I am resurfacing from the maelstrom of cooking going on in my kitchen to sit down for a well-deserved break. So far we’ve got 3 kugels and a bean salad down; we’ll see how much energy I have left before my body calls it quits. Picking Yonah up from Rivka’s today, I noticed that his face looked a little splotchy and was sprinkled with tiny, red dots. While tempted to stew up a pot of worst-case scenarios–a vicious Israeli germ running wild in his pampered little American body, Gd forbid–I talked myself down and made an appointment with Dr. Wolf, a British pediatrician whose office is right in the Mercaz (thankfully, our student insurance came through just this morning, so we didn’t have to pay out-of-pocket). Dr. Wolf, who had a delightful bedside manner and a characteristically British face–you know the one: eyes a little buggy, cheeks that flop a little, like Rowan Atkinson or the guy who played Gollum–quickly diagnosed it as a harmless skin virus that’s going around and which should disappear within a day or so. I am extremely grateful that it was nothing serious, though I get the feeling that this won’t be the last time that Yonah comes home from playgroup with some interesting little ailment. Some of you know that I was dreading having to cook and serve five meals in two days over Rosh Hashana, so I was very pleased when my friend Rachel (playgroup Momma of Shmuel Yaakov, Yonah’s new BFF) invited us to come for lunch for the 1st day. While I know the High Holidays are meant for connecting with Gd, I am also looking forward to the opportunity to connect with other people. A very interesting discussion arose at my school today regarding the topic of Tzniut (modesty in both dress and behavior). Out of consideration for my schoolmates’ privacy, I won’t go into the details of the discussion, but I will say that it gave me a lot of food for thought. Tzniut is something that I’ve wrestled with from the time I decided to become a Torah-observant Jew; it means I am obligated to dress modestly (Jewish law says knees, elbows, collarbones and in the case of married women, hair must be covered) and conduct myself in a becoming an not overbearing manner. Now, there is nothing wrong with dressing modestly if one wishes to do so. In fact, I will say from personal experience that I feel exponentially more feminine in my long skirts than I ever did in jeans (though I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss them sometimes). I can also relate to the argument that when clothes are not distracting, there is more room for the personality to shine through. But being TOLD to do it is a completely different story. As someone who grew up wearing and saying pretty much whatever she wanted, it has not been an easy transition to where I find myself currently: modestly dressed, hair covered and no longer swearing (well, trying not to anyway). For a long time I resented being told what to do and how to do it. I’m a pure-blooded American, aren’t I? Eventually, step by step, things got easier, but I wrestle with the tide even today. The discussion I found myself in today gave me a very different perspective on the whole Tznius issue, one that I had never considered. Before my thoughts on the subject were centered on how it affected ME, my life and my choices. Today I was given the opportunity to think about how my dress and behavior affect other people. And like it or not, even in small ways, it does. This does not mean that I should make choices completely for other people, but that I need to remember that I am not the only part of the equation here. My choices have the power to inspire, to disgust, to change, to illuminate, and even to hurt others. It’s an important thing for me to keep in mind; in a me-centered world, it’s the easiest thing to forget.