tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71973238920019476692012-02-16T01:05:07.210-08:00Liberal Jew and formerly Southern Shiksa Wife seek synagogue and community. Likes: Carlebach tunes, Hebrew liturgy and good dvar Torah. Dislikes: mechitzas and people trying to convert Mrs. Yid.Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.comBlogger271100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-56207784400559342752012-02-05T10:08:00.000-08:002012-02-05T10:08:52.508-08:00

In Parsha Bo we hear about the plague of darkness. The Etz Hayim has an interesting commentary. If the darkness was only a lack of physical light, it says, couldn't people have just used candles? This question, while kind of bizarre, leads to an intriguing suggestion: the darkness could also have had psychological, emotional or spiritual dimensions. While I'm not sure I buy that reading in the

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-2077051202300398552011-10-30T07:00:00.000-07:002011-10-30T07:00:06.550-07:00

A few weeks ago, I was hanging out with an old friend of mine who has been living in New York for the past several years and is now back in town for grad school. The guy's mother is Protestant, his father is Catholic, and he was confirmed in the Church, though AFAIK has not attended services or received sacraments in quite a few years. Lapsed-Catholic Friend: Hey, we should check out some of the

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-73514229550923694742011-10-19T06:00:00.000-07:002011-10-19T06:00:04.811-07:00

I doubt that Mrs. Yid or I will ever be nominated to be Chief Sephardic Rabbi of anything. Granted, there are plenty of legitimate reasons for that. But one definite strike against us is that while traditionally it's considered very important to engage in hiddur mitzvah, or "pretty up the mitzvah," around here we apply our shabby-cheap aesthetic to pretty much anything. Case in point: our first

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-24627611867489242982011-10-18T06:00:00.000-07:002011-10-18T06:00:01.195-07:00

Mrs. Yid and I went to Temple GLBT for High Holidays for the second time-- the only time since college where we've gone back somewhere. A few minor issues aside, I enjoyed myself quite a bit. These last few years I've been unable for fast for health reasons, so this was the first time in a while that I fasted, and I have to say, this may have been the easiest time I've ever had of it. One issue

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-39553685814666469852011-09-04T10:39:00.000-07:002011-09-04T10:39:34.150-07:00

Mrs. Yid and I have been trying to stick to some sort of shul schedule now that I'm back from Europe, so we went to Evil Minion on Friday. As usual, davening went fine-- I really look forward to the sensation of everything falling away for a little bit when we get into the Carlebachian niggun singing, and it's just a very lovely experience. However, as usual, things take a turn for the awkward

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-46056444713102383672011-08-10T15:09:00.000-07:002011-10-17T20:12:25.148-07:00

Cross-posted to the home blog. It's been almost a whole year since my shul-angst post. In that time the job situation has mostly stayed the same, Shiksa Girlfriend has become Mrs. Yid, and we probably haven't been to shul more than a handful of times. So what to make of this? For starters, I think we've been very busy with the wedding and family stuff and so shul took a backseat. The other

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-52028029919924580202010-09-06T10:23:00.000-07:002010-09-06T10:23:38.484-07:00

Shiksa Girlfriend and I had a talk recently where she said she was bummed out that we had let our synagogue attendance drop so dramatically. There were lots of reasons for this: she had been unemployed for eight months (yay new employment!), both of us had been stretched kind of thin emotionally and psychologically, and, to be honest, neither of us is all that social (me especially). She said she

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-10320185264380262352010-03-28T22:26:00.001-07:002010-03-28T22:57:06.506-07:00

Upon graduating from college, Shiksa Girlfriend and I found ourselves with some extra time on our hands. She being the industrious one quickly became gainfully employed. I being a tad more distractable, took longer. Luckily, some of this free time happened to coincide with the weeks leading up to Passover season, and so I decided to take it upon myself to write my own Haggadah for Passover.That

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-52585917875752109162009-10-08T18:14:00.001-07:002009-10-08T18:27:15.874-07:00

Shiksa Girlfriend and I moved over the summer, so we decided to take advantage of our new location and go to Evil Minion for High Holidays. Rosh Hashanah was pretty nice, except that Evil Minion, which usually provides excellent transliterations for Shabbos, decided to go an alternate route with the Birnbaum machzor, which provides... none. I attempted to follow along the best I could with my

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-67849663835954877632009-05-09T11:23:00.000-07:002009-05-09T11:53:20.433-07:00

I happened to be chatting up a colleague and mentioned my and Shiksa Girlfriend's ongoing (not so often these days, though) shul-search. She said that she and her husband went to a place that they liked, and invited us to join them. Knowing that SG was restless to shul-it-up more, I accepted.It turns out we were heading back where we started: Temple Touched By God. We got there just in time for

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-24547015542730142882009-03-24T20:11:00.000-07:002009-03-24T20:36:50.001-07:00

I feel very conflicted about Beth Elderly. On the one hand, they are some very nice folks, and certainly very welcoming to us. On the other hand, they're starting to treat us like semi-disappointing wayward grandchildren. I suppose this is partially our fault for coming back quasi-often but not fully committing to the shul-- they must think we just like to tease them.Two weeks ago, walking to my

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-77173028873413727202008-10-03T18:33:00.000-07:002008-10-03T19:34:55.609-07:00

Shiksa Girlfriend and I couldn't decide where to go, but we did know where we didn't want to go:- Temple Burning Bush with their Used Car Salesman rabbi- Temple GLBT which is full of people who are nice but more than a tad nuts- Beth Halfpipe with its oh-so-confusing buildingSo we opted for Beth Elderly instead. They were very nice and gave us a trial membership for cheap, so I am now officially

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-72895152892888229952008-09-08T19:52:00.000-07:002008-10-03T19:53:52.013-07:00

Shiksa Girlfiend and I were hard at work trying to decide where to head to for Friday night services and decided to finally grace the other (other) Conservative shul in town with our presence. We had never been to it because it has, until recently, been under protracted and extensive building renovation. Unlike some of the other games in town whose existence or reputation I had been vaguely aware

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-73943851190431312222008-04-22T10:54:00.001-07:002008-04-22T11:27:34.218-07:00

Everything went (almost) perfectly. All eleven of us were fed (stuffed), everyone loved my Haggadah, and clean-up only took an hour and a half.Some notes for next year:- Supervise Mother Superior Yid when she makes chicken liver; there were a lot of tiny bits of egg shell in there.- Corollary to this: buy an egg timer for hard-boiled eggs.- Next time, try to come up with seating arrangement which

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-21173155882980179012008-04-20T10:48:00.000-07:002008-04-20T10:58:53.843-07:00

P-Day is here, and in slightly more than six hours, Shiksa Girlfriend and I get to host our own seder. For eleven people. Because we're geniuses like that.The breakdown is:- Shiksa Girlfriend and Me- My parents, who have been lovely enough to contribute food, wine, money and time (oh, and hosting space)- My gay godparents- My best friend from high school and his older brother- SG's co-worker- The

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-8396498069552787202008-03-10T01:04:00.000-07:002011-10-30T01:14:38.172-07:00

...and things get predictably awkward. Shiska Girlfriend knew this was coming. I've been saying it for weeks. "We still have to visit the other Reform shul. I feel like you were short-changed by Temples Ol'Faithful and Touched by God. Besides, I need more blog fodder." She isn't fooled, but she's a good sport. So we headed off to Temple Raise the Roof. Raise the Roof suffers from what can

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-3555566510340655612008-03-05T03:27:00.000-08:002008-03-05T23:19:20.578-08:00

Dear Temple GLBT,I like that you guys wrote your own prayerbook. I'm not crazy about the fact that it's about half the size of a phonebook, but that's ok. I think it's cool you have tons of songs in there I've never heard of (even if you never seem to sing most of them). And I like that you include alternate versions of some prayers (even though ten different forms of the Amidah seems a little

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-70542160343799660922008-01-30T14:28:00.001-08:002008-01-30T20:34:28.186-08:00

Long time no see, blog. Sorry if you feel neglected.Despite being busy and sick for the past several months, Shiska Girlfriend and I have managed to make it to a few more Friday night services. Below you will find my best attempts to synthesize them into something that halfway makes sense.1- We've now been to Evil Minion about six or seven times (including the first two I mentioned before).

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-80563919844465816092007-10-30T00:55:00.000-07:002007-10-30T01:08:43.017-07:00

First, an explanation about the cryptic, vaguely cruel, in-joke in the title:-----------------------------------------------------------------Scene: Shiksa Girlfriend and me, and my dear anonymous roommate, at college about a year ago, discussing shul options.Me: Yeah, the Reconstructionist Shul is ok, but I really like the once-a-month Carlebach Minyan.Her: I know, I even wrote it down on the

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-53374142958493331962007-10-01T19:27:00.001-07:002007-10-01T20:45:04.536-07:00

First, let's get it out of the way. I think Sukkot is stupid.------------------------Don't get me wrong, I can see how it could be modified to be meaningful- a drash on how we should be thankful about having a roof over our heads, be kind to the homeless, etc, the kind of tikkun olam stuff I usually have very bad knee-jerk reactions to- but if I'm honest? I just don't really get it. Maybe it's

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-71752746835777287042007-09-04T09:50:00.001-07:002007-09-04T10:58:12.426-07:00

I feel guilty about this one, I really do. From the time I was about thirteen or so and feeling guilty that I hadn't been Bar Mitzvahed, the one place that I thought might be a good match for me was the local Reconstructionist shul in town. Unfortunately, I was still too intimidated at that point to poke my nose in, and before I could get over my Jew-fright the shul wound up losing its lease and

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-42553668043506754282007-07-24T11:17:00.000-07:002007-07-24T11:59:38.548-07:00

Last Friday, the SG and me were foiled by the usually competent public transportation system. The bus we were going to take to go to "Da Minyan" (more on that another time) blew a tire, and another one seemed a long time in coming. So we tried to walk to catch another bus to get to Beth Elderly. No luck, just as we got to the stop, the damn thing peeled off.Great. So we decided we'd go to a new

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-43554730833628281862007-07-06T21:47:00.001-07:002007-07-06T23:01:24.675-07:00

The big news of the previous Shabbat is that SG "came out" to the gabbai of Beth Elderly toward the end of the potluck. We had previously discussed how she wanted this to go. She originally wanted me to talk to the gabbai for her, but I wasn't entirely comfortable with this- not the least of which since I wasn't quite sure what his reaction would be. In some ways I figured that, if his response

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-9262354135674429132007-06-25T21:15:00.000-07:002007-06-28T19:24:03.435-07:00

A few weeks ago Shiksa Girlfriend and I went to a very nice, but fairly small Conservative shul, largely populated by Holocaust survivors. Awesome history, but the median age there is something like 60. Our unofficial name for it is Beth Elderly.Everyone was very nice to us (surprised, in fact, to see people they'd never met before), and were even impressed at our ability to "read" Hebrew (magic

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-717029749123233542007-06-25T20:51:00.000-07:002007-06-25T22:04:18.284-07:00

A few weeks ago we went to a Conservative shul I'll call Temple Burning Bush, because I got the impression I could have spontaneously burst into flames and run screaming through the sanctuary and the 15-odd congregants wouldn't have blinked. The cantor was too deep and didn't sing so much as intone- loudly.So the cantor is doing his thing (unassisted by the rabbi, I notice), and on the other side

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-85989653660919532292007-06-25T18:45:00.000-07:002007-06-25T21:26:13.652-07:00

A modified re-post from a few weeks ago on Friar Yid:-----I don't give a hoot about halacha. I just don't. I wasn't raised with it, I don't see any good reason to follow it, and I certainly don't consider it binding. So, despite my father's many, many freakouts any time he sees me with a yarmulke on my head ("This is not a fucking shul!"), my position on Jewish law (and the presence of a shiska

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7197323892001947669.post-85901068179247189862007-06-23T11:51:00.000-07:002007-06-25T22:05:06.269-07:00

Why Another Blog, you ask? Especially when you get barely any readers on the other one? Vanity, I suppose. My present blog is useful for many things, but I decided I wanted to have another space that could be slightly more contemplative, down to earth, and consist of other things besides yelling at people on the Internet. Also I had come up with the name about a month ago and was dying for the

Friar Yid (not Shlita)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10311439778319103094noreply@blogger.com0