With the exception of a run in with a Pennsylvania state trouper, the day was filled with beauty and calm. For almost 700 miles I was transfixed by the landscape of upstate New York, Pennsylvania and finally, as the sun came down, Ohio. The 9 hour drive from Connecticut to Ohio took me through a variety of landscapes. The lush green mountains and valleys of the American North East strongly contrast to the deserts of Israel where I have been for the past 6 weeks. Upstate NY has more geographically in common with Eastern PA than it does with NYC.

My sister, Hana Forbes, writes in from Herzliya, responding to my comment in my earlier post, My Jewish Life,that she "became orthodox in college":

((((((

Over Shabbat I was thinking about what bothers me about calling me "Orthodox". I am only Orthodox in the sense that I am not-Conservative and not-Reform. I have a  basic philosophical disagreement with them.

On my way home from Rabbi Yakov's house after Shabbat dinner last night, I encountered two rabbits and a skunk. The rabbits stared at me briefly then darted away. The skunk stood patiently and saluted with his tail. I said "Good evening" to him then clearly and unthreateningly crossed the street to the other side.

The Cleveland Jewish FilmFest has begun here. The lineup looks  quite good. I may try to catch several (including possibly Un Secret, My Father My Lord, and The Secrets) that are playing a short walk away at the Cedar Lee Theatre.

I landed in Cleveland last night after a surprisingly relaxing flight. Rabbi Yakov met me at a Rapid Transit stop in University Heights, and we headed off to the new place, which is (compared, at least, to the 7'x8' room I was last cooped up in Berkeley) vast and beautiful. After a good night's sleep, I'm logged in from Phoenix Coffee on Lee Ave.

I'm going to spend the day wandering around the area. I intend to walk up Cedar Road to Richmond Ave and find my new workplace. The weather's good, though I'm going to have to reacquaint myself with humidity.

More later...

Here's a very good post from a new Lifehacker feature, "Ungeek to Live" on how to adjust to a new city. I've (virtually) clipped it and will certainly be referring back to it when I get to Cleveland this week.

Following up on Yishai's post from several days ago:

My own religious evolution continues, on a somewhat different but intersecting path.

This article in the New Yorker gives a good sense why some people are leaving the city to move to Buffalo. Map New York to San Francisco and Buffalo to Cleveland, and here I come!

Of course, I'm moving into a suburb rather than the "urban prairie" that the article describes, but a whole lot still holds true...

Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb gave a beautiful speech at the Democratic National Convention a few days ago. The takeaway idea from the talk: to love your neighbor as yourself, "Behavior, action, is what counts."

(A hat-tip to the Voz Iz Neias? blog for the link to text and audio.)

There's a good brief article in San Francisco's Jewish newspaper, j: "'Belly' of a tale: One-man play takes dialogue straight from eight Jews". Theatre artist and friend of Tiferet Jonathan Bender will be presenting his work at the San Francisco Fringe Festival, Sept. 6 through Sept. 14 at the EXIT on Taylor, 277 Taylor St. Check out bellyofthewhale.net for more information.