Is NuNu a Four Letter Word?

One of the most misunderstood utterances in Shuls is that of NuNu. It is often used by someone who feels that there is an unnecessary delay in the service. Even those of us who wouldn’t utter NuNu, may have had those thoughts running through our mind on some occasion.

On the benefit of the doubt side, the person saying NuNu thinks that there is a correction that needs to be made. It’s often during a part of the davening where he thinks that talking is not permitted, so he says NuNu instead to avoid a possible violation of halacha. Whether it is better or worse halachically, is beyond the scope of this post.

In some ways, NuNu-ing is very similar to the shusher discussed in the “Is Shushing Worse Then Talking in Shul” post. In both cases the person may be right, however the mode of expression is disruptive. I think the NuNu can be more offensive than the Shush.

Another problem is the reason is not always obvious to the target of the NuNu as illustrated by an incident that happened to me. I was davening from the Amud in a Neitz (sunrise) minyan and I had looked at the wrong day on the calendar so I had the wrong Neitz time. A friend who was helping me through the Neitz rookie stage, saw that I was on a pace that would exceed the acceptable Neitz margin of error, so he NuNu’ed me to try and correct the situation. Since I had the wrong time and thought I was on target I couldn’t decipher the meaning of his NuNu and I was late in the start of Shemoneh Esrai.

Chronic NuNu-ers should probably be approached by the Gabbai with the suggestion that the NuNu-er come to the Gabbai to point out problems and he would try to correct them.

In summary, the NuNu-er is very possibly coming from a good place, wanting to make things right, and we should try to view him in that light. On the other hand we should probably try to find other means to communicate if we feel there are corrections to be made.

The Kitchen Cabinet

A friend challenged me on a post about getting involved a few months ago. He said that Shuls, like many organizations have closed “Kitchen Cabinets” and are not equally open to everybody.

Here’s the low down on the Kitchen Cabinet:

1) The Kitchen Cabinet is open for those who are really willing to put their skin in the game for the long term.

2) They continue to work hard for the Shul, every year, even when they are no longer officers.

3) They understand the Shul dynamics and the unique roles of the Rabbi, the President, the Officers, the Board, the Big Contributors, the Year in – Year out volunteers, and the membership.

4) They understand the change process of the Shul and which projects are worth the effort.

5) They are constantly concerned about the Shul’s financial situation.

Most Shuls want to expand their Kitchen Cabinet and if you meet the above criteria and want to accept more responsibility, please talk to those currently involved.