Shapes, Metaphors & Images

It rained a little today - just enough to make the plastic chairs on the balcony dirty. We are hoping for more rain this weekend; the Southern Californians will understand the importance of the beginning of the rainy season! For all you foodies out there (and there are plenty of you, judging from the happy comments about the food photos last week), it is also the beginning of the Krembo season, an odd "delicacy" that has been compared to a mix between a twinkie and a s'more that is only available during the winter. (For more information, check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krembo) Sorry, no food photos this time, but I'm sure there will be more in the weeks to come!

Learning

This was definitely a week of studies! I presented my first workshop on my project. I did some research on how contemplative practice supports social justice work and specifically what kind of benefits social justice workers might derive from contemplative practice. My theory is that often people who engage in social justice work go into it for highly idealistic reasons, which have a hard time standing up in the face of the complexity and entrenchment of suffering, or they go in from a perspective of angry righteousness and without even knowing it, recreate structures of anger and power abuse. In both cases, contemplation has the potential to help with developing inner clarity, calm, patience and greater effectiveness. I received helpful feedback about next steps, including the importance of thinking about Jewish language for this endeavor.

Two other interesting ideas (at least to me!): One is thinking about what kind of metaphors we use to describe community and what the implications are of the various metaphors. Should the Jewish community (or any community for that matter) be like a stick of butter - consistent all the way through, no matter how you cut it? Or should it be a big tent - a loose context for lots of individual acts doing their own thing without much interaction between them? Or maybe it should be a piano - many separate parts with specific functions, all of which are necessary to work together to create music? Or should it be compared to an ecosystem, a dynamic interdependent network that can adapt to different realities? Hillel has traditionally used the big tent metaphor. I wonder if that is really what we should be striving towards.

The other idea came from an article by Brent Davis and Dennis Sumara, suggesting that we use the geometry of fractals as a metaphor for organizing knowledge. Fractals are patterns that are recursive on all levels of scale but in ways that are unpredictable. Using fractals as a metaphor can help us understand the dynamic, interrelated nature of the universe. For example, in my project I want to give Hillel staff the tools to give students the tools to engage in social justice within a contemplative framework. Obviously there will be differences between those interactions, and yet, they will certainly echo each other in ways that won't be predictable until we try them out. It's not a simple linear equation where the result is obvious and pre-determined. By thinking through the lens of this new model, Davis and Sumara claim we can “contribute to a new habit of mind, one that is more tentative, more attentive.”

Lots of big ideas, as you can tell! I'd love to hear your thoughts about them! And in the meantime, don't worry; there is also fun -

Living

I went to an exhibit of portraits by Esteban Alterman, a staff photographer for the Jerusalem Post. It reminded me a little of the Richard Avedon exhibit at the San Diego Museum of Art this summer - photos of the great and anonymous in Israeli politics and arts. I am including two of my favorites here. I really like the juxtaposition of the faces and the backgrounds.

And tomorrow I am heading back down to Tel Aviv - although I love my view of the Judean desert and the mountains, I miss the ocean.

Hope the rain arrives both here and in San Diego this week!

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