חג שמח

Chag Sameach Purim!

So here's an article about why we're supposed to drink ourselves stupid on Purim.

C and I drank ourselves toasty at our synagogue's 21+ Purimshpil last night, but not to the point of embarrassment. Yes, drinking is a mitzvah, but still, we have to be welcome back there.

One of our fifty-something friends did come wandering up to us near the end of the night, asked if someone nearby was someone else (there was a slight resemblance between the individuals in question, but not THAT much) and then declared that he was in no way responsible for anything he said.

"What did they put in YOUR drink?" we asked.

"I don't know, but whatever it was, it's pretty good!" he said.

We think he doesn't normally drink much. We made sure somebody else was driving him and his entourage home.

American Judaism and Racism

This article was posted a couple Martin Luther King Jr. Days ago. The article itself is interesting; the comments are fascinating, involving a lengthy exchange between the author and an American Jew who sees no racism in American Judaism.

I think it's fairly obvious that segregation definitely exists; I attend a multi-thousand family synagogue (I mean, most of them don't go regularly), and I can count on one hand the number of non-white congregants I see on a Friday night. And I live in a diverse metropolitan area. I personally know one family who chose not to join our congregation because they did not think it was racially diverse enough for their half-Asian children (and honestly, I tend to agree).

That does not mean, of course, than any individual Jew is a racist, but that many Ashkenazic Jewish organizations don't do much to encourage racial diversity.

Anyway, the article and comments go into much more detail with much more basis than I can do here. Go forth and read.

Dear Certain Parents:

From Reform Jewish Outreach's Purim newsletter:

'Dress up as your favorite Purim character (or any costume you like). During the service, whenever you hear the name "Hamen," you should spin your grogger (a colorful, loud noisemaker), stomp your feet and do everything in your power to make sure his name is not heard. This is one time when it is truly a mitzvah (commandment) to make noise in the sanctuary.' (Emphasis mine.)

See that bold sentence there? That means that, the rest of the year, it is NOT a mitzvah to make noise in the sanctuary. We all know that sometimes babies cry and toddlers squawk. If these children cannot be quickly soothed, and we do understand if they can't, please take them out.

More to the point, however, if your school-age, verbal, possibly-literate* child is attending services with you, that's a really good time for them to learn about Sitting Down and Being Quiet and maybe...just maybe...even Following Along With The Service. Because even if your kids aren't particularly interested, there are a whole bunch of adults around you who are there to worship, and it's very difficult for some of us to focus and pray when there are unattended children running up and down the aisles. Especially when some of those children are nine or ten years old.

Yours in vexation,

Anath Shalom

Rediscovered mikveh

This article is about a recently uncovered mikveh in Baltimore, which may be the oldest mikveh in the United States, located in the basement of a row house.

The place where I had my mikveh is more like a spa, but really, just about any place in which a person can fully submerge and that is at least partially fed by natural water has the potential to serve as a mikveh.