Rosh Hashanah - Jewish New Year

I had what I thought was chronic back pain, I put it down to my advancing years, then it occurred to me that it might be the fault of the computer chair - which I've had since the Civil War - so I wheeled it out to the front porch, and have since felt fine.   10 years younger in fact.

 

 I think I've mentioned that the Presbyterian Church, which was crumbling to the ground, is now temporarily holding its services in what used to be a coffee shop on Main Street, and I was rather intrigued as to how that was working out, and thought I'd go and see because it still looks exactly like the coffee shop it was.   I found that the most off putting factor was that the choir - with the congregation behind them - are all facing the front door., and the Minister is in front of them, but to the side.  I thought the service was at 11, but it was 10.45, so I was late.  I tentatively pulled at the glass door, thinking I might be able to surreptitiously skirt round the choir, but someone -  I think the Minister at the side - grabbed it and tried to open it for me, at which point I totally lost it and scurried off down the street.

I went to Emmanuel and was in time for the Communion half of the Service.   I looked round at all the faithful souls who turn up there Sunday after Sunday, and decided I should  stop all this poncing about and just go to the church I belong to.  

This evening, being the Jewish New Year, a group of us went on the church bus to the service at the Hebrew Congregation in Seminole, as we usually do, and we had dinner first at a local restaurant, which was very pleasant.

It is such a small congregation they don't have a regular rabbi, a rabbinical student usually comes from Ohio to take the services on the High Holy Days.

The wife of the leader of the congregation is English, and is very, very nice.  Once we start talking I usually have to be dragged away because everyone is getting back on the bus, and I did this evening.   She is very elderly, and told me this evening she has lived here 62 years; she was a dancer on the West End stage when she met her American husband in London during WWII.   She said this evening that dancing, particularly ballet, affected her toes and she recently had to have four of them amputated.  But she has tremendous warmth and spirit.

I haven't seen much news today, but Donald Trump has said of Ben Carson "I don't know Ben Carson, he is a doctor, perhaps an ok doctor".     He is not an ok doctor, he is a brilliant paediatric neurosurgeon and the first doctor in the world to separate Siamese Twins, and if Donald Trump didn't know that he should have done.   But he is so full of himself, he is oblivious to anyone else's accomplishments.