David's decision

2004 David's decision 9-8-04.pdf

Title

David's decision

Creator

Jacob Schlitt

Description

"At 8 am on the morning of Monday August 9, David called. "

Date

2004-08-09

Format

application/pdf

Type

text

Language

en

Coverage

2004

Identifier

2004_David's_decision_9-8-04

Text

At 8 am on the morning of Monday August 9, David called. We were asleep, but we were delighted to hear from him. We had been out of touch since last Thursday. We told him about Charlotte’s wedding and what we did in Brooklyn, and having gone to the Modigliani show at the Jewish Museum and our trip back.

David listened and expressed his pleasure and asked questions. And then he said he is calling, not only to find out how everything is, but also to tell us about some decisions he has made.

He explained that he attended the first two days of the Ulpan and realized that he doesn’t want to be in school. That he wants to be involved in the presidential election; that he wants to go out to Ohio or wherever he might be useful.

He wants to return the money he has received and defer school for another time. He doesn’t want to get on the fast track to academia. He wants to work on the election. That is what is important now. He can and will come back. But now he doesn’t want to do Yiddish in Israel. He wants to go his own way. He talked to Sharon about it. And he talked to Joe Berman’s cousin who was in Pardes, and David sees religious study as an aspect of activism. He is sad that he hasn’t made contact with the relatives, or with NACOEJ for Barbara, but he knows he will be back.

David may be leaving Israel next Sunday August 15. If we can, we will meet him at JFK. He has a lot to do between now and then. The Bronfmanim leave tomorrow, and he will have to clarify everything at HU, and find a place to stay between tomorrow and when he leaves.

It is admirable that he has been able to reevaluate his decision, understand the factors that went into leading him into choosing this time in Israel and at HU, and recognizing how much it means to him to participate in the upcoming presidential battle. If he gets a job working on the Kerry campaign, he knows that it will be a wash: that he will just get room and board. But he will be following his heart.

Original Format

Microsoft Word Document

Citation

Jacob Schlitt, “David's decision,” Autobiographical stories & other writing by Jacob Schlitt, accessed March 28, 2024, https://tsirlson.omeka.net/items/show/11.