for whatever their employees do. The employees, including the boss, represent their organization. If the boss goes out one night and gets beyond wasted, posting pictures to facebook in his drunken sloppiness and tweeting about how much his employees annoy him, he, while representing the company, makes his employees responsible for his actions.  

In some of the responses I've received from students around campus, they mention that parents and children are family, responsible for each other no matter what. In other, people say it is the child's responsibility to try and help the parents out of a sticky situation. In others, parents are on their own, capable for taking care of themselves. A few have claimed that it depends on the situation. One person mentioned that you can say whatever you want, you still have the same name, the same reputation that that name or association carries. 

When our parents do something well, I'm sure we wouldn't even have to think about whether we are connected, of course we would want some of that limelight. But when the situation is trickier, like if our parents do something morally wrong, do our opinions change? I think I would say we are responsible for the actions of our parents, and it is our duty to protect that reputation and make sure that we are taking responsibility for something we can be proud of. 

I'm curious though, what do you think? 

This week, I had the opportunity to go in for an interview at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. I am really excited about this program. I think the interview went well, although this is my first one, so I have nothing with which to compare. The director of the education program remembered me from my visit in October (see this blog). She said she was glad to see me back for an interview. I was very glad to be there. I ran into my aunt sister-in-law, a professor of Jewish History at HUC who said that in the interview, they are looking to see if you are a good candidate, not if you are better than the rest. They take as many students as are qualified for the school, not filling two seats, which calmed my nerves a bit. The interview consisted of the director of the program and three faculty and staff members at HUC. They asked questions, trying to get to know me outside of my essays. At the end, the director said I did a good job, which was exciting. They said I should hear back in a few weeks, so hopefully by spring break I'll have an answer :) 
Below, please enjoy reading my personal statement, explaining the various choices and events that have led me to decide to become a Jewish educator. Enjoy!

During the summers growing up, I attended Union of Reform Judaism's Camp Harlam in the Pocono Mountains, where I fell in love with Judaism on Friday nights at Chapel on the Hill. The community came together in white, the song leaders led everyone in song to welcome in the Sabbath bride, each unit put together a Shabbat service, and the camp sang all our favorites at Friday night song sessions. It was my favorite time of the week. I try to recreate those emotions each week at Kabbalat Shabbat and, each week I fall in love again with Judaism. This is just one of the memories I had growing up that helped to shape my Jewish identity. From camp and Israel to college and Hillel, there have been many Jewish milestones in my life that inspired a love of Judaism in me and compelled me to share with others that same passion for Judaism and Jewish learning that I have developed in my own life.

In 2003, I had the opportunity to go to the Southern Wall of the Temple in Israel for my Bat Mitzvah. Having my Bat Mitzvah in Israel just made it that much more special; I was able to become part of the Jewish community in the presence of my family surrounded by thousands of years of Jewish history. I had a second Bat Mitzvah ceremony in America six month later to celebrate with my extended family and all of my friends. But I spent the whole day remembering and reliving my first ceremony in Israel. For me, reaching this milestone was less about my ability to read Torah and more about my connection to my family, to my Jewish people, and to my Jewish identity.

Since that first trip, I have been lucky enough to travel to Israel four more times. Each trip has been unique but they all have one thing in common: building my connection to Israel. Living so far away from a land that means so much to me is challenging. However, knowing what Israel is really like has been comforting for me, and it has allowed me to share my experiences and knowledge with friends and peers. I am able to advocate on behalf of Israel at school, and I can teach my religious school students about the diversity that exists in Israel. We, as Jews, should stand up for and support the State of Israel because it is our homeland, it unites us as Jews and, as the only democracy in the Middle East, Israel is working to protect its people. We are responsible for making this world a better place, which includes advocating for the continued existence of the State of Israel. Klal Yisrael aravim ze le ze--All of Israel is responsible for one another. "One another" could be interpreted as other Jews, but it could also mean other people. I took this saying to heart in high school, where I began participating in programs focused on Jewish education and teaching. It was during this time that I began shifting my Jewish educational path. Before, I was just absorbing so much information, experiencing emotions, and building my own Jewish identity. But during high school, I started taking the active steps that allowed me to share my knowledge and feelings with people around me, while still developing my Jewish self. I participated in the Jewish Community High School's Isaac Mayer Wise program, trained at the Auerbach Central Agency for Jewish Education to work with special needs children in a religious school setting, and worked as a classroom assistant at my synagogue. This active involvement continued in college, where I knew Judaism would be a very important influence on my collegiate experience.

After a long process of searching, I found my home at Penn State. For me, high school was always about the homework, papers, and classes, and Judaism was supplementary. I went to college to study biochemistry, hoping to work in a lab after graduation. However, as the semesters progressed, I found myself enrolling in more and more Jewish Studies courses because I found them to be compelling and, for the first time, I had the opportunity to really learn about Judaism in an academic setting. By the end of my sophomore year at Penn State, I had to declare my major. This was a very hard decision for me. I was supposed to be a biochemist after graduation, but the courses in which I was enrolled suggested otherwise. At that point, more than half of my schedule was filled with Jewish history, Bible study, and Hebrew, not physics and chemistry labs. Judaism had always been an extracurricular activity for me, but now it was taking center stage in my academic life. Looking back, becoming a Jewish Studies major seems like an obvious decision because of the passion for it I developed over the years, but at the time, I debated with myself for weeks trying to decide if I should transform my academic plan to be one focused around a Jewish career. By allowing myself this personal refocus, I changed my Jewish experience from being just an extracurricular activity; it was now the center of my world. I let my personal passion take over, and I filled almost every day with something related to Judaism. Continuing with the types of involvement with Judaism I had while in high school, I became actively involved in Hillel, and I began teaching at the local synagogue.

For my last term on Penn State Hillel Student Board, I was religious co-chair, responsible for all religious programming at Hillel. One memorable event was Shabbat 101. I spent a few weeks during the summer researching the customs, traditions and meaning of Friday evening prayers for the first Shabbat of the semester. I really enjoyed putting this program together because I got to learn more about what I say every Friday night; it gave me a new way to connect to the prayers, allowing me to have more meaningful kavanah. In addition to learning, I loved sharing this knowledge with others and hearing attendees, in turn, share what they learned with their friends. Hillel's mission is to foster Jewish life on campus, and I was able to accomplish this by facilitating a program where the information I attained inspired students to pass on their newly acquired knowledge about Jewish traditions to their peers.

Another important experience in my journey towards becoming a Jewish educator has been working at Brit Shalom, the synagogue here in State College. One of the most rewarding experiences of this job is watching my kids learn. The experience I had while assisting at my childhood synagogue was to see numerous students, half asleep, attending because their parents made them. But even then, I was different; I spent almost every day of the week at the synagogue, going to classes, working as a classroom assistant, and attending services. I loved learning and sharing my knowledge, and I still do. The greatest part of teaching my fourth graders has been watching them run up to their parents at the end of the day and answering the question, "what did you do today" with an excited answer explaining everything they learned, rather than the typical response of "nothing". I am choosing to be a Jewish educator so that I can help create future generations of Jews who are excited to learn and practice this religion that I find so powerful. I want to help them find personal connections and motivations to continue their studies about and fall in love with Judaism, just like I did.

I feel that Hebrew Union College has exceptional resources that would best prepare me for my future endeavors. From the professors who are not only knowledgeable in their subject matter, but who also take an active role in improving methods of Jewish education to the well-rounded curriculum and year in Israel, the New York School of Education will provide me with the skills needed to become a leader in the field of Jewish education.