I close on the purchase of my condo tomorrow, a great studio on the 28th floor of a high rise located on the upper west side. This is the view. Pretty amazing. I moved in 6 years ago when the building was still Mitchell-Lama subsidized housing. The landlord bought out of the program, and as insiders, we were offered our units at almost half the price. A lot of us jumped at the opportunity.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
I close on the purchase of my condo tomorrow, a great studio on the 28th floor of a high rise located on the upper west side. This is the view. Pretty amazing. I moved in 6 years ago when the building was still Mitchell-Lama subsidized housing. The landlord bought out of the program, and as insiders, we were offered our units at almost half the price. A lot of us jumped at the opportunity.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
The loneliness of authenticity...
I recently ended a short relationship that had all the earmarks of turning into something quite serious, even though there were warning signs from the very beginning. One of the obstacles (among others) that contributed to the unsustainability of the relationship that I now see in hindsight was my ex-partner's inability to comprehend the way Judaism spoke to me.
I tend to connect to the Hasidic core and inclusivity of Jewish Renewal, feeling at home in its open and generous definition of the parameters of Jewish experience. My ex-partner had attended a Jewish Renewal service shortly before we met, and one day we had a heated discussion when we started comparing shul experiences. Scandalized by the experience of a Renewal Shabbat service, she angrily stated, "this is NOT Judaism!" I remember feeling my heart sinking as I realized that our core Jewish belief systems were deeply at odds. Moreover, she mistook the expression of my deep passion for Judaism as some sort of unbending orthodoxy, fearing that I would one day suddenly appear at her door in a black hat and payess.
Her fear, and my feelings of powerlessness at failing to communicate and share with her what I considered crucial reminded me that sometimes the price one pays for authenticity is loneliness.
I tend to connect to the Hasidic core and inclusivity of Jewish Renewal, feeling at home in its open and generous definition of the parameters of Jewish experience. My ex-partner had attended a Jewish Renewal service shortly before we met, and one day we had a heated discussion when we started comparing shul experiences. Scandalized by the experience of a Renewal Shabbat service, she angrily stated, "this is NOT Judaism!" I remember feeling my heart sinking as I realized that our core Jewish belief systems were deeply at odds. Moreover, she mistook the expression of my deep passion for Judaism as some sort of unbending orthodoxy, fearing that I would one day suddenly appear at her door in a black hat and payess.
Her fear, and my feelings of powerlessness at failing to communicate and share with her what I considered crucial reminded me that sometimes the price one pays for authenticity is loneliness.
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