Interdating

So I have to admit, this is the very first blog I have ever written. I'm going to give it a shot and see how it turns out.
Lately I've spent some time thinking about dating specifically interdating. As I overhear the conversations of the girls in my residence halls about how they spent the night partying at a fraternity party and met some really cute boys, I can't help but think about my own dating scene. I don't mean to be superficial, that's not the point of writing these thoughts. It's more the realization that for me, meeting some charming male seems to be no piece of cake.
Since a young age, my parents engrained in me the importance of dating within the Jewish religion with the assumption that I would marry a Jewish man. They never told me I couldn't date a non Jewish man, but there was an unspoken understanding.
When I confront my peers about their opinion about interdating, over and over again I hear both genders say, "I'm not going to marry her, I won't marry him, it's just temporary and for fun." I constantly find myself refuting these statements.
Perhaps my Judaism is such a vast part of my being that to share myself with another human being, that person must have a mutual understanding of my heritage, ancestery, traditions and culture?
During my year in Israel, I vividly remember participating in an educational session about American Jewry. The person leading the discussion asked the 70 participants in the room to raise their hands if they had any non-Jewish relatives. Of the 70 students, there were 2 whose hands were not raised. This statistic shocked me. I sat in disbelief and began to think, how will the Jewish people ever survive if people do not see the importance of dating and marrying within our religion?
I would love to hear what you think...Is interdating different then intermarriage? Does dating always lead to marriage? As university students, where the majority of the population is non Jewish do you see dating as somewhat of a struggle?

Hila David

Memorial Day

This American National Holiday is for the remembrance of those who have fallen in battle protecting the United States. This sparks an interesting set of questions for me. As a student, I am not in the military, and although many of our citizens are currently abroad in many countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan, I don't know anyone who is there. Maybe that says something about me more than most, but it still creates an separation between what is abroad and what is here.

My grandfather served in the Navy during WWII and so I suppose, although I don't know anyone who is currently abroad, I have a certain respect for those who protect their homelands.

This particular day I feel, in a Jewish context can be seen as a beginning of a discussion on memory. What is it to remember? Why do we remember some things and not others?

While I don't have any texts to quote or anything, I have always felt that memories are direct links to the past, either our own personally or the past of the collective. The Jewish people, it appears, have one of the strongest connections to the past. We constantly talk about our ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, Miriam, Esther, Ruth, Daniel, need I go on? (I'm sorry but I have to add Tevye, the great character from Fiddler on the Roof) What is the lesson here?

It seems to me that our constant attention to our past and our ancestry teaches us the importance of following in their footsteps. The courage, intelligence, audacity, and the ability to stand up for what one believes in are all things that we can learn from these ancestors.

So on this day, Memorial Day, I have chosen to think about all the things we can learn from those that only exist in our memories.

What have you learned from someone in your memory? What do you think the importance of remembering is? Are there times to forget things?

Jeremy Markiz

Moses: The Responsible One?

I have been doing some serious thinking. Moses is considered by many to be the single most important character in the Torah. A teacher, leader, a prophet, and a man of great conviction, Moses seems to be a potential role model for us all. I am going to explore, over the course of the next couple weeks, or more, what lessons we can learn from him.

The first lesson is how to take responsibility. Now while Moses isn't perfect and really doesn't always embody responsibility, I feel that he can help teach us its importance.

Moses kills an Egyptian while the Israelites were still in Egypt and he buries him in the sand. This action leads to his eventual fleeing of Egypt. Was running from his problem the responsible thing to do? Probably not. However, with some guidance he does return and resolve the issues he runs from. What we can learn from this? We can learn that our problems and issues don't go away and that we have to face them straight on.

Another example of responsibility that we can learn from Moses' experiences, is that he leads the entirety of the Israelite people through the desert. He guides them, leads them, and takes charge of them. That also shows responsibility.

He also takes responsibility for his actions when his anger takes the best of him. He made a mistake and then he paid for it.

These lessons of leading with others in mind and to take the consequences of our actions in stride are some of the many lessons we can learn from Moses on responsibility.

What other examples are there of Moses' responsibility? Do university students need to be more responsible? Can Judaism teach responsibility?

Jeremy Markiz

The Value of Words

For the past week, I have spent a lot of time thinking about the value of words, both spoken and written.  The spoken word, according to traditional Judaism, is permanent and when you say something it can never be destroyed.  This is one of the reasons why Lashon Hara (Evil tongue or Gossip) is considered such a significant issue.

There is a Hasidic thought that I have heard that says that people only have a certain number of words that they can say before dying.  We don't know how many words that is which is why its so important to watch what we say.

I know for myself, I am a talker.  I enjoy discourse.  And as human beings, we like to gossip.  The question that I have is, how can we speak better?  

I think that an important issue to discuss on how we can speak better, is what should we talk about?  What, as students, should we be talking about?  Of course, I don't believe anyone should force anyone else to say, or not say, anything.  But as people, should we be conscious about what we talk about?

I think that as students we have the opportunity to talk, because of our immersion in the education system, about things that really make a difference: What are we doing here? Why should I study history, science, business, or psychology?  Who am I and what is my place in society?

Sadly, I don't really see that.  I see a waste of words.  I am, without doubt, guilty of this as well, and this is something that I'm working on and encourage others to do the same.  Think about what you say, how you say it, and why you say it.  We have an opportunity to be in a place where people are growing as intellectuals and as people, lets take advantage of that!

With that, what ways would you suggest that we can begin to value words?

Jeremy Markiz

Mother's Day

My mother always said, "Be solution oriented." It became, over the years, something that my family says to each other when we are being difficult or getting in our own way.  I always found this both a comforting thing to say, and in retrospect, very Jewish.

The Jewish People have always been a people who are either getting in their own way or being difficult. (There is a reason why we're the "stiff-necked people")  And yet we are here today, as strong as ever, accomplishing incredible things across the planet.  From leaders in climate change, human rights, and comedy, the Jewish people have become (and maybe always were) the people who were always trying to solve or deal with the issues of society.

As university students, we are always getting in our own way with parties, friends, just sitting around because no one is looking over our shoulders.  This is a perfect opportunity to take all those things and put them in the order that we want them to be so that we can solve our issues, like school work, projects for organizations we are in, and anything else.

It is a very Jewish thing, in my opinion, to move beyond the many things that try and get in our way.  As I said, we're still here aren't we?  

Before we wrap up, I've decided that I'm going to end my posts with a couple of questions that either relate to what I wrote about or just somet hings I was thinking about.  This is because I feel that its more important to ask some good questions than get some good answers.

What's Jewish about trying and enacting positive change?

Why is it that Jews always seem to be out there being "movers and shakers"?

So, with Mother's Day here, I offer you this suggestion: Be solution oriented!  

Jeremy Markiz

3 Ways to Be More Spiritual in Daily Life

I've been thinking of ways to do more spiritual things but still Jewish things. Not just for holidays or Shabbat, but for daily life. I enjoy praying, but these are going to be other things you can do to be more spiritual on a day to day basis.

1. First Breath - When you wake in the morning and take your first breaths, think about how beautiful the day is going to be. Think about how you have the opportunity to greatness.

2. Take 5 Minutes - Taking five minutes out of the day to just appreciate what you have around you. May it be health, friends, family, or even just a really delicious burrito, taking a minute to think about where it came from can really put a sense of awe into the moment.

3. Life Lessons - With every little thing that happens to you during the day, there is a lesson to learn.  Take time to reflect on those little lessons.  Those lessons connect you to a greater reality full of life lessons.

I hope all this helps you all become a little bit more spiritual.

Jeremy Markiz