Under the guidance of our dear friend, Kate Jennes-Kahn, 8 of us embarked on a journey of reading, sharing, and inquiring into the basics of the Jewish tradition, and how those traditions reflect in our lives as women who come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. We each have varying levels of prior knowledge of Hebrew, and varying comfort level with religious practices and davening.
This coming Shabbat, on Nov 14th, we will lead the congregation through the Shabbat morning service, each of us participating in davening, layning Torah and Haftarah, and reciting the blessings of the Shabbat mitzvot (Kiddush, Motzi, etc). I, for one, am looking forward to the day with some trepidation – I’m sure we’re all thinking “Am I ready? Will I pronounce all the Hebrew correctly? Will I acquit myself up on the Bimah without making any major goofs?”. Some of us already have experience being up on the Bimah, having read from the Torah, or the Haftarah, and given D’var Torah speeches (sermons) already – some of us have rarely, if ever, been on the Bimah. But all of us are taking on something new, and doing so in a public statement of commitment to rededicating ourselves as Jews, and I am honored to be taking this step in the company of a fascinating group of women whom I have come to know over the last year and a half.
I look forward to wishing a Yasher Koach (or is it Yasher Kochech?) to my fellow students, and continuing on in discovery of self and of the Divine in this lifelong path of exploration and questioning.
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