Wednesday, April 20, 2016

The Freedom Journey: A Marathon, Not a Sprint (#HackYourFreedom) (Pesach 5776)

We take so many liberties for granted it's hard to remember just how long and bumpy is the journey toward freedom. At this week's Boston Marathon, the annual race that began in 1897, we take for granted the four different, competitive divisions -- men, women, men in wheelchairs, women in wheelchairs. Or that just about half of the entrants are women. That has not always been the case. In fact, the first official entrant who was a woman was Kathrine "K.V." Switzer (#261 pictured above) - a sophomore at Syracuse University. The year was 1967. 

When Kathrine registered for the 1967 Boston Marathon there was no place on the form to indicate gender. It was assumed only men would enter the race. K.V. had been routinely running 10 miles a day with the man who became her coach. She convinced him she could cover the distance one evening after adding 5 miles on to the end of their 26-mile run. 

On that snowy, race day in 1967, Kathrine was dressed like all the other runners in a baggy gray sweat suit. At about the two mile mark other runners got excited to see that #261 was a woman. Lots of photos were taken as Kathrine approached a press truck. 

Friday, April 1, 2016

Helpless or Hopeful: Sunday for The Blues or Blue Skies? (Shemini 5776)

We often are ambivalent about Sundays. Some Sundays leave us with dissonance and anxiety anticipating the week ahead. We feel helpless: those are Sunday blues. Other Sundays inspire us to carry optimism and hope into the coming week. We feel hopeful; those are blue sky Sundays. 

This Sunday every JCHS student will be adventuring far from home - to southern California, to Zion National Park, to New Orleans, and within Israel. These journeys empower our students by engaging them with others who think, live, and believe differently than they do. These journeys empower our students to see their own world from different points of view -- and to imagine shaping the world through their effort and labor. Still just as Sundays start each week, some journey encounters will generate dissonance or anxiety while others inspire optimism and hope.

The Torah portion this week hints at our potential to choose optimism over anxiety - seeing blue skies instead of feeling the blues. Just after the Torah