Jewish New Years

I think I had a pretty good Rosh Hashanah - on Friday evening I went to services at Gates of Heaven, a beautiful little sandstone synagogue that was built in Madison in 1863, was about to be demolished and historic preservationists got it moved to a city park, where it is now a park shelter. We have a loose congregation that has been meeting there for high holidays for over twenty years, for services lead by the daughter of a rabbi, with music by Ben (and now Leo, as well) Sidran, and Lynette Margulies, nationally known artists who happen to be based here in Madison. This year the service really seemed to bring out the parts of Judaism that I believe in the most - it is what you do here that counts - it is not enough to pray to God and expect him to fix the world, we are supposed to do that. On Yom Kippur, when Jews pray for forgiveness it is because we have failed to fix the world.

On Saturday, the friends I always celebrate Jewish holidays with hosted a big dinner - I drank a little too much red wine, and the apple cake stuck, and I plugged up the sink, and fell into a big hole in the back yard, and woke up Sunday morning with that embarassed feeling .... but somehow, it was still a good new years. My friends made sure I did not drive home, and Ward and Steve and I talked about how you just have to get over it and just not feel bad about aging because what can you do about it anyhow, and that apple cake that stuck sure tasted good. I was doing the Jewish mother thing of having bought a new bundt pan, I was still using the old one, to keep the new one nice?? On Sunday, I threw that old bundt pan away, without even washing it.

So somehow, I think, this year will be better than last.