shabbat shalom
so tikkun leil shabbat was amazing. there were like, 120 ppl all crowded in the basement of the religious action center just a block from the dupont circle metro station downtown. i had no idea what to expect, other than, "what table to i put my entemen's cake on?" when i walked in. i chatted with a woman named rachel, new to this area in the last two months. when i told her i was converting, she started asking me all these questions about what i study, why i chose judaism- she was genuinely curious about meeting a jew-by-choice.
then i spoke with alanna- she's in town visiting family, and was looking for somewhere to spend shabbos.
downstairs in the basement, i plopped down next to shayna, also a jew-by-choice. we talked at length about our experiences and hung out during the potluck dinner afterward, and exchanged business cards when i left.
it's amazing how we find each other.
i also met not one but two shoshanna's- one a friend of shayna's, the other someone i had actually spoken to over the phone when i first started working in res life. she works as the coordinator of a partnered intern program with Maryland and NASA- she called my office and was transferred to me to inquire about arranging summer housing for her interns. unfortunately, i had to tell her no- but it was so "it's a small world after all" to actually meet her there tonight.
the service was... wow. full of song and energy and joy. we faced east and sang unaccompanied, but everyone was clapping and dancing- and we had some very enthusiastic drummers beating out very middle eastern feeling rhythms against steps, chairs, and even the wall. it was so invigorating. i barely thought about work only in the context to tell ppl i met what i did, but i'm not worried about the 1300 early arrivals happening on sunday. it was my night to reflect, recharge, recenter myself.
there was LOTS of singing- the service was pretty long. and while some of the melodies were new to me, we sang so many verses that i picked up everything prety quickly. the siddur they provided was actually my hindrance- i ended up singing along to the transliteration rather than forcing myself to read the hebrew. i'm just not fast enough yet to pick it up in song.
i can't believe how many ppl there were tonight- it was seriously standing room only.
i'm so glad i've found this community- while it might not be something i regularly attend, since i now have ties to both oseh shalom in laurel and capital kehillah where rabbi miller leads services, it's nice to know i have somewhere else to go, and that there is a vibrant, energetic, young professional jewish community just off of the metro every 3 fridays.
i really needed tonight. i'm so happy i went, despite terrible stomach troubles the whole metro ride in, and my car deciding it doesn't want to cooperate with me anymore.
shabbat shalom all!
ps- i think i'm going to abandon my journal miriamstymbrel b/c it's just easier for me to add it here and tag when appropriate. i don't know if i'm going to delete the lj or not... it's such a nice username that it would be a shame to lose. i'm also not sure if i'm going to download and import the backdated files to this lj or not.
if you are interested in reading about my jewish exploits, comment and let me know, and i'll set up a filter so everyone who isn't interested doesn't have to be bombarded with conversion related posts.
then i spoke with alanna- she's in town visiting family, and was looking for somewhere to spend shabbos.
downstairs in the basement, i plopped down next to shayna, also a jew-by-choice. we talked at length about our experiences and hung out during the potluck dinner afterward, and exchanged business cards when i left.
it's amazing how we find each other.
i also met not one but two shoshanna's- one a friend of shayna's, the other someone i had actually spoken to over the phone when i first started working in res life. she works as the coordinator of a partnered intern program with Maryland and NASA- she called my office and was transferred to me to inquire about arranging summer housing for her interns. unfortunately, i had to tell her no- but it was so "it's a small world after all" to actually meet her there tonight.
the service was... wow. full of song and energy and joy. we faced east and sang unaccompanied, but everyone was clapping and dancing- and we had some very enthusiastic drummers beating out very middle eastern feeling rhythms against steps, chairs, and even the wall. it was so invigorating. i barely thought about work only in the context to tell ppl i met what i did, but i'm not worried about the 1300 early arrivals happening on sunday. it was my night to reflect, recharge, recenter myself.
there was LOTS of singing- the service was pretty long. and while some of the melodies were new to me, we sang so many verses that i picked up everything prety quickly. the siddur they provided was actually my hindrance- i ended up singing along to the transliteration rather than forcing myself to read the hebrew. i'm just not fast enough yet to pick it up in song.
i can't believe how many ppl there were tonight- it was seriously standing room only.
i'm so glad i've found this community- while it might not be something i regularly attend, since i now have ties to both oseh shalom in laurel and capital kehillah where rabbi miller leads services, it's nice to know i have somewhere else to go, and that there is a vibrant, energetic, young professional jewish community just off of the metro every 3 fridays.
i really needed tonight. i'm so happy i went, despite terrible stomach troubles the whole metro ride in, and my car deciding it doesn't want to cooperate with me anymore.
shabbat shalom all!
ps- i think i'm going to abandon my journal miriamstymbrel b/c it's just easier for me to add it here and tag when appropriate. i don't know if i'm going to delete the lj or not... it's such a nice username that it would be a shame to lose. i'm also not sure if i'm going to download and import the backdated files to this lj or not.
if you are interested in reading about my jewish exploits, comment and let me know, and i'll set up a filter so everyone who isn't interested doesn't have to be bombarded with conversion related posts.