Dear Postal Service

I am disgruntled. The number of cards and letters that I send by regular mail and which subsequently disappear into the ether without ever reaching their destination is dramatically increasing.

These days, when it is so much easier, quicker and, frankly, cheaper to send greetings by email or from a thousand and one online greeting card websites, there are still those of us who choose to spend our money to send mail by regular post. We treasure the experience of thoughtfully picking out or making a card, sitting down and writing snippets from our day or sending greetings across the miles. Once dropped in the postbox, we then imagine the face of our loved one when finding an unexpected envelope in their mailbox, their anticipation of opening it and then holding and reading the greetings which have journeyed to them from so far away.

I gave up sending checks or money as presents by regular mail long ago, as apparently it is just too much of a temptation for some, even if taking it is a felony offense. Now when illicitly opening my letters all they’ll find is “love and kisses.” Sadly, even they don’t reach their intended recipient any more. Explain to me then why I should throw out good money after bad to send my love and heartfelt congratulations, good luck wishes, condolences, prayers for speedy convalesce and festive holiday cheer by registered mail to ensure you hand-deliver them to the homes of my nearest and dearest when I have already purchased that service by buying a stamp and sticking it on the envelope and which, according to your declared service contract, you are then supposed to deliver.

As time goes by, and as fewer cards arrive at their intended destination, it is reasonable to assume that I will choose alternatives to sending cards by regular mail. In my view, that is a loss for both of us.

Sincerely,

(Lyrics)

Slicha*

In the Jewish calendar the period of “Slichot”, which means forgiveness, is a time of turning inward to reflect and contemplate on our own behavior and our relationships with both humankind and the Divine. Slichot starts prior to the Jewish New Year and leads up to the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), the most solemn day of the year, which this year begins at sundown tonight and ends after nightfall Wednesday night.

Image credit: ygurvitz, on Flickr

Yom Kippur is a strange day in Israel. As night falls the streets empty of cars, the incessant noise of car tires is replaced by the shouts of children bicycling on the roads along with roller skaters and young parents out with strollers. It is a stark contrast to the observance of the Jewish calendar’s most holy day by the religious, who are fasting and praying for atonement.

Having grown up in a Conservative Jewish home in the States, where plurality was the norm, it is not the non-observance of my secular neighbors that disturbs me, but the indifferent lack of consideration for those that do. It nevertheless, reflects our sorely divided society. Not having grown up in Israel it didn’t really hit me how wide the divide between religious and secular was until I spoke with an acquaintance who made it clear that their family would have nothing to do with fasting or prayer on Yom Kippur or any other time because of the religious. For her, no wishes for being inscribed in the Book of Life for the coming year or wishing someone an easy fast, Yom Kippur greetings which are for me the distilled essence of the day, and a small light bulb lit up over my head about how non-observant Jewish Israelis view Judaism.

Even though the school system teaches the Old Testament and Jewish holidays from a young age, most Israelis come in contact with the state religion through the local rabbinate or religious council only at key points in their lives, namely birth, marriage and death, and they are met with the strictest, most intolerant form of Jewish observance. If you wish to do something other than the strict orthodox observance of those events, you cannot do so here. No other option is officially available, even with the apparent “official” adoption of other Jewish movements within the State.  Religion, like language,  however, has never been set in stone and clinging to a restricted, narrow form of observance forces the divide even wider, making each party more intransigent and intolerant. Reading the daily newspapers it also seems to me that this intolerance spills over into other aspects of our daily life. It’s a downward spiral.

As we head into this most solemn day on the Hebrew calendar, where introspection, meditation and prayer are mandated, as a Jew and as an Israeli, I will not only meditate on how I can become a better person in the coming year, I will also contemplate the abyss of “Sinat Achim” and hope with righteous actions that it can be bridged.

May you be inscribed in the Book of Life for the coming year and may your fast be an easy one.

(*Meaning, “Excuse me” or “Forgive me”. But, intonation is everything. Said with emphasis, the title of this post could also mean “Say what?!”)

Update: In the Moment’s blog also discusses the issue. Poll: Most Jewish Israelis dissatisfied with government policies on religion

The Day of the Great Unfollow

It had to happen. All those Facebook and Twitter accounts just languishing with posts from 6 months (or more) ago or nothing but auto-posts from other social networks that I  have befriended you on already or nothing but short URL links making it look like your account has been hacked.

If you were caught in the Great Unfollow crossfire, don’t be offended. I probably connect with you in other ways. Otherwise, go start posting real content again. And in all fairness feel free to unfollow me as well if my content doesn’t interest you. We all have limited time on our plates. I would hate to think I’m wasting yours!

And since I have your attention, here’s yet another prediction of the demise of blogging as we know it. Every time I read an article like this I become more worried about the demise of lengthy or thoughtful or thought-provoking prose. Do we really no longer have the patience or time to read with intent not only articles we agree with, but  articles that we disagree with that challenge our worldview. I do wonder…

(P.S. The foot is much better. Thanks for asking!)

Related articles

• Twitter Kills Unfollowing App (But Not Before I Dropped Half My Followers) (wired.com)
• Top 6 Reasons Why Your Twitter Followers are Unfollowing You! (weblogbetter.com)
• Unintentional unfollows: Coping with Twitter’s unfollow bug (nextlevelofnews.com)

To make a long story short…

Look, I don’t want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you’re alive you’ve got to flap your arms and legs, you’ve got to jump around a lot, for life is the very opposite of death, and therefore you must at very least think noisy and colorfully, or you’re not alive. – Mel Brooks

I’m off flapping my arms and legs. Until I return, feel free to check out my archives or read a random post.

Quicksand and Sinkholes

Of the blogging sort, that is. Some people let their blogs linger on and on and others perform a radical blogectomy, deleting all their posts or even their entire blog. Several friends have lately decided to put a torch to what was their home on the Web. One of them routinely does so, along with almost all her other online accounts. It shouldn’t surprise me by now, but it still does. I sorely miss connecting with those online friends, many of whom I’ve known for close to a decade or more. On the other hand, other real life friends have taken up blogging with a passion and it amazes me they waited so long to do it. (Yes, SJ, you’re one of them. )

One of my favorite reads is The Pioneer Woman and her post on Ten Important Things I’ve Learned About Blogging speaks to me loudly, with the obvious exception of her second point, which I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stick to and maintain my sanity. (Have I mentioned that I have a brown thumb?) In spite of having a blog, I am not a writer by nature (I tend to express myself visually) and after 8 solid years of daily business writing, my personal  writing “style” has taken a serious hit. Worse still, at times it’s hard for me to find things that I think would resonate with my readers.  Heaven knows there’s enough WordPress.com memes around (Plinky and Post a Day for example), but I find I’m not much of a joiner and tend to go off in my own direction and certainly at my own pace.

There’s a crazy number of blogs online these days, somewhere around 30 million on WordPress.com alone, and finding the blogs that speak to you is an enormous challenge. So if I haven’t said it lately, I’m thankful for each of you that takes a few minutes to stop by my little salon. Coffee?