The synagogue

So now its hello from Austin, Texas.

No I'm not going back in time. From a political point of view, Austin is still blue. It is, however, a teeny tiny blue dot in a huge red sea that is Texas. And yes, people here say you'll. But seem nice and educated in general. And they don't ride horses to work. No.

So I went to a synagogue yesterday. A new Rabbi was being installed. A colleague was gracious enough to invite me to the event. And I have to say it was fun.

Now this was my first first time at a Jewish service. It was quite similar to a Christian service. Recitals. Good Music. Speeches.

No altar.

The podium was called the beema. There was the ark, under which the children gathered. And they were blessed by the community as a whole. The boys were supposed to have lives as rich as Abraham. The girls were supposed to follow in Sarah's footsteps.

Interestingly Abraham makes an appearance in the Islamic tradition as well, as one of the Prophet's ancestors. Abraham == Ibrahim.

And the Rabbi training program is quite similar to grad school, I must say. For starters, they go to school and write a thesis. This particular Rabbi, was a jolly old woman who's thesis was on the holocaust. After school, they do an internship. The end of the internship is when they start interviewing for positions.

These positions are filled by search committees, who interview a few candidates and select one. This person starts out as an assistant Rabbi, moves on to becomes an associate Rabbi, and finally becomes a Rabbi.

And that is a very very academic route. Phew.

Anyways, laters.