Monday 3/1/10
-Woke up at 4:30a to go to the airport and fly to LA for my interview at Hebrew Union College.  The first day I was scheduled to meet with a psychologist and then have dinner with the coordinator and a few other applicants (and a current student).  I decided to take the bus to the psychologist and then to my hotel, and surprisingly it went almost exactly as planned.  After that though I took taxis because I didn’t have enough change and I needed to move quicker.
-Psychologist interview and MMPI-2 Test were interesting.  I hate feeling like a lab rat but I’m still driven to try to beat the curve.
-Dinner at the Farmer’s Market (Marmalade Cafe) was nice.  Everyone was friendly and the area was an interesting combination of an open-air shopping mall and a farmer’s market.

Tuesday 3/2/10
-The day of the big INTERVIEW!!  I got dressed up in my nice suit, then grabbed my bags and walked the two blocks or so to Hebrew Union College (near USC).  On the way, some school kids kicked a ball outside of their fence, so I gave it back to them. ;)
-The interview was nerve-wracking, but I enjoyed meeting and talking with the interviewers.  There was the admissions coordinator who I had dinner with the night before, a current student, a board member, an alum rabbi, a faculty member, and the dean of the rabbinical program.  Up for discussion: spirituality, leadership (and team leadership), poetry, theology, past experiences.
-After the interview, I took the Hebrew test.  It was 16 pages long, but not too terribly difficult.

Wednesday 3/3/10
-Finished “From the Maccabees to the Mishnah”, a general overview of the Jewish history from the Maccabean revolt (which inspired Hanukkah) to the writing of the Mishnah by Shaye J.D. Cohen.  Very informative and well organized.

Thursday 3/4/10
-Went to choir practice, then went to UofA basketball game against UCLA with Ben (Bryce’s parents gave us tickets from the people who normally sit next to them).  The game was pretty bad until we finally took our first lead at 65-64, eventually going on to win.

Friday 3/5/10
-Midterm for Portfolio Management, FIN 423b.  I probably should have studied a bit more…
-Led services at Hillel with Megan B. (combined Conservative/Reform).  Bryce joined late because she was feeling exhausted.  Dinner was tasty, Breakfast for Dinner.  Bryce helped with my D’var Torah: Could we really fault the Israelites for needing a Golden Calf “security blanket” when their leader Moses seemed to have disappeared?

Saturday 3/6/10
-Led services at Atria retirement home (I am volunteering twice a month).  Rabbi Rule #1: Bring prayer books for everyone!  I didn’t and it was somewhat awkward.  There were five friendly people who showed up, one of whom had known my grandmother quite well and who had given me a gold mezuzah necklace for my Bar Mitzvah, Diana (sp?).  I had them take turns reading some English parts, while I chanted/sang others in Hebrew.
-Went to my last home basketball game at UA against USC.  Since Bryce was still sleeping, I sat with Bryce’s parents and the surrounding people were great.  The game was very intense: Kyle Fogg made 3 free throws with 0.2 seconds left to tie the game in regulation, then after two overtimes Nic Wise pulled his amazing knife through butter trick and went through two defenders to barely slide a layup in for the winner.  Needless to say, the crowd was amazing.  Plus we got free HonesT tea drinks. :)

Sunday 3/7/10
-Wrote a lot of my thesis, Chapter 1: Origins of Rabbinic Judaism.  Finished it late at night and emailed it to David G. (thesis advisor).
-Led guest log and desk meetings with Chelsea.  They went fairly smooth although many people were absent. :(

Advertisement