Monica

This is nothing new, but in recent months I have become more attuned to the variety of so-called "innovations" in worship -- everything from meditation to yoga to poetry (replacing liturgy) to interpretive dance (!) -- and I finally figured out one of the things that bugs me about it. Understand that, at some level, if it works for you then it's no bother to me except to the extent that you then interfere with me. But it doesn't tend to work for me, and I realized recently a big reason why: I have barely begun to plumb the depths of the traditional forms, and not only am I not ready to stray beyond that, but I feel I would be incapable of understanding a change of this sort if I didn't already understand the foundation upon which it's supposed to be built.

(There are other reasons, including that some of this tickles my "weird" meter, but that's a separate discussion. I mean, there's plenty of weirdness in mainstream Judaism too. Like, rejoicing while waving three branches and a piece of fruit around? Really? But I digress.)

A couple things have brought this to mind:

( Read more... )

There are still some focused entries I want to write about NHC (at least two), but in the meantime, some shorter bits:

I saw a T-shirt there that said "good grammar costs nothing". That sentiment appeals to me on its own, but I've been noticing something else since I came home: I am finally inclined to not add "imahot" and "imoteinu" in all the places that the Reform siddur has added those words. The traditional prayers refer to (e.g.) "avoteinu", literally "our fathers", but I understand it more generally -- especially if you then go on to name some who are women. Hebrew doesn't have gender-neutral words -- so if in English I accept that "he" can be neuter, how much the moreso should I accept this in Hebrew? I've been told by people who know more about Hebrew than I do that these additions are structurally unsound from a grammatical perspective, but (despite it setting off my PC alarms) I've gone along with it. Now, after trying on the original phrasing for a while, I think I'm prepared to say that I don't make those additions except when leading in a community that expects them. (Just to be clear: I do insert the names Sarah, Rivka, Rachel, and Leah in the avot prayer. But I don't think we need to say "avoteinu v'imoteinu" everywhere as well.)

It occurred to me (too late to do anything about it) that the NHC institute would be a good environment in which to "try on" observances that I'm not sure I'm ready for. If I experiment "back home" with something like tzitzit, for instance, then there will be people (at least one even if I wear them in) who will notice right away, so there's a level of apparent commitment there. If I then decide that no, I'm not going to do this, I have to "unwind" that. On the other hand, if I try it for a week among people I'll mostly never see anywhere else, no harm done if it doesn't stick. I should remember this.

Note to self: NHC dress code is casual, including on Shabbat. You can dress up for Shabbat, but you don't need to. The two things I regret allocating limited carry-on-luggage space to are dressier clothers and a Hebrew-English Tanakh. I needed the latter for classes, but mine is hefty and maybe I could have arranged to borrow from a local?

A collection of posts about NHC institute is here.

The "H" in "NHC" stands for "havurah" [sic :-) ], which suggests a certain style of prayer: participatory, musical, casual. (I don't know if it's fair to equate chavurah with the Renewal movement, but there's clearly overlap.) The institute actually had a variety of services, and some of what I found surprised me.

( Read more... )

We made introductions verbally, but I promised to do this here for the sake of the folks who were there. So, the attendees at today's lunch in Brookline, with identifying info where it's already LJ-public (or trivial), were:

• goldsquare and nudgeprincess, who took me to the airport afterwards
• jducoeur (Justin in the SCA)
• magid, who drove me to the conference and back (and who talked about Burning Man)
• mabfan (who has an SF book coming out soon) and gnomi (who is the sister and sister-in-law of SCAdians and a filker many of us know well)
• 530nm330hz, who was wearing the nifty music t-shirt (E = Fb) and who is organizing a distributed talmud translation at dafcast.net
• sethg_prime (Seth), who alas I did not get to speak with very much

Ok, talk amongst yourselves. :-)

Ok, sounds like we have the beginnings of a plan. magid and I will be leaving FPU probably around 10:30-11AM; I don't remember what travel time is, but we can head to some place in Brookline. I think goldsquare and Robin, 530nm330hz, and mabfan (and gnomi?) are available for lunch; anyone else? I have phone numbers for all of you, so how about if I call when we think we're an hour away? If you have food constraints other than kosher, please speak up -- otherwise magid and I will pick something.

Edit Fri 9AM: It sounds like Ta'am China will best be able to accommodate a group of our size. I like TC so that's fine with me; please speak up if that won't work for you.

If anyone who will be at lunch can print a boarding pass for me on Sunday morning, could you let me know? (We're trying to arrange access to a printer here, as I'm certainly not the only one with this desire; this request is a backup.)

In other news, mbarr has graciously provided a workaround for my ssh problem. Thanks! (Intermediary on a non-standard port.) Thanks to everyone who offered advice.

I have rather a lot that I want to write about from this week, but insufficient time so far. This will probably mean a burst of posts from me next week.

After Pennsic I head north for the NHC summer institute. I got both of my first-choice classes (this and this), and there are interesting workshops in every session (sometimes more than one). This should be fun!

They encourage newcomers to just dive in (they even asked if I'd like to to lead a workshop), so I volunteered to chant torah. I'll be reading twice (one a subset of the other), on Thursday morning and Shabbat morning (the chavurah-style minyan, as opposed to the traditional-egalitarian or the kabbalistic-sounding one).

I'm looking forward to NHC. It's something I haven't done before, and it sounds like it'll be a fairly immersive experience -- lots of stuff going on all day and evening, as opposed to the daytime-only program I attended last year. (The timing might be a bit brain-bending; it's probably pretty different in style from Pennsic. :-))

The organizers report that cell-phone coverage on the rural campus is spotty, but there's internet access. I sure hope the latter is correct, as I'd like to be able to communicate with my cat-sitter. (Dani won't be going so can take care of two of them, but special-needs kitty will go to his usual sitter.)

The most recent gathering of the Transarc doc group was Saturday afternoon at a home half a mile from mine. (While I don't remember the hosts from Transarc (I don't think we overlapped), I did share a Hebrew class with them once.) At one point a person I've worked with twice, and tried to recruit, asked me "are you still loving your job?". I gestured toward another person sitting there and asked "have you met my grand-boss"? I then explained that any answer I gave under the circumstances would be perceived as either untruthful or unwise, depending, so I couldn't answer that question just then. I also pointed out that another attendee now works for me, so she shouldn't ask her about it in front of me. :-)

It took a couple weeks (after making an online reservation), but I finally got my confirmation for the NHC summer institute (Jewish learning program). So now all I have to do is decide on an airport and make reservations. Trains do not go there efficiently. That's a pity; I would like to be able to take a train somewhere someday. Doing the "airborne sardine" thing is over-rated. (Hmm. I'm taking it as a given that no one else from the Pittsburgh area is going, but I should check. Driving could work with the right group. But there is no way I'm taking such a road trip myself.)

Erik saw my vet tonight for a followup after his visit to the emergency clinic last week. He is eating but (still) not as much as he should be. I am to give him fluids for a while. We are waiting for an appointment for a consultation with a specialist, who'll look at the ultrasound and advise on options, including surgery. Poor guy. He's active and otherwise happy near as I can tell, but he does seem to have a case of ADR (Ain't Doin' Right), and I hope they can figure out how to fix it soon.

It's a little disconcerting to realize that my cat has better health care than many people who can pay (but live in places where there's none to be bought).

What does "X% chance of rain tonight" mean? Any rain anywhere in the region at any time during the night? That X% of the region will be wet by morning? That the whole region will get rain for X% of the night? Inquiring minds want to know, and empirical evidence is decidedly lacking.

Short takes:

As rjlippincott says, sometimes a product name says everything you need to know. Moo Doo, indeed.

For SCA folks: jducoeur's rules of water-bearing nails some of the current bureaucracy square on the head. Go. Read.

This kitten pile from kittenbreak is adorable. Assuming that's one litter, I'm surprised by both the number and the uniformity.

I'm going to go to the National Havurah Committee's summer institute this year. I have to choose classes at registration time, so I'm trying to decide. (The registration form calls for me to rank my top three choices in each time slot.) Input welcome. Classes meet every day for the week and I can take two. The full list is here.

For the morning, I'm leaning toward:

1. Speaking the World into Being: Jewish Ethics of What We Say and How We Say It (Regina Sandler-Phillips) -- ethics, lashon hara, mussar... what's not to like?
2. Joseph’s Multi-Colored Hellenistic Coat (Aaron Kachuck) -- Hellenistic historical context, it sounds like, which is something I don't have much opportunity to study elsewhere.
3. The Essential Prayer: A Deep Investigation into the Amidah (Elie Kaunfer) -- I note that this is in the "text for everyone" category, which I infer means "beginners welcome", which might mean I alerady know a lot of what they'll teach. On the other hand, it's foundation-level, important stuff.

For the afternoon I'm a little more conflicted, so these aren't ordered yet:

• The Art and Spirit of Prayer Leading (Julia Appel) -- runs the risk of being too basic, but the prerequisites are promising. This is an area I'm very interested in improving, but also one where I know a fair bit already.
• What is Oral About “Oral Torah”? (Bob Goldenberg) -- interesting area; I note that it is labelled "advanced", so I might not have sufficient background. I can (demonstrably) handle rabbinic texts in the original languages with a more-knowledgable chevruta (study partner), so I'd probably be ok in this class. I think. I certainly wouldn't be bored. :-)
• Law and The Law (Stephen Eisdorfer) -- torah in conflict with American law can lead to interesting discussions, if it's more about the legal issues and how people dealt with it than about the "raw history" of discrimination and what-not.
• What Words Can Do! (Bob Freedman) -- text study on creation stories (other topics?), and the beit-midrash style worked well for me last year at Hebrew College.

They seem interested in encouraging first-time attendees to dive in. (Well, others too...) There's a space on the form for indicating interest in leading workshops, leading services, etc. Would it be cheeky for a first-timer to offer to chant torah?

I also need to figure out transportation, though not urgently. The closest airport is Manchester, but flights there are $100+ more than flights to Boston. On the other hand, that difference might be swallowed by getting from whichever airport to the site; don't know yet. I don't have a good handle on the options yet.

My rabbi recommended the Lay Leadership Summer Study Retreat, which I am strongly considering going to this year. From what I've read so far, it sounds like an excellent learning opportunity. I learned this Shabbat that a fellow congregant is definitely going, which would reduce some of my "travelling alone in a far-away place" jitters (it's in Jerusalem). It's kind of pricy; I can afford it but am asking myself cost-benefit questions. I'd be away for about 10 or 11 days (late June/early July). Those 10 or 11 days span a period when Dani would be away anyway (at a gaming con), which seems like a win in the spousal-away-time department. (It's a given that he's never going to accompany me on one of these trips.) Note to self: stay here.

It's either that or the National Havurah Committee summer session, recommended by magid (who attended last year). This, too, sounds like a good program -- it's got stuff I'm definitely not into (granola), but enough serious study to keep me busy. It's probably smaller and a little more intimate than the Hartman program, and I'd know one person there (assuming magid goes again). It's the week immediately after Pennsic -- dodging is good but back-to-back vacations might be bad.

This year's URJ Kallah is a no-go. I kind of figured it would be with the title "Israel at 60", but it was possible the program would surprise me. It's now been published; it didn't. So, some other year, maybe. (Israel is of course an important component of Jewish study, but I'm looking for something with more traditional text and less modern history/zionism, thanks.)

I do mean to return to the Open Beit Midrash at Hebrew College, but not this year.

Someday I will be able to take the 3+ weeks needed to go to the Conservative Yeshiva's summer program in Jerusalem, but not this year and probably not next. I'm pencilling it in for 2010. (Similarly, Drisha and Pardes have programs that are too long for me right now.)