"A day like today must be torture for you," the man said to me between aliyos. "Reading the same thing over and over and over."
I was somewhere in the middle of my third or fourth cycle through V'zos HaB'racha. My throat was beginning to give out between the singing during hakafos and the leining. The soles of my feet were beginning to hurt from having been dancing and standing for the last two and a half hours. I hadn't yet made kiddush for myself, and I was hungry and thirsty. We were just beginning to finish giving aliyos to the young bochrim and were soon going to start with some of the older under-Bar Mitzvah boys.
"Nah," I told him. "I love Simchas Torah. The atmosphere is great. The kids are so excited about the whole day, and the fact that I'm there when some of them get their first aliyah is priceless to me."
And then there are the kids... the fresh-faced boys coming up for their first aliyos, some of them standing on chairs so as to be able to see the sefer torah on the bimah. There's the kid who needs his father's help to make the b'rachos. There's the kohen's son who brought a huge smile to my face when, during his aliyah, he pulled his father's tallis up over his head. And then there's Reuvain.
Reuvain is eleven years old, but if you looked at him and didn't know better, you'd swear he was six. He has Down's Syndrome. Some parents shamefully hide children with Down's for fear that their other children may not get shidduchim -- but Reuvain's parents bring him to shul whenever possible. He usually stands on a chair on the opposite end of the bimah from me while I'm leining. Often he's the one who will cover the sefer between aliyos. When he arrives at shul during leining, he always takes his position at the opposite end of the bimah, sticks out his hand and wishes me a "Good Shabbos." with a hearty smile. I've been watching him grow, in his own fashion, for the last five years.
Reuvain's bar mitzvah is coming up in about a year or so and his parents are a bit concerned over what he'll be able to do for it. He's been practicing singing Ein Keilokainu... and, apparently, he's been practicing the b'rachos one recites upon receiving an aliyah. Like many kids, however, Reuvein sometimes exhibits stage fright. Even though he knows Ein Keilokainu, he has yet to actually go up to the amud on Shabbos mornings to sing it. His parents, who know him better than anyone else, don't push him to perform... they know he'll do it when he's good and ready - they just hope he'll be good and ready in time for his Bar Mitzvah.
Reuvain's father wanted him to go up and receive an aliyah, but as we were coming to the end of the list of kids who were receiving aliyos, he was still unsure about going up. One kid and then another went up, and now it was his turn. Either he took an aliyah now or else we went straight to Kol HaN'arim. He decided to go up. With his father standing beside him and his mother watching all in smiles from the women's section, he went up, made the b'rachos and stood there for the aliyah and recited the b'rachos afterwards. Needless to say, everyone in the shul was so proud of Reuvain.
After shul, Eeees came over to me and told me the rest of the story. "Do you know why Reuvain went up today?" she asked me. "Because of you. When they asked him why he went up, he said 'Wolf*.'"
So yeah, the soles of my feet were aching from having been standing for the last three hours. My voice was beginning to give out. I was hungry, thirsty and tired. And I have the adoration of a young kid in my shul. Torture? All torture should be so sweet.
The Wolf
* He didn't say "Wolf," of course... he said my name. :)
Showing posts with label simchas torah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label simchas torah. Show all posts
Monday, October 12, 2009
Thursday, October 23, 2008
So, How Does Your Shul Rate On Simchas Torah?
Lakewood Falling Down posted a list of things that he doesn't like about his shul's services on Simchas Torah. Here's his list and how my shul fared:
Bidding wars. The first issue is the silly grins the gabboim get on their faces when the bidding on aliayas starts. You also can’t really judge how bad the economy is when some Hocker bids $15,000. 00 on Chosson Torah. Many shuls have tried different approaches to stop the madness, but to no avail. And why should they when a large chunk of change will be coming the shul’s way and you get a Kiddush sponsored to boot!
In my shul, we don't sell aliyos, or any other honor. There are only a few times that money is even mentioned in the shul at all. One is before the Yomim Noraim. Another is after an aliya, a person has the option of giving something to the shul (but it's by no means obligatory). And, lastly, sometimes, when Yizkor is said, the rav will work a sentence into his speech about giving in memory of those who have departed (but there is no public announcements of donations). So, to get back to the point, Ata Horaisa is not sold. In fact, the rav says Ata Horaisa and then various other members of the congration get to say the following pesukim.
Next is the “cool guys” who go out for a smoke with all of the kids milling around. Way to set an example you Hockers.
No one in my shul goes out to smoke.
The orchestration. This is a time of year when shul board members and hockers come into their full prime. From telling you where you can dance (or even worse, that you have to dance), to what kind of candy you are allowed to even give your own kids, these guys are in their element on Simchas Torah. Heaven forbid you want to sing a different song after singing the same “Anah, anah anah…” 200 times.
In our shul, there are pretty much no set rules. While there are certain piyutim/mizmorim that are sung with some hakafos (such as Ain Adir, HaAderes V'haEmunah, etc.), and a somewhat rigid time limit on hakafos, there are no other real rules. No one tells anyone where to dance, no one polices the candy and there is no official list of "approved songs."
The dancing. I don’t really know what non Jews call dancing, but endlessly marching around in circles and occasionally stomping one foot seems a lot more like an ancient druid ritual than dancing. This is what Jews call dancing. Why can’t I stand on the side if I feel like it without some board member or hocker trying to pull me into a circle just so I can get my foot stomped on?
Yeah, well here's one where we fall fail on LFD's list. We also do the "dance in a circle" bit, but I think that's pretty much universal.
The time. There should be a Kol Korei on Hakafos that last more than 15 minutes, and that’s stretching it. I always get so mad, some hocker/board member has stretched the Hakafa out really long and had been holding the heaviest torah, and sweating all over it. They come over and practically dump the darned thing in your lap and go on to more pointless foot stomping. It’s really annoying.
Actually our hakafos are rarely longer than 10 minutes. I think there was one that got extended to fifteen this year because the dancers didn't want to end it, but that was it.
No real food in most shuls on Simchas Torah night. I need to have something more that cake if I’m going to be held hostage until 11:00 at night. BTW, I’ve offered to co-sponsor some food along with two other friends, but the “board” doesn’t want it so it will not be happening. And for the record, I’m not davening with my shul on Simchas Torah.
Since we do limit the amount of time for hakafos, we don't have this issue. We were done shortly after 9:00. As such, we didn't need "real food" in shul. By day, the rebetzzin provides stuffed cabbage (yum!).
The drinking. This is not Purim, get a life people!
We have a few drinks out, but I have yet, in my five Simchas Torahs there, to see anyone even tipsy, let alone drunk.
The sugar factories. When I was a kid, we got peanuts, chick peas, sponge cake and a lollypop. Last year there was so much candy I thought my kids would go into sugar shock. Certain shul members noticed that the gross lollipops that the shul picked out. They looked like a male’s privates with a hole in the center that squirts up goo when squeezed. Thank you Pazkes. I can’t imagine a more obscene candy, yet the Cahreidim haven’t banned it yet.
We're guilty of this one too. Sure the kids have candy, it's almost as big a tradition as dancing with the Torah. :)
So, we fail on two of LFD's points -- and those are the two least worrisome in my book. How did your shul do?
The Wolf
Bidding wars. The first issue is the silly grins the gabboim get on their faces when the bidding on aliayas starts. You also can’t really judge how bad the economy is when some Hocker bids $15,000. 00 on Chosson Torah. Many shuls have tried different approaches to stop the madness, but to no avail. And why should they when a large chunk of change will be coming the shul’s way and you get a Kiddush sponsored to boot!
In my shul, we don't sell aliyos, or any other honor. There are only a few times that money is even mentioned in the shul at all. One is before the Yomim Noraim. Another is after an aliya, a person has the option of giving something to the shul (but it's by no means obligatory). And, lastly, sometimes, when Yizkor is said, the rav will work a sentence into his speech about giving in memory of those who have departed (but there is no public announcements of donations). So, to get back to the point, Ata Horaisa is not sold. In fact, the rav says Ata Horaisa and then various other members of the congration get to say the following pesukim.
Next is the “cool guys” who go out for a smoke with all of the kids milling around. Way to set an example you Hockers.
No one in my shul goes out to smoke.
The orchestration. This is a time of year when shul board members and hockers come into their full prime. From telling you where you can dance (or even worse, that you have to dance), to what kind of candy you are allowed to even give your own kids, these guys are in their element on Simchas Torah. Heaven forbid you want to sing a different song after singing the same “Anah, anah anah…” 200 times.
In our shul, there are pretty much no set rules. While there are certain piyutim/mizmorim that are sung with some hakafos (such as Ain Adir, HaAderes V'haEmunah, etc.), and a somewhat rigid time limit on hakafos, there are no other real rules. No one tells anyone where to dance, no one polices the candy and there is no official list of "approved songs."
The dancing. I don’t really know what non Jews call dancing, but endlessly marching around in circles and occasionally stomping one foot seems a lot more like an ancient druid ritual than dancing. This is what Jews call dancing. Why can’t I stand on the side if I feel like it without some board member or hocker trying to pull me into a circle just so I can get my foot stomped on?
Yeah, well here's one where we fall fail on LFD's list. We also do the "dance in a circle" bit, but I think that's pretty much universal.
The time. There should be a Kol Korei on Hakafos that last more than 15 minutes, and that’s stretching it. I always get so mad, some hocker/board member has stretched the Hakafa out really long and had been holding the heaviest torah, and sweating all over it. They come over and practically dump the darned thing in your lap and go on to more pointless foot stomping. It’s really annoying.
Actually our hakafos are rarely longer than 10 minutes. I think there was one that got extended to fifteen this year because the dancers didn't want to end it, but that was it.
No real food in most shuls on Simchas Torah night. I need to have something more that cake if I’m going to be held hostage until 11:00 at night. BTW, I’ve offered to co-sponsor some food along with two other friends, but the “board” doesn’t want it so it will not be happening. And for the record, I’m not davening with my shul on Simchas Torah.
Since we do limit the amount of time for hakafos, we don't have this issue. We were done shortly after 9:00. As such, we didn't need "real food" in shul. By day, the rebetzzin provides stuffed cabbage (yum!).
The drinking. This is not Purim, get a life people!
We have a few drinks out, but I have yet, in my five Simchas Torahs there, to see anyone even tipsy, let alone drunk.
The sugar factories. When I was a kid, we got peanuts, chick peas, sponge cake and a lollypop. Last year there was so much candy I thought my kids would go into sugar shock. Certain shul members noticed that the gross lollipops that the shul picked out. They looked like a male’s privates with a hole in the center that squirts up goo when squeezed. Thank you Pazkes. I can’t imagine a more obscene candy, yet the Cahreidim haven’t banned it yet.
We're guilty of this one too. Sure the kids have candy, it's almost as big a tradition as dancing with the Torah. :)
So, we fail on two of LFD's points -- and those are the two least worrisome in my book. How did your shul do?
The Wolf
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