After every ending, there must be a new beginning. That is how the Universe is set up. In the Jewish calendar, every day starts with sundown - so in a sense, we always begin with an ending. The sun goes down, we sleep, and in the morning we face a new day, full of glorious … Continue reading #BlogElul 23: Begin
Tag: Torah
Finishing and Beginning Anew
The month-long cycle of the Jewish High Holy Day season is now over. It seems that we had just begun, with the New Year and the Day of Atonement, and afterwards we built a little wooden booth on our deck, a sukkah, and had dinner in it almost every night for the seven-day Feast of … Continue reading Finishing and Beginning Anew
Daleks in the Torah
I am so incredibly lucky to have been given the opportunity to develop an intimate knowledge of the Torah. Who but the Torah reader gets to read every single word of the Book? Because we are using the triennial system (for which I am currently extremely grateful, although I was not a fan when it … Continue reading Daleks in the Torah
#BlogElul 15: Learn
Oh my, today's word is Learn. And am I ever learning these days! I'm learning how to get out there and ask people for things. I asked the two people who are leading Shacharit upstairs on Rosh HaShanah to switch so that one of them could very graciously come down and fix my second-day-of-Rosh-HaShanah problem. … Continue reading #BlogElul 15: Learn
#BlogElul 1: Do
Wow, Rabbi Sommer has started us off with a bang! Elul is definitely full of doing, especially for me this year. The preparations for the Downstairs Alternative Services are in full swing! I spent a good two hours last night talking with my co-conspirators about the order of the service and who is doing what. … Continue reading #BlogElul 1: Do
#BlogElul 6 – Do
Oooh, a tricky one, Rabbi Sommer! Now we need to figure out the difference between "Act" and "Do"! I'm sure there is one ... here we go! So what does it mean to "do Jewish"? To many people, it has come down to the cultural trappings - the food of their grandparents, the tunes and … Continue reading #BlogElul 6 – Do
Explaining Shabbat
So my friend Anna, who is an indefatigable organiser and promoter, keeps sending me kind invitations to wonderful events that I would just love to attend. Unfortunately, I keep turning her down because I have this thing about this one day of the week. I don't drive, work or use electronics or money on Shabbat, … Continue reading Explaining Shabbat