July 2015 - Shul Politics

Summertime Davening Blues

Sometimes I wonder what I’m a gonna do
But there ain’t no cure for the summertime davening blues

My weekday Shacharis minyan davens the post Shemoneh Esrai portions a tad too fast for me. My solution was to focus on all the other things I love about the minyan and to daven at least once a week at the slower Yeshiva minyan, conveniently housed in the same building. Given that I had a chasanah and a late l’chaim last night, today was the slow davening day.

The summertime, when the Yeshiva is out of session, is an even greater treat because the large Beis Medrash is hosting about 20-30 men, and there is no concern about taking somebody’s regular seat. Although the total davening time is usually the Yeshiva standard 50 minutes from Hodu, it seems a little slower to me in the summer.

This morning, a friend of mine, who has a great Nusach, davened from the Amud and it took 60 minutes from Hodu. When he walked over to say good morning, I was about to tell him how much I appreciated his fine slow davening. Before I could get the words out, a senior yeshiva resident mentioned that the davening was 10 minutes longer than usual and needed to be sped up in the future. My friend handled the criticism with calmness and excellence and earnestly asked for suggestions on where he should speed up.

After that conversation ended, I mentioned to my friend that although I understood the need for speed limits, I really appreciated his davening this morning. Although it ended on a little bit of a blue note, and it is unlikely that it’ll happen again, I am thankful that this particular summer day got off to such a great slow start.

Sometimes I wonder what I’m a gonna do
But there ain’t no cure for the summertime davening blues

Increasing Our Love of Our Fellow Jews During the Nine Days

Sitting in the comfort of our communities, we can sometimes lose touch of how seriously the Jewish People are currently being challenged. Marriage law changes are a frontal attack on our deeply held beliefs and the unfathomable strengthening of Iran, one the world’s most active state sponsors of terrorism, threatens the lives of Jews in Israel and around the world.

There are three things we are taught to do in such times. Increase our Torah learning, work on improving our davening, and increasing our chesed and love of our fellow Jews. Our Shuls provide an avenue for all three, but let’s focus on our love our fellow Jews, since that is one of the primary callings during the Nine Days.

One of the most practical pieces of advices I’ve ever heard regarding increasing our love of our fellow Jews comes from Rebbetzin Tzipporah Heller. She advises that whenever we meet or greet somebody, we should ask ourselves two questions: “How can I give to this person?” and “What can I learn from this person?”

Giving is not limited to physical things, it includes advice, showing you care by inquiring about the other’s welfare, and offering words of encouragement. Learning from others includes not just subject-matter information but appreciating insights offered from their unique vantage point.

The more we give and learn from others, the more we will love them and connect to them. In addition to the personal happiness generated from such connections, this also creates the unity that is necessary to fulfill our purpose in this world. The solution to our problems lies not in the hands of the nations of the world, but in the efforts we put in to increase our love, and eradicate any disdain we have for our fellow Jews.

Let us hope that we collectively rise to the occasion, so that we can all merit witnessing the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdash in our lifetimes.

Ruach in the Mountains at Camp Dina

My daughter is working at Camp Dina in the Poconos this summer and my son-in-law is driving the younger kids of the staff to Camp Dora Golding, the companion boys camp. I was very happy that they got away, but there was a tinge of sadness because I would barely see my grandson. When the text came in that we could come up for Shabbos I was overjoyed and excited about some new Shul experiences.

Since we ate our meals in the cabin, we didn’t experience the renowned girl’s camp dining room ruach. Fortunately, it did spilled over into the 20 member male staff and spouse minyan. It began with a spirited all-hands-on-board Chatzi-Carlebach Kabbalos Shabbos. Everybody sang and it rocked the dual purpose shul and music room.

Shacharis had a lazy summer day start, and when I asked what time was Boruchu, I was kindheartedly informed, “whenever we get to it”. The Baalei Tefillah for both Shacharis and Mussaf were excellent. It was fascinating that they had so many good Baalei Tefillah among the 20 males. Those who read the Torah were all well prepared. Unfortunately, the camp Rabbi did not give a drasha, but I spent some great time talking to him about his Kiruv Shul experiences in Irvine, California.

The kiddush after davening was amazing. The shnapps were good, and I’m not a big herring fan, but the ruach carried on. There were a number of spirited zemiros sung during the take it slow kiddush. And to top it off, there were a few Dvar Torahs. Everybody was very friendly. It was great Shabbos morning.

I was prepared for a great Shul experience with a focus on connection, and the Ruach in the Mountain Minyans truly exceeded even my optimistic expectations.

The Simplicity of Monsey Minyanim

I spent last Shabbos in Monsey and two of the minyanim in which I davened were in houses. One was a neighbor on the block of my host who had a little trouble walking the few blocks to the closest Shul. The other was a regular Shabbos morning minyan convening in a converted basement.

There were no rabbis, no presidents, no boards, no dues and no rules. There were just 10+ people joining together to daven with a minyan. And it worked fine. The only thing stopping me from connecting to Hashem were my own concentration limitations.

I love my Shul with its wonderful Rabbi, chevra, chesed focus, Torah learning and growth opportunities, but it’s nice to get back to experience the simplicity of a Shul and to re-focus on the Shul’s primary purpose, which is connection to Hashem through davening with a minyan.