Step 3: Prophet
The conclusion of my San Francisco saga follows, in not particularly organized fashion.
Thursday: My family arrived in town, I joined them for dinner with my dad's host sister, her family, and some of my dad's other acquaintances from the Philippines. Was fun.
Last night at the Union Square Backpacker's Hostel. That stay went well, of the six nights, I had a room to myself for four, and the other two nights my roommates were friendly, sound sleepers, didn't snore. The accommodations were minimal but reasonably comfortable and clean.
Friday: Had breakfast with my family, went to the Museum of Cartoon Art and the Golden Gate Bridge, relocated to a rather luxurious hotel. Friday evening service, and dinner at some Mexican restaurant. In response to Stephan's enthusiasm (Stephan being my cousin and the bar mitzvah in question), the rabbi said something about "having a prophet in the room", which struck me as a remarkably rabbinical backhanded compliment. I'm usually lukewarm about Reform congregations' services (and that's relative to my non-enthusiasm about religious services in general), but I enjoyed the weekend's services more than I expected, the ritual was very heartfelt.
Saturday: Saturday morning service (the main event of the bar mitzvah celebration), reception at El Dorado Kitchen in Sonoma, family gathering at my aunt and uncle's house. Stephan gave a really excellent d'var torah.
The portion in question was Parshat Terumah, in which God tells Moses to take donations from those whose hearts are moved and build a tabernacle (portable temple for the Israelites' journey through the desert) and then gives incredibly precise instructions for how such a tabernacle should be built. Stephan used the example of playing a musical composition to explain why something done freely "because one's heart is moved" might still require following incredibly precise instructions.
In the evening, stayed up late drinking at the hotel bar with a woman who was tagging along on her mom's business travel (since the room and rental car were covered, it made for a cheap weekend vacation). She was the sort of drinker who wants everyone around to continually drink more and extols the virtues of drinking to excess. I ignored her nagging, I don't drink more than I find fun. But that aside, it was good conversing with her (and the other travelers who got drawn into that conversation), and I didn't pay for any of my own drinks (she bought me a beer and a cocktail, another drink came from an anonymous (also rich and/or foolhardy) benefactor who decided to buy a round for the house).
Sunday: Morning brunch at my aunt and uncle's house with homemade lox (really, really good; Uncle Marty is a professional chef and consequently an excellent cook), then airplane trip back home, with more good conversations along the way. Only problems were a slight delay due to weather and the fact that I seem to have lost my cell phone charger (I'll probably be able to buy a new one tomorrow, but if not my cell phone might be dead for a few days).
It was really good to see so much of my immediate and extended family. I enjoyed meeting family friends and cousins of Stephan that I hadn't met before. Also was great to see Stephan again, he's an unusual, cheerful kid. I hadn't seen him for ages, so I'd expected he'd be rather different than I remembered, but he's much the same as ever.
Thursday: My family arrived in town, I joined them for dinner with my dad's host sister, her family, and some of my dad's other acquaintances from the Philippines. Was fun.
Last night at the Union Square Backpacker's Hostel. That stay went well, of the six nights, I had a room to myself for four, and the other two nights my roommates were friendly, sound sleepers, didn't snore. The accommodations were minimal but reasonably comfortable and clean.
Friday: Had breakfast with my family, went to the Museum of Cartoon Art and the Golden Gate Bridge, relocated to a rather luxurious hotel. Friday evening service, and dinner at some Mexican restaurant. In response to Stephan's enthusiasm (Stephan being my cousin and the bar mitzvah in question), the rabbi said something about "having a prophet in the room", which struck me as a remarkably rabbinical backhanded compliment. I'm usually lukewarm about Reform congregations' services (and that's relative to my non-enthusiasm about religious services in general), but I enjoyed the weekend's services more than I expected, the ritual was very heartfelt.
Saturday: Saturday morning service (the main event of the bar mitzvah celebration), reception at El Dorado Kitchen in Sonoma, family gathering at my aunt and uncle's house. Stephan gave a really excellent d'var torah.
The portion in question was Parshat Terumah, in which God tells Moses to take donations from those whose hearts are moved and build a tabernacle (portable temple for the Israelites' journey through the desert) and then gives incredibly precise instructions for how such a tabernacle should be built. Stephan used the example of playing a musical composition to explain why something done freely "because one's heart is moved" might still require following incredibly precise instructions.
In the evening, stayed up late drinking at the hotel bar with a woman who was tagging along on her mom's business travel (since the room and rental car were covered, it made for a cheap weekend vacation). She was the sort of drinker who wants everyone around to continually drink more and extols the virtues of drinking to excess. I ignored her nagging, I don't drink more than I find fun. But that aside, it was good conversing with her (and the other travelers who got drawn into that conversation), and I didn't pay for any of my own drinks (she bought me a beer and a cocktail, another drink came from an anonymous (also rich and/or foolhardy) benefactor who decided to buy a round for the house).
Sunday: Morning brunch at my aunt and uncle's house with homemade lox (really, really good; Uncle Marty is a professional chef and consequently an excellent cook), then airplane trip back home, with more good conversations along the way. Only problems were a slight delay due to weather and the fact that I seem to have lost my cell phone charger (I'll probably be able to buy a new one tomorrow, but if not my cell phone might be dead for a few days).
It was really good to see so much of my immediate and extended family. I enjoyed meeting family friends and cousins of Stephan that I hadn't met before. Also was great to see Stephan again, he's an unusual, cheerful kid. I hadn't seen him for ages, so I'd expected he'd be rather different than I remembered, but he's much the same as ever.