Had lunch with the student rabbi today to discuss making my conversion official.  I thought I was ready.  But when she came right out and asked if I was ready, I couldn't answer.  That wasn't the reaction I'd expected.

Time for more introspection.

Busy week.

Sunday when I came home for lunch the Jehovah's Witnesses were lying in wait for me.  One of them is a floor re-finisher by trade, and I mentioned the distressed hardwood in the living room.  He asked if I was generally home Friday afternoons, and I innocently thought it was for him to take a look at the floor.  As soon as I confirmed my schedule, I realized his proselytizing motive.  Now I suppose I'll need something to get me out of the house.

Did a trial run of yeast-raised hamantaschen for the office pot-luck Tuesday.  They were mighty tasty, and were well received by the entirely non-Jewish staff, but they didn't look anything like Hamantaschen is supposed to. Going to give it another try today , but will only roll out once instead of doing the foldy thing.  Last time the gluten got so strong that I couldn't keep the dough flat.  I'd cut out a 3.5" disc and it would retract into a golf ball.  (HE HE  My spell-check doesn't recognize "hamantaschen."  It suggests "Phantasmagoria" and "Schenectady.")

Still haven't decided what to wear for Purim.  My first Purim party was 2 years ago.  I wore my maroon Anglo-Saxon tunic, hoping it wold be biblical enough.  Got there and the first person I met was the student rabbi dressed as Minnie Mouse.  Maybe this year I'll go with the Japanese. Haven't had that out of the closet for a while.

Tomorrow I get up early enough to bake the hamantaschen (dough has to chill overnight).  Then lunch with the student rabbi to discuss making my conversion official.  Then after lunch the Judaism class, followed by Torah study followed by the Purim party. 

How am I going to break it to the Jehovah's Witnesses?

Next step

In an earlier post (March 10, 2009), I'd expressed doubts about joining the synagogue. Then a couple weeks ago I realized that I felt at home there. I've attended functions for over 2 years (even the latke frying brigade), and actually look forward to the services. Figured it's time to pay for my share of the light bill. So now it's official, announced in both the newsletter and at Friday night services. I'm the newest member of B'nai Israel Synagogue.

Not only that, but actual conversion may be more likely. There are enough people interested in it that the student rabbi will be leading a class directed toward conversion (as opposed to the previous 'intro' classes) and will arrange for a 'real' rabbi to make the several-hundred mile trip to take care of the formalities.

Now I know that the Reform movement doesn't require immersion, although it has become more popular in the past couple decades, but I feel I'd be missing something if I didn't take a dip. There are a couple mikvahs 300 miles away in Minneapolis, and Chabad has one in Winnipeg, but I don't know how open they'd be to Reform conversions. Of course, it the weather cooperates, we maybe could find an acceptable (and modestly secluded) body of natural water. Oh well. I guess we can jump off that bridge when we come to it.

Why am I still doing this?

By "this" I mean doing Jewish stuff. I don't know. But whenever I attend services, I always feel better afterward.

Still here

My writing here, as well as on by other bogs/journals, has been curtailed the pat several months because, frankly, typing is not easy for me. I never learned to type properly, using only 4 of the available digits, have to look at the keys, and wear bifocals. Plus, the keyboard with the new computer has the keys inconveniently placed. Still getting the hang of voice recognition.

When we left off, Pesach was approaching. The social hall at the synagogue was bursting with attendees for the community seder. Several of the people there live quite a distance away (60+ miles) so don't get to regular services.

The food was amazing. I admit to some trepidatiion abut the gefilte fish, not being much of a seafood person, but I actually had seconds. I was intrigued by the horseradish of a different color. The person who prepared the main courses converted 4 years ago after catering a dinner at the synagogue and finding she liked being around these folks.

Even with close to 70 people in the hall (did I mention it's a small building) everyone got a chance to read a passage from the Haggadah.

Attending a seder is something I've wanted to do for years, and I'm glad to have finally taken the opportunity.

Since then, I haven't had a chance to get to any services. They've only had maybe 3 or 4 this summer, one during a tornado. (The congregatin for that one consisted of the leader, 6 members of one family, and 2 Lutherans who just stopped in out of curiosity. )

I've been able to get to some of the basic Hebrew reading classes. They happen sporadically depending on who's free that evening. We take a section of the Bible, and take turns reading a verse in Hebrew, then in English, then we have cake.

This fall we get a new student rabbi, but this time it will be the old one - the one who was there when I first took that class 2 years ago. Aparently she didn't get enough of North Dakota winters the first time, and needs a reason to get out of Cincinnatti for a few days each month. Looking forward to visiting with her again.

Yes, this post has been pretty superficial. I do have deeper thoughts, but not what I can organize into print at the moment. That will have to wait for a later post.

Getting Multicultural

Today our office held a Mexican-style pot luck. I brought matzos.

What... There's Jews in Mexico.

There are not, however, any Jews (and darn few Mexicans) among the 200 employees where I work. There's a Muslim over in sales, and the guy who sits next to me is married to a non-practicing Jew, but that's it.

I do what I can to expand my co-workers' cultural awareness. Last spring we were decorating the office, and everyone else was cutting out paper eggs and bunnies to hang over their cubicles. I cut out hammentaschen. In December, my computer wallpaper alternated various menorahs (and one shot of the Grinch -- I've worked in retail customer service for 20 years and have developed a real dislike for the season.) And I kvetch with abandon.

So --- Passover begins tonight at Sunset. I'll be attending the community Seder at B'nai Israel tomorrow night. Getting kind of excited, it being my first time. I'm afraid, though, that after a week of matzoh I'll need 4 cups of prune juice instead of 4 cups of wine.

Matzo, matzo man.....

So, here it is a few days before Pesach, and I'm getting excited. Went to Target the other day and bought 5 pounds of matzoh. (They didn't have any single boxes, just 5-box shrink-wrapped bundles. ). I'd never tried matzoh before, and find I rather enjoy it.

Next Thursday is the Seder at the synagogue, and this will be another first for me. I've been reading up so I'll know what to expect. (See this extremely clever Facebook - style Haggadah)

Celebrating Passover here has its share of challenges. I know last year someone went to Minneapolis (300 miles) to obtain kosher lamb bones. This year one of the members is planning to make gefilte fish for the community seder, and has to go to Winnipeg (150 miles and an international border) for ingredients. I don't know if she made it, what with all the roads closed by the floods. With the river so high, you can't fish for gefilte around here. And what would we use for bait? There's not a decent bagel in the entire state.

Most of the congregation here are Reform or liberal Conservative, and I don't know how fussy they get about chametz. We're having a drive for the local food pantry, but will be putting the donations in the upstairs closet to keep it away from the dining hall. Being a Goy, I'm not bound by that mitzvah, so don't have to worry about disposing of my 8 boxes of Girl Scout cookies. Still, I think I'll try to follow the diet just to see if I can.

In other news, I got a copy of Jewish Literacy the other day, and am totally engrossed. A veritable Encyclopaedia Judaica - 800 pages of logically arranged references. It has 1-2 pages on each topic. Here's an Excerpt.