To me, mere satisfaction — in job or life — has always meant stagnancy. But, as we all know, the interview process is exhausting. Besides being on your best behavior, you\’re subject to constant judgment. Confidence is imperative, and things are often not as they seem.
Since arriving, I\’ve also shed another stereotype that I had brought with me as a historian of the Jewish experience. Trained as a Europeanist, I had been inculcated to believe that Los Angeles was to New York as America was to Europe — a pale imitation of the real McCoy, a \”parvenu\” in a world in which antiquity and social stratification bestow merit. This view, unfortunately, is all too common among East Coast or Eurocentric academics.
Structured indoor learn-and-play venues have become increasingly popular as children lead more regimented lives. Academic expectations and after-school activities chew up free time for outdoor exploring, which was once the mainstay of childhood. Experts agree that the amount of play time available to the average child has been dramatically reduced to an hour or less each day. Factor in that many households require both parents to work and it\’s easy to understand why indoor play areas are gaining in popularity among young families.
In this week\’s Torah portion, which tells the story of King Balak, the sorcerer Bilam and Bilam\’s talking donkey, we learn two important lessons.
Dara Horn wrote an exuberant scene in her stunning debut novel, \”In the Image,\” upon returning to her dreary garret flat during a year abroad in 1999. \”I\’d been to this dismal British market in which an entire aisle was devoted to butter and fats,\” the ebullient Horn, 25, said animatedly. \”I recall a product called \’beef drippings.\’ The produce was wilting. All the milk was expired yesterday. I was very homesick.\”
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