Digging into the past

Each Yom Kippur I find myself digging into the primary historical documents of my life. It's an odyssey laced with shoeboxes and type setting.

This year I waltzed gently through Grandma Lu's "schtick book", a tattered 20"x16" bound opus of comedy she used to deliver to Haddasah.

The material was dated, soulful and rich. It left me welled up with pride in family and conviction (sometimes conflicted) in my culture.

Weekly Portion Review:Haazinu

Haazinu is the last formal address that Moses imparts to Israel.  Nice portion as it encourages us to look back in time and to honor the past.  A sort of "seek out your elders and listen to them" feeling pervades the portion.

Also, I appreciate the irony that Moses can see the Promised Land, but he cannot enter it.  Something having the grace to gift the most grandeur in Life to others is a good thing.  In the modern age, one can wonder if all of the bloodshed in the region would have disappointed the bearded bass a**.

Working during the Days of Awe

How does one reconcile the "ickiness" of working on Rosh Hashannah?

While I don't begin to have the answer, I take comfort in putting the question out there.

Amidst the typical strum and drang of marketing products and financing ventures, I am left with one late night guiding principle; the boredome and yawndom I face attending High Holy Day services is actually outweighed by the "awe shucks" of missing out.  There is an inherent meshing of clubiness, seasonality and intimacy that Autumn ushers in, and with it blows the scent of brisket and etzrog and forgiveness.

In wrestling through this with Jacobian aggression there is actually real comfort in knowing that I am not the first Member of the Tribe to wax on about this . . . and I surely won't be the last!