Inter(ica)-blogging

As seen from my title, I am commenting on Erica/Efrat Secemski's blog.
I have seen Efrat in situations where she had to encounter dogs. Well, I shouldn't use the word encounter, rather I have seen her on the same side of the street as a dog. Each time, she runs as fast as she could in the opposite direction of the dog and away from eyesight altogether. This summer, when she told me that the Secemski's added a new member to the family, Buster, I was in shock. Efrat told me that day that she will never come in contact with her own dog, and she has kept true to that promise. I am so happy to read that she is now going to therapy. I hope the therapist is ready for a great challenge; Efrat has the biggest case of dog-phobia I have ever seen. I can't wait to read and hear about Efrat's experience at therapy. I also would like to hear what her "jump-off" book will be and see what she finds in literature. I will definitely follow Efrat's progress.
Good luck to you! (Say hi to Buster for me :) )

Moving Forward (Blogs 4 + 5)

I am going to learn what it means to live, specifically as a woman, in an Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community.
I will begin by reading various books that include real stories of real women that are either living or have lived in these communities. I want to learn how they approach difficulties such as abuse and sickness. They are known to keep things a secret and are forbidden to use words like "cancer". Do they wish these issues away or deal with them privately? If so, how do they tackle them? My mother, the Director of Operations at Sharsheret, an organization that helps Jewish women in their fight against breast cancer, has gone to some of the Ultra-Orthodox to teach them more about the disease. She began to explain to me how different their world is than ours in dealing with health matters and this fascinated me. I am looking forward to learning more from my mother and reading the materials that she has access to.
To learn more about the issues, I will interview Mrs. Knapp, a pyschologist, (Thanks Mrs. Wiener!) who works with Ultra-Orthodox women.
Mrs. Wiener suggested that I make a Wiki for my tangible project. I think this is a fabulous idea as I could display information in an organized fashion, which will then later translate to my paper. I will post videos, pictures, and articles on my Wiki and will connect this blog to my wiki as well.

That's the plan for now, anyway. Now how do I make that wiki?

Oprah Winfrey Interviews Hasidic Women and Discusses America's Hidden Culture

My Final Idea

It's time again, another blog post due.  Actually, this post was due last week but I was on Freshman Retreat so I'm a little behind. 

Anyway, I have settled on my idea to do explore Ultra-Orthodox Judaism.  When I searched Amazon for any books involving a woman's role in the Hasidic communities, I was glad to see that I had in fact read two of the books that they offered (Unorthodox and Hush - both great reads).  There were other books on the list that intrigued me and I am excited to read those soon and add them to my Hasidic Literature repertoire.  

And, as any seventeen year old would do, I searched YouTube for any possible research.  I was delighted to find a fascinating Oprah segment where Oprah visits and speaks to four Hasidic women.  (I will try to add the video to this blog) The network called it by the name of "America's Hidden Culture," for the lack of knowledge people have as we are outsiders of the Ultra-Orthodox communities.  In the interview, the women said that they were "not the basement, but the foundation of the home." At points in the interview it seemed that the women were over-romanticizing their roles, but that's just my opinion.  I need to do more research in order to really know. 

My mom also told me that A Stranger Among Us is a great movie involving Hasidim. Though it doesn't focus on the women's role, I could still get the gist and the dynamics of a Hasidic community. My mom said it was a great movie and wants to watch it with me, and who doesn't love some quality mother-daughter bonding time? 

Does this work?

I have always been interested in different religions, particularly the radicals of each religion, and often found myself searching YouTube and Google to find out more information.  Last year, I learned about the story of Deborah Feldman, and realized that I could not look at the other religions until I really knew about my own. Deborah Feldman is a young woman who left her Satmar roots in hopes of a better life in the "real" world.  I read her tell-all account, Unorthodox, and was surprised to learn so much about my own people.  This Satmar Judaism, though founded on the same basis as my own Modern Orthodoxy, seemed foreign to me. I would love to learn more of the difference in roles of women in the different sects of Judaism and young women see the way a young woman of my age would view the world after living for 17 years in an Ultra-Orthodox home in contrast to my living in a Modern-Orthodox home. 

I am not sure if this idea is too narrow in its scope and am concerned that I would not be able to have a "tangible" project to go alongside my research and research paper. Help! 

The First of Many: My Initial Reaction

I'm unsure where to go from here. Frisch LEADS is a project like I have never been assigned in the many years that comprise my academic career.

On the one hand, Frisch LEADS gives me, the student, the steering wheel. I can choose my starting point and my destination. My teacher or "mentor" acts as my navigation system, leading me in the right direction. In that regard, I am eager to move forward, to ignite the engine.  In order to upkeep my heavy workload, participate in oh-so-necessary extra-curriculars, and maintain somewhat of a social life, I use all waking hours, and there is simply no time for academic interests. Therefore, this project gives me the time, the opportunity, to learn more about a topic in which I am interested.

On the other hand, Frisch LEADS gives me, the student, a much harder time at an enjoyable senior year.  If this assignment was given last year, I would be happy to partake.  However, as a senior, I was hoping for more of a relaxing year. This long term assignment is a death sentence to a senior, that assumes that once she gets into a college, she can breeze through school.  Also, because I now have more time, I would be able to research the topics of interest on my own time. Needless to say, I am not excited about writing a fifteen-page paper.

I wish I could close my eyes and wish this project away, but that is meaningless.  Instead, I'll look at the bright side. How annoying could this really be, right?