So Long, Farewell...

I'm sitting at my desk in shul. It's 4:30pm on Sunday afternoon. Yes, we were supposed to leave this morning, but life got in the way. Anyway, I'm waiting for the final files on my computer to copy over, so I've got a few mintues to write.

It was a very meaningful Shabbos. I gave a speech about Optimism - click here if you want to read it - and the power of positive thinking and the future of the shul that I think came out well and was very well received. I also davenend Shacharis for the amud. Simcha did Anim Zemiros, which he had prepared to the tune of "l'shanah haba-a-a, l'shana haba-a-a, l'shana haba-a-a b'yeru-sha-la-yim". (If you can't get the tune in your head, ask him to sing it for you.) Anyway, I often stand up with the kids on the bimah to get the people quiet for anim zemiros, and somehow all the other kids (Leah, Bezalel and Petachya) were standing there with me all together, and when Simcha finished, the shul started actually singing l'shana habah for real - and it was pretty emotional for me. It was a great feeling.

Also, the shul threw a kiddush in our honor, which was a surprise that we kind of knew about anyway. Rena had these t-shirts made up with "four questions about the Spolters' Aliyah" on the back, and a sort of Spolter Aliyah 5768 Logo on the front - and we all had them. So we put on the shirts after davening before the kiddush which everyone got a big kick out of. It was really nice and touching -- people saying goodbye, wishing us well.

It's interesting, because on Shabbos afternoon before minchah, I gave a shiur (kind of based on the parshah) on the struggle between the needs of community and one's own personal and familial needs, and the difficulty of finding a balance between the two. I used Moshe and Aharon and the difficulties that they had in interacting with their children (Moshe specifically) as examples of the struggle. (It was a good shiur. I should write it up. I'll add it to the list.) In any case, I spoke about how pretty much every time we'd try and go on a family vacation, someone in the shul would die, and we'd have to delay, postpone, find a way to squeeze in the funeral.

Lo and behold, Shabbos ends and the phone rings.

A member of the shul died - and would I be willing to officiate at the funeral? What could I say - "No, I'm sorry that your loved one who I knew well died. But I've got to go?" So I said yes, and the funeral took most of the afternoon. (It's the first funeral I've ever been at where they didn't dig the grave long enough, and had to pick the casket back up and widen the hole while we were all waiting. I guess when you think you've seen everything...)

In any case, I think it's gotten to the point where the members of the shul want me to leave already, because every time I plan to go someone else dies. Maybe the next rabbi will be luckier.

I feel like this is sort of a kaparah. When I first got here and we were planning on going on vacation, a woman who was the parent of a member - and herself a member of the shul - died on Friday. Go figure. We were leaving on Sunday, I was a recent arrival, didn't know the woman all that well, and wasn't asked really to officiate at the funeral. So I figured that it wouldn't make a difference if we stuck around or not, and we left to go on vacation. Big mistake. The family was really mad, and I'm not sure if I ever made it up to them.

So I guess this should be my penance for that time so long ago. It's a fitting end to my rabbinic career here in Michigan - trying to be there for people, taking care of their needs, and often putting myself second. It's the nature of the job, and to be honest, I'm sure that I'll miss it.