Sarcasm is said to be a sign of intelligence. Oscar Wilde perhaps said it best. “Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit but the highest form of intelligence.”I find it to both be and not be such a sign. I have a little to go on. It’s an east coast thing, and although I intentionally left New York and so much of what it stands for, there’s this NY part of me that’s always been reluctant to let go of things sardonic.
As the daughter of a CPA, my childhood years were always divided into “tax season” and “not tax season.” From January 1 through April 15, it was known in my house that my mom was going to be focused on work. We would still have dinner as a family, and then she’d sit down at the dining room table, which was her makeshift tax season home office, and start clicking away on the adding machine.
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” border_style=”solid”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” center_content=”no” last=”no” min_height=”” hover_type=”none” link=””][fusion_text] The Chronicle May-June 2017 Edition Click to view the May-June 2017 issue of Neveh Shalom’s Chronicle Please note that the file is large, thank you for your patience. [/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
A couple of days ago I encountered a marvelous commentary on this week’s Torah parshah (reading) of Tazria-Metzora. It was composed by Joy Ladin, who occupies the Gottesman Chair in English at Yeshiva University, America’s flagship Orthodox institute. She is also the only openly out trans professor at YU of whom I am aware.
Living with two young children who go to two different preschools, there’s really no such thing as “cold season” in our house. Someone always has a cold. The kids usually mange to take it in stride; they’re perpetually upbeat and energetic, so it’s rare when they’re not themselves.
Cantor Sharon Grainer, our first cantorial candidate is here! She currently serves in Philadelphia at the venerable Temple BZBI, which can trace its roots back to 1840. Before cantorial school, she studied Yiddish and literature at the University of Toronto, spent a year at the Pardes Institute of Jewish studies in Jerusalem and overall has had an interesting Jewish path.
Recording from Shabbat Services, April 21, 2017 - Rabbi Eve Posen
