Le Chatlier's Bat Mitzvah

Sarah Rubin

AP Literature

Final Paper Topic 1

“New Paltz, NY” triggers an immediate response of “oh yeah that’s the small town with Mohonk, bare feet, tie-dye, and People’s “Sexiest Man Alive” Jason West, right?” Although there is an undeniable amount of tie-dye, talk about Mayor West, and people who somehow manage to walk through a college town shoeless without getting a single shard of glass in their foot, this is not my experience of New Paltz; its essence is in the eye of the beholder. All I see is Le Châtelier's.

Le Châtelier's principle states that when equilibrium is subject to changes such as concentration, temperature, pressure, or volume, the system will readjust itself to establish equilibrium. An example of this is in reaction A + B --> C + D, if the concentration of reactant A is increased then the reaction will be driven in the forward direction as both the concentration of C and D will increase. If the concentration of A decreases then the reverse reaction will be favored and C and D will decrease. This principle is an invisible force in the community most apparent in my life in only select locations:

North Chestnut Street, the Jewish Community Center. New Paltz Reconstructionist Jews possess three qualities: volume, nit-pickiness, and constant hunger. As I am a legacy of both Sarah, mother of the holy land, and Reuben—the tribe, not the sandwich—it is my duty to fulfill all three of these attributes. As I am a towering 5’6”, quite tall for my congregation, and have a natural outdoor voice, being loud is not an issue. As for hunger, it became an issue when I could no longer eat challah due to my irregular celiac panel, nonetheless carrots and humus did the trick in serving the same purpose. Lastly, the whole nit-picky deal; I’d like to recant my prior statement and relabel it thoroughness and assertiveness. While I was training as a future bat-mitzvah“ite”, Rachel, my teacher, was a Hebrew highlighter guru: pink for upper octave accents, orange for lower, blue for words I needed to practice reading, green for when to pause, and yellow for nothing. Something about yellow highlighter and Torah text together was visually unappealing. Anyways, post bat mitzvah, when I began co-teaching with Rachel, I adopted the highlighter system---and the pen system, as well as the folder, expo marker, lollipop, construction paper, and yarmulke systems. Like I said, thorough; meticulousness is second nature. As for assertiveness, that was a difficult task to master. It was a dual of who was most persistent, me or a class of ten third and fourth graders. As I thankfully have both a longer attention span than the typical elementary student as well as the key to the dumdum bin—set in place by the lollipop system—I quickly earned their respect. I approached each lesson plan with excitement and creativity immersing myself in Jewish culture once again, and being able to have an outside perspective of the versatility and range of the youth’s understanding of it, one being tzedakah. Tzedakah is most commonly used as the Hebrew word for charity, yet its literal translation is justice. I believe that charity establishes equilibrium or not so eloquently “rights the wrongs” therefore justice is served through the act of giving tzedakah. (A is increased therefore C and D will increase.)

130 South Putt Corners Road, Home of the New Paltz Huguenots. Home of where I fell in love with chemistry. Many believe chemistry is so abstract—given Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle and the wave and particle nature of an electron both have much room for confusion—it just makes sense to me. There’s no other explanation other than me being a giant dork. There is something exhilarating about quantum mechanics. I think it’s the potential that if the orientation and energy of an electron could be harnessed and then controlled to match that of a surface that people could walk through walls; I mean it could be writing out full electron configurations using Aufbau ordering, but I’m fairly confident it’s the wall thing. Nonetheless, I was able to bring chemistry concepts such as the photoelectric effect to the drawing board in my other classes as I was to possibly create a windshield that was chemically manipulated in that only lights of certain frequencies could enter through a “webbed” windshield to avoid a glare when driving. Although this was not the topic my Engineering Development and Design group ran with, as we built a “geomorphous” treadmill instead, just like the windshield would have done for drivers, visibility increased; visibility accompanied chemistry and where it could be used to improve quality, never failing to keep Rachel’s meticulous nature in mind. Nonetheless, chemistry helped establish equilibrium in my life. (B increased so C and D increased.)

162 South Putt Corners, Copeland’s Funeral Home. Although redundancies and schedules can be a bit boring, there is comfort that comes with a routine. Teaching side by side with Rachel was a central part of that comfort. That’s why when the breast cancer took her so suddenly; I could not find my footing. At a loss of direction and words I was encompassed and lifted back up by a community that had shared that warmth that I missed so dearly. I kept using the highlighter system, the pen system, as well as the folder, expo marker, lollipop, construction paper, and even yarmulke system; eventually the room became less heavy and tears began to dry. A balance was reestablished.

New Paltz is so unique with not just its idiosyncratic barefooted residents, but its constant community outstretch. It is this reason I want to pursue chemical engineering with a possible joint sociology major.  Chemistry provides the everlasting possibilities while engineering provides communication, the group oriented work. Sociology is interesting in its application of scientific knowledge on the world; the two would complement my interests very well. For now I will use Rachel's system as a basis, a foundation for warmth and comfort, and I will find on my own spiritual balance, tzedakah, and chemical equilibrium.