shabbos goy goes to shul (sort of)

several weeks ago i stumbled across this. actually, i stumbled across it in the form of an ad in the post-gazette, but an online search sent me there. "a taste of judaism" is a FREE! series of two-hour sessions, weekly, for three weeks. it's for people from a variety of backgrounds (non-practicing jews, unaffiliated people, inter-religious couples, the generally curious, etc.) who are interested in learning more (or starting to learn anything) about judaism. in pittsburgh it's being taught at a bunch of different synogogues all over town by a variety of rabbis. the one for which i registered is within walking distance, at congregation beth shalom, and it started last night.

now, i've had a bit of a week, what with being sickly and spending my days around bunches of Terrible Twos (they're not actually terrible, but they do require a lot of energy). but i've also been looking forward to this class like you would not believe. as someone who suffered from a severe childhood case of Lone Neighborhood Gentile Syndrome, i was psyched to actually learn something about modern-day jewish practice (ancient israel is fascinating and all, but i'm inexcusably low on actual knowledge about the daily workings of judaism). suffice it to say, class #1 did not disappoint.

the mix of people is great, though i won't get into that here, as it would be something of a betrayal of trust. there are lots of question-askers, which i enjoy, because i generally am not one -- not because i'm uninterested; i just have difficulty thinking of questions to ask. (i'm not good with small-talk for similar reasons: i like thinking my thoughts all the way through, rearranging them, rephrasing them, ad infinitum... good for writing, but not so much in the moment.)

apparently the first class focuses on spirituality (the nature of God), the second on ethics (Torah, law, what God expects of us) and the third on community (israel, the jewish people). i feel pretty good about my footing in most of the source material, so i'm free to focus on the details and terminology and whatnot, and learn much more about midrash, which is difficult to do on one's own. also, my yiddish vocabulary is growing. watch out.

the whole overarching concept of struggling with God, of challenging and questioning and revisiting those questions and adapting, is a comfort to me. i find it much more ethically and theologically responsible than the inclination of so much of christianity to simply trust -- though, that inclination has its strengths as well. as always, i'm in favor of striking a balance between the two, which, for a christian, actually makes sense: we are products of the hybrid bible, a fusion of jewish thought pre- and post-christ. when i was little i used to tell people i was a reform jew, thinking it wasn't really a lie and sounded less odd than telling them i was episcopalian. again, weird neighborhood.

this follows on the heels of my first-ever yoga class experience, which i attended tuesday with katelyn. given that i haven't really used that kind of focus -- or most of those muscles -- since ballet oh so many years ago, it went well. it also left me more mentally, emotionally and physically stable than i'd felt in weeks. (i am not ignorant of eastern religions/am aware of the "flaws" of western adaptations of yoga, and i thought this particular class was conducted in responsible, respectful, non-hokey fashion; so it might miss the "point," but it's up to each of us to reach an understanding of what the "point" is, yes?)

my point being, there is much to be said for going out and actually exploring varieties of religious and cultural experience, beyond books and studies and even personal reflection. for that matter, there is much to be said for going out and doing something, anything, structured in the adult world aside from work. it's informative. it's fun. it's a way to meet people, many of whom are quite interesting. also, it's not going to a bar -- big points!!

i want to talk about yetzers, creative ability, and arguing with God, but it's not yet time... soon.