Disseminating Change

So today we spent Shabbat morning services at the New London Synagogue at their "alternative minyan" called Minyan Chadash, which is egalitarian. We established two new records at the New London Synagogue this morning, all by ourselves!

First, Jen and I were the first couple ever to be called up to the Torah for an Aliyah (the blessing over the Torah) together. Here at New London, in their main service, men and women do not sit together and women are not called up to the Torah. However, at the alternative minyan, which has been going on since 2001, women read Torah and are given honors. So while women have been called up individually, they had never experienced a couple having an Aliyah together, so there was much chatter about that following the service.

Second, we were the first to recite Birkat Ha-Gomel - the prayer for thanksgiving - following a trip across the ocean. Here at New London, it is only customary to recite Gomel following serious illness or surviving some sort of terrible event. We weren't aware of the local custom but I thought I'd ask to recite it because it is customary in our community back home to do so following a trans-oceanic trip. They were A-OK with us doing it, it's just not something they'd done before. Many people came up to us after the service and wanted to know what we'd survived!

It's so exciting to be at the forefront of diffusing new ideas onto another continent!