Accepted
I got a letter from the synagogue accepting me as a member (though funnily enough I received the bill for membership dues last week) today. The letter is pretty much a form letter but there were really nice, brief comments from the rabbi, the hazzan and a “Yeah!” from the president of the congregation.
My rabbi referred to me as his Facebook friend which leaves me pondering the relevancy of my life (I’m joking. Mostly) though he did also call me a “great asset to the Jewish people” which made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. But it was the hazzan’s note that really touched me today since I spent the morning feeling overwhelmed by Hebrew study and overwhelmed by reading The Essential Talmud.
“Thanks for choosing us on your spiritual journey. You teach more than you probably learn!”
Wow, that makes me feel good. What a wonderful compliment. Both the rabbi and the cantor at my synagogue are such wonderful, caring people who give freely of their time and their knowledge. When I was getting ready for my ceremony and practicing the blessings Cantor made me a CD and invited me to come practice with him. I think I would have done just fine without the extra practice but it was so nice to do and we got to have some really interesting conversations as well. Their kindness and generosity are two of the prime reasons that I know I made the right choice when I chose this synagogue. Of course it’s also in walking distance to my house so they probably would have had to have been really mean to successfully run me off from a shul I can walk to.
I’ve actually been thinking a good deal lately about what aspects of the synagogue services I find most meaningful and most enjoyable. One of the things that I keep coming back to is how wonderful Cantor’s voice and his singing is. I get swept up in his voice when he’s leading and it’s wonderful. But I also get lost in my own voice when I’m singing. Houses of worship are just about the only place where adults with no singing talent like myself can allow themselves to be free and joyful in song*. There’s something…..uplifting about singing, just singing with no concern about how you sound or who is listening or any of that. It doesn’t even matter what you’re singing (goodness knows I didn’t know what I was singing in Hebrew when I first started going to shul) just that your heart is it in, that the kavanah is there.
*I know you can sing along at concerts but most concerts are crowded and loud and hot and don’t make me feel free and joyful. Exceptions to this rule are concerts at the Louisville Palace.
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