Forgive the falling shofar

In preparation for my High Holiday pulpit, I have been practicing the liturgy and reading up about the liturgy to get ideas for what I want to share with the congregation. Today, as I was reading about the Yom Kippur liturgy, and silently retranslating from English back into Hebrew, sort of half-humming to myself "selach lanu, mechal lanu, ka-aper la-anu" (basically 3 ways to say forgive us), the ground began to shake. I sat there stunned and just watched the glasses in the cabinet in front of me, willing them not to fall. The ground shook a bit harder, and I heard a big thump behind me. My mind was racing - realizing that we haven't yet done much to earthquake-proof the new apartment. Things calmed back down pretty rapidly, though it took a little longer for my heart to stop racing. I did a quick survey of the apartment. The only thing that had fallen out of place was our giant shofar. Makes me wonder what G-d is trying to say to me.

Nice to know you're not alone

I want to thank a classmate for pointing out the important discussion going on here about rabbis and how they should or should not dress. It was nice to read in the comments that I am not the only Conservative hat-wearing female Jew struggling to figure out where and how I fit into the whole head-covering spectrum.

I wish there were more professionally acceptable head coverings that looked fashionable with suits. If you've found something good, let me know!

Jumping for joy

Sometimes, simple things can bring such joy....

What color is your doctor?

Did you know that doctors come in different colors? According to the little authority in our house, my doctor is purple. Hers is green. Abba's is blue.

Wouldn't the world be an interesting place if everything really was your own favorite color?

Dinner Conversation

Tonight at dinner, Meital said:
"I'm a princess. A princess don't feed herself."
Then she opened her mouth for Abba to feed her.

Very astute.