Weird Encounters with Others Part One

[See bottom of post for glossary.]

Tonight my friend "Mike" and I went to do some necessary shopping. While we were outside waiting for the shuttle back to campus, a man passed us, saying "SHA-LOM. SHA-LOM," very loudly and clearly. Shortly after this, we got cold and went inside.

About ten minutes later, the man and his wife walked out and began pacing back and forth. In the meantime, the shuttle arrived. Since they clearly didn't think we spoke English, I decided to have fun and called out "Shalom, mah nishmah?" except without the spaces between words.

At this point, the man said, "SHA-LOM. A-LEI-KEM. MY. GOOD. FRIEND. BE. CARE-FUL."

I kind of don't want to know what else he thinks about Jews.

Shalom: hello and good-bye. Literal translation: peace.

A-Lei-Kem: Actually aleikhem (kh is a clear your throat noise), meaning "on you" or "about you." (Eleikhem is "to you" or "for you".)

Mah Nishmah: How are you? or What's up?

The Visiting Rabbi

Currently, our campus has no Conservative Rabbi. This week, a potential candidate for the job is visiting campus.

At least in my opinion, our minyan needs a Rabbi. We really, really do. We need someone who can read a significant chunk of Torah every week (taking the pressure off me and approximately two and a half other kids), and preach a sermon, and, and, and...you get the idea.

Wish us luck! We really need a Rabbi!

Pictionary

A picture is worth a thousand words...here are pictures of some of the Judaica mentioned on my blog. All pictures from Google Images.

Torah:

Shofar:

Kippah:

Tzitziot:

Tallit:

Siddur: (This actually is the one I have.)

Back in Touch

I am now saying required prayers twice a day, (My mental health is too fragile for me to get up early to catch that third time before school.) as well as improvising my own prayers when I get in bed at night. Both types of prayer feel sweet and meaningful, in two very different ways. I have promised myself that if I really keep this up all through the week, I get to go back to wearing a kippah. It's custom, not law, anyway, but I feel as though a kippah signifies a certain level of religious commitment and I don't want to wear one until I'm there.

I'm now faced with a very practical problem. In order to daven mincha (afternoon prayers) on time, I bring my siddur (prayer book) with me to school and catch a few minutes in the chapel between school and working out. My problem is how to carry my siddur. It's a holy book; I can't put it in a pocket with sweaty gym clothes or dirty shoes, but it gets crushed in my laptop case. I think I'll just make a small cloth bag for it and decide that's enough of a barrier and I can pack it in my backpack with the clothes.

The Role of Religion

For those who do not read my other blog, I am currently caught up in a rapid cycling bipolar episode again and have been for two weeks.

During a four day weekend when I felt much better (because life was so quiet), I added afternoon and evening daily prayers back into my life.

What a difference set prayer times make! I still feel extremely depressed right now, but having something set in stone like that gives me an anchor to reach and hold onto as I reach for the next one.

Also, praying for Grady (see my bipolar life blog for details) gives me something on which to focus other than myself, which is always nice.

I Feel Compelled to Write This

I have it from a trusted source that people who know me in real life are talking behind my back about my blog(s), claiming that what I post is too private or personal and I should keep it more to myself.

I hardly know how to respond to that. I do have a journal for the really private stuff. Obviously, if I post something on this blog I don't mind the public knowing. That should be the only criterion for what gets posted and what does not, because guess what? This is my blog.

My entire purpose for blogging is to be honest about my life and thorough in my story telling in order to give the world an accurate picture of me. What is the point of providing that picture if it is only a partial picture?

I will continue to be honest, open, and up front on my blog. It is my blog and I choose what gets posted. To all those who know me in real life: if you feel my blog is too personal and none of your business, I propose a very simple solution: stop reading.

Thank you.

Reece's Rainbow

Another prayer project...check out mybipolarteenagelife.blogspot.com for more details.