Over the last weeks, many people I've spoken with have reported how they are suffering from insomnia, anxiety, depression or feelings of gloom. After the more recent bomb threats against dozens of Jewish community centers across the nation, numerous local Jewish professionals are also experiencing increased fear. I've seen people spontaneously tear up or outright cry.
D'var from Friday, January 27th - Rabbi David Kosak. Recorded and edited by Ed Kraus..
The year was 1919 when the great Irish poet, William Butler Yeats, wrote his searing poem entitled The Second Coming. World War One had torn apart the European continent and the Irish were caught in their own nationalist struggles. Modernity's churn was pulling apart familiar patterns and social structures, and people felt the world was coming undone.
It feels like the world has stopped for a moment and that we are stuck in between places. I've been stuck in bed this past week with a rather virulent cold, and that's made this a personal period of quiet for me. But it's hardly just my experience.
I recently reconnected with an old friend from my New Mexico years. We spoke of old times, and he reminded me of San Geronimo's Day. This annual feast is an amalgam of Catholic and native customs. It is also one of the rare occasions when outsiders are permitted to witness some of the pueblo's religious practices, including a bare foot sprint that is part race and part dance.
I try not to allow myself snark. It's a lovely, seductive and ultimately diminishing emotion by which you make yourself feel better than others, if only in some small way. Most of us engage in snark at moments. Some of us get caught thinking about the world in this way a great deal of the time. It would be easy to dismiss the quality of snark as either, "that's how people are," or "well that's not a particularly attractive personality trait."
Last night, we were able to attend Cirque Du Soleil's Toruk. A friend had extra tickets from work that were going unused because of the inclement weather. This particular show was visually stunning, and is based on James Cameron's blockbuster movie, Avatar, an equally stunning visual extravaganza.
