what a day!

An exhausting first day here at the 69th URJ Biennial. Today’s second session was right up my alley with its focus on new trends in synagogue music. Klezfuzion — a thrilling cacophony of gospel, jazz, samba, with a klezmir overlay. Funky! Which led into Maariv. Whew — there were HUNDREDS of people for evening prayer.

To be honest, I didn’t enjoy the format of the service. Taking a page from other faith communities, we davened not with siddurim (prayerbooks), but with all the words prepared as a Powerpoint. As much as I love technology, I cannot imagine our people abandoning our love of the written word. The feel of the book in my hands helps me connect to the generations who have preceded me. And I felt rudderless as I prayed without benefit of a siddur.

Not to mention the fact that having the rabbi share pithy readings with background music and the projected tranquil scenes bore a strong resemblance to SNL’s (Saturday Night Live’s)”Deep Thoughts.”

All-in-all, the music made it a worthwhile experience!

Peach has been … well… a peach! He is a happy, friendly baby and enjoyed being passed around. There are other babies and children here — including one of his classmates from daycare! Of course, his sleeping schedule is off — which means that my sleeping schedule is off too.

Which might explain why I’m awake at 12:35am … And watching a movie about the birth of Jesus.

Followed by David Broza at Masada: A Sunrise Concert.

Funny, no??