I had a unique experience this morning. My neighbor is a photographer and he had been asked to do a Bar Mitzvah, always looking to make an extra buck I agreed to come and spend the morning helping him.
After about 20 minutes of dragging stuff to his car, driving it over to the social hall, and setting up, I found that there was nothing else to do.
So I came prepared with text books and sefarim.
The only job I had for the next 4 hours was to watch the photography stuff and make sure it stayed where it was supposed to. I had a prime seat right next to the (one-man) band, and behind the bar.
So their was, reading my E-Commerce book, when the bartender brought over a box of hard alcohol, at a Bar Mitzvah! He was a nice guy, and I think that I learned more from that experience then anything else I've done in the past year.
As people started to trickle in, people started to make their way over to the bar. Now for the most past people were very gracious, when conversing with the bartender, it was some of the other people who caused my look up and raise my eyebrow.
Like one woman who came over and demanded "Give me 2 orange juices NOW!"
The bartender looked a little surprised and fulfilled her request.
"I didn't want ice in this!" she shouted.
He took the two cups back and poured two more, without ice."
She had been distracted by something and when she turned around she said, "No, no, no, I didn't want ice in that that one, I did want it in this one."
Anyways lets just say I drank a little bit of orange juice after that.
It was a modern orthodox crowd, which is very weird to me, because I consider myself modern orthodox, but just watching some of the crowd interactions, made me want to reconsider how I define my Judaism. I guess I'm a more frum version of Modern Orthodox.
Overhearing the conversations, I didn't hear many words of Torah, to be fair, I obviously couldn't hear every conversation in the room, but I guess the Torah-talking people stayed away from the bar, or maybe they just weren't talking Torah when they were near it. I guess I fulfilled the Torah learning that was going on near the Bar, as after I finished my E-Comm text, I started learing Pirkei Avot. Today is the last day of learning Yevamot in Daf Yomi, and I decided to learn 2 dafim yesterday and finish early, because I knew I was going to have a full day.
Anyways, it was the easiest money I made, gave me an interesting insight into people, allowed me to learn, and I got free food. I guess it's been a good day.
Oh, and I'm leaving for a Simply Tzfat concert in a half and hour.
After about 20 minutes of dragging stuff to his car, driving it over to the social hall, and setting up, I found that there was nothing else to do.
So I came prepared with text books and sefarim.
The only job I had for the next 4 hours was to watch the photography stuff and make sure it stayed where it was supposed to. I had a prime seat right next to the (one-man) band, and behind the bar.
So their was, reading my E-Commerce book, when the bartender brought over a box of hard alcohol, at a Bar Mitzvah! He was a nice guy, and I think that I learned more from that experience then anything else I've done in the past year.
As people started to trickle in, people started to make their way over to the bar. Now for the most past people were very gracious, when conversing with the bartender, it was some of the other people who caused my look up and raise my eyebrow.
Like one woman who came over and demanded "Give me 2 orange juices NOW!"
The bartender looked a little surprised and fulfilled her request.
"I didn't want ice in this!" she shouted.
He took the two cups back and poured two more, without ice."
She had been distracted by something and when she turned around she said, "No, no, no, I didn't want ice in that that one, I did want it in this one."
Anyways lets just say I drank a little bit of orange juice after that.
It was a modern orthodox crowd, which is very weird to me, because I consider myself modern orthodox, but just watching some of the crowd interactions, made me want to reconsider how I define my Judaism. I guess I'm a more frum version of Modern Orthodox.
Overhearing the conversations, I didn't hear many words of Torah, to be fair, I obviously couldn't hear every conversation in the room, but I guess the Torah-talking people stayed away from the bar, or maybe they just weren't talking Torah when they were near it. I guess I fulfilled the Torah learning that was going on near the Bar, as after I finished my E-Comm text, I started learing Pirkei Avot. Today is the last day of learning Yevamot in Daf Yomi, and I decided to learn 2 dafim yesterday and finish early, because I knew I was going to have a full day.
Anyways, it was the easiest money I made, gave me an interesting insight into people, allowed me to learn, and I got free food. I guess it's been a good day.
Oh, and I'm leaving for a Simply Tzfat concert in a half and hour.
2 comments:
Modern Orthodox is a term that covers a huge amount of people ranging from those who would more adequately be called 'conservative' to Gedolim such as Rav Hirsch who went to college. I personally try to avoiding using terms, but when I do, i make my own up, (see the tentative name of my blog). For the most part though 'modern orthodox' outside of a few isolated circles means "I think that Judaism is nice and all, but COME ON! this is the 21st century! I have work and TV and women to worry about!"
Im not a big fan....
I 100% agree with you, I if asked, all I 'll say is Jews, mostly because I have so many different pasrts of Judaism ranging from Chabad, to Breslov, to MO-OX. I also think that it's sad to have to put in a label. I am a Jews, plain and simple.
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