Zikronah Livrakha

My mother passed away today in San Diego, on the 11th of Kislev 5769. She was 64. May her memory always be for a blessing.

A shul's a shul for all that.

So I'm on vacation this week, and that means davening at my away-from-home shul. It's a lovely place, Temple Solel, and I've been there, oh, I think this was my third or fourth time, so I'm kinda getting a feel for their rhythms and melodies. The differences aren't THAT great, but it's interesting to me how much difference there is.

Right off the bat, Temple Solel has an interesting practice: They bless and wrap tallitot all together. The first time I experienced this, I had no idea it was coming, so of course I had already said the bracha and was standing there al-Tzitzit, but I've come to expect it now. I like how the community emphasizes the importance of the Tallit this way, and I also like how it draws attention away from individual moments under the Tallit (in the past, especially in VERY libearl congregations, I've been a bit self-conscious about standing with my tallis over my head).

The differences go on from there, from the slight to the significant. The major pieces were all there, of course, from opening prayers to psalms, the Kriat Sh'ma, the Amidah, the Torah service, and Alienu. And while I'm getting more comfortable at my shul-away-from-shul, I was aware of how much I take for granted the practices I'm used to. These little things reminded me of how difficult kavanah can really be--but I will say this: Temple Solel is beautiful, the Cantor and Rabbi do an excellent job, and the community is all very kind.

Ah, well. Home to Beth Torah on next Shabbat!

Guitar Hero

We got together with some of our friends last night for a little food, a little wine...you know, a bisele shmues. So while we were chatting, The Boy and The Girl were playing Wii. The Boy was indulging his love of Metallica (I'll talk about THAT another time) by playing Guitar Hero. Having never tried it, I thought, why not. I was a musician, I can do this.

Well, I can tell you that the exact correlation between playing guitar in Guitar Hero and playing guitar in real life is exactly nothing. Non-existant. That I was ok with, really. But what threw me a bit was that there wasn't always a correlation between the notes you play in the game and even the basic rhythms of the song you're trying to match. Yes, they match up sometimes, but not always, so if you're used to playing an instrument in a band, forget about feeling or intuiting the beat.

Anyway, long story short: It's fun. At times it's frenetic and hectic, but it is fun. My third try, I got 83% of the notes right on Rain of Blood--easy mode, of course. I also ended up with a very sore hand from pushing the fret buttons.

For those about to rock in a computer game, I salute you.

The periennial greeting OR It's the most wonderful time of the year...right?

I was talking to the mother of one of The Girl's friends about getting the girlies together for a playdate; said mother innocently asked, "Do you stay in town for Thanksgiving and Christmas?" For me the question becomes when do I--heck, do I at all--make reference to the fact that we're Jewish? I mean, the moment she meets me, she's gonna know...a guy over 6' tall in a kippah is kinda hard to miss. The last thing I want to do is embarrass her by pointing out her assumption.

Don't get me at all wrong on this: I'm not at all offended by the question. Hey, I live in an overwhelmingly Christian area; as far as I know, we're the only Jewish family at the school. It doesn't bother me at all that she assumes everyone is Christian, nor do I expect the school to become archly politically correct. I do appreciate the fact that school functions are put into general language: Winter Break, Spring Break, and so on (although calling Halloween a Harvest Party struck me as a bit...off), and I don't feel the need to demand Chanukkiahs as decorations.

This upcoming time of year is one of my favorites. It's winter time (which see below), and I love how cheerful and friendly everyone is. When someone says to me, "Merry Christmas," I take it the way it's intended...ok, well, I take it the way I imagine it's intended, and that is as an expression of goodwill and joy. When I get a "Season's Greetings" instead, it's even nicer, and the single "Happy Chanukkah" I received in the world-at-large last year made my week. But I sure-as-shooting don't expect it.

So no matter how you greet folks in the month ahead, just smile and mean it. I guess that's really the point, innit?

You know the feeling?

Crazy admission: I actually like winter.

Ok, ok, it's easy to say that in November when the cold weather has only just begun, and I know that come March, I'll be ready for the good weather again, but really. I like it when it's cold--at least I don't mind it when it's cold.

And cold for real--18 degrees on Thursday morning. Sure, it's not Canada-cold, but for a November morning, 18 is cold enough, thanks very.

I'm really looking forward to the first snow (well, the first REAL snow; we had flurries last Saturday morning), and I really can't wait for the way the night sky looks. If you've not seen snow clouds at night over a metropolitan area, you're missing out. The light from below refracts up and around, and the clouds become nothing short of luminous. As well, there's a crispness, a clarity to a clear winter sky. It's really something.

So come on, winter. Let's get this thing on.