Got Blood?

This comes from a friend of mine who asked for help in spreading the word. If you’re able to join a registry, please do so. It’s quite simple to join, does not take much time, and could make a huge difference in another person’s life.

Hello Everyone,

My boyfriend has leukemia and has been through 2 rounds of chemotherapy in the last 3 years. He is currently in remission but the only hope for long term survival is a stem cell transplant, or what was called a bone marrow transplant.

There is no match in the family. We have searched for unrelated donors on international registries for months but so far there has not been a match yet. Using stem cells from a donor who is not a good match seriously increases the risk of fatal complications.

It is most likely that a match will be found in the same genetic group, so I’m making a special appeal to those of Ashkenaz ancestry. To be a donor, you just need to be between 17-60 (age requirement varies with country), be in general good health with no history of hepatitis, cancer, or HIV, and be willing to donate your stem cells to anyone. So even if you’ve been turned down for a blood donation before, you may still be eligible.

Please join a stem cell registry (most of them are linked internationally) – you could be giving someone life again. To join a registry, all you need to do is give a swab of saliva or a small blood sample. Joining is usually free (although some US registries may charge a processing fee.)

For further information

• Canada: http://www.bloodservices.ca/CentreApps/Internet/UW_V502_MainEngine.nsf/page/Join_OneMatch?OpenDocument&CloseMenu&p=OMSplashEnter
• Quebec-Canada: http://www.hema-quebec.qc.ca/anglais/cellulessouches/index.htm
• US: http://www.marrow.org/HELP/Join_the_Donor_Registry/index.html
• Jewish registry: http://www.giftoflife.org/

I apologise for the anonymity – he does not want to be known as “cancer boy”, but I will be very grateful for your help.

Thank you.
-v.

Filed under: judaism

And so it begins!

There’s so much going on these days, I barely have time to stop and take a breath (or sneeze).

Work’s begun, and I’ve jumped right in. I’m excited for all the possibilities, the new people I’ll get to meet, and the lovely people who are my co-workers.

Tomorrow’s the start of Sefer ha-Bloggadah. A bunch of us will be studying Sefer Ha-Aggadah, the book of legends, at a predetermined pace, allowing us to finish learning the whole book in two years. (And celebrate with a siyyum (means “completion,” but is often used to describe the celebration at the culmination of learning a Jewish text) in August, 2010 at the NHC Summer Institute.) There’s a great English translation available for this book, which is basically a compilation of Jewish stories. BZ wrote this introduction when the idea came to fruition a year ago:

2008 is the 100th anniversary of the publication of Sefer Ha-Aggadah (The Book of Legends). Compiled by the Hebrew poet Hayim Nachman Bialik and the editor Yehoshua Ravnitsky, it is a collection of thousands of stories and folklore from the Talmud and throughout rabbinic literature, from the creation of the world to the world to come. At [the 2008 NHC] Institute, people across the extended havurah network [and beyond!] will begin studying Sefer Ha-Aggadah, reading a little bit each day for two years, and completing it at the 2010 Institute.

We’ll be on a daily schedule so that everyone is on the same page. There will be a blog called Sefer ha-Bloggadah so that we can all participate in an online discussion – a rotating team of bloggers can take turns posting each day, and everyone can discuss in the comments. If a lot of us are reading the same texts at the same time, I hope this can manifest itself in other ways as well: discussion groups in our home communities, workshops at NHC regional retreats on whatever topic we’re on that weekend, etc.

I think Sefer Ha-Aggadah is an ideal text for our diverse community. The original edition is in Hebrew, and there is also an accessible English translation, so people with more Hebrew familiarity and people who would benefit from the English translation can participate on an equal footing. Bialik and Ravnitsky were two secular Jews who created this compilation to preserve the Jewish national literature, while most of their source texts are religious in nature, so we’ll have the opportunity to look at these texts from all our different perspectives: religious, literary, historical, ethical, creative, …………..

If you’re so inclined, check your library, Chapters, Amazon, or local bookstore for a copy.

Filed under: judaism, work

Zigging, zagging, and filling in the blanks

It’s been a hectic week or two.

There was the lead up to ‘tute and the week of Summer Institute itself. It was busy, genderful, discussionful, friendful, cuddleful, teachful, and learnful. A few of us blogged about it over on Jewschool. I was left wrestling with some wonderful conversations, which I will have to continue back in the real world, possibly with margaritas in hand.

Sunday evening, upon my return, I had a lovely, if short, sleep in New York before heading to Montreal yesterday morning. Or at least, that was the plan. The short version is that I was “denied entry” to Canada, forced to return to the US. Which worked out, as I was able to get my work visa Monday evening, but meant I didn’t get to spend the night in Montreal catching up with a fantastic family, couldn’t get to my storage locker, and wasn’t able to have poutine for dinner or bring a dozen St-Viateur bagels back to New York with me. Alas. But, as I said, it worked out: I am now a legal alien in the US. (In the 36 hour period that started with pulling out of the parking lot at FPU in Rindge, NH, and ending with my return to my lovely hosts in the Bronx, NY, with the trip to the border in between, I traveled 1638km, passed through NH, MA, CT, NY, NJ, and for all of three minutes QC, and both chased lightning storms and raced to avoid them.)

Today I dealt with the social security office. Seems I was too efficient; the US Border and Customs folks hadn’t yet entered my work visa in their database, so I couldn’t actually get the SSN. Most likely this means it’ll take 2-3 weeks to get a SSN instead of the 1-2, but worst case is that it could take as much as 4-6 weeks. I plan on following up with them both on the phone and in person.

I also had the joy of filing an FCC complaint today. While driving south through Albany last night, I was scanning the radio dial when I came across some sort of sermon or Bible study. I heard the word phylacteries and continued listening. That is, until I realised that it was anti-semitism masquerading as moral/Christian superiority. Ugh. I hope they’re fined.

And now? Now I try to burn through the rest of my to-do list, possibly have a nap, certainly call a few more leads on apartments, then try to get a good night’s sleep before my first day of work tomorrow.

Filed under: america, canada, friends, home, nhc 'tute, random, travels, work, wtf?

Howdy from New Hampshire!

It’s been a while, my friends. I’m currently enjoying the sun rain sun in Rindge, New Hampshire, where the National Havurah Committee Summer institute is underway. 372 people of all ages looking to do Jewish for a week – an amazing time. I’m teaching a course on “other” genders in the Mishna and their use in contemporary tshuvot (responsas), enjoying reconnecting with friends, and trying not to be too exhausted by everything there is to do…

I, and others, are posting about the ‘tute over on Jewschool; follow the NHC Summer Institute tag to see those posts. Feel free to comment on them over there, anonymously or not; I’d love to see some discussions come out of those posts.

And once I’m back from the mountains, I’m sure I’ll have a post or two about moving to New York, adventures at the mikvah, and more…

Filed under: america, judaism, nhc 'tute, travels

Alberta = Texas

This article about McCain and Senator Brownback (republican from Kansas) visiting Calgary confirms two things that I have often said:

1. The Conservative Party can no longer claim to be merely right of centre in their politics;
2. Alberta is Canada’s Texas (politically, in their mentality/outlook, and with cowboys and oil).

So long, Alberta, so long Tories, it’s been nice knowing you.

Filed under: america, canada, politics