Shanah tovah!* Happy New Year!

Ok...apparently, I'm really good at starting posts and never finishing them. So, before sundown, I'll get this in quick...

So, it's the start of 5766, and things are already new and different for me. I now belong to a synagogue. In fact, I'm a card-carrying member of a synagogue. Society Hill Synagogue. Sounds fancy, huh? Well, Joshie and I wanted to go to services for the High Holidays and, as I have come to learn, there isn't the same deal for High Holiday-goers as there is for Chreasters (Christmas+Easter Church goers) - my parents' church doubles the number of masses and will even do two masses at once (one in the church, on in the hall) if the # of folks warrants it). Nope, you gotta get a ticket for the High Holidays. For the most part. Since I was in Madison last year, I could just go to Hillel. Cushy student life. But now we are "adults." Sort of. So we found a synagogue that seemed cool (and doesn't mind the interfaith thing) and now we belong. And they had quite a deal for folks under 30. A seriously amazing deal. I don't think I'll be able to afford anywhere once I'm over 30 though!

Anyway, we are now waiting for our sort of sephardic sweet potato and squash bake to cook while jamming to songs for Shabbat and some other music in Hebrew...Josh is explaining that the other singer is Nesh...something I can't spell and now we're distracted and...

It's now two days later, and we went to services and I'm in love with our synagogue. I want to go every day! Sort of. Today's services were special "multigenerational" services, meaning that kids were more involved - rather than having their own special kid services downstairs. This led to awesomely awesomeness. Kids were reading. Kids were playing instruments. Kids were singing. And, my favorite, at the end of services during the...I don't know what the song is called yet, but some day I'll know for sure...anyway, some kid beat boxed while the rabbi, cantor, and whole congregation sang along. He was awesomely awesome! It was rockin'! And, he ended it with a "Yeah boyeeeee!" Ok. I'll forgive him for that since the rest was so awesomely awesome. And since he blew the shofar (ram's horn). That's got to be hard. We can't go to services on Friday of this week b/c we may actually be making some friends, thanks to a UVa pal who knows some other new folk in Philly. (We have dinner plans at a byot (t=tequila). I'm nervous. I hope they like me/us!) But no worries: next week it's Yom Kippur and fasting!

P.S. The sweet potato and squash thing was good, but Josh's mom's apple cake was better! Yum.

P.P.S. I've now decided that while being a rabbi might not being my calling, some sort of other Jewish service-type job may very well be. But, yes, I know. There's that whole I'm-not-a-Jew thing. We'll see about remedying that...


*I had to doublecheck "Every Person's Guide to Judaism" for that one b/c Josh is, er, otherwise occupied. With Logic Art. Ask Dorotha. She hearts Logic Art.