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Friday, October 29th, 2010
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1:07 pm - Welcome to My Journal
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Hello, and welcome to my journal! If you're here through my website, then you're probably interested in my Jewish posts. If so, then please have a look at this list of Torah essays. I've also collected together descriptions of holidays and other Jewish occasions, which include a few wedding descriptions. And if you want my undying love and friendship, read and comment to my fanfic.
Everything on the list is in typical livejournal style; the entries describe the day as I experienced them. Though they contain Torah information, they are not intended as educational tools in the same way the website is. To read about my day-to-day life, just scroll down.
To regular lj-ers: This journal is about 50% friends-locked. I love new lj friends and I usually friend back, though sometimes it takes me a while to realize you're there. I don't have Internet at home, so while I can email posts, I don't get to read my flist as often as I'd like. With that in mind, friend me as you see fit.
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| Thursday, November 12th, 2009
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9:15 am - Jury Summons
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I've been called to jury duty as of Monday, December 7th. Most people are giving me advice on how to "get out of it." Thing is, I don't want to get out of it. I've done that before, you see, when my kids were still little. But I've got schoolagers now, and a job that'll let me go very, very easily.
I want to fulfill my civic duty. I'm hoping it'll even be interesting. So what's the problem? I'm the only wage earner in my family. I simply cannot afford the days off.
A Facebook friend sent me the New York state guidelines about compensation for jury duty. It might actually work out that the court will pay me for the wages I'd be losing. If that works out, it would be the ideal solution. Otherwise, it's going to be a real hardship.
What an irony. I'm one of the few people I know who actually welcomes being called to jury duty. But why now, when it is so darned inconvenient? I wish M. would just find a job already. . .
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| Monday, November 9th, 2009
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8:57 pm - Guess Who's Reading "Rowena's Quill"
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I know I have many things to be pleased about with my b'chor. Baruch Hashem, he got his aliyah on Shabbos, and he said the brachos loud and clear. Better still, he's the member of the Stoliner chaburah now, which are groups of Stoliner men organized by age. They enter at bar mitzvah, and they're expected to keep up with their group for life. It's sort of like a spiritual peer support group. May Hashem help the chaburah to keep him on track. It's very well organized, so I have confidence in the system.
But arguably, I am not quite doing my part. You see, in his spare time, he's reading "Rowena's Quill." I was positively thrilled to get a "Whoah, Mom" for Chapter 3, but he didn't react at all to what I consider my big plot twists in Chapters 14 and 15, which is somewhat disappointing. Perhaps that's because he relates more to my male POV chapters than my female. But he keeps asking for more, and that's the biggest compliment of all.
So yeah, the bar mitzvah outweighs this by far, but as far as I'm concerned, this is an awesome way to share with my son.
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| Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
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9:24 am - BAR MITZVAH!!!!
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It is my greatest pride to announce that on Sunday night, my son became bar mitzvah. As you all know, it's a major milestone in Jewish life, and so far, he's taking it seriously. He's going to minyan regularly, may Hashem help him to continue, and yesterday, when he got a little snooty with me, he immediately took it back. He knows those sins are his now.
Anyway, I'd really love to do a long description of the event, but our financial situation is such that I really have to spend my time and energy on doing whatever earns my family money. Pleasure writing goes on the back burner. But I do value you, my LJ friends, so I wanted to let you know this big thing that's going on in my life.
May Hashem help us all.
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| Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
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4:36 pm - Faith and Fate 7: A New Beginning
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BS"D
Click here for an awesome preview of Rabbi Wein's newest episode in the documentary film series "Faith and Fate," premiering this Sunday in downtown Manhattan. Hope some of you can make it!
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| Sunday, October 18th, 2009
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8:32 pm - Back from a Simcha
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Baruch Hashem, I've just gotten back from Queens where one of my friends made a bar mitzvah. I'm so glad I went. The last bunch of times I've seen this chevra, it was because one of us was sitting shiva. People always say, "We should meet only at simchas," but this was one time when I kept saying it with my whole heart.
BTW, I just spent a little time catching up with some of your journals. I was really happy to read good news from some of you, too, but I can't comment from here, and don't know if I'll have time at work. So hatzlacha rabba on all of your new and expanding ventures!
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| Monday, October 12th, 2009
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10:41 am - Back to Reality
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Well, the chagim are over, and now it's time to get back to the usual routine. I had a very interesting Sukkos, particularly Chol Ha Moed, because I went to Washington DC. I plan to write a long post about our trip, with pictures IY"H, but I need to get a certain little cable before I can upload them. I wish I had something spiritual to say about Shemini Atzeres/Simchas Torah, but I don't. It's not that the holidays weren't spiritual, but my husband and eldest were in Eretz Yisroel, which made holiday proceedings much different than usual. The two youngest and I ate most of the seudos out. Youngest danced in the hakafos while middle did not, but that's fairly typical. The highlight of his chag, like mine, was most decidedly the trip to DC.
Right now, I'm all dressed and made up for work, but my office isn't opening until 1:00 pm. That's disappointing because I need the money. Logically, I should either do one of my freelance jobs or change back into junky clothes and catch up on laundry. As you see, I've opted for the illogical: I'm here on lj and contemplating going to the public library to look at Facebook before I get to work.
Well, that's my post for now. I think I'll go with the freelance option after all. And maybe a load of laundry without changing my own clothes. This stuff has got to get done some time!
Be well and hope to see you all soon!
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| Thursday, October 1st, 2009
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6:30 pm - More Pre-Yom Tov Plugs
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Well, I've got my copy of Hamodia, and it turns out they only mispelled my name in the Table of Contents. On the story itself, it looks fine. And I love the graphic they gave it!
Meanwhile, I wanted to mention two other publications I've appeared in. One is in a new magazine called Ha Chaim. Its subtitle is "The Magazine with real life photos," so I think the publisher's aim is to become the Jewish equivalent of "Life" magazine. It really does have beautiful photos, both current ones and black-and-white ones from earlier times in Jewish history.
My article in Ha Chaim is on health care reform, and working on it was a pleasant change for me. I really like doing journalistic-style articles, and they flow much easier than fiction does. So I'm going to try both styles from now on, may Hashem help me. My one disappointment about the article was that the publisher gave it a disclaimer, which reads: "The views expressed in this article do not represent the view of Ha Chaim Magazine, but are those of the author alone." Actually, I gave direct quotes from Rabbi Yeruchim Silber, VP of Community Affairs at the Metropolitan Jewish Health System, and he's a supporter of the Democratic bill, too. Ah, well. I still enjoyed the writing and research.
The other announcement is that Rabbi Shafier has just published a book on the Torah parshas of the year, which is available at www.theshmuz.com. He wrote me in as editor, which is certainly a feather in my cap, but again, the main thing was in the process. Imagine going through a year's worth of easy-to-read mussar articles on the parshah in the space of a month! It was a complete spiritual uplift, and when I'd finished, Rabbi Shafier gave me a bracha: "May Hashem help that you always work on Torah projects."
Well, my health care article isn't Torah, though I did write from a Jewish angle, and my advertising idea is even less Torah-dig. I just need to support my family in any way I can. But yes, I'm happiest when I can earn my living through Torah. And of all things I'm plugging, my highest recommendation goes to Rabbi Shafier's book. He's got a message to klal Yisroel that every Jew should hear, and luckily, he gives it over in a light yet intellectual style. I loved working on the book, and I'm sure you'll love reading it.
Chag sameach and gmar tov!
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| Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
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9:09 am - Story Plug!
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I hope everyone had an easy fast and has been inscribed for a good year.
I just wanted to announce that I have a story in Hamodia's Succos story supplement. It's called "The Hidden Tzaddik." But they wrote my name wrong - Kreindel Housman. Oh, well. Gam zu l'tova. It's close enough to be recognizable. Hope you'll check it out!
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| Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
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8:02 pm - Advertising in the High Holy Days
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First of all, I want to wish everyone a good, happy, and blessed year. I know I've caught some of you on Facebook, but not everybody.
Now I want to talk about something that may seem like the very antithesis of this season of introspection and repentance: advertising.
As you know, I've been making part of my living writing blurbs for Rabbi Wein for a few years now. I also do the occasional blurb for The Shmuz and Priority-1. My blurbs are more like flap copy than ads, but in the pursuit of much-needed cash for my family, I've been wondering if I can put my writing to work in advertising. And just when I was considering this, I heard a radio show about a new film called "Art and Copy" on that very subject. I was so intrigued, I asked my rabbi if I could go see the film. Because it was for my education and not my entertainment, he said yes. That was staggering in itself. I hadn't been inside a theater since January 1996. But in the middle of the holy month of Elul, I went to Manhattan to see a film.
The film was excellent. Essentially, it was one big ad for the career of advertising, and it was specifically geared toward creative people. I'd have thought advertising people were suit-wearing MBA types. Not so at all. They're a bunch of long-haired, jean-wearing artists! Two of the big ad execs, Rich Silverstein of Goodry, Silverstein, and Partners and Dan Wieden of Wieden and Kennedy especially impressed me when they described the type of environment they try to cultivate in their office so that people really can be free to let their ideas flow. They talked about rejection; they talked about dry spells. These people know what writing is! I was so inspired that on the bus ride home, I began composing a letter to Rich Silverstein to ask if I could come work for him. A little Internet research the next day, though, told me that both he and Dan Wieden are on the west coast.
There were two New York ad execs in the film - George Lois and Mary Wells. George Lois is my total opposite. He was tough and foul-mouthed. His approach to advertising is to push the envelope. The title of one of his books is something like "Getting Away with the Outrageous Idea." And Mary Wells had training in theater and then worked in sales before entering advertising. That's what she said good advertising is: theatrics and sales. Her book is called Why Not Have a Big Life?. But I'm a soft-spoken Hasidic woman who tries to stand for modesty and decency. I'm not looking for a big life, and if I'm out to sell anything, it's Jewish values. But wouldn't it be something if I could convey a Torah message amongst the indecent billboards of Times Square? How's that for a big dream? What a revolution that would be!
Well, guess what? Someone has posted a message of Jewish values in the middle of Times Square. I heard about it on the radio. Each day of the Ten Days of Repentance, ie the period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, an artist (I don't remember who) will put up a question on on of those digital signs above Times Square. The question changes each day, but all ten questions are introspective and in the spirit of this period of the Jewish calendar, like "Have you done anything this year you would rather change?"
The aim of "Art and Copy" seems to be to attract creative people to the ad industry, and the ad execs insist that advertising is about much more than sales. It's about communication to the masses, which is what really what art is. So now that an artist is "advertising" the idea of repentance, perhaps people will "buy." If they do, we might just have a good year ahead of us. May Hashem help it to be so.
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| Thursday, August 6th, 2009
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1:30 pm - Everyone's Got A Story
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| Wednesday, August 5th, 2009
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9:43 pm - Writer's Block: Two Truths and a Lie
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On the lighter side, pick the lie.
1. I spoke to Bill Clinton when he was first running for president.
2. The cat I had in childhood died when I was twenty-five, making her 18+ years old.
3. I can still do all sorts of nifty bicycle tricks.
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7:11 pm - How To Pray
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We're no longer in the three-week period of mourning, but in the seven-week period of comfort, but even still, I've had residual thoughts based on the shmuzin I heard on Tisha B'Av, so I hope you don't mind if I share. As always, I'm hoping these thoughts will inspire someone.
As you'll recall, the shmuzin I heard were from Rabbi Frand and Rabbi Shafier. Together, they made for some interesting juxtapositions. For example, each one told a story about the Chofetz Chaim. Rabbi Frand said that when the Chofetz Chaim would hear thunder, he'd say, "Vos vilst der Tatteh?" (ie "What does our Father want?") Rabbi Shafier said that when he heard the news of goings-on in the world, like earthquakes in places far away from his home in Poland, he would fast. Of course, we're not on his level, but the lessons to take from all this is that G-d is always sending us messages, and since we aren't in a position to interpret them, we can always respond positively with teshuva (repentance) and tefilla (prayer). Rabbi Shafier's message in particular was about tefilla. He was talking about nuclear threat, and though most of us wield no great political sway, we can always pray to Hashem to spare us from the pains of chevlei Moshiach.
Now, I'm in the habit of whispering spontaneous prayers to Hashem throughout the day, not just requests, but thanks, too. Sometimes they're personal - about my kids, my finances, and such - and sometimes they're inspired by what I hear on the news. I prayed for the two kidnapped journalists in North Korea, for example. I also prayed a "thank You" when they were freed. But I must admit, it wasn't my most heartfelt prayer of the day. You see, strong feelings make for the best prayers. In my case, fear is the most conducive. And yesterday, I saw something that hit an old phobic nerve. So really, it was deeper than fear. It was visceral. It was revulsion.
( Details - but no pictures - behind the cut. )
( Dr. Larry Dossey and the efficacy of prayer. )
So that made me feel really good about my prayers that G-d spare the world from disease. I think I'll throw in a few more for world peace. And I hope some of you reading this will join me. The world needs a lot of improvement, and it's in our power to make a difference.
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| Friday, July 31st, 2009
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12:08 pm - Tisha B'Av 5769
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My cleaning lady is doing my kitchen now, so I hope I can do a quick review of the Chofetz Chaim Tisha B'Av shiurim as I do every year. It'll have to be quick; all I've done for Shabbos so far is put up the cholent, and I'm hoping to bake challah.
The video that I saw had Rabbi Ephraim Shapiro first and Rabbi Yissachar Frand second. Rabbi Shapiro's shiur didn't really do it for me. Perhaps it was my caffeine-withdrawal headache. I'm inspired to join the Machsom L'fi between 9 and 10 am that the video was promoted, but I disagreed when he said, "We excel in Torah; why can't we excel in shmiras ha lashon?" Saying that sells the efforts of the Chofetz Chaim Foundation short. They've done tremendous work toward reducing lashon hara amongst klal Yisroel. I think most frum Yidden think twice because of them. We may not be perfect, but most people I talk to work on this mitzvah quite seriously.
The second speaker was Yissachar Frand, and him I can listen to attentively even when I do have a caffeine-withdrawal headache. The first half of the shiur was about tzedaka and chessed, how Yidden should help others who are suffering because of the financial crisis. His speech introduced the Chofetz Chaim Foundation's new effort, a job-networking hotline. This is something I hope to volunteer for, but especially, I hope to benefit from it. After all, Motcha is unemployed.
Rabbi Frand also spoke about the 15th of Av, which is a sort of Yom Tov. The reason for the Yom Tov, he explains, was that the bodies of the massacred people of Beitar were preserved after the murders on the 9th and 10th of Av and they were able to be buried.
"This is a Yom Tov?" he asked. "For this we make a bracha?"
It's an excellent kasha, and he had an answer. After Tisha B'Av, the Yidden thought that our relationship with Hashem was over, that He'd abandoned us completely. But that He preserved the bodies means He was (and is) still with us, even in the exile and in the times of our greatest distress.
( Rabbi Frand Gets Political )
( The Shmuz: How I Ended Tisha B'Av )
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| Friday, July 24th, 2009
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1:58 pm - Tuckered Out at 2:00
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It's 2:00 pm erev Shabbos, I haven't cooked a thing this morning (though I did the chicken last night), and yet here I am on lj. I guess that's to be expected on my first day back. But the main reason I haven't done much is because of this. . .
( Bigo, the rabbit )
Those of you on Facebook have seen her already; it's our pet rabbit, Bigo. In order that her cage shouldn't smell on Shabbos, I cleaned it this morning, and while I was doing that, I let her have a run in the backyard. Then, when it was time to bring her home, she gave me the run. Of course, it's not the first time, but it had to have been the longest time. Imagine running after a rabbit for half an hour. Every time I got close, she sped up. I guess that's part of a rabbit's natural defense mechanism: tire the pursuer out. So now I'm exhausted, but I've gotta go cook. May Hashem help me to get it all done just as He helped me get that rabbit. But more important than these trivial prayers, may He send Moshiach so we can celebrate Tisha B'Av next week instead of mourning on it.
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| Thursday, July 23rd, 2009
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7:16 pm - Oops!
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Looks like I can read, but not comment. Believe me, though, it's great to read what's going on with you all again.
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7:11 pm - I'm BAAAACK!
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It's been three whole years, but I've finally unblocked livejournal, which means I can post from home and read your journals at last. I have not unblocked Facebook, which is my worst Internet addiction, and truth be told, I feel a little "dirty" about this, though I did discuss the permissiblity with my Rov months and months ago. But no long entries for now. It's Thursday night. I've gotta cook l'kavod Shabbos.
(I'll be reading your journals first.)
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| Thursday, July 9th, 2009
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4:29 pm - Rejection Letter and Library Hashgacha
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It’s been a long time since I’ve written here, and to tell you the truth, I miss it. I even renewed my account for another year last week though I’ve never figured out why I can’t email post since all my letters to livejournal get bounced back, too. Gam zu l’tova. I paid just to have all those cute icons.
What motivates me to write at the moment is that I received a rejection letter to one of my stories yesterday. It bothers me, of course, but it was the first go-round for this story, and none of my stories has ever gotten accepted on the first try. So now it’s revision time. May Hashem help me to find the time.
As usual, I want to talk about books. Yesterday for the first time in weeks, I took my kids to the public library. They’re into Bruce Coville and whatever graphic novels they can get their hands on, and of course, I had my own “to read” list in mind as well. As a matter of fact, my list is so long, I wasn’t sure what to choose. So even before getting to the library, I thought about letting Hashem guide me. That happened when I read All For the Boss last year. Motcha had been recommending it for years, but I never got around to it, and then while walking around the library not looking for anything in particular, there it was. (If you haven’t read it, I recommend it, but I liked A Tzaddik in Our Time even more.)
This time, Hashem sent a shaliach, ie a messenger. One of my neighbors was also at the library, holding a copy of “Binah” magazine. I asked to look at it to copy the submissions address. (After one magazine rejects one of my stories, I like to try another as soon as possible. I got that piece of advice from a writing book somewhere.) I explained to her that I’d just had a story rejected, and she said, “Oh! Have you read what Ruchama Feuerman wrote about rejection?” Then she led me to Ruchama’s book, which has been on my “to-read” list pretty much since it came out. I never got around to it, though, partly because I couldn’t find it and partly because I was rejected from that collection also. But it’s high time I got over it, and so I read her introduction, which is probably what motivated me to write this post. Writing in my private journal is good, but it’s easy to fall into subjectivity there. When I’m writing something I expect others to read, I get more into a story-telling mode. And though the story of how my neighbor led me to Ruchama’s book may not be all that interesting – not enough conflict, I suppose – i think you can see that it’s already affecting me. Hashem leads us everywhere, even to the books we read. May we all have the good sense to see His guidance and use it wisely.
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| Thursday, June 25th, 2009
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11:06 am - The Jewish Value of Pleasantness (or lack thereof)
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BS"D
Hi, everyone. For the past bunch of weeks, my project at work as been to pick out sample audio clips of every lecture we have in stock. Naturally, I've got my favorites. Most are inspiring stories, but this one is what I consider the funniest moment in all the lectures. It was during Rabbi Wein's lecture on pleasantness, so I'd title it, "A Demonstration on the Value of Pleasantness (or lack thereof)."
Click on "sample audio" on this page.
BTW, if you like it, please share it with your friends! I'd be thrilled if it went viral. It's definitely funnier than "I like turtles."
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| Tuesday, June 9th, 2009
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4:04 pm - The President's Cairo Speech
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No doubt everyone across the blogosphere has written something about the President’s speech, so I guess I’ll add my little voice into the fray, though I doubt it will be listened to much. I guess I’m feeling especially intimidated and ignored since my voice certainly went unheard at the Shabbos table this week . . . but perhaps that’s for the best.
I guess I’ll start chronologically backward with Shabbos. One of my sisters-in-law made an aufruf for her stepson this Shabbos, which means she had a crowd of guests at her house for the seudah by day. When one guest said, “Obama,” another said, “Don’t even mention his name at the table.” They weren’t even moved by his visit to Buchenwald with Elie Wiesel! That shocked me. I went into Shabbos with Wiesel’s speech echoing in my head. It was especially meaningful to me because I’d just finished editing the transcript of Rabbi Wein’s lecture on Holocaust Denial in which he quotes an interview with Elie Wiesel. I visited his website to look at all the humanitarian works he supports. Go look yourselves; you’re sure to be impressed.
That’s not to say that I agreed with the president’s Cairo speech 100%. Parts of it made me incredibly nervous as a matter of fact. Telling Arabs that violence doesn’t work is just what Israel needs, but by making the comparison to African American slave resistance, was he saying that the Israelis are slave-owners? That’s patently false. And what about his vision for Jerusalem? What happens to the Holy Kotel? Are Jews going to be free to worship as Jews? According to the Jewish newspapers, no expansion means a Jew already living in a place like Beitar, on the border but not over the green line, won’t be allowed to build a sukkah porch onto his apartment. If any government, either American or Israeli, begins to prevent people from keeping mitzvos, the end result cannot be good.
And so I am nervous yet hopeful at the same time. To me, it’s an incredible thing for the president to go to an Arab country and tell them that the Holocaust happened and that is why the U.N. voted the State of Israel into existence 61 years ago. I didn’t say that in front of all the guests, about half of whom were essentially strangers to me, but I did say it to my sisters-in-law, who know me well enough that they won’t write me off for disagreeing with them. And I think that even they agreed with that particular point, vehemently as they may disagree with other aspects of the president’s policies.
As for me, I’m continuing to daven, and I’m also getting a stronger desire to visit Eretz Yisroel again. It’s been 14 years. But more and more, I continue to wonder: should I become more politically active? Can I do it in this odd position I’m in - right-wing in religious practice and left-leaning politically? Or is just taking care of my family quite enough responsibility? May Hashem guide me and the rest of the world to correct actions.
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kressel's journal