Quandry

[kippurbird]

The High Holy Days are coming upon us in a couple of weeks and I'm finding myself in a bit of a quandry this year. Normally we go to our Temple, Adat Shalom, for services. They're pretty good and stick with the traditional melodies (while occasionally trying to sneak in some new ones, but those never last. After all If I'm going to Kol Nidre I'm going to want to hear Kol Nidre and not some fangled different version of it.) and the there is the traditional asking for money, of course. The rabbi's serumons are usally pretty good. The rabbi liked doing gimicks. His first year there he brought two live goats on stage to discuss the scapegoat offering. He always tried to make sure we knew that the ideas of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur applied to us all year long. And Adam Nemoy (Lenard Nemoy's son)would read the book of Jonah. Some times the other rabbi at the Shul would speak. She's not so good. She's very into the spirtuality of life and of Judaism.

The only problem with this is that, well, Judaism really isn't spiritual. We're the People of the Book. We don't do spiritual. And well the way she talks is just rather... Christian. It's the only way to put it. So, I don't like her and neither does my mom. (That and she's just not nice.)

Unfortunately she's the new Rabbi. So my mom is NOT going to services there this year. My dad is. Only because we already bought tickets and he's an usher. My quandry is this: Do I go with my dad or stay home with my mom. I'd go with my dad just to keep him company. But I'd stay with my mom because she's just had foot surgery and is hobbling around in this boot. Also she'd be lonely.

Technically, in Judaism, women don't have to do the prayers. They don't have to do any of the time related things. (Except the candles, and even then men can do that too.) This is because children don't run on a schedual. At least that's what my mom said. So it would be okay if I didn't go.

I'm just...indecisive.

Comments

[agent-artemis.livejournal.com]

How does your Dad feel about going alone?

I think you could do either and be okay

[obadiah.livejournal.com]

You could also -- gasp -- go to a different synagogue, where you'd feel more spiritual. I get a lot of spirituality out of the services I go to (which are Conservative, so traditional but egalitarian).

In a completely unrelated sidenote, I just got into town (in a last-minute sorta way), and I'm staying with my friend Ingrid in Santa Monica until tomorrow (Wed. morning). If you want to meet up for coffee today or breakfast tomorrow or some such, I'd love to hang out. I don't have your email address handy, but you could write me at anything at logres-dot-org, and maybe we could get together for coffee and/or breakfast tomorrow. I also dropped a line to firechickny.