Sarasota, Florida – Tonight Steve and I were honored with the opportunity to spend Shabbat service on the bimah where all of the action of the service takes place: the blessing of the candles, challah and wine, celebrating a Bar-Mitzvah read from the Torah (five Books of Moses), listening to the sermon of the Rabbi, and watching other congregants enjoy the moment of pause. Sitting on the bimah is a huge responsibility. First, dinner has to be timed just right because one cannot be late to Temple. Second, as a female wearing a dress, legs must be consciously controlled with ankles crossed the entire time. Third, in our case, we were the ones leading the kiddish and the challah blessings. Everything can go right with this or not to right. Proof in the pudding – so we led the congregate in the Kiddush, and as I was holding the kiddish cup, I took a drink, right? Then I realized that the choir chimes in with the second part of it. At this point I had not swallowed and just looked at Rabbi Sheffrin for a little advisement as to what to do. He gently laughed at me, and Steve just shook his head, so I swallowed and added my voice to the rest. You would think a 52 year old woman would have this figured out by now – bimah etiquette. Nope. The bimah makes you feel nervous as every eye is intently watching.
About dinner – Knowing that we had a time constraint, I decided that I would make a visit to Miss Saigon Restaurant off of 301 and Fruitville Road. My girlfriend, Kala Sheckler, introduced me to it earlier in the week after our time together at a Jewish Film Festival flick, Baba Joon, which was a touching film about the “universal conflict between the immigrant father, who treasures his culture and wants to pass it on to the next generation, and the son, who wants to forge a new path and build a new identity in a new country.” The authentic Vietnamese noodle soups that Kala and I ordered that night inspired our Shabbat dinner theme. As it was Jake, our son, Steve, my husband, Mitch, my brother-in-law, and myself, it seemed like a nice twist on a Shabbat dinner. Well, let’s just say, my taste buds are just a bit different from the rest. While I thoroughly enjoyed my hearty spicey lemongrass sour soup packed with fresh veggies, the rest of the crowd was “meh” about their dishes. Oh, well. Moral of the story – just go to the restaurant with Kala!
After Services – Our celebration of pause did not end once services concluded. Steve and I had the lucky opportunity of being invited over to Sam and Tali Schneider’s home for post Shabbat treats – like a personal oneg Shabbat. Sam made his perfect coffee, shared nuts, and Israeli nibbles. The guys kibitzed in the kitchen while we women were comfy on the couch reflecting on the week and sharing pictures. I shared with them personal antidotes of my Wisconsin journeys and our visit with their son, Gaal, the week before when Steve and I had traveled to Boca Raton. One of the most interesting discoveries of the night is that Tali and I, who are birthday twins, also share in the fact that we have kept all of our notebooks since elementary school. To our guys, this is ridiculous, but to us, it is a sacred keepsake. Sam reminded us about his persistence to win Tali’s heart at the tender age of 15. Steve reminded us of his feeling of being overwhelmed by all the many boxes of all my years of school I sent to St. Thomas upon moving there. The guys just laughed at us with that endearing smile. For Tali and me, well, our hearts were won over by these two funny, creative men – and here we are 30 years later. “Not too shabby,” as our fellow tribesman, Adam Sandler, has stated!
It was a sweet Shabbat.