Talia, She Wrote

One of the Patheos guys has been writing a series on the Tea Party and different implications of it. (To read his great, albeit right leaning, perspectives on the Tea Party click here.)

In this last article, I was linked to some pictures of when Bush was in power. Now I am NOT a Bush fan and I did vote for Obama... It doesn't mean that I think Obama is the messiah or anything but I realized a couple of things looking at these pictures.

1. It doesn't matter what side of the aisle you are on... when your guy isn't in power and you don't like it, you get hateful (and that you is the broader "you).

2. It doesn't matter if it is 2003 or 2010... they are still after the Jews. I don't know why we have this target tattooed on our foreheads. I don't know why people who like to demonstrate hate Israel and the Jews (or why they can't learn to spell... is IsrAEl not IsrEAl) but there it is.

Recently, I did an interview with Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi about the future of Judaism. Reb Bahir posed the question to him, currently Jews make up a very small portion of the population. Do you think we will grow or shrink? Reb Zalman said, "How big is your gall bladder? But you have to have it, right? What about the pituitary gland?"

Point taken. We are all vital parts to the society and trying to kill the Jews just because we are Jewish isn't right. Period.

I don't know if I can say that I was never a joiner... really I felt like I was always on the outskirts of the groups I was in... Cheerleading, Drama Club, Youth Group... but I was always looking for some broader connection. I think a lot of this came from my family. When I was very little we lived with my grandparents but as I got older, my dad found work away from the Northeast and we were our own unit. My aunts and uncles didn't visit and my mom's family was just significantly older. My best friends were my closest family, my parents and brother. But I always wanted sisters and I wanted to be a part of something bigger than me.

I just returned from the 74th biennial Gamma Phi Beta convention. There were 850 women present who were MY sisters. I didn't meet all of them but if I ended up by the pool, in an elevator, or on a bus to Harry Potter world with one (or 10) of them, we always had something in common to talk about. Not only am I a part of something bigger than my small unit, I am a leader in that bigger picture. I take pride in the women who I call MY girls. They have adopted me as a big sister, mom, mentor, and annoying adult who interferes sometimes. And I am so thankful for those women. (GO BETA RHO!) :)

I find myself still searching because I am looking for that bigger picture with my faith as well but the connection I find within Gamma Phi Beta is a special one. No matter where I go in the world, there is a good chance that one of my 170,000 sisters is probably there and took a picture with any crescent moon present!

I joined Gamma Phi Beta at Jacksonville University to connect to something bigger than myself, bigger than the theatre department. It wasn't always easy (being a collegian never is) but it has paid off in spades. Recently, I met my fourth little legacy/faux niece and we are waiting on number five any day! I have a group of women I graduated with whom I call my dearest sisters and who will serve as my children's aunties, as I never had any blood sisters. I have cried on their shoulders, attended their weddings, held their babies, and inducted their husbands into our boy club. I met women from all over the US and Canada that shared my love of pink, crescents, and carnations last weekend, many of whom I will stay in touch with for the next two years until I see them again at our 2012 convention in DENVER. Which, by the way, will be our 75th.

I honestly don't know what Frances E. Haven, Mary A. Bingham, E. Adeline Curtis, or Helen M. Dodge were thinking when, in 1874 they decided not to be Alpha Phi's and create Gamma Phi Beta. We can guess and wonder and I am sure they could never have envisioned what GPhi looks like today but I am SO thankful for our founders.

I asked my father, Rebahir Davis, to write a piece about how his father inspired his Judaism for Patheos. His response was overwhelming to me as it brought back a flood of memories of my grandfather. However, it also gives a beautiful insight into the evolution of Judaism. 

Please take a minute to read it here - http://bit.ly/d6JzYK - comment on the article, share on Facebook or Twitter, etc. Thanks!

Okay, I admit it... I don't have the best memory in the world but there are a few things from my childhood that stick out clearly. I have mentioned some of them before, here in this blog, but with Father's Day rapidly approaching, I have asked my team to write about their father's and how they shaped their Jewish life. And so, I thought I would talk about the memories from my childhood of my dad.

My dad and me, 1983ish... these were called "Tali-Ups"

The men in my life have always figured prominently. Not sure why. Maybe because I was the first grandchild, a little girl, and they all felt protective of me. But either way... I was always close with the men... my grandfathers and my father. I think another thing that factors in is that my men were also always my rabbis. From birth I was dressed up and my picture taken for the newspaper... in my grandfather's ark, lighting candles with my father, you know what I mean.

Today marks an auspicious day on the Chabad Lubavitcher's calendar. Today is Gimmel Tammuz (the third day of the month of Tammuz).

On this day in 5754 or 1994 in Gregorian years, the Lubavitcher Rebbe passed away. This dealt a hard blow to the community. He and his wife were childless and he did not appoint a successor. This divided the community, some believing that he was the Moshiach (messiah) and some not believing in that. It is a topic that still divides Crown Heights today.



A newly published biography of the Rebbe's life has caused a stir in the Crown Heights community as well. The New York Times touches on that today, with a nod to the holiness of the day within Chabad.

Hello! So I am in the data collection phase of this capstone and I need everyone's help.

I told my advisors that I have pretty good digital reach and a nice online network, now I have to prove it. I need at least 100 responses to this survey or my data isn't really valid.

PLEASE take this survey and have your friends do it as well. It isn't very long or intrusive, I promise!!! Please take it asaps!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TaliasCapstone

Thanks!

I am emotionally exhausted. Since the boats with "peace activists" heading to Gaza was intercepted I have fought and fought this issue round and round with my friends and acquaintances. Emotionally, I am drained. My head hurts. I can't think of the permutations any more. I want to just say that this is how it is, no more conversation.

But nothing is ever so simple or easy.