“... Don’t you want to be an air hostess?”

What a loss for humanity, science, and culture if she had just done what everyone else - except her mother - said she should do: 

“Everybody else laughed at me, but Mom didn’t. Women weren’t scientists. When I was growing up, you could be a nurse, a missionary’s wife, a secretary, and then, oh, how exciting, you could be an air hostess. A lot of people said to me, ‘Don’t you want to be an air hostess?’” — Dr. Jane Goodall, NYT 10/2017

Read the full interview here:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/20/movies/jane-goodall-documentary-marriage.html

A Self-Assessment for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur

The High Holy Days are almost upon us! Now is the perfect time to engage in what we call Cheshbon Ha’Nefesh ,“an accounting of the soul,” when we take time to perform a self-assessment, looking back at the year that was, looking ahead to the year that will be, and asking ourselves some tough questions. Here are some to get you started:

1. During this past year, was I the best version of myself that I could be?

2. In the coming year, how can I become the best version of myself that I can be?

3. Choose three examples of when I came up short (such as when I lost my temper, or spread gossip), promise myself to be better next year, and then, the hardest part: apologize to those I wronged.

4. Ask those closest to me if I’ve done anything to hurt to their feelings, and if so, apologize.

5. During this past year, when did I let myself down? Can I ensure that I won’t let myself down in the same way, this coming year?

6. During this past year, when was I happiest? Can I promise myself that I’ll be that happy again, and again, and again?

High Holy Days are a time for introspection, honest self-evaluation, and change. Start the process of becoming the best version of you, now!

Changes, Changes, Changes

Doesn't life still have a way of surprising us, regardless of however many experts tell us what the future holds? Our recent Presidential elections surprised many, although not all, of our fellow American citizens. It's proving to be an important reminder of a beautiful mystery of living life: we can't control the future, and we can't be absolutely certain of everything...but we'll experience it soon enough! The future is always just around the corner. How do we live a life that is full of uncertainty and change?

One Jewish way to successfully live a life that's full of uncertainty is to do something profoundly simple but deeply challenging: accept it. Accept that the only constant in life is its inconsistent nature; accept that the only constant in life is change.

We Jews have had to become experts at accepting changes great and small throughout our history as a people, and as an evolving belief system. How frequently has Jewish history shown us that an overriding belief of Jews in their safety and security often sadly precedes unexpected tragedy, expulsion, and loss?

And yet from the wisdom of Jewish Tradition we find a kind of reassuring familiarity in the unstoppable forces of change: it's how the whole story begins! Adam and Eve leave the Garden of Eden to forge a new and completely changed life. Later, God surprises Noah (and everyone else) with the Flood, springing on humanity the ultimate change of starting over. And much later Abraham is told by God "Lech Lecha," "Go forth, to a land that I will show you" - directing Abraham toward a radical changing of place, of purpose, and even of name (from Abram to Abraham).

Change is hard. Uncertainty is hard. But by accepting change and uncertainty as constants in life, we may find life to be less overwhelming, less surprising, less challenging. Think back to some of our earliest stories - of Adam and Eve, of Noah, of Abraham - and be reassured that God, Jewish Tradition, and the Jewish People have always embraced change. So can we.