Latest Doings
On Shabbat I co-officiated at a morning learning service for those in the conversion to Judaism process. While I didn’t lead any part of the service, I provided input and my thoughts about the key prayers and the Shabbat liturgy. It was a great experience and I really look forward to learning more so that I can take a greater role in opportunities such as this one and others. Nonetheless, I know that a year ago, there was no way I would’ve been able to say anything coherent about the liturgy so I do realize that I’ve learned a thing or two.
I have two upcoming speaking engagements in the next week. On Friday, I am speaking about my trip to Ghana with a group of seniors at their weekly Friday afternoon pre-Shabbat get together. Then, on Sunday night I will be speaking to a group about my experiences in Ukraine last Passover.
The semester is nearly halfway over and it’s gone by so quickly! It’s been such a busy semester. I returned from Ghana and then started classes four days later. In mid-February we moved from our cramped apartment into a rental house with plenty of space and a nice backyard. Last weekend, three weeks after we moved, we hosted a barbecue for 35 of our closest friends at our new house. It was a lot of fun and felt so great to finally be social after living in a place where we couldn’t really entertain. Coming up are midterms, Purim, Passover, and finals and final papers.
I’m finishing up training with the City of Los Angeles to be a member of the city’s Crisis Response Team (CRT). The CRT responds to fatal incidents in the city (such as automobile accidents, drive-by shootings, murders, suicides, and other disasters) to provide support to family members of victims. The training has been pretty intense; it also began a few days after I returned from Ghana and it’s every Tuesday and Thursday night from 6:30 to 9:30. It’s been making my Tuesdays and Thursdays very long – I’m on campus by 7 a.m. and not home until nearly 10 p.m. I look forward to graduation on Thursday and for the opportunity to respond to incidents and help my neighbors. I also look forward to having my Tuesday and Thursday nights back.
The semester ends in mid-May and my summer is looking like it’s going to be fairly relaxing – I won’t be interning or working anywhere. I do plan on working on my skills in leading services and chanting from the Torah so that I can take care of opportunities such as I mentioned above.
I have two upcoming speaking engagements in the next week. On Friday, I am speaking about my trip to Ghana with a group of seniors at their weekly Friday afternoon pre-Shabbat get together. Then, on Sunday night I will be speaking to a group about my experiences in Ukraine last Passover.
The semester is nearly halfway over and it’s gone by so quickly! It’s been such a busy semester. I returned from Ghana and then started classes four days later. In mid-February we moved from our cramped apartment into a rental house with plenty of space and a nice backyard. Last weekend, three weeks after we moved, we hosted a barbecue for 35 of our closest friends at our new house. It was a lot of fun and felt so great to finally be social after living in a place where we couldn’t really entertain. Coming up are midterms, Purim, Passover, and finals and final papers.
I’m finishing up training with the City of Los Angeles to be a member of the city’s Crisis Response Team (CRT). The CRT responds to fatal incidents in the city (such as automobile accidents, drive-by shootings, murders, suicides, and other disasters) to provide support to family members of victims. The training has been pretty intense; it also began a few days after I returned from Ghana and it’s every Tuesday and Thursday night from 6:30 to 9:30. It’s been making my Tuesdays and Thursdays very long – I’m on campus by 7 a.m. and not home until nearly 10 p.m. I look forward to graduation on Thursday and for the opportunity to respond to incidents and help my neighbors. I also look forward to having my Tuesday and Thursday nights back.
The semester ends in mid-May and my summer is looking like it’s going to be fairly relaxing – I won’t be interning or working anywhere. I do plan on working on my skills in leading services and chanting from the Torah so that I can take care of opportunities such as I mentioned above.
posted by Matt | 7:29 PM
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