I'm Back!!!

Hey! I'm back after a long hiatus. So many things were going on in my life and I kept meaning to update...but then, I'd get too busy, or be too tired, etc. But now, here I am.

So, Passover officially ends tomorrow at sundown and I think that I may have pizza! I was invited to a seder by a friend from Torah study and Christopher joined me. It was enlightening and exciting and I enjoyed it from beginning to end and I'm looking forward to holding my own seder next year.

So, what happens next...I have to start an Independent Project. It can be on any topic I want it to be on, as long as it involves research. It can be presented in any format. I have pondered many different topics and I still haven't come to a firm decision on what my project should be...any suggestions?

This week at Torah study we discussed Passover seder traditions, and what happens when there are no longer any children present at the seder. To whom are the traditions passed along? What happens when all the kids grow up and move away? This led to a very passionate discussion about welcoming others, specifically, non-Jews, into the home to celebrate the seder. The rabbi expressed a preference for Jewish particularism, that Jews must remain distinct and separate in identity and that the pride in being a Jew and the priority to support Jewish causes and preserve Jewish identity should always take precedence. Oh boy, you should have seen the hands shoot up in the air!

The rabbi made a pointed effort to say that he did not feel that there was anything wrong with welcoming others to experience Jewish traditions. He personally felt that there was value in Jews celebrating the "Jewishness" of these traditions, and keeping these traditions exclusive to Jews.

I had an immediate reaction...and of course expressed my own opinions...as someone going through the conversion process, I was happy to have others welcome me into their home for the seder. Otherwise, how would I learn? Also, thus far, my personal experience has been that my non-Jewish friends have not only accepted my decision to convert (not that I needed their permission), but have also expressed sincere interest in my experiences, as eager to learn as I am about what it means to become a Jew-by-choice. One of the things I said was that I didn't think that my friends are merely titillated by the "novelty" of my decision to become a Jew, but are truly interested and engaged.

(Now - with that being said, I did have a friend ask me when "this all happened" - referring to my decision to become a Jew - and I told her when I came to my decision to convert last summer. I don't think that she made the comment to be snide, and I think that she truly didn't know about my decision to become a Jew-by-choice until just recently.) 

I thought about a whole slew of things, as the discussion touched on Jewish assimilation in America, the good and bad, and I thought about assimilation of Blacks into American society, and how there are definitely parallels here. A plethora of topics that could be discussed.

I'm still continuing to mull it over in my head. Choosing to be Jewish does not, and will not, diminish my identity as an African-American. I think it will only enrich my life. And I'm lucky to have friends and family who are willing and eager to happily accompany me on this journey.

Shalom.

And now...back to our Featured Presentation

Hi! It's me and I'm back. I know that it's been a while and the only excuse I have is that I've been kinda busy with my day job and my FUN job, which is acting. I'm choreographing a show and I've started rehearsals for a show that I am in, so I've been a gal on the go.

Anyway...

The Judaism class that I started in September is going very well and I'm learning quite a bit. And, guess what? I found out that I went to high school with the rabbi who teaches the class! I realized this when one day, before class, I recognized a woman who was walking past the classroom on her way to choir practice - turns out she was my 8th grade English teacher! The rabbi asked me where I went to school, and that's when we compared notes and realized that we went to the same high school. He graduated a year before I did but we had some of the same friends - we were even in a play together! Teeny tiny world, huh?

The class continues to be AWESOME. Besides learning about the expected, i.e., religious holidays, life events, etc., I'm learning a lot about Jewish history in regards to the Jewish Diaspora and Jews in Europe. For example, I did not know that King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella of Spain issued the Alhambra Decree on 31 March, 1492, which ordered that all Jews be expelled from Spain and its territories. Over 200,000 Jews were expelled and most fled to Turkey and Portugal. I was vaguely aware that Jews in the diaspora were known as either Ashkenazi or Sephardic Jews (probably because I'm a fan of Hank Azaria and he is a Sephardic Jew - thanks, Wikipedia.). I did not know that a yarmulke and a kippah were the same thing, but they are (they are both head coverings; yarmulke is Yiddish and kippah is Hebrew).

One class session discussed Jewish dietary restrictions. I am trying to practice this on the simplest level - no seafood and no pork, and no mixing of meat and dairy, which means no cheeseburgers (this is fine with me because I have never been a big fan of the cheeseburger). Any fish is kosher EXCEPT for swordfish -  swordfish is treif (not kosher) because in order to be kosher, fish must have both scales and fins, and though while young, the swordfish has scales, it loses them later in life. I also learned that platypuses are treif, which is a good thing, because the platypus is my favorite monotreme and therefore is not in danger of being eaten by me if I find myself in dire straights in Australia or Tanzania. Whew!

I'm still attending services on Saturday mornings and staying after for Torah study (though as of next week, I'll be attending Friday night services because I have Saturday rehearsals from 10 - 4 ), which I really, really enjoy. I like that there is intellectual discussion about that week's Torah portion, how it may relate to a variety of things, religious and/or secular. I also like that multiple points of view are appreciated. The past few weeks, the discussions have been about readings from the book of Genesis, and while the stories themselves are familiar (the binding of Isaac, Rebekah at the well, the story of Lot), the discussions about them are fascinating. Example question: why do you think Isaac didn't think twice about letting himself be bound by his father for sacrifice? Why didn't Abraham balk at the idea of sacrificing his only son? I like it because it's OK to have an opinion and/or and idea about those questions from a humanitarian point of view. That's the point of Torah study - to study the text and the meaning behind the words.

So...my next personal project is Shabbat on Friday night at home. I'll let you know how that turns out.

Shalom ~

LL Cool J

 

Reading with the Rabbi

I started my Introduction to Judasim class on Tuesday. The instructor is a hoot. He had me cracking up! I wanted to take the fall/winter session because my sponsoring rabbi told me that this guy was hilarious, and after attending Tuesday's class, I'm glad I was able to work this session into my schedule!

There are only 4 other people in the class - two other women and a guy, who is attending along with his wife, who is going through the conversion process, like me. He is not converting, but attending class along with her for support, which is just so tender and precious!

I was glad to see that one of our required texts, I have already purchased, because I am so cool and proactive. :) I purchased another today and have to buy two others.

We learned a little of the Hebrew alphabet and how to pronounce vowels, and though this was strictly to familiarize us with the alphabet, it was helpful to me. I don't know if I will take Hebrew classes anytime soon, but at least I can follow along in the prayer book during services, to a degree. It will make more sense.

So, yeah, this class is gonna be pretty darn entertaining, I think. And I'm sure I'll learn a LOT more that I thought I would.

Yom Kippur - Morning/Yizkor/Neilah Services

An update about Yom Kippur services I attended last weekend.

In the morning, I went downtown for 10 am services at the Plum Street Temple - dedicated in 1866, and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 - it is a beautiful building, and the interior is exquisite! Anyway...it was crowded, and slightly festive. This being the highest of Holy Days, there seemed to be the same type of excitement seen during Christmas - people dressed up, chatting with family and friends, teenagers looking somewhat bored by it all. However - there's so much more participation in regards to not just listening to a clergy member talking. There are many prayers read aloud by the congregation and so I felt as if I was participating more in the celebration of the Holy Day. And I didn't get as many stares as I thought I would.

Services lasted about 2 hours; I went home from Plum Street and sat for a while - Yom Kippur is a fasting holiday and I had to drink some water and I also ate half a piece of pita - I was getting shaky and I could feel the beginnings of a headache, so I ate a little bit. I had so much anxiety about the fast - I had dreams about it! I was so concerned about doing what I was supposed to do as a Jew. I was so relieved when the rabbi at the Kol Nidrei services reminded the congregation that fasting was NOT about suffering - if necessary, eat simply and have water. So, that's what I did so I wouldn't pass out.

I went back downtown around 3 pm to attend Yikzor (memorial) services. I did this because I really wanted to remember my mom, and be able to share this with her. I 'm pretty sure that I did. :)

Then there were concluding services, Neilah, when final prayers of repentance are recited at the closing of Yom Kippur.

I left Plum Street around 5:15pm, and then went home to change clothes, and then went to a break-the-fast gathering . A woman I met at Torah study, at the synagogue I attend on Saturday mornings, had invited me to join her family and friends at her place, which was very kind of her. I had a great time - and there was LOTS of food, and desserts! Of course, everyone was famished , so everything tasted great. There was a really good quiche and a flourless chocolate cake that was EXCELLENT.

It was a good first Yom Kippur for me. Just think how much better prepared I'll be next year. :)

Yom Kippur - Kol Nidrei

Tonight I went to evening services - Kol Nidrei- with a friend at a synagogue that they attend. I had tickets to go to my synagogue, but I didn't want to go by myself. 

Yom Kippur is about atonement and confessing your sins, so this sevice was about asking God for forgiveness for your transgressions against Him, and about doing the right thing, not only for others, but for all of humanity. Which is a nice idea; so often when people speak of transgressions, it's about things that are done to other people. I like the idea of thinking about all of humanity and "paying it forward" for the good of everyone. 

I think the most enjoyable thing about this particular service in this particular synagogue was that there was a cellist and a violinist, and they each had solos. It was beautiful, especially the cello.

So tomorrow morning I attend services, and I will go downtown to the Plum Street Temple. Yes, I am going by myself. Christopher L. is attending a comic book thing.

Shabbat Shalom.  :)

New Nickname

I have a new nickname for myself..."LL Cool J". Leslie Lannan Cool Jew.  :)

Teshuvah and what I learned about it

Yesterday evening was a sad one for me; I had a really unpleasant conversation with a family member. OK, for realz, I had a bad argument with my sister.

I wasn't very nice and said things that I shouldn't have...not because they weren't true, but because I could have said them differently. But the issue isn't really about what I said, it's about how I said it.

I felt terrible afterwards. I was talking to myself out loud in my car, and I asked God for forgiveness for the things I'd done, because I was wrong.

I thought about it a lot today. The 10 days that begin with Rosh Hashanah and continue through Yom Kippur are known as  The Ten Days of Repentance. During this time, we are encouraged to engage in acts of teshuvah, tefillah, tzedekah/repentance, prayer, charity. The way I treated my sister was a poor way to begin my journey as a Jew-by-choice. I said so today in an email to my sister, and asked her for her forgiveness.

Now, this may seem sappy and treacly, but really, this is what being a good Jew is about. Teshuvah means to "turn back" or "to return", and to make teshuvah is to turn inward in self evaluation, to look back on our deeds of the previous year, and to return to God.  

This is required whenever I act in a way that I know God would not like. When I act against what God has said, it's as if I've turned away from Him and gone in my own direction...so, when I feel crappy about that in my heart, I turn around to face Him again, and ask for His forgiveness, and then I'm doing teshuvah.

When I do something wrong against someone else, I should do the same - turn back toward that person, i.e., my sister, and ask them to forgive me; when I do that, I am doing teshuvah. That is what I did today.

I hope that she will forgive me...but I also know that I have learned a good first lessonduring this season of High Holy days. By doing teshuvah, I am doing what I am supposed to do, as a good Jew should...heck, as any good person should, you know, treat people with lovingkindness and all that.  :)

Shalom.