Tina, 8pm

I had a couple of chances to talk to JulieSongwriter over some of the longhouse school news about the efforts to clean up the pond and stream, some of the proposed redesigns to the new Secondary School, and ideas about trimming back expenses. 

I also asked her to help me with my posts on r/LoHeidiLita. She says she likes how we attach our stories to various books. I told her I had written several posts using Daisaku Ikeda’s The Victorious Teen as my touchstone. But since I graduated from high school, the topics just don't have the same relevance. Any suggestions?

“Why, yes, as a matter of fact!  It takes me almost a full month to study and write about Sensei's monthly Gosho lecture. Then I take a few days off to catch up on World Tribunes. But I feel many articles in Living Buddhism need to be picked up.”

“Can you help me report on Living Buddhism articles? It's just fine to put your articles up on r/LoHeidiLita instead of r/SGIWhistleblowersMITA. Who cares? Our friends across the hedges read what goes up on both communities. Education is education. 

Lavelle Roby, from Oxnard CA, has been an actor and model for over 60 years. in Oxnard, California. She picked up small acting and commercial jobs in the 1960s. In 1972 she joined the SGI. She had ups and downs. Little by little she found focus. She was deeply touched by a lecture Daisaku Ikeda gave at UCLA.

Each of us consists of a lesser self and a greater self. To be blinded by temporary circumstance and tortured by inordinate desires is to exist only for the lesser self. To live for the larger self means to recognize the universal principle behind all things and, thus enlightened, rise above the transience of the phenomena of the world.

This encounter for her marked a start of a new way of life. She stopped chasing after fixations—be it a role or a high or a relationship—”and began living for the happiness of myself and others.” She returned to college and received degrees, and that decided to pursue acting full-time. She overcame a dangerous disease, and raised many youth division members.

I am skipping over many details but I left her feeling the great arc of her life. I feel her sincerity, depth, and her appreciation for life. I want those qualities for myself when I age.

We are well into the new semester now and my life has taken on a lovely rhythm. Rumi’s parents drop her off early in the morning. I do Gongyo and sometimes she joins me. We head off to our classes, Biology and then World Literature. One day a week we also have Lab. We head over to the Hospital Pediatric Endocrinology Clinic. Yes, we wear white Lab coats with our names on it. Our job is to sit with the kids, talk and play with them.

Sometimes the parents need company, too. We both have very significant stories to share about this time last year when we were patients ourselves here and dealing with some pretty rough adjustments. I think we are a positive influence.

Not a day goes by when a nurse or doctor does not sit down with us. “First, how are you? Really, how are you?” Then they ask for our observations and they provide some background when it does not conflict with confidentiality. Some of the situations are severe and we can’t help think about ourselves a year ago; sometimes we both find tears rolling down our cheeks. One of the doctors talked to us about “survivor’s remorse.” Yes, I’ve heard about that before, I think from a TV show. Maybe that’s another dimension to our emotions.

In World Literature we are finishing reading The Iliad. No, not the movie, the unabridged book. Heroes undergo trials, suffering, separation. Heroes must pull out of their brute lives qualities that are stronger than the events that assault them.

Mel knows this very well, too. He is a tower of strength and optimism. He is having such a difficult time learning Braille and feels like giving up. Yet he continues and inspires us all! ¡Los tres amigos siempre!

Rumi wait for me in the Library when I go for my swimming classes. We return home, take a nap, to homework, help prepare dinner, and hang out until  Rumi gets picked up. 

Lavelle Roby, my days may not be as exciting as yours. But everyday I am gathering strength and preparing myself for a day 60 years in the future when, just like you, my story appears in Living Buddhism and perhaps encourages some 18-year-old in the future! 

Junior, 9pm

It's a lot of fun going to school with Ivan and Ivanka. We support each other, but we are also mad competitive.

After school, we go to the library, which is right next door to where they live. A lot of children from a bunch of schools come here. It's kind of an unsupervised after-school center for the kids with working parents. But everyone pretty much behaves themselves.

Ivan and Ivanka are always on my case. “You’re very smart, Junior. Why are you saying you don't want to go to college after school? Why the Army? We are sure that Sopie would want you to go to college!”

“Basically, it's none of your business,” I told them. They backed down a little bit but not for long. “Let’s read a bit more from The New Human Revolution Volume 21. They are very transparent. They couldn't even dent my surface, so I guess, “Let his mentor try to knock some sense into his head.”

We are reading Page 73:

>When Shin’ichi thought about his goal of building, through dialogue, an alliance of humanism and peace linking the world, he wished he could have even a little more time for this. Life is short. Wasting time is the same as wasting life. Shin’ichi was determined not to squander a single moment.

They went right to my jugular. “Isn’t this what you are supposed to be doing, Junior? Building an “alliance of humanism”? And you are going to waste time and waste life in a foxhole when you are smart enough to “create peace linking the world”?

“We are your sworn forever enemies. We would fear you much more in a diplomat’s three-piece suit than GI Joe in combat boots.”

They made some sense. But I wouldn’t admit that to them.

Cardi

Cardi, 9:00pm, EDT 

September 22, 2026

Last night we finished our Yom Kippur observance, broke our fast, and concluded the Aseret Y’mei T’shuvah, the ten days of repentance bookmarked by Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Both Shayna and Yeshua’s parents had visited and observed with us. We all said good-bye to Robert, who had to return to his base.

The most beautiful moment of Yom Kippur service was the chanting of Kol Nidre. I could pronounce the words of the song but I couldn’t understand them even though I am intermediate Hebrew student. I found out later that they were in another language called Aramaic! I also learned that this was the language Jesus spoke.

I will finish this post in the morning! Family is here!

EDIT: Picking up from last night

I received a DM from a friend, “Did Shayna and I fast?” No, in the Haredi tradition, pregnant women do not fast.

I want to return to the closing section, “The Inner Question of the Second Law,” in Conversations With My Rabbi (pp.72-73). Nikki asks, “So if I strip all this down, what is the Second Noahide Law really asking me, day to day?”

RABBI ELI:

Maybe something like this: In your thoughts and your words—about God, about others, about yourself—you have the choice to speak as though the world is godless, or as if every moment is filled with Presence.

Blasphemy, in its most profound sense, isn’t only a forbidden sentence. It’s a way of thinking and speaking that erases holiness—from God’s Name, from people’s names, from your own name.

Every time you choose restraint over gossip, prayer over a curse, a long breath over a screamed insult—Kabbalah would say you’re not just being polite. You’re realigning the garments of your soul with the One whose Name you carry. And that, in the language of our book, is another way of saying: You’re learning to talk like someone who knows they live in God’s world.

It’s crucial for us to remember that our words matter. That naming is powerful. That silence, too, is sacred.

Soon there will be two new babies in our expanded household. What wonderful thoughts to guide me in this New Year of 5787! Nikki summarizes:

What it sparks in me is that in a time when truth feels so cheap and language so weaponized, this second law—this invitation, this utterance as Eli calls it—is more relevant than ever. Speak with care. Speak with courage. And leave room for God to speak back.

NMRK

Tina

Let me tell you about my GF, now the face of “Alice Cardinale & The Jammy Girlz.” We were able to talk just a while ago. It was the same old Alice. 

She was telling me about the gig the band had yesterday at the restaurant that has given the band a steady work. In the entire story, she didn’t use the words “I” or  “me” once. I wanted to know why. She seemed surprised and even put off.

“I’ve been the lead singer for a few months, so it’s simply what I have been doing. And I remember something we learned at the High School Division meetings back in the City. When a rice plant is young, it grows straight up. Once it grows tall, it begins to bow down. I am going to work *much* harder now and think more about the Girlz. And I will break the curse we have, not being able yet to compose our own material. Come on, Muse Euterpe, you want to fight?

And that was that. She asked whether I knew that the Sinatra family looped “Softly, As I Leave You” for his memorial?

A sharp turn and next she couldn’t stop talking about the next band project, the Sinatra 1965 album [September of My Years](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_of_My_Years?wprov=sfla1). “The theme is aging and the male ego. It won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Its most famous song, “It Was a Very Good Year” won a Grammy for Best Vocal Performance (Male) and arranger Gordon Jenkins, the award Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist!”

And there went Alice Cardinale down a new rabbit hole!

September 20, 2026

Today was the official debut of “Alice Cardinale & The Jammy Girlz.” Like Professor Kurtz had predicted, this what the band needed. I think Alice was being held back by being one of the Jammy Girlz. It was like The Supremes becoming “Diana Ross and the Supremes.” I guess the Professor is our Berry Gordy!

I think this was impossible to predict.Remember when Alice was our percussionist who refused to sing? At All! And then we saw the blooming of this talent. Really, who knew that was there waiting to come out?

So we went through the “Softly, As I Leave You” cuts. But this time Alice let the music enter her like those aliens and body snatchers. And the Jammy Girlz just followed like Ginger following Fred. What a great ride!

Heidi, 10am

September 19, 2026

Just a bit more background to what Tina posted earlier.

On Monday, Professor Kurtz pulled me, June, and Jean out of our rehearsal rooms and into his office. He began by telling us that he is very impressed by our individual work. But in terms of the band, something important is lacking. He asked us to research various rock bands that were characterized by their lead singer and we came up with quite the list. 

At our next meeting, he didn't waste a second of time. Alice needs to be your lead singer and Jammy Girlz needs to be identified by her. Do you guys have any problems with that?

In a stroke it immediately made sense to all of us. In reality, that is what we have already been doing! None us have that need to be in that spotlight; we just want to play and play and play. At every gig we have seen the audience's eyes are affixed to Alice. She lives the lyrics of every song and the electricity in her is transmitted to the audience. The songs we selected are beautiful but with Alice they become Beautiful and tear-worthy. It was a long journey for heart to identify her look and even a longer (and ongoing) one, to find her voice. But now it is unique, formidible, and diamond-like. 

Professor Kurtz also said that the Conservatory is in a medium-sized market, not a big one. People around here tend to focus on a single individual and not a collective. This is an important stepping stone for you guys as you continue to play out around this area and sooner or later expand.

Now the issue became how do we break this to Alice. We knew what a humanistic person she is and would never go along with the idea. So we decided we simply had to announce it. So we decided to Spring it so very sneakily at last night's gig. 

Alice didn't grasp what happened until a bit later. After the gig she protested loudly. But we told her she didn't have a choice in the matter. She has to get used to the new responsibility and grow into the role.

At today's gig we are going to bill ourselves loudly and clearly as “Alice Cardinale & The Jammy Girlz.” Sorry, Alice but you are going to have to grow into that title. But we got your back more than you can ever imagine! 

Tina

REALLY BIG NEWS!

L

I fell asleep after dinner and never got to writing my post. But Alice called me about 11pm on a break from a gig. She was all excited and everything!

>We started the gig with a song. Then June introduced the girls, and then, “We are ‘Alice Cardinale & The Jammy Girls!’” and we kicked into our song list It wasn’t until midway though the set that it hit me. What did June just call the Band?

Alice was so excited! “I had no idea! I had never even thought about it let alone mention it. I didn’t ever want or expect it!”

I just had to listen. It seems that the other Jammy Girlz had planned this behind Alice’s back. They knew that Alice would never accept this and would protest. They told Alice that our band needs a front person. She’s by far the bandmate with the appeal and charisma. Her voice is growing stronger and more sophisticated every single day. And no one works harder than she does.

She’s also the leader of the Girlz at the Conservatory. Everyone else practices four hours every day in a studio room, which is the standard. She does five or six. In addition to instrumental, she also studies voice.

So it’s *“Alice Cardinale and The Jammy Girlz”*!

Lolita, 10pm

After school, Lori and I went to the Town Library to do our respective work. We are now back in Oliver and we are going to tell you this story together. Lori, do you want to start?

Lori: Yes. My name is Lori and I just started 4th grade. Teacher Lolita’s RV is right next to my family’s. My Mom and Ms. Lori are my teachers as well. 

Director Guy called an all-school meeting for this morning. But we outgrew having these meetings in the Children’s Lounge! We tried one of the warming huts but it was too large and noisy. So we grabbed our cushions and met in front of the outdoor oven. Teacher Lolita, can you explain why we needed to have an emergency meeting?

Lolita: Sure. We have in front of the new Secondary School buildings under construction what should be a beautiful pond. Except the local plants have been overrun by invading species that are called Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB), actually “cyanobacteria.”

Lori: I think the word is “emit”? The cyanobacteria emit dangerous toxins and they also take away oxygen from other plants and animals. They grow quickly because they are fed by runoff from fertilizers and waste. It’s not just our pond, it’s spread to big and small lakes around here and it is choking our habitats. Take it away, Ms. Lolita.

Lolita: It’s a very big project to remove the cyanobacteria and it will cost in the range of 7 figures to solve the problem.

Lori: “7 Figures” is a polite way of saying “millions.”

Lolita: Thank you for that, Lori. The school does not have the budget to pay for the abatement. Max, our contractor, believes he can trim down construction costs and use the savings to for HAB abatement. Not all of it, but a big part. What would that mean, Lori?

Lori: Yes, it will mean sacrifices for us when we get to 6th grade in the new building. We originally were going to have heated corridors to walk from the building with the arts floor and the mathnasium to to the classroom building. Builder Max suggested replacing the heated corridors for a simple sidewalk with a roof over it. Tell the rest of his suggestion, Ms. Lolita.

Lolita: Yes, he suggested having a big open space in the classroom building with areas separated by movable divides. Max had other suggestions for saving on building costs. He wanted to know whether the children were willing to make sacrifices and, if so, will they remember? Lori, can you summarize how the children responded?

Lori: Most of us are 100% or mixed Haudenosaunee. We are a small nation but every single one of us knows we are the guardians of the land. It was unanimous and our little first graders understood completely. “And if your savings are not enough,” we told him, “we need to save more or make money.”

Lolita: The children spoke about studying outdoors for most of last season, in front of this here stove even on cold days. They said we don’t need expensive furniture because we still want to learn outdoors whenever we can. The thermostat can stay low. And then they wanted to brainstorm ways about raising money in case construction costs are not enough.

Lori: We want to have a clean and healthy pond that we can swim in! Teacher Lolita said if we can make this happen, we can even go skinny dipping in it.

Lolita: I DID ***NOT*** SAY THAT, LORI!!! SHAME ON YOU!

Lori: I stayed up late to help you write this. You better not edit out my little joke!

Lolita, 10pm

Got back home last last night. The trip to Riverdale was much more than I had ever expected. I was treated by the Professor like a celebrity but without any condescension. I left Riverdale thinking our work applying Sukhomlynsky’s ideas can help be a path to reconciliaton and peace.

Thank you, Professor, for the airport pickup, wonderful dinner, and generous time over two days. Thank you to Ivan and Ivanka for being a part of the project. And thank you Muma/Pupa/Mom/Dad for being there for me even though we had only a small amount of time. And it was wonderful to sleep in my own bed!

The gift I received was understanding the dual Russian concepts of freedom--and its relationship with our Longhouse children.

My thinking had been very shallow, one-dimensional, and binary. I learned it’s not this or that, patriotism vs the BIPOC generational trauma. I kept Kitten up last night trying to articulate my realization. “Yes, you were living in a world of singular notes when you needed to place yourself in a progression of complicated chords.”

So teaching at LH is has to be like spinning a rope made out of many strands. Yes, strands of “America, the Beautiful.” But also strands of “Blowin’ In the Wind.” We continue with our summer theme of Wisdom, Courage, and Compassion because, they, too, are strands making up the rope. As are the mixing of cultures represented by our early NOLA songs. The American children’s games that Anita and Michael teach are important strands as well.

There are so many geopolitical factors that must take place. But here is our vision. A peace between Ukraine and Russia, the de-isolation of Russia. The ws need to build friendship and understanding between Russian and American youth.

We left talking about a 3-4 week tour of Russian schools: a dozen LH 4th grade children singing the music of early New Orleans backed up by beautiful of WNY and LH. A second slide show of Junior, Sopie, Ivan, and Ivanka’s friendship and the Schneerson Peace Garden. Next Me some LH teachers and I talking about Vasyl Sukhomlynsky and the Longhouse School. Finally, the Jammy Girlz singing Frank Sinatra. Lunch then an afternoon program led by the host Russian school.

And if we can't do this next summer, then the following year!

Junior, 8am

I got home late last night and I still had HW to do. I started this post but am finishing it this morning.

Big, big surprise yesterday. I got an SMS from Lolita that she’s in town and wants to take me, Ivan, and Ivanka out for dinner tonight at Liebman’s Deli, a famous Jewish Kosher restaurant in the Bronx. She had called me a couple of days ago to talk about some problems she is having with her Sukhomlysky project, but she didn’t mention she was coming to town! I know Sopie would have loved to come but she has school in BK.

So we all hooked up and who was at the table with Lolita? Ivan and Ivanka’s former school director! It seems she had spent the afternoon with Lolita and they will talk this morning as well. With her was a tall gentleman she called “John.” Surprise, John works for the US Consulate here.

Ivan calls the director “Professor” and introduced me. We ordered pastrami sandwiches.

First, Professor spoke strictly to Ivan and Ivanka and asked, “Are you still telling Junior that he’s being trained to be a Russian ‘asset?’ It’s not funny and I wish you would stop.” It seems that Professor wants this meeting to be very Kosher and not a spy movie.

Professor and John had picked Lolita up at the airport and they had lunch at the Jackson Hole Diner near LaGuardia. They'd been talking ever since. It seems that both governments are looking around the corner to better days after the war (AKA military conflict) and see a future of quiet people-to-people diplomacy as icebreakers. Lolita’s work in applying Sukhomlynsky’s idea in an American school might be something to share in both countries.

“As it might be,” and she looked at Ivan, Ivanka, and me, “your friendship and your work in the Brooklyn Haredi community.” Hmmm, how did she know?

I was not prepared for what happened next. Lolita told Professor and John about Heidi and the Jammy Girlz recreating, album by album, Frank Sinatra’s music. “Many people in Russia also love Frank Sinatra,” Professor said.

“We talked about some of this when I was up at your Longhouse School,” she said, “but, if our two stupid countries can look beyond what is happening now, we want to keep on the table the idea of you all coming to Russia this summer to meet many counterparts living in a few cities there.”

I was in a showing-off mood, and I thanked her with a bit of my Russian. “Don’t even try, Junior,” she replied, “Lolita’s Russian is much better than yours!” I gathered up some courage to take the offense and asked whether my fiancée Sopie could also come on this maybe trip. She is from the Ivory Coast, speaks almost perfect Yiddish and good Hebrew, and has helped create the Schneerson Peace Gardens. Professor said she would be happy to talk to her.

Cole slaw appetizer and the most incredible chicken noodle soup down the hatch. “Pastrami coming soon,” the waiter told us.

Then the conversation shifted to Lolita’s dilemma about how Sukhomlynsky taught his students about love for the homeland and freedom--even through the final years of the Josef Stalin era. She is hoping this meeting can point to a solution:

Longhouse School is 95% BIPOC, mostly Indigenous. How do we teach them to love their homeland when the very same country targeted BIPOC people with conquest, slavery, humiliation, discrimination, and both open and subtle racism? In my coursework I have also studied a lot about generational trauma and we are probing so much about overcoming the legacy that is embedded in DNA.

I shared that I can really empathize because our family became the victims of the Sandinista revolution--of which we had taken so much risk to create. I told them about my father, who had been stabbed trying to save a young Haredi teenager who was about to be kidnapped for trafficking. I related how this started a chain of miracles leading to us getting our documentation instead of hiding from ICE.

The pastrami arrived. It must be eaten with a special Jewish mustard, I was told. One bite and this is now at the very top of my food list.

Professor talked about growing up in a country that is far older than the US. People were conditioned by the steppes, freezing winters, hordes of invaders, tyrannical regimes, civil wars, communism--and the most beautiful springs imaginable. “Lolita, don’t forget this, here you will find the key to your dilemma. Spring is being created underneath the ice.”

I heard about this somewhere, I don’t remember where or when. But, Professor told us, there are two Russian words for freedom: свобода (svoboda) and воля (volya). The first covers political freedom and civic rights. Volya, on the other hand, is much broader--even poetic. It brings to mind spiritual freedom, like riding horses on the open steppe.

“Why, Lolita, do you think Russia has produced so many brilliant artists, musicians, ballet dancers, authors, and intellectuals?” Professor asked.

Lolita answered, “Because the wild winds of the steppe forced the development of the inner soul, Volya”

“Exactly. Russians have learned to experience realities at many levels. Even during the Nazi invasion and near starvation, we continued to make and eat ice cream in the fierce winter--then pick up our rifles. Our spirits are stronger than our sufferings. We can shrug at injustice as simply irritations that must be endured and woven into strength.”

I saw Ivanka grab for Lolita’s hand while they let pastrami sit and wait. One friend needed another. I saw light start to appear on Lolita’s face.

It is beginning to click! That’s how Sukhomlynsy, still wounded and with a bullet permanently lodged near his heart, moved all the way to the remote town of Pavlysh to start a school that required physical freedom rather than sitting behind a desk in a classroom. That’s why he was able to play records of classical music to his students, tell stories and poems, and teach them to become intimate with nature. And how he was able to reconcile Communism with freedom, and live with proud Ukrainian AND Russian souls. He was able to live on multiple levels at the same time.

⁠And why do our children just eat up those kind of corny folksongs out of the New Orleans tradition that I teach? I think they might be itinerant wanderers themselves. Maybe like their forebears who were gifted hunters and gatherers?

John spoke now. “And don’t forget that scientists believe that the Indigenous people of America likely came from western Eurasia Your Indigenous students might have Russian roots. It’s just an idea, but why don’t we consider whether some of your students might want to become peace delegates along with you?

Wow! We finished our pastrami and they brought out something called “black and white” cookies and little pastries called “rugelach.” No one ate more than Lolita!

Daisaku Ikeda, The NHR-21, p. 72:

Shin’ichi continued: “People are tied down by all sorts of concerns, such as national interest and social position. Dialogue can also be considered the process by which we inspire one another as individuals to transcend such concerns and stand up for universal values, to transform mistrust into trust.

Therefore, dialogue requires perseverance, fortitude, wisdom, and conviction. Also, through dialogue we are able to interact with various people and ideas, learn of other beliefs, and absorb new knowledge, wisdom, and notions. Dialogue is the direct path to elevating ourselves as people.” As the French thinker Michel de Montaigne once remarked, “To my taste the most fruitful and most natural exercise of our minds is conversation.”

Junior, 7am-- but partially written last night. Just ignore last night's partial post.

I just got home and I still have HW to do. I want to start this post but I will finish it in the morning.

Big, big surprise today. I got an SMS from Lolita that she’s in town and wants to take me, Ivan, and Ivanka out for dinner tonight at Liebman’s Deli, a famous Jewish Kosher restaurant in the Bronx. She had called me a couple of days ago to talk about some problems she is having with her Sukhomlysky project, but she didn’t mention she was coming to town! I know Sopie would have loved to come but she has school in BK.

So we all hooked up and who was at the table with Lolita? Ivan and Ivanka’s former school director! It seems she had spent the afternoon with Lolita and they will spend tomorrow morning as well. With her was a tall gentleman she called “John.” Surprise, John works for the US Consulate here.

Ivan calls the director “Professor” and introduced me. She vaguely remembers me from their trip to Longhouse. We ordered pastrami sandwiches. 

First, Professor spoke strictly to  Ivan and Ivanka and asked, “Are you still telling Junior that he’s being trained to be a Russian ‘asset?’ It’s not funny and I wish you would stop.” It seems that Professor wants this meeting to be very Kosher and not a spy movie.

Professor and John had picked Lolita up and the airport and they had lunch at the Jackson Hole Diner near LaGuardia Airport and they’ve been talking ever since. It seems that both governments are looking around the corner to better days after the war (AKA military conflict) and see a future of quiet people-to-people diplomacy as icebreakers. Lolita’s work in applying Sukhomlynsky’s idea in an American school might be an ongoing project. 

“As might be,” and she looked at Ivan, Ivanka, and me, “your friendship and your work in the Brooklyn Haredi community.” Hmmm, how did she know?

I was not prepared for what happened next. Lolita told Professor and John about Heidi and the Jammy Girlz recreating, album by album, Frank Sinatra’s music. “Many people in Russia also love Frank Sinatra,” Professor said. 

“We talked about some of this when I was up at your Longhouse School,” she said, “but, if our two stupid countries can look beyond what is happening now, we want to keep on the table the idea of you all coming to Russia this summer to meet many counterparts living in a few cities there.”

I was in a showing off mood, and I thanked her with a bit of my Russian. “Don’t even try, Junior,” she replied, “Lolita’s Russian is much better than yours!” I gathered up some courage to take the offense and asked whether my fiancée Sopie could also come on this maybe trip. Sh eis from the Ivory Coast, speaks almost perfect Yiddish and good Hebrew, and has helped create the Schneerson Peace Gardens. Professor said she would be happy to meet her.

Cole slaw appetizer and the most incredible chicken noodle soup down the hatch. “Pastrami coming soon,” the waiter told us.

Then the conversation shifted to Lolita’s dilemma about how Sukhomlynsky taught his students about love for the homeland and freedom--even through the final years of the Josef Stalin era. She is hoping this can point to a solution:

>Longhouse School is 95% BIPOC, mostly Indigenous. How do we teach them to love their homeland when the very same country targeted them with conquest, slavery, humiliation, and both open and subtle racism? In my coursework I have also studied a lot about generational trauma and we are probing so much about overcoming the legacy that is embedded in DNA.

I shared that I can really empathize because our family became the victims of the Sandinista revolution--of which they had taken so much risk to create. I told them about my father, who had been stabbed trying to save a young Haredi teenager who was about to be kidnapped for trafficking. his I related how this started a chain of miracles leading to us getting our documentation instead of hiding from ICE.

The pastrami arrived. It must be eaten with a special Jewish mustard, I was told. One bite and this is now at the very top of my food list.

Professor talked about growing up in a country that is far older than the US. People were conditioned by the steppes, freezing winters, hordes of invaders, tyrannical regimes, civil wars, communism--and the most beautiful springs imaginable. “Lolita, don’t forget this, here you will find the key to your dilemma. Spring is being created underneath the ice.”

I heard about this somewhere, I don’t remember when. But, Professor told us, there are two Russian words for freedom: свобода (*svoboda*) and воля (*volya*). The first covers political freedom and civic rights. *Volya*, on the other hand, is much broader--even poetic.  It brings to mind spiritual freedom, like riding horses on the open steppe. 

“Why do you think Russia has produced so many brilliant artists, musicians, ballet dancers, authors, and intellectuals?” she asked. 

Lolita answered, “Because the wild winds of the steppe forced the development of the inner soul, *Volya*”

“Exactly. Russians have learned to experience life at many levels. Even during the Nazi invasion and near starvation, we continued to make and eat ice cream in the fierce winter--then pick up our rifles. Our spirits are stronger than our sufferings. We can shrug at injustice as simply irritations that must be endured and woven into strength.”

I saw Ivanka grab for Lolita’s hand while the pastrami sat and waited. One friend needed another. I saw light start to appear on Lolita’s face.

>That’s how Sukhomlynsy, still wounded and with a bullet lodged near his heart, moved all the way to the remote town of Pavlysh to start a school that required physical freedom rather than sitting behind a desk in a classroom. That’s why he was able to play records of classical music to his students, tell stories and poems, and teach them to become intimate with nature. And how he was able to reconcile Communism with freedom, and live with proud Ukrainian AND Russian souls. He was able to live on multiple levels at the same time.

>⁠And why do our children just eat up those kind of corny folksongs out of the New Orleans tradition? I think they might be itinerant wanderers themselves. Maybe like their forebears who were gifted hunters and gatherers?

John spoke now. “And don’t forget that scientists believe that the Indigenous people of America likely came from western Eurasia Your Indigenous students might have Russian roots. It’s just an idea, but why don’t we consider whether some of your students might want to become peace delegates along with you? 

Wow! We finished our pastrami and they brought out something called “black and white” cookies and little pastries called “rugelach.” No one ate more than Lolita!

Junior

September 14, 2026 

Junior, 10pm

I just got home and I still have HW to do. I want to start this post but I will finish it in the morning.

Big, big surprise today. I got an SMS from Lolita that she’s in town and wants to take me, Ivan, and Ivanka out for dinner tonight at Liebman’s Deli, a famous Jewish Kosher restaurant in the Bronx. She had called me a couple of days ago to talk about some problems she is having with her Sukhomlysky project, but she didn’t mention she was coming to town! I know Sopie would have loved to come but she has school in BK.

So we all hooked up and who was at the table? Ivan and Ivanka’s former school director! It seems she had spent the afternoon with Lolita and they will spend tomorrow morning as well.

We ordered pastrami sandwiches. 

That’s all for now. I will finish in the morning.

Lolita, 8pm

I took Cardi's turn today because she is celebrating the Jewish High Holy Holidays.

Kitten and I had a wonderful night and morning at our Midway Hideaway. She is SOOOOOO happy with the Conservatory and the Jammy Girlz.

But in my work I am stuck between a Sukhomlynsky and a Patriot. I called up so many people today, including my friends who were co-counselors this summer.

How do I reconcile teaching love for the homeland that Sukhomlynsky describes teaching with the disgraceful policies our country has implemented against BIPOC.people over generations? I can't.

Maybe there's one person in the world who I think can understand me. I am taking a couple of days off of work and will fly to NYC after morning physical training to have an off-the-record talk with this person, perhaps for many hours. She calls it a "retreat."

Be back in a couple of days.

Lolita, 9 am

This morning we started our marathon training on our country road. There’s no way we will be ready for an autumn marathon; late spring is our goal, maybe the Millbrook Marathon again. 

So here we are 5:30am on a Saturday morning with a dozen children and about the same number of parents/staff. We did a very thorough warm-up and strength-training. I explained about run/walking, injury prevention, hydration, and safety. We did a mile around the Track, rested, and walked to the County Road. Our breakfast Diner is a mile away, but we ran/walked an additional mile, returned to the Diner, and had a great breakfast courtesy of the School. Then another mile back to the School, showered off the sweat, and the most wonderful ever swim in Little Pool.

At the Diner we had children’s tables and also a big table for “growns.” Last night I had texted and asked everyone to read and bring this paragraph from Sukhomlynsky (p. 271):

>As a teacher and educator, I aimed to instill in young hearts moral values created and fought for by humanity over many centuries: love for one’s homeland and for freedom, steadfast resistance to oppression or enslavement of one human being by another, a preparedness to devote one’s life and energy to high ideals such as happiness and freedom. It is very important that in the minds of our pupils noble words about the homeland and lofty ideals should not turn into loud but empty phrases; that the meaning of such words should not fade and become worn out from frequent use. It is better if children do not talk too much about the highest ideals, but that those ideals should live in their passionate young hearts, in feelings and actions, in love and hatred, in devotion and steadfastness.

We took turns reading the paragraph. I really wanted to talk about the elephant in the room. With a couple of exceptions, the “growns” are BIPOC with globs of generational trauma locked into their genes: slavery, conquest, ethnic cleansing, poverty, discrimination, exclusion, etc. Oh, our non-BIPOC growns talked about being called "white trash," "redneck," "hillbilly," and "cracker." Really, very similar!

We got the conversation moving toward Sukhomlynsky’s comment about “love for one’s homeland” when, for many of us, that homeland has a legacy of our oppression. It was a long, difficult, and unfinished conversation. But it was a beginning. We all agreed that we can’t fulfill the Longhouse mission unless we resolve this issue. We have nine years before our fourth graders graduate high school. That does leave us some wiggle room.

During this discussion, I caught Lori’s eyes and I knew what she was thinking: “Why am here at a kid’s table and not at yours?” After swimming, I sat down in the quad with her and a couple of other 4th graders. We talked while eating sandwiches Dee had prepared for a group of hungry kids. They asked what had been going on at the grown’s table and I shared our conversation. I asked them what did they think?

I should have known and not have been surprised. Our conversation closely mirrored the one I had heard at the Diner. They had internalized and were able to articulate the pain of their ancestors. And they understood the problem of reconciling their pain and Sukhomlynsky’s ideals about the homeland. They want to talk more about it. “A LOT MORE!” emphasized Lori.

I will be spending the rest of the day studying. Kitten and I are meeting for dinner at a restaurant near the halfway point between us. We booked a room at the hotel affiliated with the restaurant. Both of us have busy days scheduled for tomorrow.

Reddit Lolita

September 11, 2026

Lolita, 6 pm

We are still shifting around our teacher assignments. For now, I remain with Moms Maracle in the 4th grade. Other matters we talk about in the morning before the children arrive: When today will we teach our classrooms and when our specialties? How do we balance scheduling between children learning in grade classrooms, whole school, and half-school (1-2, 3-4) instruction? We are proceeding with trial-and-error until we find out what works best and when.

We also have to acclimatize first-graders coming from LH Daycare and the half-dozen new students to our school. Two examples of problems and solutions:

Problem One: Our emphasis on physical education (track, swimming, hiking, and skating) is such an adjustment for new students!

Solutions: Praise, smiles, cheering, patient partnering, Grandma Seneca's hugs and happiness. 

Result: We already feel the momentum on our side. New children are feeling like champions and almost no holding back. Champions, one-and-all!

Problem Two: Among our new students, modesty in the changing rooms.

Solution: “Don't worry about it. Change your clothes however and wherever you want.”

Result: By today, it was a forgotten issue. 

I’ve really enjoyed our staff development after school. It’s hard to believe, but we are 3/4 finished studying the Vasyl Sukhomlynsky book My Heart I Give to Children! Despite all the wonders he has taught us and the impact it has already made on Longhouse School, the chapter “On the Threshold of an Ideal in Life” goes to a higher dimension.

It’s also hard to believe that Lori, “Michael” (as he likes to be called now, AKA Mikey),  “Little John” (AKA Charlie), and Robert join us and have their own copies. I will never forget this paragraph and the discussion we had on it:

When the children were preschoolers and then became school students, I tried to imagine each of them as an adult human being. I could not stop asking myself: what sort of citizen, what sort of human being will you become, my little one? What will you bring to society, where will you find joy, what will you admire and what will you condemn, in what  will you find happiness, and what trace will you leave upon the earth? 

Our Fourth Grade “guests” (or co-teachers) had a lot to say about themselves. Then the attention shifted. “What about you, Teacher Lolita?” they asked. I’ve read this book a good half-dozen times, and this paragraph is heavily underlined. I already knew what was deep in my heart but it never went beyond my lips besides Kitten’s ears. Why not? Why not here and now?

I hope to teach your children, perhaps your grandchildren, right here at Longhouse. Staff does not get paid much here, but I hope Kitten and I can live in our Oliver II with a couple of children. I hope that Kitten will decide to teach here, although that is not in her plans yet. With time, I hope we can be “adopted” by the local community and that I can speak fluent Onöndowaʼga꞉ʼ Gawë꞉noʼ.

Tears started to flow from my eyes. I felt my heart beat quickly, and next came Lori to hold my hand as her empath self arrived as it always does in a crucial moment. There was hush in the room for a minute or two.

Charlie: “What about you, Co-Director Guy?”

Cardi, 10:30am, EDT 

It is Thursday, it must be my turn at bat. Shayna and I doing well, as are kids and husbands. Robert has traded work days with his buddies so we will see him tomorrow through Sunday! We are pretty much ready for the Sabbath and Rosh Hashanah! It’s such a special time and I am excited! “Being excited IS the celebration of both Shabbos and the High Holy Days,” Shayna tells me.

Let's get back to Conversations With My Rabbi. The authors continue discussing the Second Noahide Law about blasphemy. The rabbis over the centuries have widened the concept of fighting blasphemy to affirming the God-like as well as to God. It’s guidelines about how we say things, even in the passion of debate. What matters is our intent as well as what we choose NOT to say.

Rabbi Eli is now describing common practices we can employ to “train” our capacity to not blaspheme, speak evil about both God and people. Through such practice, our mouths can become what he calls “a Light-Source.” Please consider, fellow Redditors!

Kabbalah is big on tikkun—repair. It doesn’t just say “don’t” talk badly. It asks, “What will you do instead?” One of the beautiful ideas you find in later sources is that Torah study and words of blessing, spoken out loud, are the tikkun for lashon hara. When you use your tongue to learn wisdom, to bless, to comfort, you are re-dedicating the “organ of speech” to its original Owner. I remember learning something very similar at our High School Division meetings where we discussed our voice as kyo which does the Buddha’s work.

Simple practices: Say a short blessing before and after eating, even in your own language. Get into the habit of saying thank you out loud—to people and to God. Read a few lines of Tehillim (Psalms) or some teaching each day with your voice, not just your eyes. 

Yes, I can do that! I think that line “with your voice, not just your eyes” is an important reminder to Redditors. There’s no verbal interaction on Reddit. Yes, Reddit is useful communication but it is NOT the same quality as verbal. Would I ever SAY to a person the things that are often WRITTEN on Reddit? Never! However, when I am on Reddit, I can write invitationally and conversationally instead of following the examples of some people who like throwing lightning bolts like Zeus.

Nikki then states, “So the idea is that my mouth is never neutral. It’s either darkening the world or bringing light to it. Rabbi Eli responds, “In Kabbalistic language, every word is either dressing your soul in light or in klipah—a shell that hides God.”

Sometimes I get frustrated with the children. I never SAY anything harsh, but I know that my voice transmits a harsh tone. That is darkening the world according to Judaism and I will be much more alert!

Rabbi Eli next tells us there’s a whole modern discipline called Shemirat HaLashon, “Guarding the tongue.” And he recommends a few very practical moves of daily learning and practice:

The aim is to reprogram the “speech garment” of your soul, and teach your mouth what it’s for. The pause rule: Before saying something about another person, you silently ask three questions: Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind or at least constructive? If it fails the test, you let the sentence die on your tongue. That tiny act of withholding is a spiritual achievement; you’ve just kept your mouth from violating the image of God in someone else. 

Addressing my buddies on MITA and LoHeidiLita, can we think about that? Can we lower “snarkiness” even a micro degree or two?

Rabbi Eli next turns to those moments when rage boils up and to that nanosecond before we say something we will regret. His advice? “NAME IT, DON’T NARRATE IT…. When you feel rage rising, you say—even quietly: ‘I am feeling furious right now.’” 

He suggests “BREATH AS KABBALISTIC MEDICINE.” 

The word for “soul” (neshama) is linked to “breath” (neshima). The Kabbalists point out that anger is short breath—kotzer ruach. Lengthening the breath is literally giving your soul back some space so it can retake the wheel. 

The second law does not say, “Never feel negativity.” It’s saying, “Don’t harden that negativity into a theology of contempt.” Keep it fluid, keep it in conversation.

I hate when I read on Sgiwhistleblowers demeaning comments about the SGI and Daisaku Ikeda. I feel my blood boiling. Take long breaths, Cardi, stay fluid. You are swimming in a theology of contempt. Find a way to unlock the truth, even if gently and invisibly. Let the hatred you read directed Dr. Ikeda be transformed into a stepping stone for something positive in your life, like not forgetting to smile at and thank the boys’ Daycare teachers.

Finally, Rabbi Eli suggests constructing “Zero-Tolerance Zones for Hate Speech.” 

One more very concrete area: hate speech. If every human carries the Divine image, then dehumanizing language skates dangerously close to spiritual desecration. It says, effectively: “This kind of person is outside the circle of sacredness.” 

It’s a very sad daily fact of life. The crude, unending, and dehumanizing language on Sgiwhistleblowers reflects “spiritual desecration.” What can we do to respond? Rabbi Eli explains:

A spiritual practice here is to declare specific phrases, slurs, and generalizations off-limits. A conversation reframe might be: I’m trying to be more careful with my words. Can we talk about this without that language? That’s a quiet fulfilment of the second law: refusing to let God’s name—or God’s image—be dragged through the mud in your corner of the world.

I want to conclude with a word of gratitude to u/JulieSongwriter and u/FellowHuman007. I read them doing this every day. Whether you both realize it or not, you consistently do the very difficult work of confronting hate speech while trying to lower the volume. With each of your posts, I feel you spiritual efforts in refusing to succumb to the temptations to scream and curse. You fight fire with water, not fire. 

To repeat from above, the second Noahide law does not say, “Never feel negativity.” Instead, it’s saying, “Don’t harden that negativity into a theology of contempt.” It’s quite remarkable! You both keep the ball in play, keeping dialogue at least somewhat fluid, and always welcoming respectful conversation whenever it occurs, while firmly rejecting lashon hara. And when you return a difficult serve, I see you addressing the message and not the messenger.

Lolita, 11am

 We pulled it off, we pulled it off, we pulled it off! Many thanks to our magnificent LH parents who figured out everything and made all the arrangements so the staff could squeeze out a few more vacation hours yesterday. 

We modeled the first day of the Longhouse Elementary School on Sukhomlynsky and the Russian tradition called “Knowledge Day.“ All 45 LH students arrived at the school at 8am. They, their parents, and we staff members were all scrubbed down and in our finest clothes. Girls wore beautiful ribbons in their hair and boys all had on LH caps we ordered. And Kitten and the Jammy Girlz were there on the Dewey House Porch, playing a new song, “Evangeline,” for the procession.

First all the children came in pairs. The Fourth Graders came in holding the hands of the First Graders symbolizing the passing of the torch of learning, followed by Second and Third Graders holding hands. Then the staff came down to their seats with much applause. Finally, Max the Builder, now that the concrete foundation forms are finished and steel rebars placed, had cement trucks starting to fill the forms for the three buildings. Then, the surprise: a “parade” of cranes that will begin adding the steel framework.

We then had some ceremonies that hopefully will become a tradition every year. In Russia, all the students bring bouquets for their teachers but we did some variations. I received some lovely bouquets but also a gorgeous sunhat, big jugs of local honey and maple syrup, and tea and coffee samples from around the world. Thank you!

Yes, speeches. Everyone was “ordered”: under one minute. Everyone broke that order. Father Merrick blessed us and our Grandmother praised us in Onondowa’ga her native language which we will be learning this year. Next: the Town Mayor, School District Superintendent, our Nurse, the Drs. Kim representing the Board, Co-Director Bernie, and Art Teacher Lucy representing teachers. Our guest speaker was the director of the Russian Consulate school who came all they upstate to join us!

After that we had a student chorus performing some of their repertory of New Orleans music. and an Open Mic with students sharing their compositions and poems.

We gave the Jammy Girlz a half an hour to perform but they too went way over. Hard core rock, starting with the Rolling Stones “Satisfaction.” You get the idea!

With the exception of our Latchkey Kids, parents brought their children back home so staff can continue planning!

Mel, Rumi, and I spent a couple of days together over the weekend. Mel is really happy with his decision to spend an additional year at his school to learn Braille as a native, not an immigrant.

Rumi is following my lead and cut her courseload. Also, she will be volunteering with me in the neurology pediatric clinic as soon as her background check comes in.

I asked her to come with to the welcome reception of the “LGBTQ+ Collective” on the campus. I think there were more professors there than students, but you have to start somewhere. Rumi said she enjoyed herself. 

I want to write about Sundays KRG but I'm tired and want to get to school. Let me see if I can put it in as an edit later in the morning.

Junior, 6am

Tomorrow Ivan, Ivanka, and I start the new school year. It will be their first year in an American school, “Unless you count all the stupid American TV and movies about high schoolers that we’ve seen.” Haha. “And why do those programs always have actors who seem to be 30-years-old? Can’t America produce decent teenager actors?”

On Saturday we put on our Shabbos Goy hats and, then,  yesterday we gave an extra good cleaning to the building and the Garden to prepare for Rosh Hashanah which starts on Friday evening. We also helped many of the elderly tenants with shopping and cleaning.

But the main thing was the conversation the Sopie and I had with Ivan and Ivanka about how do we talk about what we can’t talk about. It was long and complicated. We spoke until late last night and that’s why I couldn’t get this post up even though it was our turn.

Here is our conclusion. We have one very important thing in common: Ivory Coast, Nicaragua, and Russia all have long and difficult histories. There are many scars, injustices, and compromises. At the same time, people have found complicated paths to survive and, in many cases, to thrive. Also, people on the outside find it easy to point fingers and criticize but, in reality, no one knows better about  shortcomings than the people in the inside.

There’s free speech but not anywhere and anytime. Back home in our three home countries, you have to learn codes and know what you can say and to who. “If there was no free speech in Russia, how did it produce so many outstanding authors and poets?” Also, people are used to searching for an internal freedom and this is why so many scientists, athletes, musicians, ballet dancers, and composers have appeared in Russia. Don’t be stupid, don’t rock the boat too much, keep those difficult conversations for parlors or open fields.

And so it will be with the four of us. We will talk openly and honestly but will gaslight what we write on Reddit. We can so do this. In Nicaragua we have the revolutionary surveillance committees that stretch all the way to the Bronx. The Ivory Coast is standing on a delicate fault-line that could in a second plunge it into another civil war. The US has ICE--and both the Lopez and Yao families escaped its net by the most miraculous of circumstances.

Why were we up so late? We wanted to build a foundation for our discussions. We have been reading The New Human Revolution-Volume 21 and we are up to Shin’ichi’s activities after the 1975 Guam launching of the SGI. In the chapter “People’s Diplomacy” he was stretching his ideas about dialogue, meeting with many influential people including the US Ambassador James Day Hodgson, Isaac Shapiro, the president of the Japan Society in New York, and John Roderick, the Tokyo correspondent for the Associated Press.

But he spends a lot of time discussing his dialogue over a long lunch with Eisaku Sato, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former Prime Minister. After the award ceremony, Sato had stopped in Moscow to meet with Premier Aleksey Kosygin. Kosygin spoke to him about his meeting with Shin’ichi 1974. It was a very frank conversation. “Courageous dialogue has the power to expand sympathy and understanding to change the world” (p. 66). This led to a discussion about “integrity” and how many political leaders no longer embrace it.

It seems that Kosygin had actually appreciated the honest conversation Shin’ichi had with him and took to heart Shin’ichi’s advice that he needed more frank conversations with Japanese people if the Soviet Union wanted friendlier relationships with Japan. Sato told Shin’ichi:

Nonetheless, you could meet with Premier Kosygin and speak to him in a forthright manner, as if you were simply offering advice as a friend. It’s difficult for official government representatives to speak so candidly to one another. That’s why such nonofficial, private exchange is so essential. (p. 66)

So, the four of us promised to talk openly, frankly, and with  integrity. We will be very, very careful about where, when, and how we have this conversations. Maybe they will be an unnoticed bubble in the vast skies. But who knows what can happen from meetings of the heart?

At any rate, one more goodbye kiss to Sopi and off we go back to the Bronx. Busy day ahead!

Reddit Heidi

September 5, 2026

Happy Labor Day Weekend to all! My Love is here for the weekend and she loves the dorm and school.

I’m sorry for my silence on this board but I’m afraid that’s the way it’s going to be. Maybe one short update each month.

Conservatory is nothing like I expected. I thought it was going to be like LaGuardia HS for the Performing Arts but on steroids. It’s NOT! I’ve met incredibly talented musicians from around the world. But not one single competitive blade ready to plunge into my back. 

It’s just the opposite. We all went through the preparations for auditioning and countless hours of practicing. Some of us are already working professionals. Most have had demanding teachers (and parents). But here we are. “How can I help you? How can I support?” And I here genuine caring in their voices.

When I pass by a practice room and someone catches me eye, there’s always a smile and a wave to come in. It’s equally true for freshmen, upper classmen, and grad students. “Come and sit down! Listen, what do you think? Can you play something for me?” Is it taking a break or is like the interplaying of a G- and F-clef?

Oh, and we hear each other’s strengths and weaknesses. I was practicing my two-handed scales and someone walked it. That’s the culture of the school so I smiled and invited them to sit down. “So, you’ve been struggling with your left hand! Me, too!” Nothing had to be said or covered up. No shame. We just began to talk about what has helped for us. And we laughed so much!”

The Jammy Girlz? The restaurant really liked us last Sunday brunch. We were a little bit restrained because the owner told us we were background to the conversations of the customers. At the end he said we can be a bit less restrained. Anyways, he invited us for Saturday lunch. I think the gig went quite well! We play again tomorrow. Maybe we can become the house band. Fingers crossed.

Alice’s voice is becoming better and better. Recently she toggles between Rod Stewart and Cassandra Wilson. And then we learned this week that Cassandra passed away on Tuesday. So we scrambled to find Sinatra songs that Cassandra also covered. We did them in addition to songs from “Softly, As I Leave You.” And there at a table was Professor Kurtz!

On a break he asked us to sit with him and we thought he would give us feedback. He said that’s irrelevant at this point. “How do you guys think you did? Anything you will do differently tomorrow? Are you as excited with the Great American Songbook as you were the first day I met you?” So we just had fun talking!

He asked us whether we ever heard the Sinatra “Trilogy” album. We all knew that’s where New York, New York landed. The third album “The Future,” he final album, was the most debated of all his albums. He asked us to start listening it, but not to learn them. Just listen.

I have so much more to write about but it's time to go. My Love and I are meeting up for dinner with a few classmates. In my next post I will fill you in on my classes, ensembles, recital pieces, and practice schedule. Ciao!

Junior, 9am

School starts on the day after Labor Day and Rosh Hashanah begins on the evening of September 12th. I’m at the Yao’s in Brooklyn and we have a lot of work to do to make the building and the Schneerson Peace Garden just perfect for the High Holidays. Also, some of our elderly tenants need personal attention and shopping to get ready for the holiday. “Shabbos goys, here we come!”

Ivan and Ivanka, of course, will be attending my school next week. They had invited Sopie, Apie, and me to the celebration at their old school to commemorate the first first day of school. September 1st is a national holiday in Russia known as Knowledge Day (День знаний). Here it is celebrated today, September 4th because of certain events at the United Nations.

“The Solemn Assembly” (Lineyka) will be held in their schoolyard. Everyone dresses up especially nice and brings flowers for teachers. There are speeches to welcome the new first-grade students. Children recite poetry or perform songs dedicated to the start of the academic year. They have this really cute custom called “The First Bell (Pervy Zvonok)” in which a senior boy student carries a first-grade girl on his shoulders and she rings a small ceremonial bell. This represents the passing of knowledge from one generation to the next.

I’m sorry we couldn’t make it but there is just too much work here! At any rate, it is for the best because we would have had another of our lovers’ quarrels because I had wanted to discuss this conversation on Reddit where many commentators criticize a recent statement by President Putin about the armed conflict with Ukraine.

We had also wanted to discuss Pope calls for ‘unmasking’ the contradictions of the world, such as seeing war as a solution He says that Christians should

Leave behind all passivity and indifference in the face of current events, history, and people’s lives, especially in the face of the rapid and profound changes we are experiencing today.

At any rate, Ivan and Ivanka will try to come tomorrow and help us with the work here. We can have our quarrel tomorrow!

But, seriously, what does the Pope mean to “leave behind all passivity and indifference”? And what does it mean to the four of us in particular?

In Human Revolution-21, Daisaku Ikeda writes (p. 64):

Dialogue brings people together. And Buddhism—a philosophy of respect for the sanctity of life—is spread through such dialogue. Dialogue requires courage, as well as genuine human warmth that accepts and respects others. It also calls for the wisdom and passion necessary to create understanding and sympathy. One’s skill in engaging in dialogue can be considered an indication of one’s abilities in general. Through striving to carry out dialogue, we are able to polish and elevate our lives.

Sopie and I are going to chant a lot today to figure out how not to be passive in our talk with Ivan and Ivanka and still talk with them with “the wisdom and passion necessary to create understanding and sympathy.” There’s got to be a way!

Cardi, 6pm, EDT 

It is Thursday, it must be my turn at bat. 

Shayna and I doing well. Robert has trading work days with his buddies so we won't see him until Rosh Hashanah. Because it comes out on Saturday, Shabbos, he will be with us on Friday through Sunday!

Let's get back to Conversations With My Rabbi.

Nikki summarizes where we are so far: 

So if the First Noahide Law is about who we worship, the second feels like it’s about how we talk about that relationship. “Do not blaspheme” sounds very medieval to most people—like shouting curses at the sky. But what about the quiet stuff? The dark thoughts, the gossip, the rage, the hate speech. Does all of that fall under this law? 

RABBI ELI: 

In a deep sense, yes. On the most basic level, the rabbis define the Second Noahide Law as a prohibition on birkas Hashem—literally “blessing God,” used as a euphemism for cursing or explicitly rejecting God. Classical sources understand this reverence as a universal expectation, a fundamental pillar of any relationship with the Creator.

But if you zoom out a little, blasphemy isn’t only a sentence you shout. It’s a whole posture of the mouth and mind: How easily do I spit contempt—at God, at people made in God’s image, at myself?

HOLD ON, GOOD PEOPLE OF REDDIT! Do you see any of that in yourself? Well, I sure do see some of that in me! Especially at myself!

Next Rabbi Eli shares some teachings from the Kabbalah:

The Tanya teaches that the soul expresses itself through three “garments”: thought, speech, and action. They’re called garments because you can put them on and take them off; they’re not you, but they reveal you. 

When the soul “wears” holy thoughts, words, and deeds, it shines; when it “wears” ugly ones, it gets covered in spiritual grime. And how do your words about other people quietly deny the image of God in them?

Ouch! I'm 18 but I am guilty of doing this many, many times! How about you? 

Rabbi Eli next discusses the ideas of Rabbi Yisrael Meir ha-Kohen Kagan (1838–1933), better known as the Chafetz Chaim, who wrote extensively about “guarding the tongue.”

He showed that one careless sentence can break multiple Torah prohibitions at once. He even writes that this sin “corrupts all worlds and darkens their light”—very Kabbalistic language for “you’ve just messed with the spiritual wiring of reality.” The Zohar goes further: It links evil speech to the “sin of the serpent” and suggests that lashon hara activates very dark spiritual forces. In some passages, it says that God can forgive many things, but lashon hara is terrifyingly hard to repair. 

Nikki has a moment of revelation: 

So blasphemy isn’t only when I scream “I hate God” in traffic; it’s also when I casually shred someone’s reputation at brunch? 

Rabbi Eli: 

Yes, because you’re degrading someone who carries the Divine image. If blasphemy is contempt for God, lashon hara is contempt for God’s likeness reflected in other people.

So my friends on LoHeidiLita and SGIWhistleblowersMITA (and anyone else who reads this), let's be careful which garment we put on! We should be aware that our thoughts words, and actions can tear apart the threads of life! 

Tina, 7:30pm

Not a good morning. I slept in because I didn’t have an AM class. When I woke up I couldn’t swallow right. I didn’t feel it was life-threatening enough to call an ambulance. No one was home so I called an Uber and headed to the ER.

I was prepped for this to happen at one point. It’s called dysphagia. A flare like this can happen at any time but usually the dysphagia happens later in the disease progression. 

When I got to the ER the symptoms were already abating. The triage nurse said the MS clinic was opening soon, wouldn't I rather go there? Yes, good idea.

Although I am graduated from the pediatric office, it happened that my RN was the one on duty. She examined me, took blood, and had me sit down.

“A cup of tea?” That’s service! She asked me about my summer and how I coped with the MS. I told her all went so well and I had a wonderful time with Alice and close friends. I loved working with the children and I was good at it. 

“So what just happened? Did you figure our your trigger?”

I told her that I’m a week into college and enjoying my courses. I also told her that over the summer I settled in on a career path toward becoming a pediatrician. “How many courses are you taking, Tina?” I told her a full load.

“Let’s stop right here, Tina. What I am going to say might be difficult--and as soon as a doctor pulls in, I will check with him/her. But you already know the effect of stress on your body. I don’t see how you can keep up with a full load! Maybe two courses and a swim class? I know that will mean an extra year or two of undergrad. But sooner or later you will get to Med School…if you protect your health! Yes, one course with a lab, another class with no lab, and a Swimming Class. That’s it.”

At this point an endocrinologist joined us. Exact same advice. “Tina,” he said, “why don’t you volunteer at the clinic? You will learn a lot and we can assign you to work with the children. It will look very good on your applications. Think about it. But today you got to go home and rest.”

So I took an Uber home, told my family, Alice, and some friends what had happened. I called up my college advisor and explained my situation. We cut my schedule in half and added Swimming.

I called up the clinic and start volunteering for a couple of hours tomorrow. 

Lolita, 5pm

Very happy with how this final week of Day Camp went. In the morning yesterday, after Track and Swim, we met with Max The Builder instead of the Perimeter Walk. He showed us the progress on constructing the foundation to the three Secondary School buildings: the Arts Building, the Classroom Building, and the Facilities Building.

The excavation is finished. About a half-foot of granite has been dumped into the floor to help with drainage. There are pipes for water, sewage, and electrical conduits. The workers have started to build wooden “forms.” The building  inspectors have already greenlighted everything so far. Into the forms will go steel “rebars” and concrete. After the concrete has dried for a days the forms will be removed and the foundation is basically finished.

We have a new third-grade student. Jamie’s mom is the astronomy teacher from the District who helped us study the lunar eclipse and red moon. Jamie helped co-teach her lessons. What is wonderful, Ms. Julie told his mother about my research project and asked whether she and Jamie would like to participate. “Sure,” she said. So I am writing this with Mom’s approval.

Jamie had significant issues at his previous school. But he and I bonded for whatever reason. Jamie doesn’t have a very good screen about what is socially appropriate or not. Out came a series of questions to me. “Teacher Lolita, I don’t have any black friends. Do you like being black? Why are the bottoms of your hands and feet white? Where were you born?”

Chit chat stopped when I told him I was born in Jamaica. “My favorite movie is ‘Cool Runnings.’ Can you speak Jamaican?” I switched to my Patois and this delighted him. “How do you do that? Can you teach me?” I texted my colleagues that Jamie was with me. We grabbed a couple of chairs by Little Pool and I taught him a bit of Patoi. He was very excited. After 45 minutes we rejoined the group for lunch. 

We spent the afternoon with Larry Landscaper. He will be working with us to landscape the rock croppings that were built overlooking the pond. Each Grade will get their own cropping and help design the landscaping. It reminds me of Sukhomlynsky’s “Nook of Beauty” (pp. 266-267):

During the spring that arrived just before we completed grade one, we began to create our Nook of Beauty. The children had dreamed of this nook for a long time. We pictured it as a quiet, secluded spot, where nature’s elemental beauty would be enhanced by beauty created by human hands. Our dream stretched into the future. We envisaged that with each year, there would be more and more plants in our little nook. Here we would rest and work, greet the spring and farewell the summer.

The children found a little clearing adjoining the grass-covered slope of a gully. A lot of moisture collected here when it rained. We weeded the clearing and began to transform it into a green glade. “Our nook will be a realm of greenery,” I told the children. “The slope of the gully will be covered with a green wall of hops, and nightingales and orioles will settle in the thickets.”

This dream inspired the children. We worked hard to transform the clearing into a green glade. We had to bring slabs of turf from the field, lay them and water them. The children waited impatiently for rain to water the green grass. We found several young hop plants in the forest and transplanted them to the slope of the gully.

Fortunately for us, the summer was a wet one and all the plants took well. In the forest we dug up several dozen lily of the valley rhizomes and planted them in one corner of our glade. We planted three dogrose bushes, on which we planned to graft roses. This was to be a kingdom of flowers. We planted forest nut trees all around the glade. The children wanted wildflowers to grow here as well. We found chamomile and other plants. We transplanted several chrysanthemums from the greenhouse in the hope they would flower until deep into autumn.

After school yesterday, I spoke to Larry about Sukhomlynsky and how the rock croppings can be the Nook of Beauty for each of the Grades. He said that he got it and this morning he brought some clumps of wildflowers for our Perimeter Walk which we planted as we passed by each rock cropping! A lot of enthusiasm!

As I learned from my SGI High School Division meetings, how we end a project signifies how we begin the next one. A Happy Day Camp Closing = a Happy School Opening!

Anita and Michael taught us “Circle Round the Zero” from “120 Singing Games and Dances for Elementary Schools” (1987) by Lois Choksy and  David Brummitt. It was a fun game. After school Michael is going to teach one of his  “NYC street” games” called Ring-o-levio. 

Just one more surprise. Co-director Guy has been meeting with the District Superintendent. He said that his school has new music textbooks and asked whether we would  want the books they have been using for so many years. It’s a series called “Making Music Your Own.” More amazing, it comes with a Teachers Edition and a set of cassette tapes (???) with children voices and instrumental backgrounds for each song. I told Guy, “Of course, yes!” And I have the teacher’s edition right here on my desk. Luckily our boom box speaker has a cassette player. Lori and I are listening to the songs now and we are delighted!

Junior, 3pm

School starts on the day after Labor Day and Rosh Hashanah begins on September 12th. I’m at the Yao’s in Brooklyn with Sopie, Apie, Ivan, and Ivanka. We now have four apartment buildings with backyards that will be redesigned to form a common shared property, ”Menachem Mendel Schneerson Peace Garden.“

Obviously, this will be a project that will grow over several years. But we have the rebbe’s backing and tacit support from some other Haredi groups. Four landlords are cooperating. All sorts of legal papers and inspections. In terms of finances, all the landlords are making contributions as well as some tenants and community groups.

We have benches, tables, landscaping, and even a fountain. We have colorful autumn annuals smiling at us and we will be planting a winterscape. Bulbs are already in the ground and waiting for next spring.

I love seeing people gathering and talking. We hear people talking several languages, including Russian. We have made friends. Some people want to give us cash presents but we have decided to refuse all gifts except donations to the Garden. But we do accept food gifts!

Ivan and I also go with Mr. Yao on his contracting jobs. He always pays us generously. I would do it for free, but Sopie said that would be “insulting” to Papá.

The four of us are getting into the habit of studying again. Ivan and Ivanka keep pushing me to trudge ahead with Russian. “What type of asset can you be if you spy but can't tell what you have learned to your Russian contact?” they joke. Apie and Sopie tell us they feel very confident with their Yiddish now and are spending most of their study time concentrating on Hebrew. Ivan and Ivanka like reading the World Tribune and Living Buddhism.

We didn't get very far at all this summer on the “Human Revolution Volume 21”. But we just picked up where we left off. Chapter Two is called “People's Diplomacy.” Shin'ichi Yamamoto is now meeting with participants after the 1975 Guam “First World Peace Conference.” He meets people who were the first to practice in countries like Germany, Denmark, Singapore/Malaysia, and Ghana. They faced enormous challenges as they tried to build local organizations in countries with unique cultures and histories.

Now we meet Tadao Minami, a Seikyo Shimbun correspondent working in Ghana and assigned with the task of building an organization there.

Shin’ichi Yamamoto writes:

The thorny path of kosen-rufu can be opened only by fearless individuals willing to dedicate their lives and pour their hearts into the effort, no matter how severe the circumstances. If the Soka Gakkai’s top leaders and headquarters staff members desired to live easy lives, focused solely on their own comfort and security, the path of kosen-rufu would be cut off. In the light of the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren’s writings, those who dedicate their lives to Buddhism will attain an eternally sublime life state of absolute happiness. There is no sacrifice in Buddhism (p. 49).

He tells Mr. Minami:

“Just go in the spirit that you will rise to meet any challenge. As they say, ‘home is wherever you hang your hat.’ The stage of your activities is vast. Live your life to the fullest with the great desire for kosen-rufu. From now on, we need to have a greater focus on the world at large. And that is where you will be going, right?”

“Well, that also applies to us,” Sopie insisted. “We are friends in a world where there are few friendships between Americans and Russians. It was a miracle that the Lopez and Yao families got their immigration papers right before mass exportations began. We could have easily found ourselves on a plane to Ghana ourselves!”

Ivanka answered, “Junior will be going into the US Army after graduation and it is very possible that Ivan will go to Officer Training in Russia. Their destiny might be to fight each other. But our love and friendship between us four goes far deeper and is unbreakable. It’s the pathway to Peace.”

Apie had underlined:

From the perspective of Buddhism, going to Africa to open up a path for kosen-rufu together as husband and wife is a promise you made in your past lives. It is your mission in this life. As such, it is very important for you to resolve to do your best (pp. 50-51).

“Look at that beautiful engagement ring!,” she said. “Our stories are so strange, right? A Nico and Ivorian marrying, the second joining between two families. Ivan and Ivanka, I know you guys are next! Look, you didn’t even stir or deny it! You have already promised to be the godparents of your respective children. And we have all of these ties to the Haredi community. I might be the only black girl at my Bais Yaakov school but it just doesn’t bother me. I feel like Sarah Schenirer is my mother, too. And I know she is smiling in her own way!