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Aug
11
When I got asked to be in the inaugeral class of leadership fellows at my synagogue, I tried to bow out – twice. They have the wrong person, I thought. I didn’t even know, after being a Jew all my life, living in Israel, speaking Hebrew, teaching children Sunday school, whether you say Good Shabbos only on Friday night or also on Saturday, and whether you can say Shabbat Shalom on Saturday but not on Friday (I still don’t know).
I’ve tried a few different things on this blog that I wanted to keep going from week to week and none of them have stuck. But, like bumping my nose into the glass door repeatedly because my brain is too stubborn to perceive the pain my body felt, I’m going to try to wind up each Friday with some thoughts, including a link to the Parsha – or Torah portion – of the week.
I do feel the need to note that while there is no real “Jewish” blog in NEO, and there are Jews who blog and blog about Jewish stuff, and of course there are bloggers who discuss the Middle East, this weekly post does not suffice as a “Jewish blog” in terms of education – I just don’t have enough learned scholarship. But I figured I’d link to things that I refer to, to help me see what others are learning, or trying to learn from. That’s about all I can offer – and a place, as always, to ask questions. Don’t come looking for answers though, unless you like the Socratic method, which requires more questioning.
So, as the sun’s lower place in the sky warms my outdoor thermometer to over 100 degrees, I’m thinking of the bumper sticker I saw in a parking lot today, “At Least When Clinton Lied, No One Died.” If I was cool with bumper stickers, I can imagine having that one on my car.
I’m also thinking about the focus on the timing of everything surrounding the alleged airplane bombing plans and what value will this focus serve? As I commented on Scott Bakalar’s blog, is there any date and time that would be free from scrutiny when you’re talking about such details? Maybe. I don’t know. And I’m having a hard time seeing how it matters. Seems to me that sooner is preferable to later, that’s about all.
I’m thinking about a post on Right Angle Blog that continues to push the issue as to whether US Congressman from Ohio and Ohio’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ted Strickland is gay. Crazy – just crazy – what people care more about these days.
I’m thinking about something I don’t want to talk about because I’ve done enough of it already and no it’s not breast cancer or Joe Lieberman.
I’m thinking about how much I love to write without putting in hyperlinks.
And finally, I’m thinking about how hard it would be, will be, to learn more in my religion when it comes to the textual basis of the religion, because of the depth of learning I’d have to do. It’s daunting, though, not really unwelcome.
For example, I wanted a quick reference to what this Shabbat’s Torah Portion, or parsha, is about. But the thing is, the Torah portions rotate in a three year cycle, so the entire section of one parsha is never read in one year – it’s split between three years. Then, there is always a haftorah portion that goes along with the Torah portion. And I’m still not clear on why we have that and exactly which books it comes from.
So, if anyone wants to try and figure it out, or at least get a smattering of what Jews might be thinking about, based on the Torah, this Shabbat, check here. I’ve read most of the links and the main issues seem to be commandments, covenants and converts. As Jeff Hess coincidentally posted just a short while ago, Aish Ha’Torah is kind of orthodox and into getting people into the fold and then showing them a more orthodox way of life. I’m not a fan of that. But it is an excellent organization when it comes to basic education around Judaism.
Finally, I’m revelling in a small victory and change in our family life. For the first time since I lived in Israel, over 20 years ago now, I’m going to attend Friday night services this evening, and I’m extremely excited.
I grew up in a small, Reform (NOT reformed, folks, REFORM) synagogue. Our sanctuary was a converted barn. The rabbi had a beard, a guitar and very informal clothing. We were the hippie congregation in New Haven. NOT somewhere Joe Lieberman would ever be seen. Certainly not back then, when Reform was just disavowing their previous disavowal of Zionism.
We rarely went to Saturday services because…well, I’m not really sure. But until I was about five or six, we’d belonged to an extremely formal Conservative shul. Men and women separated, very formal, black attire and so on. My parents did not like it and we moved to a different congregation. This was around 1967 or 68.
I loved my Reform shul. It’s had only two rabbis – and both are guitar-playing clergy.
Often, there weren’t enough people interested in Saturday morning, so Friday nights – with the Oneg Shabbat – where you have wine or juice and pastries – were much more familial, friendly and festive, with music and warmth. And, for anyone following my Bar Mitzvah blog, those photocopied prayer books.
And that’s what I remember: informal, intimate, pleasurable.
Now that I’m on the board of my synagogue here, I have to attend services of some type at least 75% of the year. Since I don’t know how to pray the morning, afternoon or evening services and barely know Shabbat, this is a challenge for me. In my mind, I figured, starting with Friday nights would be the easiest and least embarassing.
And so, with this weekend offering me the opportunity to say exactly what I want to do and being granted those wishes, I spoke up and said, I want to do Friday night services. I’d been hearing that, in the summer, the Friday services are lovely and informal and family friendly. And I want my children to get that experience.
So, my husband has, as you would do in Israel and some parts of the U.S., left his office in time to prepare dinner and the home for the Shabbat meal, after which we will go to shul. I don’t want to get my hopes up, but then again, I’m figuring, since it’s my first time in 20 years, how bad could it be?
Shabbat Shalom.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:04 pm August 11th, 2006 in Politics
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It’s the Sabbath. It’s Friday night. Shabbat shalom.
[...] Thoughts for Shabbat (***Shabbat is celebrated every single week, from sunset to sunset, Friday to Saturday; this entry is just one that I wrote about that experience) [...]