A Tale of Two Shuls (okay, 3 really)

So, I was thinking about the different shuls I have attended over my lifetime and how varied they are.

I grew up in the Reform movement.  We went to Temple Sinai for the High Holidays and I remember not being all that excited to go.  But the services were mostly in English and they were only about an hour and a half long.  I do remember liking the Rabbi, and I enjoyed my Bat Mitzvah lessons with both my tutor (Murray) and the Cantor.  I also remember disliking Hebrew and Religious School until my last year. I had decided that I did not want to continue after my Bat Mitzvah.

Then I got married and started attending my husband's family's shul.  The Lodzer Centre Congregation was founded by Holocaust survivors from the town of Lodz, Poland.  Matthew's Zaidy was a founding member and the family has been attending forever.

Now, on my journey, I have been advised by the Beit Din (the Jewish Court) to attend an Orthodox shul for a few weeks.  So, this brought me to "The Country Shul", where I spent last Shabbat (see previous post).

Here are some observations I have made.

At Temple Sinai, the only families we knew were the families we were already friends with. I liked the Rabbi, but he would probably not have known me had he run into me on the street. We never stayed for Kiddush after services, because we never went to a weekend service.

At Lodzer, the only family we know is our own and our girls' dentist, really.  The Rabbi hasn't a clue who we are, really.  The one time I stayed for Kiddush someone stole my seat, even though my jacket was on it and my daughter's belongings were on the table.

At the Country Shul, the Rabbi welcomed me the first service I attended.  We stayed for the Kiddush lunch and participated in celebrating a Bar Mitzvah.  The food was plentiful and someone made sure I had a seat with my daughter.

Now, that's not to say any one is worse or better than the other, but it's interesting that in just one visit, I felt more comfortable than I have in  nearly 10 years in my husband's family shul.

Now, I should have gone to shul today, it being the Sabbath, but it was snowing and I was absolutely exhausted.  I feel bad because I was looking forward to it.

And that's that for today.