Odessa's Oddities & Curiosities | Week of 9/30/24

Dear friends,

Shana tova! May your 5785 be filled with joy and curiosity and peace! I know my last newsletter was quite a few weeks ago, so hold on tight as I fill you in.

I’m savoring my last fall on campus — you can spot the outer leaves of the trees turning yellow and orange. I’ve already been apple-picking twice, and I’ve settled my grad-school-indecision. I’ve officially decided to take a gap year before (hopefully!) going to graduate school. I’m hoping to do something Jewish and/or public-service-related and/or creative-writing-related. Hoping to try something other than research during this gap year. If anyone has any guidance on potential gap year possibilities, let me know!

Some joys:

-what I will miss most about the dining halls is the ability to sit quietly next to people and blatantly eavesdrop as I pretend to read my book.

-learning Talmud each week with my dear and brilliant friends.

-spontaneous visit and snuggles from my Momma on Tuesday

Lots to update on, so I’m going to provide sections. Feel free to jump around.

Events

I attended the Jewish Currents conference in New York City with my beloved Jewish leftists at Yale on Slifka’s dime. The first two panels I attended were meh — there was too much agreement which always makes me skeptical. But the last panel was spectacular. Here are some of the interesting ideas that emerged: Does Zionism treat the political state itself as holy? If anti-Zionists propose that they are people of the text, rather than the land, why do Zionists tend to know the text much better? Are Jews one people or many people? Are there Judaisms? It was refreshing to be in a space to the Left of me for the first time in a while, but it became extra apparent how extreme the echo chambers have become which I found sad. Feeling grateful for my pluralistic Jewish community at Slifka.

Two weeks ago, I had one of those weeks where I feel delightfully spoiled as a Yale student. I had the privilege to hear from Joshua Leifer on his new book Tablets Shattered (interesting discussion of his disillusionment with If Not Now), cartoonist Alison Bechdel (originator of the famous Bechdel Test), Israeli author Etgar Keret (he noted the similarities between prayer and writing — the fact that you assume that someone’s out there helps you understand yourself), writer Lydia Davis (who talked about writing as relieving herself of the burden of strong feelings), poet Jen Hadfield (whose book Storm Pegs I’ve since been unable to put down), listen to Ishay Ribo perform, and spend a few hours in the dirt at the Yale Farm.

I went to the Connecticut Renaissance Faire where my people-watching tendencies were thrown into overdrive. Ren Faires are super fascinating phenomena — equally intended for adults and children. We saw jousting! And I learned about the evolution of swords — particularly how they morphed into the sword we use in modern fencing.

Poetry

I feel particularly grateful for this newsletter if only to share the following poems with all of you (from Poetry & Faith):

This Room and Everything In It by Li-Young Lee

Land’s End by August Kleinzahler (Audio Version) — beautiful depiction of love & San Francisco

Object Permanence by Nicole Sealey

The Return of Job by Anna Kamienska — which I had to memorize and recite in front of my class!

Look by Laura Kasischke

Technology

My newest technology obsession is Notion — think super duper customizable workspace software. I’ve been long longing to get into Notion, but this semester, procrastination has fueled my beautiful Notion creation. Once you use templates, it’s actually so easy. It’s been nice to export my brain.

Articles

This interview with Aaron Sorkin on the 25th anniversary of the West Wing.

This book review of a new biography detailing the friendship of Tolkein and C.S. Lewis at Oxford and how it shaped their conception of fantastical worlds.

A beautiful meditation from a funeral singer.

Why do universities have college football?

Podcasts

This podcast on the history of food coloring and color consultants in the food industry — but more so on how scientific findings can disseminated and distorted.

And this podcast on how children’s books get turned into political fodder eg. Give a Mouse a Cookie. The episode is far-ranging and ends on a lovely sentimental note.

Fun facts from classes:

Did you know the double-boiler was invented by a Jewish woman? Mary the Jewess! Not only that, but she is the first historical Jewish woman in recorded history (barring biblical woman). And she was a well-known alchemist! How cool!

Some species don’t have a 50/50 sex split of males/females. In fact, in some species, their sex ratio changes depending on environment and social structure.

Jews were really into astrology and zodiacs back in the day!

This great quote from García Lorca: “intelligence is often the enemy of poetry, because it limits too much, and it elevates the poet to a sharp-edged throne where he forgets that ants could eat him or that a great arsenic lobster could fall on his head”

I’ve been compiling a Feminist High Holiday Reader for this High Holiday season. You can read my intro below. If you reply to this newsletter, I’ll send you the pdf.

Dear reader,

There comes a point on every Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur service where I’m dreadfully bored. I say this not to detract from services (I rather see it as a necessary part). At this point, I’m sure you’ve scavenged for all the poems in the margins of the siddur, you’ve adequately people-watched, and you’re contemplating what you’re eating (or not eating) for your next meal. Instead, I welcome you to read these feminist Jewish essays as a supplement to the liturgy in the siddur. May they gratify, confuse, provoke, spark new ideas, and lead toward renewal.

With love,

Odessa

p.s. forgive me for all the seminal essays that I missed. this is not my area of expertise – as above-noted, the compilation is haphazard. let’s make it better next year!

With love & curiosity,

Odessa