I have just returned from my first Shabbat Lech Lecha, this was my visit to the Community in Blackpool. They were very friendly and the community, although small is very active and welcoming. I got to the station mid-afternoon on Friday and was met there by the couple who were going to be putting me up.
We had a chance to have a proper chat though the service. And I had rest then it was time to go to the synagogue. I think the Friday night service when well. I even did more singing than I would normally do. I had been asked to speak a little about myself instead of a D'var Torah.
The service was followed by a chavua supper, the food was excellent and I spent my time going around from group to group introducing my self and saying hello.
After that there was a celebration of the sixth birthday of one of the friends of the community.
The next morning I led the shabbat service, read the Torah and gave a more formal sermon/D'var Torah. I think that everything went well and I felt that I had been made welcome and carried a good impression of the college.
Before I headed home the community took me out for some fish and chips. And then it was a long train journey home. I was shattered when I got home and went to bed almost straight away and slept for about twelve hours. I must have really need it.
I have quite a few things to do today, before the school week starts again. And I have my second Lech lecha visit to look forward to.
Sunday, 28 October 2012
Friday, 19 October 2012
Pastoral Placement
Thursday was the first actual day of my pastoral placement. Until this point I had been either involved with talking about how it was going to work or working on adminastrive aspects of how it was going to work.
Having been in done a day I think that this placement is going to before challenging but that it will also provided opportunities for personal growth and of course experiences that will be very useful in my rabbinic career.
That said it was more an introduction to place where I'll be working to meet some of the people with whom I'll be working and to meet some of the residents of the home and to have overall discussions about how both I and the home can make the best use of my time.
I have taken the chance to head back to stoke for a weekend. Partly to celebrate dad's birthday. I also need the opportunity to get out of the bubble and de-compress.
Next week and the week after I am out about doing shabbat Lech Lacha. And then we will be in the very middled of the semester in fact towards its close.
onwards and upwards as they say.
Having been in done a day I think that this placement is going to before challenging but that it will also provided opportunities for personal growth and of course experiences that will be very useful in my rabbinic career.
That said it was more an introduction to place where I'll be working to meet some of the people with whom I'll be working and to meet some of the residents of the home and to have overall discussions about how both I and the home can make the best use of my time.
I have taken the chance to head back to stoke for a weekend. Partly to celebrate dad's birthday. I also need the opportunity to get out of the bubble and de-compress.
Next week and the week after I am out about doing shabbat Lech Lacha. And then we will be in the very middled of the semester in fact towards its close.
onwards and upwards as they say.
Monday, 15 October 2012
One long day
Today was very long. It started with my studying Talmud Daf Yomi with my chevaruta partner. Leah we got though a lot today a whole ammud. Then there was the morning service and then my class on the Prophets with Charles. This was really interesting today a good article which both Emily and I had enjoyed.
After that came Rabbinic Literature intensive we are still working on the opening sections of Kiddushin but today we had LC teaching us so that was both good and challenging. Then I had a brief informal meeting with Leah and Haim about the organisation of services followed by a more formal meeting about Shabbat Lech Lacha.
After that I had my class on Medieval Jewish History which interesting although we kind of got of topic.
Latter in the day I had one of my extra-homiltecis class. But when I got home I was very tired.
After that came Rabbinic Literature intensive we are still working on the opening sections of Kiddushin but today we had LC teaching us so that was both good and challenging. Then I had a brief informal meeting with Leah and Haim about the organisation of services followed by a more formal meeting about Shabbat Lech Lacha.
After that I had my class on Medieval Jewish History which interesting although we kind of got of topic.
Latter in the day I had one of my extra-homiltecis class. But when I got home I was very tired.
Sunday, 14 October 2012
Almost a whole week
I have almost had a full week at school, I know that tis is strange given that we are now in October but with the Holidays and some members of staff keeping two days of Hag. I have not had a full week of school as yet. (Next week is uninterrupted).
This might explain why I am feeling so unstressed. But mainly I think that this is because I am getting more used to this whole being at rabbi school thing. Just as well given how long i've been at it now.
Emily and I had our meeting with Norwood Jewish Care so I am more certain now about how my pastoral placement is going to work. I am also feeling much more optimistic about the whole thing.
I have not been feeling that great of late, I'm fighting off the post High Holy Days bug, and as normal for me this is showing itself in toothache, which often keeps me from sleeping. This means I am watching a lot of t.v shows on my laptop in the middle of the night.
Last Friday (so the day before yesterday) I went around to Danny's (he is a fellow rabbinical student) for a Friday Night Dinner. It was a kind of 'grass-roots-jews' thing and I know a lot of the people who were there. Not that this is surprising because it was a 20-30s thing and most people were liberal-Orthodox, Masorti or conservative-Reform.
The Kabbalat-Shabbat was very Caravach so just my kind of thing. But I started feeling really lousy during it and then had to wait for an hour for the bus so by the time I got home I was feeling really really rubbish. So basically yesterday I did nothing but lump about in bed and sleep in an attempt to get over it in just one day. And although I am not feeling amazing today I am feeling much much better. So onward and upward into my first full week at school. Starting on Monday which has been the day heaviest hit by the holidays and an actual placement day on Thursday.
This might explain why I am feeling so unstressed. But mainly I think that this is because I am getting more used to this whole being at rabbi school thing. Just as well given how long i've been at it now.
Emily and I had our meeting with Norwood Jewish Care so I am more certain now about how my pastoral placement is going to work. I am also feeling much more optimistic about the whole thing.
I have not been feeling that great of late, I'm fighting off the post High Holy Days bug, and as normal for me this is showing itself in toothache, which often keeps me from sleeping. This means I am watching a lot of t.v shows on my laptop in the middle of the night.
Last Friday (so the day before yesterday) I went around to Danny's (he is a fellow rabbinical student) for a Friday Night Dinner. It was a kind of 'grass-roots-jews' thing and I know a lot of the people who were there. Not that this is surprising because it was a 20-30s thing and most people were liberal-Orthodox, Masorti or conservative-Reform.
The Kabbalat-Shabbat was very Caravach so just my kind of thing. But I started feeling really lousy during it and then had to wait for an hour for the bus so by the time I got home I was feeling really really rubbish. So basically yesterday I did nothing but lump about in bed and sleep in an attempt to get over it in just one day. And although I am not feeling amazing today I am feeling much much better. So onward and upward into my first full week at school. Starting on Monday which has been the day heaviest hit by the holidays and an actual placement day on Thursday.
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
Birthday
Today is was my birthday and although more or it was a normal school day it was fun as well. My classmates brought me in a cake and card which was really nice. And all in all it was an easy enough day.
The cake was a very chocolaty one and the card was really nice so that was fun.
I don't have much work on at the moment so that is peaceful. I have a few admin type things to do but not all that pressing so I just came home and ate some of the food that Rebecca and Mum sent me for my Bday.
The cake was a very chocolaty one and the card was really nice so that was fun.
I don't have much work on at the moment so that is peaceful. I have a few admin type things to do but not all that pressing so I just came home and ate some of the food that Rebecca and Mum sent me for my Bday.
Friday, 5 October 2012
Party and Friday night
Yesterday was great. We had a party here at the flat, in part this was a very belated housewarming Emily and I had intended to have one it just took us a little longer to get properly settled into the flat and it organised than we had thought it. So it was good to do that, but it was also an early birthday party for me. (Organised brilliantly by Emily.)
It was quite small (around 11 guests) but really really enjoyable there were a few people from school. Including some of the new first year students. Some people who Emily knows thought work and I know though Emily and Mandy who is one of my friends though Ammadown. It was really fun and exciting evening with lots of drink and snack type food. One of my gifts was a really rather pleasant signle malt, so as i had some of that and a couple of Canadian bears I was a little merry but not too drunk.
That said I was too tipsy to attempt to cut the cake, (again a big thanks to Emily) with our flats knives which are huge. But luckily at least one guest was still up to cake cutting. So that was one good thing. I also got to have a lie-in and relatively restful day which is good because we are going to a Young Adults thing organised by LJ, which ought to be fun but I wouldn't have wanted to go very tired.
The other positive thing that has happened is in Daf Yomi we have finished Tractate Barachot, which feels like a big steep.
Nevertheless I found the first week back at school some what challenging. And there is already a lot on my plate. But feeling pretty happy after such a good and upbeat start to the weekend. And I think part of how hard I found the start of school was the lag of the High Holy Days which was really positive but also very tiring.
It was quite small (around 11 guests) but really really enjoyable there were a few people from school. Including some of the new first year students. Some people who Emily knows thought work and I know though Emily and Mandy who is one of my friends though Ammadown. It was really fun and exciting evening with lots of drink and snack type food. One of my gifts was a really rather pleasant signle malt, so as i had some of that and a couple of Canadian bears I was a little merry but not too drunk.
That said I was too tipsy to attempt to cut the cake, (again a big thanks to Emily) with our flats knives which are huge. But luckily at least one guest was still up to cake cutting. So that was one good thing. I also got to have a lie-in and relatively restful day which is good because we are going to a Young Adults thing organised by LJ, which ought to be fun but I wouldn't have wanted to go very tired.
The other positive thing that has happened is in Daf Yomi we have finished Tractate Barachot, which feels like a big steep.
Nevertheless I found the first week back at school some what challenging. And there is already a lot on my plate. But feeling pretty happy after such a good and upbeat start to the weekend. And I think part of how hard I found the start of school was the lag of the High Holy Days which was really positive but also very tiring.
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