Pesach 5765 notes

[chanaleh]

lonebear missed his original flight Thursday night, so got in around 10pm instead of 9pm. This was actually a plus as it gave us more setup time Chez Pup, but meant we went to Fugakyu instead of Bluefin for sushi and it took until 12:30am to get our sake[in both senses]-soaked selves out of there. (OTOH, it was really really good.)

Memo to self (the same one I make every spring): No matter how early I start thinking about Pesach cleaning, once I begin doing it in earnest, it will always take more time and effort than I realize.

deguspice and quietann and n2mlq (and aileenmuira) and jweiss all came out to have pre-Pesach Shabbat dinner at Mary's with us, which was perfect.

Next time lonebear comes up, I am going to study up my swing dance beforehand so as to make better use of the opportunity. *grin* Will also not let him go donate blood earlier the same day. Will also double-check the current bus schedules from the VFW... but we were graced with a brilliant moment of bus karma, so it all worked out.

Making a seder for 14 makes for a long day (and, in fact, week), but it is eminently worth doing. Our food ranged from excellent (the brisket that ablock had been so worried about, and the chicken soup that I ditto) to merely passable (the overbaked chicken -- but that was much more needful and appreciated as pesadik leftovers at Yeomen put-in the next day).

I rarely do as many useful things at put-in and tech week as I feel like I should, but at least I'm there for moral support. lonebear got to be the Genie-genie for H*, and finish collecting the set on geeking with the Stone twins.

I enjoyed both nights' seders -- I think I will never again be able to settle for seders that peter out after dinner, I am a liturgically-minded soul and actually want the complete Birkat and Hallel -- and lonebear did excellent work, but there was something even a little more satisfying for me about the second night, at shul. Maybe it was not having to personally run into the kitchen every 10 minutes throughout the night to manage the food. Or maybe it was having a high enough density of knowledgeable Jews (or those who could at least limp through it in their turn) to go all the way around the room in Hebrew on things like Ki l'olam chasdo. Or maybe it was simply my prime seat between two of my favorite boys (barring of course the absent ablock and kalessin, though the latter eventually turned up for a brief hello).

Not having to get out of bed quite so early the next day may also have been a factor.

One of the things I always enjoy hearing new people say about Tremont Street is "If only I could pick this place up and move it to [wherever they come from]!" Of course, I prefer to think it could never be quite the same place if it didn't also have that earthy-crunchy-geeky Cambridge thing going on. But it's still a gratifying sentiment. We have our struggles, but on the whole it appears that we are still managing to do something right, something that people respond to.

I take some personal pride in that quality, as well as institutional.

And now... to the salad bar, Batman.

Comments

[mangosteen]

I prefer to think it could never be quite the same place if it didn't also have that earthy-crunchy-geeky Cambridge thing going on. But it's still a gratifying sentiment.

Part of it is definitely the fact that people are genuinely engaged in the service. This may be part of the earthy-crunchy-geeky Cambridge aspect of it, especially with a conservative shul.

Part of it is a matter of format. There is no cantor that is liturgically spooging over a stupefied congregation, which is the cause of five-hour-long services, massive boredom, and checking one's watch more than one checks one's prayerbook.

The latter enables the former, which then discourages the latter.

but...

[lonebear.livejournal.com]

i personally do not consider Tremont St. a conservative shul. The liturgy is orthodox. You just happen to treat woen equally.
[smile]

*snark*

[electriccat.livejournal.com]

liturgically spooging over a stupefied congregation

*giggles to herself*.

I can pretty much picture exactly what you're talking about, and you know, only you could come up with a gem like that. ;-)

Re: *snark*

[besamim.livejournal.com]

The sad thing is, there's probably someone out there who would find liturgical bukkake arousing. Brrr.

[thevortex.livejournal.com]

If you are interested, I swing dance almost every Wednesday at MIT, and I (or hopefully someone better) would be happy to teach you and anyone you want to bring.

Huzzah!

The Vortex

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

Hot diggity! Is that this? I will totally have to go.

[thevortex.livejournal.com]

Yup, and I will be there next Wednesday and onward.

The Vortex

[moria923.livejournal.com]

And you should feel accomplished! Hosting a big dinner like that is a lot of work, and it sounds like you really are partly responsible for the success of the shul!