Pride: a feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired

The past ten days have been filled with pride. As Co-Religious chair for Hillel, I have worked tirelessly with my co-chair to put together High Holiday services here at Penn State. This started in April, after Passover, when we decided we wanted to find a new rabbinical student to lead services for us. We wanted something different, something more musical and that created a better sense of community. We put together a job description and some qualifications we were looking for. The summer was spent interviewing potential candidates and gathering students to participate by reading Torah and haftarah on Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur.

Once school actually began, there was more stress as the students we were working with changed--it was too much work to learn the Torah portion or they didn't have enough time to dedicate to it. All fair responses, just more stress for the two of us. We started working with our rabbinical students, a married couple from Hebrew College in Boston. They were wonderful--she had been leading High Holiday services for many years and had the experience necessary to lead Penn State Hillel--diverse group of students who were away from home for the holidays with a variety of backgrounds and traditions--and he had the musical background we had been hoping for in our services. Working with them was a great experience. They were very organized and willing to jump in when students were confused or too sick to come to services.  

But back to pride. It's exciting to see your hard work pay off. It's thrilling to watch others succeed--the vocal performance major singing Kol Nidre, the almost operatic prayer that begins the evening service for Yom Kippur, for example. And it's really nice to be recognized for your hard work. Not publicly, but when you're having that one on one conversation to thank someone for their hard work and they turn around and tell you congratulations on the wonderful service you helped put together. At the conclusion of Yom Kippur services, I felt prideful. I just accomplished organizing High Holidays for 300+ people. I watched my friends and peers chant Torah, sing Kol Nidre, light candles, read dramatically about the ritual sacrifices of the high priests, and participate in making their own Jewish life away from home. These students came out to services. They could have gone to class. They could have stayed in bed. But they came to services--they chose to participate in a Jewish custom. And that makes me proud. My role as a Hillel board member is to spread Jewish life on campus. And I see that accomplished when students decided to participate in Jewish life in whatever way they choose.

Pride is praying Avinu Malkeinu (Our Father, Our King, a traditional High Holidays song that asks G-d to pardon us and forgive our sins) with many students, and hearing the congregation come together in the crescendo so that the huge room that is the worship hall at the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center just feels like home. 

This past Sunday began the 10 day celebration that is the High Holy Days in the Jewish faith. Our holidays begin the evening before they are typically indicated on a calendar because our days start in the evening. This comes from Genesis where G-d separated the light from the darkness and there was evening and morning a first day. Because evening was mentioned first, our days start in the evening. But that's off topic. 
What I want to describe is the high holidays from a Jewish professionals perspective. This is not necessarily the time for deep contemplation and reflection, like it would be for any lay-service-goer. The days are filled with stress and chaos as the new Jewish year begins. As religious co-chair for the Hillel student board, I was responsible for coordinating all of the student aspects of the high holidays this year. This meant interviewing and hiring the rabbinical students that would be leading our services, working with them to find the places where students could participate, gathering the materials necessary to allow students to be comfortable participating, keeping track of who was saying what when, and passing out service parts the day of the service. This process started in May when my co-chair and I decided we wanted to look for new rabbinical students.

It is always a struggle to fill in all of the holes on the spreadsheet. Students are not comfortable reading Hebrew out loud, they fear they don't have sufficient time to practice, and they don't know how long they will be at the service before they have to leave for class. These problems make it challenging to include students in the service. Yet we didn't want the rabbinical students to be doing everything. Now finished with Rosh Hashana, and half of our responsibilities are complete, things seem to be going well.

Sunday night, we had the pleasure of hearing Dean Brady speak for the sermon, asking us to consider that we can only be G-d-like when we work together and take care of this wonderful gift of creation we have been given. The most complicated part of the evening, was not the service however--it was coordinating dinner for 300+ people. Luckily 300 people paid, but only 250 people showed up. After three years on board, we finally figured out how to smoothly run dinner--the lines weren't very long at the buffet and clean up was done in under a hour!

Monday and Tuesday services were lovely. I loved having two leaders, constantly keeping you engaged in the service. We made a small little community there, blocking off the back half of the worship hall at the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center forced everyone to be close to each other instead of spread out in all corners of the Worship Hall. It was wonderful and a nice change from the services we've had in the past.

I hope you all take some time in the next week and think about the person you want to be in the next year. Think of your struggles and the hardships you've overcome. Think of your accomplishments and what you can do to better your self. Shana tova u'metuka--have a good and sweet new year!

It was a Tuesday. Just like today. I was in 5th grade finishing up my lunch when the principal rushed down the hallway and asked everyone to go to the auditorium. Okay, I thought, guess no recess today. I went and sat with my friends as she explained that the United States had been attacked. Terrorists had flown planes into the World Trade Center. I didn't even know what the WTC was. Terrorists? Here? Attacking us? That only happens in the Middle East at bus stops and pizza parlors. Why here? Why us? 
I didn't get it. I didn't understand. Girls were crying, their parents worked in New York and were justifiably worried. I didn't have connections with New York. I didn't understand. When I went to see my dad at the end of the day, he couldn't refresh the LA Times website fast enough (NY Times was down completely). All we watched at home was the same video of the towers smoking and crumbling to the ground. It was the only thing on the news for days. 

When I got to school the next day, we had homeroom for an hour or so at the beginning of the day (usually it was 15 minutes, max). We sat in a large circle, 45 girls talking about what they were feeling, what confused them, how we could be there for each other. It was a day like September 12, 2001 where I was really grateful to know every single girl in my grade. We were there to support each other and help each other through the hard times ahead. We muddled through the confusion of breaking news, disturbing videos, and emotional parents together. 

An alumna from the school perished in 9/11. My dad taught her. It was hard to watch him go through the grieving process for a student I never knew, from a situation that was still hard for me to comprehend. We now have a memorial scholarship in her name--everyone at my school now knows who Johanna Sigmund is.

One of my friend's birthday is September 11. It never mattered 11 years ago that her birthday was 9/11. Now, it's different. It's still her birthday, but it's hard to wish her a happy birthday without thinking of the events of that Tuesday. The people who perished, the heroes who tried to save them, the country that was forever changed by the actions of a few. Happy Birthday Jen. 

This past week, Steven wrote about his personality using the Myers Briggs Test. He is an ISFJ. When I took the test, (available here), I was described as an ISTJ--an introverted, sensing, thinking, judger. I am slightly more introverted than extroverted, a difference that has decreased since middle school when I first took the test. I attribute this change to my work in leadership positions--in the PLA, on Hillel board and as a Hebrew school teacher. The sensing is opposed to intuition--I don't go with my gut too often, rather I feel out the situation and make decisions only after observing my surroundings. The thinking is the only difference between Steven and myself. Steven spent this portion of his blog describing his emotional reaction when going into class. When I talk about my emotions, I tend to rationalize and think about why I feel the way I feel without actually describing my emotions. I scored 100% as a judger over a perceiver. I prefer the orderly and controlled settings using logic and reason to make my decisions rather than jumping in to a new situation ready for anything. It will be interesting to see how these letters change, if at all, as I continue to grow and mature. 
Felix spent his previous blog discussing the Democratic National Convention. I have to be honest: politics is not my favorite topic of conversation. I am not one who likes to engage in debates and the topic politics always seem to be a good way to get into an argument. I followed the Republican nomination process, and watched Obama's speech at the DNC, but don't really enjoy following every detail. Felix in his blog post however, made some good reflections about Obama's speech. I enjoyed the comments Felix made that focused on the purpose of Obama's speech: "The epic centerpiece however, was not the issues of the time but a vision of democracy and citizenship that reminded everyone of what elections are really all about." The election process, especially in our day and age with the role technology plays, has become very negative--always complaining about what the other candidate does not believe or how his plan is wrong. The purpose of an election, and democracy is to vote for someone--not against his opponent. We shouldn't be voting for the lesser of two evils, rather the person who stands for the people and focuses on making the lives of the constituency better. This election will be one to remember, and I'm excited to see how it unfolds.