Some topics on my mind lately: immigration, and the changing nature of human experience.
Just so you know, I have been practically imprisoned in my apartment for the last week, which could be a reason for this outpouring of extraneous thoughts, or why I feel so strongly the need to put them down on paper (blog).
First things first, regarding immigration. I recently began volunteering in a shelter for African women. Many of them were either victims of domestic violence, homeless, or sustained other hardships which make living alone and caring for their children difficult. I spend my time helping out around the house, and working with an eight year-old girl named Yehudit. The face of Tel-Aviv's immigrants changed shape for me; having previously taught English to middle-aged African men, their plight no less apparent. However suddenly I became aware of an overlooked corollary of immigration, children. Israel is certainly not the only country to find itself with large numbers of immigrant children, in the United States, one out of every five children is either an immigrant child, or a child of immigrant parents. This of course poses an endless host of social and educational challenges, which in Israel's case is just the tip of the iceberg. This wasn't meant to be a critique on Israel's policy towards "infiltrators", rather my observations on how children deal with adversity.
I am not sure of the exact circumstances of this girl's arrival in Israel, but I know she left behind many family members in Sudan. She lives in the shelter with her grandmother, who is frail and aging but whom she treats like her mother nonetheless. Unlike many of the other children in the shelter, Yehudit has an inspiring religious fervor. She talks about Hashem like if he were her best-friend. Every week she relates to another biblical story; her shock at how Cain could kill his own brother Abel, her amazement at the size of Noah's Ark and how her grandparents were named Avraham and Sarah, and gave lots of money to help the poor.
At first these stories broke my heart, I was angry at the government, and worried for her future. She might believe herself to be a Jew, but in the eyes of the state, she is far from one. Will she be able to join the army, attend university, and even one day get married and start a Jewish family? I realized that all my anxiety and anger was useless. The girl had found a way to overcome the difficulty of losing her parents, living and acclimating to a new society, one which does not want her there. If identifying with Judaism helps her cope, then I should only encourage it, and hope for the best. I have begun to see her less as a the archetypal poor African child, and more like a little sister.
So wait I had a couple more issues I wanted to talk about. I had a revelation last week, WE ARE THE LAST GENERATION TO REMEMBER THE PRE-DIGITAL ERA.
This really shocked me. I am often criticized by my boyfriend for being a hypocritical luddite, one who likes to lament on the deleterious effects of technology, while I indulge in endless hours spent surfing the internet, uploading pictures to Instagram, and skypeing (how do you spell that?) with my family. Let's put aside all the wonderful aspects of technology, like medical advancements, increased global communication, etc. I am talking about fundamental human interactions that are slowly being replaced by touch screens and text messages, memories with pictures, and sunlight and immersion in nature swapped for hours of endless engorgement in front of your computer or TV screen.
I guess you could say I am a proponent of the "slow tech" movement, and this need for digital detox has also influenced my return to being(or attempting to be) shomer shabbat. I think our mind and bodies are being altered by this inundation of information afforded to us by our digital devices. What happened to sitting and enjoying the beach, allowing our senses to rejoice in the natural stimulants of the sound of the waves crashing, the smell of the salty air, the sight of natural beauty in the form of a setting sun. Instead are we plugged in, logged on, connected. I found this Japenese word that really spoke to me-- Yugen. It's the idea that something is so amazing, so sublime, that it cannot be simply "captured". This may all sound a bit loony, but I feel we are the cusp of a moment in time where the digital world is slowly but surely creeping up on us; taking over parts of our lives and brains, and we are not even aware. In this type of world it is easy to forget who you are what you want. According to a Pew Survey, 75 percent of Americans send text-messages or talk on the phone when they are on the toilet. EXCUSE ME, but this is a. disgusting, and b. evolutionary, your time on the toilet should be time spent alone. Period.
I think I have exhausted this topic for the time being, many of you must think I am quite crazy, but I'd like to see you spend a whole day without your computer, smart-phone, or other digital gadget. Just try it, and then you tell me that we are not completely and totally slaves to these devices, many of us very unknowingly. I guess my final word is that this premium society puts on productivity and utility may lead us to think that we always need to be connected, or "busy" checking our emails, or Facebook messages, lest we miss something. In my experience, this mentality leads to diminished productivity, increased procrastination, brain-blockages, and an overarching sense of unease.
So next time you want to upload a picture of that awesome cupcake you just ate, or the sunset you saw, maybe put your phone down, try and draw it, or write about how it made you feel. Your brain is more likely to remember the moment if you take that moment for yourself. Who am I kidding, like any of you would actually do that. How many of you have decided to go out for a night on the town with your girls, just to arrive at the restaurant, and suddenly everyone is clicking and tapping away on their phones. Does this make any sense?
But really, it's gross to use your phone in the toilet, bring a book, or a newspaper, or just let your thoughts wander a bit. Just to show you how dedicated I am to this topic, I just bought myself an old-fashioned alarm clock. Yeah it's a cool looking vintage one, but we'll see how much the quality of my sleep changes without waking up to my chirping or barking smart phone. (That includes not going to bed with my computer, which has been my steady partner for the last 4 years).
