In case I've been remiss...

Thanks to everyone who sent birthday wishes my way :-).

Arcadia

Last night I went to a student production of Arcadia (Tom Stoppard), one of my most favorite plays. This was the first time I'd had time in the new Shapiro student center at Brandeis.

( the building )

( the theater )

( the play )

Simchat Torah evening

I went to the Tremont St. shul Simchat Torah night; I just love that the street gets closed off for something Jewish. It was mobbed, as usual. The first two hakafot stayed inside, then the rest of them moved outside, though each hakafah went inside to circle the sanctuary.

Since the shul is the last of a number of small shuls that used to be in Cambridge, there are a lot of sifrei Torah, eleven of them, ranging from mini to rather heavy.

The evening's hakafot were for

1. Cohanim, bnei cohanim, and people named Cohen
   
2. Levi'im, bnei levi'im, and people who like washing other people's feet
   
3. People who were members of the shul who [too noisy to hear, but there was laughter]
   
4. People who got engaged or married in the last year
   
5. People who finished an advanced degree in the last year
   
6. Students at universities south of the Charles (BU, BC, University of Texas, University of Buenos Aires...)
   
7. Students at universities north of the Charles (Harvard, MIT, Brandeis...)

It doesn't cover everyone, but there were too many people (different story in the morning...). There was plenty of opportunity to take a Torah during dancing, though.

( random other thoughts of the evening )