Okay, I have to give a big kol hakavod, big ups, to the artistic Jewish community as of late.Seriously.With the Maccabeats getting millions of hits on YouTube, a revolution has been spawned and I am super excited about it! Well, the Maccabeats have taken a vacation for Pesach and to let some other groups shine. Now, don't get me wrong, I miss my 'Beats but these videos for Passover are phenomenal!Here are my favorites:Hands down, the number 1 best! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIxToZmJwdI]Totally Israeli and I love it. Great song mix! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_RmVJLfRoM]These OrthoHotties are a great alternative to the Maccabeats! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qSXrnkSeKs]Lastly, here is the JFNA appeal. This is what I do now, save the Jews... [vimeo http://vimeo.com/22250375]Please consider giving a little this Pesach for those that can't afford to feed their families. Donate hereChag Pesach Sameach and to all - Next Year In Jerusalem!
Photos From My Archeology Adventure
Hi fans! So I was chatting with some friends from my very exciting archeological dig experience way back when (aka about 6 months ago... it's been 6 months!!!) and they have been sharing my blog with people interested in the dig and potential donors (please support this incredible and important work!). So I thought I would make my dig pictures accessible.Here is a link to the images on Flickr. Please do not use any images without my express permission. If you would like permission, you can email me at TaliaSheWrote @ gmail . com. Thank you!Magdala Archeological DigIt was an incredible experience!
Busy Times
Hi blog fans.I am sorry for my lack of posts. I wanted to say hi and let you know that I am still around. I just moved and do not have Internet yet in my new place. Plus all the unpacking and starting a new job. Sheesh! So much going on but I promise to write soon.Just a thought swirling around in my head... New, clean apartment just before Pesach... Do I not eat at home until Pesach to keep it clean and kasher l'pesach? Hum...Good luck on your Passover cleaning!
When to post when... lessons from HubSpot
Here is my Twitter transcript of the HubSpot Webinar I just attended. It was run by @danzarrella and was really fabulous. I really recommend @HubSpotIt's Twitter... so start reading from the bottom...
thdpr Talia Davis - טליה
Blog is at http://taliashewrote.com and I promise to post 32 times a day and email you 20 times a month. ;) #timesci
thdpr Talia Davis - טליה
Thanks for the new follows and blog subscriptions! Looking forward to interacting with you all!
thdpr Talia Davis - טליה
Hey @EXConnection - The most retweetable time for @Exconnection is 12AM on Monday (EST).
thdpr Talia Davis - טליה
@danzarrella do we all have to press play at the same time? #timesci
thdpr Talia Davis - טליה
@danzarrella haha, thanks! #timesci
thdpr Talia Davis - טליה
@danzarrella Super fab webinar! Thanks! I wrote my thesis on content delivery and measurement. Would love to chat sometime about data
thdpr Talia Davis - טליה
The most retweetable time for @thdpr is at 1PM on Wednesday. What's yours? http://tweetwhen.com #timesci
thdpr Talia Davis - טליה
Thanks to @danzarrella for the great information #timesci
thdpr Talia Davis - טליה
http://TweetWhen.com - find most ReTweetable days and times #timesci
thdpr Talia Davis - טליה
@samanthamcgarry yup... and bathing kids... and drinking a glass of wine! :) #timesci
thdpr Talia Davis - טליה
donnacicotte Donna Cicotte
by thdpr
@#TimeSci - FB Shares between 12 a.m. and 3 a.m. work best.
thdpr Talia Davis - טליה
@WendyKinney Same inbox... not necessarily same email.
thdpr Talia Davis - טליה
After dinner is made, kids are in bed. Take some time to think about it #myowndata #timesci
thdpr Talia Davis - טליה
I found that if my audience is moms but they work, I have to think about when they could get to the computer. #myowndata #timesci
thdpr Talia Davis - טליה
@ashleymszeremet I've actually heard weekend and fridays because computer and internet usage goes down. #TimeSci
thdpr Talia Davis - טליה
@CarriBugbee hahaha! True #TimeSci
thdpr Talia Davis - טליה
@MassMarotta right and they aren't consistently successful and give the others a bad name #TimeSci
thdpr Talia Davis - טליה
@JPotestivo Amen. Though you want to... #TimeSci
thdpr Talia Davis - טליה
@odatomarketing Me too... #TimeSci strategist is much more realistic
HubSpot HubSpot
by thdpr
24,000 people have registered for today's #timesci Science of Timing webinar! http://bit.ly/etKZ3B
thdpr Talia Davis - טליה
thdpr Talia Davis - טליה
There Once Was A Girl Named Talia
There once was a girl named Talia.She was born under a full moon,On a very special holiday called Purim,In a leap year, in a month called Adar II.Her early life was filled with laughter and whispers.Tea parties, costume parties, doll parties, and Purim parties.Nothing was ever quite normal for Talia,Always a slight detour just out of the mainstream.Talia embraced her unique life,Just as soon as she figured out how.
Her journey was filled with pot holes and misleading signs.She learned the art of retracing her stepsAnd paying attention to details on her journeys.She met many characters along the way,Some so wonderful and some very much less wonderful.A king, a queen, a jester, 5 little princesses,A friend, a lover, a sneaky confidante,A car named CiCi, a ferret named Sammy Davis Jr,A tired, washed out blankie with sage advice to share.
Along her journey, she laughed and cried copiously.Sometimes she cried when she laughed...More often, she laughed when she cried.She pierced things (and often threatened to pierce more).She tattooed things (and still threatens to tattoo more).She made people proud.She made people mad.She made people wonder...There once was a girl named Talia.She was born under a full moonOn a very special holiday called PurimIn a leap year, in a month called Adar II.
She now fills her life with laughter but few whispers.Yoga, photography, and writing replacedTea parties, costume parties, and doll parties.
Nothing will replace her Purim parties.
Nothing will ever be quite normal for Talia,She likes to speed and swerve,making a slight detour just out of the mainstream.
Happy 30th birthday to me.
13 Adar II, 5741
When Did I Grow Up?
I was listening to NPR on my way home today and they were talking about the passing of Nate Dogg and MP3s (not the same story... just the same broadcast). First they played the song "Regulate" by Warren G featuring Nate Dogg and the broadcaster said, "If you came of age in the 90's... you know Warren G's song Regulate. It's part of the sound track of your life." Yup.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/1plPyJdXKIY&hl]I remember dancing to this at school dances and at parties in the 90's. Then I realized... these kids in college today... they were born in early 90's. My nephew was born in the late 90's... they don't know this stuff. This is the music I will say to my kids, "Mommy used to rock out to this!" And they will say... "Eww mom! Turn on ___ (insert popular musician 10 years from now) and turn off that old stuff." And then I will think, "Kids these days, they don't know the classics... the foundation of hip hop. Back when I was in high school..." Just like my dad did with me and his music from the 60's... I can only hope that my kids enjoy my music as much as I have come to enjoy my dad's (who doesn't love the Beatles!).
Then the next story was about MP3's and how hard they worked to get the music quality the same... but it never was... and it was the first revolution in music recording driven by the consumer. The transition from vinyl to tape to cd was driven by the record companies. I started to reminisce about when I was in middle school and high school when I would buy cassette tapes... Like Michael Jackson's Bad and Beastie Boys and Red Hot Chili Peppers... (I still have those) and the CD revolution, when they were charging $19.99 for a cd and man I was desperate for a diskman. Walkmans weren't cool anymore... and I had to get some cool.
I sat in my car remembering the record shops in Vero Beach and buying concert tickets there (no online TicketMaster). It was just such a different time. Music for me, back then, was about community and interaction. You saw your friends at the record shop. You could still buy vinyl at thrift shops.But somewhere along the lines I grew up. Saturday I will turn 30. I never felt very old (only when my brother hit milestones did I really feel it) and I kinda always thought that I was hip. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that inevitably there is a gap between my generation and this current one. And that is okay. I think I am going to enjoy embracing my status as older and wiser and memory holder of cassette tapes.
Tired of Tiffs Over Tefillin...
What can I say, I can't avoid the alliteration.I am sick and tired of the craziness over tefillin on airplanes. It seems like more and more planes are being brought down or moved to high alert if a Jewish man breaks out his tefillin on-board. But what is equally, if not more so, disturbing is the comments you find on these articles.
An airplane is not a synagogue, mosque, church, temple, or cathedral. Pray discreetly and silently or perform your public display of piety for when you get on the ground. I'm sure everyone but God will be impressed.As a non practicing member of the Jewish faith, I ask you to please not draw any conclusions from these idiots. I suspect that less than .01% of Jews fall into the category of people who would act so stupidly. It strikes me that they were doing this for attention because there is absolutely no reason to do this on an airplane.Do these people live under a rock? To do anything like that on an airplane is ridiculous...it can wait until you get home. These people are either very dumb or playing dumb...it's not a case of a smart person just not getting it.To see the article and comments, click here.To see Alaska Airlines response, click here.
What this does show is intolerance and ignorance of the American people in relation to other faiths or religious practices sometimes. I understand that we live in trying times and everyone is suspicious of everyone (though I am inclined to believe that if it were a Christian many of these commenters would have a harder time condemning it and the flight crew would have recognized it immediately) but that does not absolve us from the requirement to understand and be respectful. I will say one thing, we, as Jews, should take it on ourselves to be conscious of this uninformed nature and be respectful of other's fears. A simple conversation with the flight attendants to inform them of the need to stand and pray and wear ritual garments would not go amiss and certainly ease tensions.
So, I am going to use my blog as a platform to explain some of these traditions. I know that my blog doesn't have that much circulation and this won't reach many of these people but I implore you to share this post far and wide.
Tefillin: Otherwise known as phylacteries. Neither name makes much sense to non-Hebrew/Greek speakers. They are SMALL leather boxes with straps which are put on the head and non-dominant arm during prayer. Inside the boxes are slips of parchment with verses from the Torah. The commandment to wear them during prayer in rabbinic in nature (meaning the rabbis/sages decided on it) and comes from the verse "And you shall bind them as a sign upon your arm, and they shall be as reminder between your eyes," in the Shema (one of our holiest blessings). Colloquially, in Judaism, we say you are going to "lay tefillin" meaning you will put them on.
This comes from Yiddish. Tefillin is regularly worn by Orthodox Jews who believe that the written and oral Torah is divine (came directly from G-d) but also worn occasionally by other male Jews and more rarely by some females in the more Conservative and Reform circles. Today, tefillin are generally only worn during the weekday morning service called Shachrit but previously were worn all day. If you want to read more about the ritual around tefillin, here are some links - Wikipedia, My Jewish Learning.
Images of men wearing tefillin: So, we straight on tefillin? Let's move on to praying. One thing that comes up in the comments seems to be the inability to understand why Jews have to pray on a plane or at a certain time of day and why it must be out loud and not silent.
Prayer: Davening (in Yiddish) or prayer is a biblical commandment, one that cannot be put off or ignored if one believes in the Torah and Talmud as divine. The timing is just as important however, I will not bore you with the intricate details of legal hours and all that (you can read about it here if you feel so inclined and which, by the way, is similar to the Catholic's canonical hours). Suffice to say, we have to complete certain prayers by certain times of day. This can be a factor when you are planning a trip. In reference to the most recent incident, these guys were leaving Mexico with a layover in the USA and then headed to Europe... my guess is no matter when they scheduled, they would have to daven (pray) at some point on a plane.We are required to say 100 prayers a day... 70 of those you hit if you daven three times a day like you are supposed to (you can complete the rest with the blessings before and after food as well as the blessings for such things as after going to the bathroom). Look, basically, there are a lot of rules around how we pray and that is very unfamiliar to people who don't pray or even people of other faiths where prayer is not as proscribed. But for us it is important... like speaking the words out loud and praying in Hebrew... those may be odd to you (Catholics, I know you don't pray in Latin but your priests do so you should have some concept about it) but that is how we do. To follow the rules, if you follow those rules, you pray out loud, you do it in Hebrew and there are some parts of the service where you must be standing. It says it in the prayer books, which part to stand and which to sit. When in doubt (or on an airplane) just stand for the whole service... that's what I do. There is one outwardly odd practice though, that is not rule based. That is the rocking (or 'lurching' as I saw it referred to) back and forth. Why do Jews rock back and forth in prayer? Well, the rocking has become a minhag, a tradition and thus just as important as the other halacha (laws) mentioned here. Ask Moses has a good, albeit short, answer here but I have always found it to be a concentration helper. It helps you focus on the words. It is about the kavanah, the intention, behind it. Here is one view on Jewish prayer from Chabad.
So we pray differently than you. We pray at different times, in a different way, with different props. It doesn't make us good and you bad, it doesn't make you good and us bad. How you connect to G-d or if you are an atheist or agnostic, how you connect to what you need to connect to is your own personal mission. You have the right to ask questions about others but we cannot judge their prayer by our yardstick. I can understand the safety concerns... the fear that many people have nowadays because of the horrific attack 10 years ago. But I don't feel that fear personally. Why, you ask? Because I trust. I trust that I am supposed to land on the ground safely and if I am not there is nothing I can do about it. This doesn't lessen the tragedy that we all felt on 9/11 but it is how we move on. I trust El Al and the Israeli security at the airports to protect us from a hijacking or bombing. With less surety, I trust the American security system to protect American flights from a hijacking or bombing. (Why you ask? Because I trust well trained security personnel over an over-dependence on machines and minimum wage workers. And because Israel has kept any attack from happening since Entebbe.) But most of all, I trust that where I am going, I am supposed to be.I really hope this post has been helpful in understanding our traditions and perhaps can prevent some of these situations from happening on airplanes again.
Purim Goodies
The other day I was cruising around the internet, reading some of my friend's blogs when I stumbled upon a post from my friend Hadassah about food. I like food. I like Kosher food. I especially like baked goods and since Purim is coming up, my mind has been on Hamentashen lately.For those of you who are staring at the computer screen with your head tilted to the side and feeling confused... Purim is a Jewish holiday that celebrates the story in the book of Esther. In short (without all the fun theological conversation), in Persia there was a king who married a Jewish girl named Esther. One of his top courtiers named Haman decided that he would kill all the Jews (they didn't know Esther was Jewish). He gets the king to agree until Esther screws up her courage and tells the king that she is Jewish and Haman is trying to kill her and her people. Then instead of the Jews being killed, Haman was killed for betraying the king. Look there is a lot more to the story than that and you can watch a cool video about it here - G-dCast or read about it here - basic story of Purim and complete story of Purim.Okay, now that we took care of that... on this holiday (that is my very favorite and that is in no small part due to the fact that I was born on the holiday) we eat special cookies shaped like Haman's hat, with three corners, called hamentashen. We even have a little song... "My hat it has three corners, three corners has my hat and if it hadn't three corners, it wouldn't be my hat." I have no idea why that relates to Purim but that is what I remember singing when I ate Hamentashen when I was a kid.So I love baking hamentashen. I got my recipe from the world's greatest hamentashen baker (my friend Dena's mom). They are amazingly delicious however, I was reading my friend Hadassah's blog (remember that is how all of this started) and she posted an interview with a very cool chick named Laura who runs a kosher bakery in Chicago called Libby and Laura. Hadassah works for Kosher.com and gets to check out the newest and coolest kosher products. She got a hold of Libby and Laura's Mandelbrot and gave it a stellar review so I just had to try some.I ordered some S'mores hamentashen and chocolate chip mandelbrot... OH MY HaShem! Those are some good baked goods! I received them promptly last night and dug in. The hamentashen were delicious! I am very impressed that she can ship such great baked goods and they stay so fresh. My only complaint is the hamentashen flavors are a bit wacky and I would like a greater variety (PB&J hamentashen? not my style... I would totally order a dozen if you had prune... yes I love prune hamentashen).So it is pretty close to Purim (Saturday night is the big night) but mandelbrot is totally a year round food. Check out Libby & Laura's for yummy kosher baked goods. And for the record... they don't taste kosher or like a 'typical' kosher baked good. This is a bakery that just happens to be Pas Yisroel.(P.S. I was not paid for this endorsement nor does Laura of Libby & Laura know that I was intending to write about my awesome hamentashen experience. Not that I am opposed to being paid for product reviews or to receive products to try... I'm just saying.)
Me and My Yoga Mat
We have a very tumultuous relationship. It's on again, off again and can burn hot for a few months but then cools off again. Most recently, I had a 7 month period where we weren't speaking. Okay, so I did have to leave her in America while I went to Israel and please don't tell PYM (Purple Yoga Mat) that I cheated on her with a pink one that you buy off the roll just off King George St in Jerusalem. But hey, what was a girl to do? I wanted to yoga in Israel and I needed a mat. I promise it didn't mean anything... and it didn't last long. My friend Circus Ninja and I only managed one session before it got too cold to do it outside, we ran out of time and locations, and couldn't get the internet. What was really cool was that a friend in Denver started a new yoga website so I could do yoga anywhere in the world. It is a really awesome site and when I finally get an apartment (and thus space to practice) I plan on using PeoplesYoga to enhance my class practice.But here's the point, PYM didn't judge me for leaving her here in Colorado. She didn't judge me for being too busy when I got home to break her out or leaving her in my car for a month while I promised myself I would get back to class. And when I did finally pull her out of her purple bag, lay her on the studio floor, and gently cover her with my purple yogi toes (okay yes, I like purple and I like things to match... but seriously, it just happened this way) she supported me through the pain and challenges of delving into yoga again. She cushioned my head and back and hands and feet as I breathed through my flow, desperately trying to hold onto the poses. She didn't judge me when I had to slip into child's pose a few extra times and she cradled me as I took a long savasana (corpse pose) to let my body regenerate itself. My sweet PYM guided me back to my bliss.In this sense, my PYM reminds me of my faith and relationship to HaShem (G-d). G-d is always there for me. Sometimes G-d sits in the background and let's me do what I have to do but when I reach out for that ever loving counsel, it is always there. G-d cradles me in my need, fits under me to support my weight, and sits in my line of vision (even if it is ever so slightly) to remind me to plug back into my reality. No matter where I go or what missteps I might make, G-d is there for me. Even if I find myself pushing G-d away or just ignoring G-d, the way I ignored that yoga bag in my car, I still know that when it is time G-d will always be there for me to come back to.And I am so thankful that I found that. For years I didn't realize my connection was that strong, that I could tap into it at will without someone or something else's help... until I looked into myself. Until I realized that sometimes you may not realize your yoga clothes are sitting there just waiting to be put on or your mat is waiting to be unrolled just as G-d is waiting for you to notice G-d's self and the impact of G-d in your life.
So my PYM and I have made up. We have reforged a relationship begun years ago. And I am sore... so sore from my head to my toes but it is that kind of good sore that as you twinge when you walk you smile because you know you did something good for yourself. And on the same note, I have plugged in with HaShem again and we are working through our connectivity issues.In my final savasana each night, G-d and I connect again. Through prayer... "I hereby forgive anyone who has angered or vexed me" "May no man be punished because of me" "Let us lay down in peace and rise up in good life and peace" and through the quiet peace of just knowing that we are together."Blessed are you, counselor of the universe, who causes the bonds of sleep to fall on my eyes and slumber on my eyelids and light to the apple of my eye. May it be your will that we ALL lay down in peace and rise up to a good life, renewed. Do not let bad dreams or thoughts plague me. Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death. Blessed are you, sacred counselor, who gives light to all the world."Namaste
The Never Ending Apartment Search As A Metaphor For Life
I need an apartment. I came home from Israel and have been staying with my folks but this girl is about to turn (cough cough) 30 and needs her space. I love my family and I am so thankful that despite close quarters they were willing to take me in... but I need my space.So I have been on the hunt for an apartment. First I had to get a job. Some level of stability is important, you don't want to get a lease and then not be able to afford it but also apartment complexes and owners frown on giving apartments to people without income. So I found a job. Once I had a contract signed and was sure it was going to pay me... I started looking for an apartment.I found every resource online (have you met me? I am, as a dear friend puts it, an interwebs ninja) and tracked down every locale. I pinpointed the areas I wanted to live in, the price range I wanted to be in, the amenities that were key:Must have: washer and dryer, parking space, be close-ish to work and friendsMust not: be on the first floor, have old fixtures, be in a bad neighborhoodI thought, there has to be a place out there somewhere... within my price range. Every spare second of my day was consumed with the search. I would find places on Craig's List and contact them immediately only to find them gone before I had even seen the post. I would call complexes offering one price online only to find out that when you spoke to them parking was an extra $80 a month, the price was only for the first floor and everything else was $400 more, or they had nothing available until May.What was going on?! Why wasn't my dream place just appearing like I had anticipated? I just couldn't understand... heck, I still can't understand why as I sit in my father's office at my parent's house. The final nail in my apartment coffin came this evening, when I received an email from a place that I had built up in my mind as the perfect place declining my application. It made no sense! I have a stellar rental history, solid income and employment, decent credit, and to top it all off... I WAS HIS ONLY APPLICATION! I don't know why my mini real estate mogul turned me down... I will have to investigate with his consumer reporting agency but what I do know is this... the place was a little on the small side. The kitchen was tiny and you have to be one of those super creative space people (like my friend Morgan at Casa Cullen) to make the living room/dining room space work. But I had convinced myself that since it was in my price range, it had the amenities I wanted, it was in the perfect location for me that it was the right place for me.But what if I was wrong? What if Hashem (G-d) turned me down for this place because The Big G knew that I wasn't going to be happy there? I got tired of looking, I settled for a place that met my surface requirements.Don't we all do that sometimes? Don't we all just want to find the 'right now' solution instead of the right one? We do this in dating, in work, in numerous situations in life. Right now, I am doing that with an apartment. With too many other balls in the air, I decided to stop juggling that one and take the superficially good one I found. G-d said no. In the form of a consumer-reporting agency... but G-d said no.I am a big believer that G-d makes G-d's will known in your life. With little nudges, you can see the right/better/more fruitful path. I am also a big believer that most of us ignore G-d's signs/signals/morse code most of the time and that is how we end up in the crummy situations with 20/20 hindsight.Sometimes life is a seemingly never ending search for the right apartment. The place where you will feel like home and safe. A search that makes you an apartment real estate expert and a very frustrated person. One where you often find yourself ready to pay more than you wanted for less than you wanted... but that rarely works out for the best.You just have to know what you want (w&d, parking space) and what you don't (first floor, old fixtures) and how much you are willing to give of yourself in exchange for it. And if you sacrifice on those details, it may work out... or you may come to resent your home space and be stuck with it for the next 11 months of your lease.