Oct. 6th, 2007
Quick holiday recap
Oct. 6th, 2007 09:27 pmWed night: Delightful dinner at friends' sukkah. Kids behaved great even two hours past their bedtimes.
Thu morning: I'm becoming one of the kvetchers, I suppose, but when there's a Mi-Sinai melody, it's generally considered a Good Thing to use it. Geshem to a Mah Yedidut melody is just plain Wrong. "Remember the one bound on the altar, and for his sake, do not withhold rain! Oh, and some fatted fowl and fish, if you please, and arranging marriages for our daughters." Um, sorry, cognitive dissonance there.
Thu night and Fri morning: The kids had a blast at Simchat Torah. Singing, dancing, kissing the Torah scrolls. Although I usually am frustrated by the singing and dancing at our shul, this year we made enough room for a "fast" circle next to the slow one, and it was more spirited than I've ever seen at our shul. (I still miss Tremont Street in the late 1980s.)
introverte got a sefer for one of the hakafot on the women's side, and I got to lead the Levi hakafa on the men's side. Kiddush, of course, rocked, and the Meshuggener Rebbe was hysterically funny --- the gentleman who is his regular meturgaman (translator) just got semichah (Rabbinic ordination) in Israel, but that wasn't good enough for the Mesuggener, who performed his own oral exam. My favorite exchange: "What is on page 26a?" "Amar Rava!"
This morning it was nice to have a relatively straightforward service, and I'm looking forward to putting in a full week at work. And to catching up on five days of crosswords. :-)
Thu morning: I'm becoming one of the kvetchers, I suppose, but when there's a Mi-Sinai melody, it's generally considered a Good Thing to use it. Geshem to a Mah Yedidut melody is just plain Wrong. "Remember the one bound on the altar, and for his sake, do not withhold rain! Oh, and some fatted fowl and fish, if you please, and arranging marriages for our daughters." Um, sorry, cognitive dissonance there.
Thu night and Fri morning: The kids had a blast at Simchat Torah. Singing, dancing, kissing the Torah scrolls. Although I usually am frustrated by the singing and dancing at our shul, this year we made enough room for a "fast" circle next to the slow one, and it was more spirited than I've ever seen at our shul. (I still miss Tremont Street in the late 1980s.)
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This morning it was nice to have a relatively straightforward service, and I'm looking forward to putting in a full week at work. And to catching up on five days of crosswords. :-)
Quick holiday recap
Oct. 6th, 2007 09:27 pmWed night: Delightful dinner at friends' sukkah. Kids behaved great even two hours past their bedtimes.
Thu morning: I'm becoming one of the kvetchers, I suppose, but when there's a Mi-Sinai melody, it's generally considered a Good Thing to use it. Geshem to a Mah Yedidut melody is just plain Wrong. "Remember the one bound on the altar, and for his sake, do not withhold rain! Oh, and some fatted fowl and fish, if you please, and arranging marriages for our daughters." Um, sorry, cognitive dissonance there.
Thu night and Fri morning: The kids had a blast at Simchat Torah. Singing, dancing, kissing the Torah scrolls. Although I usually am frustrated by the singing and dancing at our shul, this year we made enough room for a "fast" circle next to the slow one, and it was more spirited than I've ever seen at our shul. (I still miss Tremont Street in the late 1980s.)
introverte got a sefer for one of the hakafot on the women's side, and I got to lead the Levi hakafa on the men's side. Kiddush, of course, rocked, and the Meshuggener Rebbe was hysterically funny --- the gentleman who is his regular meturgaman (translator) just got semichah (Rabbinic ordination) in Israel, but that wasn't good enough for the Mesuggener, who performed his own oral exam. My favorite exchange: "What is on page 26a?" "Amar Rava!"
This morning it was nice to have a relatively straightforward service, and I'm looking forward to putting in a full week at work. And to catching up on five days of crosswords. :-)
Thu morning: I'm becoming one of the kvetchers, I suppose, but when there's a Mi-Sinai melody, it's generally considered a Good Thing to use it. Geshem to a Mah Yedidut melody is just plain Wrong. "Remember the one bound on the altar, and for his sake, do not withhold rain! Oh, and some fatted fowl and fish, if you please, and arranging marriages for our daughters." Um, sorry, cognitive dissonance there.
Thu night and Fri morning: The kids had a blast at Simchat Torah. Singing, dancing, kissing the Torah scrolls. Although I usually am frustrated by the singing and dancing at our shul, this year we made enough room for a "fast" circle next to the slow one, and it was more spirited than I've ever seen at our shul. (I still miss Tremont Street in the late 1980s.)
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This morning it was nice to have a relatively straightforward service, and I'm looking forward to putting in a full week at work. And to catching up on five days of crosswords. :-)
"The Yiddish Policemen's Union"
Oct. 6th, 2007 11:22 pmOver Yom Tov, I read The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon. I do not recommend it.
( So nu? Why not? )
I don't know how large is the intersection of the set of people who enjoy dark noir mysteries and the set of people who would understand humorous asides about eruvin, tefillin, and mikvaot. I have to assume it's not an empty set or this book wouldn't have taken three months to reach me on the Minuteman Library reserve list. But I have to tell you: that set excludes me.
So in honor of this book's Yiddish side, I'm bringing back my original review rating system, and awarding The Yiddish Policemen's Union three kvetches.
( So nu? Why not? )
I don't know how large is the intersection of the set of people who enjoy dark noir mysteries and the set of people who would understand humorous asides about eruvin, tefillin, and mikvaot. I have to assume it's not an empty set or this book wouldn't have taken three months to reach me on the Minuteman Library reserve list. But I have to tell you: that set excludes me.
So in honor of this book's Yiddish side, I'm bringing back my original review rating system, and awarding The Yiddish Policemen's Union three kvetches.
"The Yiddish Policemen's Union"
Oct. 6th, 2007 11:22 pmOver Yom Tov, I read The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon. I do not recommend it.
( So nu? Why not? )
I don't know how large is the intersection of the set of people who enjoy dark noir mysteries and the set of people who would understand humorous asides about eruvin, tefillin, and mikvaot. I have to assume it's not an empty set or this book wouldn't have taken three months to reach me on the Minuteman Library reserve list. But I have to tell you: that set excludes me.
So in honor of this book's Yiddish side, I'm bringing back my original review rating system, and awarding The Yiddish Policemen's Union three kvetches.
( So nu? Why not? )
I don't know how large is the intersection of the set of people who enjoy dark noir mysteries and the set of people who would understand humorous asides about eruvin, tefillin, and mikvaot. I have to assume it's not an empty set or this book wouldn't have taken three months to reach me on the Minuteman Library reserve list. But I have to tell you: that set excludes me.
So in honor of this book's Yiddish side, I'm bringing back my original review rating system, and awarding The Yiddish Policemen's Union three kvetches.