A comedy of errors
I set the alarm for 15 minutes earlier than I usually set it to ring on a Thursday--then promptly forgot why. At our usual 6:30 AM hour for departure to my former "kaddish minyan," I suddenly remembered that services were starting 15 minutes earlier because we include the Hallel psalms in Shacharit (Morning Service) on Chanukah. I was not only embarrassed, but also upset, because my husband really prefers to get to a weekday morning minyan on time. So, having already davvened/prayed the Birkot HaShachar/Morning Blessings, I handed him my mini-Koren-Sacks Siddur/prayer book so that he could catch up during the subway ride, and davvened a standing-on-one-foot P'sukei D'Zimrah by memory. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I now know Hall'lu et HaShem min ha-shamayim (Psalm 148) by heart, or at least I think I do--I couldn't check the siddur to see whether I'd missed anything.
We rushed into the minyan room quite late, just as they were beginning Az Yashir. Needless to say, I didn't quite get my tefillin on in time for Bar'chu. But that's when the weirdness began. This was the first time that I'd ever laid tefillin more quickly than my husband. And at least twice during the course of the service, he had to rewind the shel yad/hand tefillah. This, I'd never seen before. After the service, I commented on it. My husband's reply: "Are you sure you were wearing your tefillin?" Holy Moses, that's why my shel rosh/head tefillah felt so loose! And no wonder I was able to wrap the hand so quickly--the retzuah/strap on my husband's shel yad/hand tefillah is much shorter than the retzuah on mine!* Apparently, we were in such a hurry to "gear up" for Shacharit that, reaching into our tote bag, we each grabbed the first set of tefillin that we saw!
*I really need to get my tefillin to a sofer/scribe who won't have a heart attack about working on tefillin owned by a woman--the retzuah loop on my shel rosh is getting loose again, and my retzuot are way too long. If anyone knows a sofer, or someone else who'd know how, and be willing, to help, preferably in Manhattan, please let me know. Rav todot--many thanks!
We rushed into the minyan room quite late, just as they were beginning Az Yashir. Needless to say, I didn't quite get my tefillin on in time for Bar'chu. But that's when the weirdness began. This was the first time that I'd ever laid tefillin more quickly than my husband. And at least twice during the course of the service, he had to rewind the shel yad/hand tefillah. This, I'd never seen before. After the service, I commented on it. My husband's reply: "Are you sure you were wearing your tefillin?" Holy Moses, that's why my shel rosh/head tefillah felt so loose! And no wonder I was able to wrap the hand so quickly--the retzuah/strap on my husband's shel yad/hand tefillah is much shorter than the retzuah on mine!* Apparently, we were in such a hurry to "gear up" for Shacharit that, reaching into our tote bag, we each grabbed the first set of tefillin that we saw!
*I really need to get my tefillin to a sofer/scribe who won't have a heart attack about working on tefillin owned by a woman--the retzuah loop on my shel rosh is getting loose again, and my retzuot are way too long. If anyone knows a sofer, or someone else who'd know how, and be willing, to help, preferably in Manhattan, please let me know. Rav todot--many thanks!
posted by Shira Salamone at 10:43 AM
2 Comments:
Jen Taylor Friedman (HaTam Soferet) recommends A1 Soferim – Aharon Lichter, 212-254-1400, 473 FDR Drive on Grand St, New York, New York.
And I apologize for not getting back to you on the blogroll thing yet, things have been hectic here.
Thanks for the tip, Reform BT.
Don't worry--any help on the blogroll will be appreciated whenever it comes.
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