Yom Kippur (brief)

I'm home. I feel refreshed (and a little tired). I'm fed (at a pleasant break-fast with congregants). The caffeine headache didn't start until fairly late and is now under control. Services were good, and my part went fine. The afternoon classes were a success. I have ideas for things I want to do to improve things next year.

Maybe I'll write more about all that later, but right now I have to share an encounter I had Sunday night. I was on my way to services when I saw, walking toward me, two men. They were in black suits with white shirts, at least one was wearing a black hat, and each was carrying a book in one hand. This fits an obvious profile, so as we got close I got ready to say "shana tova". Before I could, though, one of them said "good evening" and then said they were out talking to people about the Book of Mormon and had I heard of it? (At this point he held up the book for me to see.) I said I had heard of it and didn't have time to talk more because I was on my way to Yom Kippur services. (I was trying not to be rude.) They seemed like nice folks, so I dropped the additional clue that tonight was Yom Kippur and they were standing smack in the middle of Pittsburgh's largest Jewish neighborhood, so they probably wouldn't get a lot of takers that night. (There are more non-Jews than Jews in the neighborhood, but a higher-than-average proportion of those out walking that night would be on their way to Yom Kippur services.) They thanked me for the information and we parted ways.

This is actually the first time I've met Mormon missionaries. I know that they go door to door (though they haven't come to my door yet), but I didn't know they also stopped people in the street.

I got a chuckle out of their timing.