We had a small but good group this year (peaked around 16-18). Three of the eight confirmation students joined us, and they had good insights and questions to offer. Another wanted to join us but lost an argument with her mother. ( Sinai, chosenness, talmud, modern midrash, and is persecution necessary? )

At morning services, after the torah and haftarah, we read the book of Ruth. I don't think I'd quite noticed before that the slacker relative, the one whose responsibility is to bail out Naomi and her family after her husband dies but who punts, doesn't even get mentioned by name. I guess some people just aren't meant to be remembered. :-)

As has become tradition the last couple years, he concluded with a reading of Before the Law. I don't know why that story gives me (and lots of other people) chills, but it does. It's very effective at 2 in the morning when you're hearing it; it's not quite the same reading it in the comfort of your office.

The group ranged from about 15 to 25 people, which is a good size. I prefer an intimate study session to a large one. Almost everyone participated, including a couple high-school students.

Afterwards I walked home with my rabbi. (Well, 80% of the way, until we reached the branch point.) I enjoyed our conversation, and at that hour of the night the neighborhood is quite peaceful.

After the morning service I invited two people back for lunch. (I'd invited one of them last Shabbat; the other I picked up at services, when I found out that her husband is out of town and she would otherwise be spending the afternoon alone.) It was a fun group with lots of good conversation. This was so much better than spending the day alone the way I did last year! (And, for that matter, the way I spent the seventh day of Pesach.)

Friday night I led services at Tree of Life. Turnout was low; I guess there was some element of "wait, we were just there last night, and this morning" going on, or something. The people who were there were very pleasant, though, and I got a disproportionate number of compliments compared to past times. (I thought I did a very good job, but it's always gratifying to have outside confirmation.)

The rabbi talked about yom tov sheni -- whether it's necessary to add an extra day to holidays outside of Israel. (ToL doesn't; neither does my congregation.)

I've heard varying rumors about whether ToL has hired a cantor for next year. (Maybe they have, or maybe they have just hired her for the high holy days.) The scheduling person called me a few days ago and signed me up for a Shabbat in September, so I know I've got at least one more. (The person they might or might not have hired becomes available in July, so a job could start any time thereafter.)

We had a pretty good turnout Saturday morning. Torah study addressed only one verse (Lev 19:17), and we spent a lot of time talking about rebuke and whether it's ever appropriate and if so how it should be done. This led into a discussion of authority (who can issue rebuke?) and community standards. It was interesting, and there was less off-topic chit-chat than we've sometimes had recently. (One of the major sources of that wasn't there today.)

Tonight I had close to 100 pieces of spam waiting for me. Ok, the spam problem has gotten worse; it wasn't that long ago that I averaged 10-15 pieces a day.

We often see comments of the form "one who does such-and-such is worthy of a place in the world to come", or, conversely, "one who does such-and-such forfeits his place". But we don't hold that a single action either guarantees your spot or dooms you forever, so what gives?

One common approach is to view oneself -- and, perhaps, the entire world -- as teetering on a balance point at all times. A single mitzvah tips the balance for good; a single aveira (sin) tips the balance for bad. If you were to be judged at that time, that single action would have determined your fate. So each time you commit a sin you're betting on getting a chance to compensate for it. (My rabbi explained the basic argument; the conclusions are mine, so don't blame him for them.)

I saw another approach today. Tractate B'rachot (4b, page 4b4 in Shottenstein) says that one who recites Ashrei three times a day earns a place in the world to come. Why? Because, as it's explained in the gemara and later works, one who does this will surely come to understand its deep significance, and given that understanding will act accordingly, and thus will by his actions earn a place in the world to come.

I find the style of reasoning suspect. Why not just say that one who truly understands these words and acts accordingly earns a place in the world to come? Wouldn't that be more direct and more accurate?

We have a couple references to chase that might shed light on this, but we ran out of time. Next time, then.

At the end of the session he told me he enjoys studying with me, which makes me happy. I really enjoy studying with him, and would hate for it to be too one-sided. I'm looking forward to Thursday night's tikkun, too. We don't go all night, but we'll probably go until about 2am. A few years ago I went to another tikkun afterwards with the goal of going all night, but the style wasn't to my taste and going to it broke the mood that we'd achieved, so I don't do that any more. When my rabbi's done, I go home.