Rosh Hashanah - Day 1188 (Year 4, Day 93)

Clarksville, IN / Louisville, KY

As previously mentioned, the start of this holiday of introspection and atonement started on Wed. night and ended on Friday, as we went directly into Shabbat.  There was supposed to be a community dinner, but it didn't work out exactly that way as there weren't enough people.  Whoever did sign up either joined the secondary rabbi (Boruch and Chaya Susman) and his family who live in the same building as the shul (which is actually a house with a separate area devoted to the shul) or Rabbi Avroham and Goldie Litvin (whose home we usually go to when invited for Shabbat lunch).  We ended up going to the latter. Not quite what I had in mind, but it was very enjoyable all the same (probably even nicer as it was more intimate than a large community meal).

High Holiday services last about 6 hours (I confess it's a very grueling time of year!!)  There was a lot of singing and it was very spiritually uplifting, but unlike several other Chabads we've been to, it wasn't really geared toward beginners or inexperienced, as there was practically no English or explanations (they rarely even announced the page #s).  Then again, they geared it towards their "audience" which was mostly family and "regulars" who are already familiar with the services.  I suspect if they have more people who were not familiar, they would have catered to their needs instead.

The first day of Rosh Hashanah, we were invited back to the Rabbi's home for lunch.  However, with all the standing I had to do, I was in a great deal of pain from my hip (which has arthritis and bursitis), so we decided to go straight home instead, taking a rain check (which we used on Saturday).  On Friday (2nd day), we were invited to friends we met at shul (Adele and Larry) where we stayed until after 5:00 and had a wonderful time getting to know them better (they are invited here for a Shabbat dinner in 2 weeks).

I also confess (this is, after all, a time for confession!) that with all these meals out, I've been very lax on my low-carb diet; indulging in tastes (not portions) of high carb treats such as gefilte fish and various fruits and fruit salads.  Not exactly unhealthy stuff (I didn't have any honey cake) but not on my food plan either (there is a great deal of symbolism, in recognition of asking for a sweet New Year.  We dip an apple in honey, for example, and eat a lot of sweet foods).

Anyway, today is Sunday and turns out not to be a day to go out exploring.  Mitch has a fairly large to-do list, which includes troubleshooting and fixing the wiring in the truck which runs to the power on the dashboard (apparently, when they worked on the EGR system, they cut the wires).  He also needs to install a hard drive on his laptop, do his expense report and a few other items, including shopping at CVS, Dollar Tree and Kroger (which we've yet to do).  Tomorrow is back to work after a very long weekend.