oh, it *does* go in both directions

[cellio]

The job of a service leader is to lead the congregation in prayer. In other words, the leader serves the rest of the group. In my limited experience, this means the leader himself usually doesn't get to immerse himself in prayer in the same way he would out in the congregation. But if he does it right, he can help buoy the congregation, making it a little easier for them to pray.

This morning I was really tired (Dani snores), and I didn't have high expectations for my ability to lead. But I did, 'cause that's my job, and anyway, Dave (my mentor in that minyan) wasn't there. (I knew I was still competent, or I wouldn't have.) And you know what? Sometime during p'sukei d'zimra the congregration was helping to support me, which doesn't usually happen. I don't think they even knew it. Things went swimmingly from that point. It was pretty neat. While I've experienced that feeling in my congregation, I've not previously experienced it in this minyan.

Comments

[ichur72.livejournal.com]

This may be a superfluous question, but do you wear earplugs at night? Walt also snores, and they work wonders for me. Well, not 100% of the time, but they do help tremendously.

[cellio]

I guess I should try that. I'm afraid of blocking noises that I ought to hear, like a cat coughing up a hairball or the alarm clock or someone breaking in downstairs (not that the last has ever happened, fortunately). How much sound do they block? Can you must the chainsaw a foot away while still hearing the alarm clock easily?

[ichur72.livejournal.com]

I use foam-rubber plugs, and they can be adjusted, sort of. I find that the extent to which they block noise depends on how deep I push them into my ears. The further in, the less noise (and vice versa). The only problem is that if you don't push them in firmly, they fall out more easily at night. I don't mind this so much if I manage to keep them in place until after I fall asleep because I don't notice the plugs are gone until I wake up.

Snoring is a strange thing. Walt doesn't start snoring immediately, and he tends to stop (or at least quiet down) sometime in the middle of the night, and then he gets going again around 6:00-7:00 a.m. I often find that if I can get to sleep before he fires up the heavy-duty chainsaw, I can get by without the plugs. But for the nights when I take longer to wind down, they do help.