Sunday, March 7, 2010

I Have Tzitzit! (And a shul...)

The tzitzis strings of one corner of a tallit.Image via Wikipedia
Yesterday, we came out of our shells and went to a shul. Like I had said before, we have been extremely segmented and basically isolated from the Jewish community. I think some of it was our own shyness and hesitancy. Some was the fact that I have a very hard time getting callbacks. We have already discussed this.

So, we took ourselves to Congregation Shema Yisrael. I think they were a bit surprised to see us, but they were extremely welcoming, and once I got out of the perfectionist panic I tend to have, We did rather well.

They had a visiting rabbi from Pittsburgh, whose name unfortunately escapes me, and his discussion on Ki Tisa was wonderful. The attending congregation was rather intimate, and the age range was our age, perhaps older. I think this is a great thing, as it allows our children to learn to respectfully interact with older adults, a tool that they need.

We've been keeping the children out of the public because they tend to behave as cretins, but perhaps pushing them into society might be best. Who knew?

And we went to our favorite judaica shop where I checked with the nice attendant regarding a tallit katan. I was under the impression that they did not have them there, when in fact they had them in a cabinet, out of view.

So now I have one to wear, and will get more. I also have a new set of the Shuchan Aruch to study. They make me happy. They have that wonderful "new book" smell.

Shauvua Tov! I know it will be for me, as I have a new shul, tzitzit, and new books to study.

And instead of all the trouble for being Jewish regarding work, my current job releases me early on Friday to prepare for Shabbat, and I get to work from home on Wednesdays. Granted, I work from home on Sundays, too. But I now have a go-ahead to prime our software for use in yeshivot and in Eretz Yisrael.

Baruch Hashem!
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