Surprise

Life is filled with the unexpected. I am pretty adaptable and have learned to switch gears and “go with the flow.”

Once a month, my dear friend, Rabbi Stephanie Aaron conducts Saturday morning Sabbath services at a nearby senior residence. A small, faithful group of elderly regulars attend, and I go to support my friend, as well as her little “congregation.”

Last Saturday, I arrived on time and found Stephanie’s congregants in their usual seats, but was informed that their Rabbi had taken ill and wasn’t coming. Then, I heard a plaintive plea from a really cute 96-year-old man, “Can you lead the service?” I looked around and then realized he was talking to me. “I’ll help you,” he added.

“Sure,” I said. “I can do that,” praying that God wouldn’t get me for misrepresenting my abilities to some of the matriarchs and patriarchs of the Jewish faith. So, we passed out the prayer books and began our service. I quickly discovered the joys of responsive reading and reading in unison, but when it came to Hebrew prayers, I was on my own.

Over the years, I have memorized several Hebrew prayers, but a Hebrew scholar—I am NOT! Luckily, the book had transliteration (Heb-English) so I could fake my way through. I read those prayers in a very soft voice; hoping that most of the elderly congregants wouldn’t be able to hear every word, and praying that lightening wouldn’t strike me for that trick play.

Some of the Hebrew prayers are supposed to be repeated, but I figured getting through them once was a blessing and how many blessings could I expect in 40 minutes?

My sermon was short and sweet. I told them that I enjoy attending their service once a month because Stephanie is my friend, and I love the sense of community that they create by getting together to worship and that I value them. I looked around at the beautiful senior residence and told them that I couldn’t afford the building fund.

We blessed the wine and bread and the service was over. I felt a bit self-satisfied, until a little lady tapped me on the shoulder and said, “I have one question. Who are you anyway?”  Guess, I won’t take this show on the road.

Esther Blumenfeld (“He that sits in Heaven laughs.”) The Book of Psalms