final (?) Sinai shabbaton
Nov. 2nd, 2025 08:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cellioMy now-former synagogue has an occasional shabbaton (Shabbat retreat), nominally once a year but sometimes the gaps are longer. They had one this past Shabbat; I've attended every one since I joined the congregation and if this isn't the last one, it will be the last one as "us" before a merger/acquisition, so I wanted to be there even though I've otherwise moved on to my new synagogue.
This one didn't have the usual longer lead time; a date became available and they jumped on it. We were missing several of the regulars and some newer minyan members weren't able to come, so it was small -- which could have made it more intimate, but it didn't have quite the right mix for that. There was a single member from the other synagogue, plus their interim rabbi, and I wonder how it felt for that congregant.
I couldn't help noticing that the average age has skewed way up (most are rather older than me), especially if you exclude the clergy (who have to be there).
Because it was Halloween, their interim rabbi led a text study on spooky stories from the talmud, which was pretty engaging. From what I've seen, text study is his strong suit, so I'm glad he did that. The senior rabbi prefers discussions to more formal study and did that. The cantor taught about a rare and distinctive trope (cantillation mark) that appears in next week's parsha, one of only four times in the torah. I hadn't previously noticed that, every time shalshelet appears, it's on the first word of the verse. His source sheet is public.
I got email on Monday asking if I would lead a text study on Shabbat afternoon. I called it "Avram before Lech L'cha" and drew a lot from Bereishit Rabbah, which I hope to write about separately. The afternoon sessions are always more lightly attended (some people take walks or nap or shmooze), but we had enough people to have good conversations and I overheard some comments that suggest I have fans. I think it went pretty well. My biggest fear in leading a study session (as opposed to giving a d'var torah) is always what to do if people don't engage. Fortunately, people did. Someday maybe I will get better at facilitating rather than wholly directing conversations like this.
Overall: I'm glad I went, but I felt less inspired and connected than in the past. Maybe that's the mix, maybe it's that our long-time now-retired rabbi set a really high bar, maybe it's the merger, maybe it's me. I don't feel the need to go to whatever follows this in future years, even if many of my friends are still going.
I came home from the shabbaton last night, and this morning went to a very nice welcome session and brunch for new members at my new synagogue. One era ends, another begins. (And Beth Shalom does a great job with welcoming newcomers!)
Done Since 2025-10-26
Nov. 2nd, 2025 06:08 pmmdlbearNot a bad week. The housemates returned from OVFF Wednesday morning, so I'm off the hook for taking care of Cricket and Brooklyn. So I'm back to caring for two cats in one room again. And I was fairly productive -- not much music but a lot of work on the HyperSpace Express website, and N's author site. Which should have been done a month or more ago, but better late than not at all.
I wrote a post yesterday that wasn't one of the usual repeating ones (Thankful Thursday, Done Since, and Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit). It's been a while since I did that.
Only four walks this week :P -- I woke up with a leg cramp yesterday; the other two missing mornings were a matter of timing. See above about Wednesday. I think Monday I just slept in. Or fell down a rabbit hole. So far the main thing the Sansung smartwatch is good for is tracking my sleep. The main reason I got it in the first place was for emergency calls, but I haven't tested that function -- or even ordinary calling -- at all. Should fix that.
I also haven't made a portfolio/list of all the websites I've build over the years. I'm not even sure how many there are. Need to fix that too.
Series Finale
Nov. 1st, 2025 11:55 pmbillroperThis got me a really dirty look.
Happily, it only took 11 innings total for the game to end.
River: Day of the Dead
Nov. 1st, 2025 04:16 pmmdlbearToday is the first of November, Samhain, and the Day of the Dead. The veils between the worlds are thinner now than most times, and it's a good time to honor the ones I have lost.
I don't have much to say, beyond thanking you for having been part of my life, however long or briefly that may have been. My daughter Amethyst Rose, stillborn in 1990; my mother-in-law Shirley Hentzell and my father Abraham Savitzky, who died less than two weeks apart in 1999; my mother Lynn Savitzky, who died in 2020 two months before her hundredth birthday; my dear wife Colleen, who left us in 2021.
And let's not forget our cats: Curio, who crossed the Rainbow Bridge a decade ago; and Desti, our pocket panther, who followed him in 2023.
I miss you all. I love you still.
"Rabbit rabbit rabbit!"
Nov. 1st, 2025 09:14 ammdlbearWelcome to November, 2025!
It's the Day of the Dead; here's wishing good memories to those who observe it.
Costume Pieces
Oct. 30th, 2025 09:27 pmbillroperIt is also nearly Halloween. This is going to be a close race.
Thankful Thursday
Oct. 30th, 2025 07:18 pmmdlbearToday I am thankful for...
- The return (yesterday) of my housemates. In large part because I am back to taking care of two cats in one room, rather than four cats in three rooms on two floors.
- Dishwashers. I don't think I've ever mentioned dishwashers, but they are certainly worthty of gratitude.
- Along those lines, having a clothes washer and dryer that I can get to without having to leave the house/apartment/wherever-I'm-living.
- My trusty Edirol UA-25 audio interface. NO thanks to the flaky USB connector on my laptop.
- Finding out that the biopsies taken at my gastroscopy all came out normal. They checked for several things which I don't have to worry about now.
Re-Tired
Oct. 29th, 2025 09:04 pmbillroperToday, the van went to Sam's Club and got a new set of four tires installed. There was likely some more life left in the rear tires, but it seemed better to replace the set. And since Sam's Club (in theory, at least -- we'll see what happens in practice) offers free tire rotations for tires that are bought and installed there, I will be taking it over there on a regular schedule for those rotations.
Since the van will be going to GAFilk with me in January if everything goes according to plan, I am *highly* in favor of tires with good tread. :)
Who Hath a Book
Oct. 29th, 2025 03:23 pmfilkferengiHas friends at hand,
And gold and gear
At his command;
And rich estates,
If he but look,
Are held by him
Who hath a book.
Who hath a book
Has but to read
And he may be
A king indeed;
His Kingdom is
His inglenook;
All this is his
Who hath a book.
Wilbur D. Nesbit
Lonesome Star
Oct. 28th, 2025 04:52 pmbillroperWhen I was done, I decided I liked this song better, so I entered it in the songwriting contest. And although it didn't place, it was fun to get up there and sing it and see people tapping along to it and singing along with the choruses.
And if nothing else, it is another exemplar for Brenda to use as she looks at *her* Bill, who seems to have more of a problem coming up with romantic songs. :)
I hope you like it!
( Lyrics inside... )
Back From OVFF
Oct. 27th, 2025 10:24 pmbillroperBut this was *this* year and Gretchen and I both had a great time. Gretchen didn't do any singing, because her knees were bothering her greatly, but she had a lot of good conversations as did I. And although I didn't manage to spend a lot of time in the open filking because of schedules and dealer table, I *did* get to sing six different songs from the stage, three with Amy accompanying me, and two by the greatly missed Tom Smith during the Pegasus Concert. That makes a pretty good weekend of singing all by itself. :)
We also sold a goodly number of copies of the new "Amy & Me" album and a good number of "Liftoff to Landing" as well, which bulked up the sales considerably over last year. This is also a good thing. :)
But it was good to see friends. And new people! I am in favor of new people, because they make the whole affair more interesting.
We are still catching up on sleep, so I think I will head in that direction now.