May 28, 2013. From Israel to Ordination ~ The Blessing of Coming and the Blessing of Going

I remember our drive to the airport 5 years ago very very clearly. Me, Phillip, Ben and Coby, 10 suitcases containing pounds and pounds of books and music, toys-- and my parents, ever so quiet as we drove 3 hours to Kennedy Airport. When we arrived in Israel, we were greeted with the news of a terrible pigua, an incident, an Arab laborer had stolen a construction tractor and driven into Jerusalem traffic, knocking over a bus, injuring dozens of people. Hello Israel. Now what.

5 years later, by way of 4 years in New York, we have landed again. Thankfully no pigua has shadowed our landing, but a bright horizon unfolds before us. This last year is a blur of weekly 4am awakenings and 6am flights back and forth to New York. Ben and Coby having to adjust to my weekly schedule. And somehow amidst 250,000 frequent flyer miles, Yiddish was learned, a thesis was written, all 91 pages devoted to ritual and liminality--the state of being 'betwixt and between'--both in the bible and in Jewish life, and a recital was presented, based loosely on my thesis: The Blessing of Coming and the Blessing of Going. But the pinnacle of the 5 year climb happened just a few short weeks ago--Cantorial Ordination.

Surrounded by the dearest of friends and family from all over, preparing and celebrating for days leading up to it, my classmates and I constructed rituals, created a class T-shirt, sang niggunim and blessed each other. We cried and laughed, telling stories, sharing memories, and appreciating how quickly time steals away from us.  I know we can't stop time, but for me time stopped maybe for 3 or 4 minutes during Ordination. With blessings and hugs, endless crying and singing, pictures, and more hugging. We wanted this moment to last forever.

But of course, we remember we can't stop time.

And so after completely unplugging for 1 week in the rain forests of Puerto Rico with Phillip, we are home, and ready to continue moving forward into our future as a family--a clergy family. And see what new adventures that brings. In just a few short weeks of being 'ordained' I performed a wedding, a funeral, and saw a baby being born--truly the spectrum of life.  Returning to my blog is one of the reflective practices I wanted to renew as I begin my cantorate. 

Puerto Rico ...

Amazing rainforest in El Yunque National Forest

Our 'eco' lodge nestled in the mountain.... from the other side of the mountain 

Ordination Day

Indeed this journey has been a blessing. Yaron sent me to Israel with a blessing, raising up the wonder of being able to take the steering wheel  and change everything, starting something new-- at our age to go back to school--what a gift. I never forgot that, it sustained me through many nights learning nusach. The journey is a blessing as we went, and it certainly felt like a blessing when we returned.

By the way: I promised myself I would read more. Since Puerto Rico, I read: Blink/ Malcolm Gladwell, The Happiness Project/ Gretchen Rubin, Russian Winter/ Daphne Kalotay, Drawing in the Dust/ Zoe Klein and Encounter/ Milan Kundera.