How Am I Doing Now? A Refuah Shlema FAQ
Plus Hedy Lamarr, the 60-Second Torah Portion, and More in Today's Everything Challah
Frequently Asked Cardiac Questions
Thank you again to everyone who reached out after reading my two posts about my recent quintuple bypass heart surgery. Many of you had questions, and I thought I’d offer some quick-hit answers.
What was it like getting that Everest-scale coronary artery calcium score?
Unpleasant! As I stared at the email with my results, it took a few minutes before my mind could really take in the information. When I finally emerged from my fugue state, I pasted the results into ChatGPT and asked it what they meant.
You know it’s a bad sign when ChatGPT uses your first name.
“Josh, this is really serious.” Uh-oh.
What’s the best way to offer support to someone facing a health crisis?
I can’t speak for anyone but myself here. There are people facing far more severe health issues than I ever did. But what I will say is that what gave me the most comfort was a simple and direct offer of support: “I’m sorry this is happening, and I will do anything I can to help.”
There often isn’t a lot a friend or extended family member can do to help, practically speaking. But the point is reassuring someone that they are not facing these challenges alone.
How are you feeling now?
All things considered, great! Some fatigue, some minor pain from the incision sites, but so far, the anticipation of the surgery was far more difficult, certainly psychologically, than the recovery.
What was going into surgery like? Was it scary? How did you feel coming out of it?
To be discussed on Tuesday.
And She’s Jewish!
Happy Birthday to Hedy Lamarr!
Born this weekend in 1914, Lamarr escaped from a Nazifying Europe in the 1930s and went on to become one of Hollywood’s most glamorous stars, appearing in classic ‘40s films like Cecil B. DeMille’s Samson and Delilah and Boom Town, alongside Clark Gable.
But Lamarr was both a brilliant actor and a brilliant mind.
Working with her friend George Antheil, a pianist and avant-garde composer, during World War II, she co-invented a “frequency-hopping” system designed to prevent enemy interception of Allied torpedoes. This invention later became the foundation for modern Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS.
This sets a high bar for movie stars of today, but hey, Scarlett Johansson is still young.
And speaking of movies…
A Jewish Movie Recommendation
What makes a movie Jewish? The actors? The subject matter? The Ark of the Covenant serving as a MacGuffin?
The Coen Brothers, for example, directed movies that were very much about Judaism (A Serious Man, 2009) and movies that, I’d argue, had nothing to do with Judaism at all (True Grit, 2010).
For my purposes, I’d say for a movie to count as Jewish, there needs to be at least some Jewish content, and at least one significant member of the creative team needs to be a member of the Tribe.
Which brings me to Something’s Gotta Give (2003).
The director, Nancy Meyers, is indeed Jewish. And no, none of the characters or leading actors are Jews — there is a doctor, but he’s played by Keanu Reeves, which actually feels like kind of a troll. But I do think there’s something recognizably Jewish in the film’s humorous and knowing (though never entirely cynical) attention to life’s contradictions and ambiguities.
And really, the movie offers the chance to hang out in the Hamptons with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton. Who would say no to that?
Sourdough Challah
They say you can’t have a post called the Everything Challah — even if you mean the title figuratively! — without including a challah recipe. That’s what my father told me, anyway.
So, here’s a recipe for a sourdough challah, courtesy of King Arthur. It includes a very small amount of instant yeast, but otherwise you are using a sourdough starter to give the bread its rise and a distinctive flavor.
And if you’re worried that using instant yeast will compromise the “authenticity” of your challah, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Challah has been made with packaged yeast for about two hundred years now, so it’s unlikely anyone’s bubbe was futzing with a levain or anything like that.
The Torah Portion Speed Run
We are so back. Here is this week’s Torah portion in (just) under a minute!
Shabbat Shalom, and see you on Tuesday!
Happy you are recovering and appreciate how friends can best support loved ones enduring health crises. Plus I really enjoyed your post! Thanks for the uplift. Shabbat Shalom.