a balloontwister’s aliya saga

Well, shabbos in a new neighborhood for me:

West Bloomfield, MI.

My sister in law’s Aunt and Uncle live there so I invited myself there. The shul that was in Semi Walking distance was the Chabad house. Semi walking distance because while the shul wasnt THAT far away (3/4 mile) with the 15-20 degree weather… it SEEMED around 50 miles away.

The only scary part was, besides the ba’al koreh, was determining how “mesheich” the shul was.

What do I mean?

I heard a psak from a well respected rav in Israel how if people actually believe the rebbe t”zl Was and IS moshiach its problematic to daven there.

SO I was in shul and the rav gets up and says” Tommorrow night is the yahrzeit of the most important Jew of all time”

For a second I thought he was going to say you know who …and I was going to have to walk 10 miles back to my place…

Thank G-d the rav said Moshe Rabeinu and I was safe.

After the seudah I pulled out a tikuun to prepare for next week’s megilla reading. Rav Wineberg noticed and asked if I was a ba’al Koreh.

I told him not really, but I happen to know a few sedrahs.

big mistake.

The next morning I was asked to layn as the ba’al koreh did not show up.

I learned a very important lesson: Just because you TAUGHT someone a sedrah, doesn’t make you an expert for that sedrah.

25 minutes and 96 pesukim later I walked off sweaty and thoroughly embaressed. If Joel Motechin would have been there for that performance he would have wringed my neck.

At the kiddush I was told yasher koach by several people and I remarked how horrible it was..The response I got gave me a wake up call.

I was told. “Most of us couldn;t have done that”

The shul is mostly made up of people that are barely religious or are not religious, so anything is better than nothing and the folks WERE appreciative.

I’m glad that I at least know how to layn somewhat and I’m hoping Yoni continues to enjoy his layning classes.

With that in mind I was happy to spend shabbos in a setting that I am not accustomed to. Growing up FFB and in a shul where everyone is frum didn’t give me the perspective that I got this shabbos. Living in the “sticks” and in smaller jewish communities, you are exposed to jews from the left and right… Its no big deal defriending jews that are to the left or right of you. I tip my cap to the Winebergs and to the chabad families of West Bloomfield that are working day and night to help jews come closer to H-shem.

This morning Yudie Ballooney had a local gig in the Young Israel of Oak Park. I was supposed to teach kids and then head to a nursing home. The nursing home cancelled on us as they deemed a tax seminar was more important that balloon animals.

I know I’m shocked as well.

I did teach the kids though and had a nice time doing it. I was also invited to a bat mitzva by someone who I just met here in Detroit.hmmm… I think he just wants free balloons…..

Have a good week,

J