Yom Kippur, in short
Oct. 14th, 2005 12:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
magidThere was someone new leading Kol Nidrei, and while his technical skills were fine, the quality of his voice was not appealing to me. Alas.
I would not have expected Simon and Garfunkel to have been mentioned in a Yom Kippur drash... three times. (I'm still of the opinion that the new rabbi is more for the undergrads, which I think is unfortunate. Such is life.)
I went to shacharit late, and I think that's why my knees were giving me much less difficulty at the end, having stood for an hour less than usual. I still didn't dance at the end, though.
I don't know why I forget from year to year that most of my favorite piyyutim are during shacharit repetition; musaf is more about reenactment. (Perhaps writing this will be enough of a memory jog for next year.)
As with R"H, I prefer the piyyutim that are in Biblical Hebrew, which is more understandable than the poetical medieval Hebrew. Another plus is that there's usually a nice structure as well, which makes it easier to approach. I don't know much at all about poetry in either language, but I know enough to see that the structures are very different.
I left at the end of haftarah blessings, and was surprised at how noisy people were in the hallway during yizkor. It seems so disrespectful not to move farther away before talking.
Even though I was right by the door, I missed the notification to return; they were already putting the sefer Torah back.
The room was pretty cold; the thermostat looked like it was at 64F. I'm glad I brought a lined overshirt to put on.
The break was shorter than usual, from 2:30 to 4:15. Someone miscalculated a little, though, since there was a short break after mincha and before neilah.
I didn't go home, or nap, but lying down (shoes off, and in a sort of non-sheet sack I think my parents used for sheets when hostelling decades ago) and closing my eyes was nice. [The sleep-sack thing is useful folded up, too: I pad the floor with it when the kneeling parts come, and put over the back of the seat in front of me means I can balance my machzor hands free.]
I didn't drink enough before the fast. I always plan to drink more, but rarely actually implement it.
Plan for next year: have not only a bottle of water but also some vegetarian jerky to eat after ma'ariv.
The daytime daveners were quite good (not a surprise; all known quantities).
I didn't get upset at mincha Torah reading; I didn't think about it as closely (my frustration is that it's obviously only aimed at men, given the wording of the selection, and I really want something that's for women, too).
I don't know why I didn't notice until this year how in the double-alphabetic acrostic that is the Al Chayt, both samechs are replaced by sin. Sin sins... (I suppose it also implies that there isn't much bad you can do that starts with samech, then.)
I got to hear someone being given constructive criticism about davening; it was impressive to me how neither party got emotionally involved, everything taken in the spirit in which it was offered. Not an easy thing at all. (And something it would be useful to learn).
After the fast, I had leftover pasta, followed by homemade applesauce. Not exciting, but it was quick, and yummy.
I would not have expected Simon and Garfunkel to have been mentioned in a Yom Kippur drash... three times. (I'm still of the opinion that the new rabbi is more for the undergrads, which I think is unfortunate. Such is life.)
I went to shacharit late, and I think that's why my knees were giving me much less difficulty at the end, having stood for an hour less than usual. I still didn't dance at the end, though.
I don't know why I forget from year to year that most of my favorite piyyutim are during shacharit repetition; musaf is more about reenactment. (Perhaps writing this will be enough of a memory jog for next year.)
As with R"H, I prefer the piyyutim that are in Biblical Hebrew, which is more understandable than the poetical medieval Hebrew. Another plus is that there's usually a nice structure as well, which makes it easier to approach. I don't know much at all about poetry in either language, but I know enough to see that the structures are very different.
I left at the end of haftarah blessings, and was surprised at how noisy people were in the hallway during yizkor. It seems so disrespectful not to move farther away before talking.
Even though I was right by the door, I missed the notification to return; they were already putting the sefer Torah back.
The room was pretty cold; the thermostat looked like it was at 64F. I'm glad I brought a lined overshirt to put on.
The break was shorter than usual, from 2:30 to 4:15. Someone miscalculated a little, though, since there was a short break after mincha and before neilah.
I didn't go home, or nap, but lying down (shoes off, and in a sort of non-sheet sack I think my parents used for sheets when hostelling decades ago) and closing my eyes was nice. [The sleep-sack thing is useful folded up, too: I pad the floor with it when the kneeling parts come, and put over the back of the seat in front of me means I can balance my machzor hands free.]
I didn't drink enough before the fast. I always plan to drink more, but rarely actually implement it.
Plan for next year: have not only a bottle of water but also some vegetarian jerky to eat after ma'ariv.
The daytime daveners were quite good (not a surprise; all known quantities).
I didn't get upset at mincha Torah reading; I didn't think about it as closely (my frustration is that it's obviously only aimed at men, given the wording of the selection, and I really want something that's for women, too).
I don't know why I didn't notice until this year how in the double-alphabetic acrostic that is the Al Chayt, both samechs are replaced by sin. Sin sins... (I suppose it also implies that there isn't much bad you can do that starts with samech, then.)
I got to hear someone being given constructive criticism about davening; it was impressive to me how neither party got emotionally involved, everything taken in the spirit in which it was offered. Not an easy thing at all. (And something it would be useful to learn).
After the fast, I had leftover pasta, followed by homemade applesauce. Not exciting, but it was quick, and yummy.