Tag: temple

It’s Okay and Awesome to Change Your Lifestyle or Move Forward—But Remember Where You Came From

We all go through changes as we age, get more educated, meet new people, and try new things. What matters is remembering where you came from and who you were before.

I am involved in many organizations—probably too many—including Scouting and religious organizations. I grew up Scouting and still chair the Ten Mile River Scout Museum in Narrowsburg, NY (visit us!).

At 25, I worked with teens to build a ceremonial campfire for an induction ceremony to initiate new Scouts. A gentleman who was never a Scout—but got involved when his kids did—decided he was gonna teach the teens how to build the fire and set up the council ring.

Big mistake. He meant well, but he was less experienced than the teens. Because he was older, he thought he would show us the ropes. He had no idea how to cut the wood, lay the fire ring, or run the ceremony scripts. I had to jump in and show everyone how. I may have been annoyed, but we got it done, and the kids had a great time. More importantly, many are now leading the next group.

Let’s jump to religion. Some people grow up that way, some leave, and some practice just the basics. Times change, and we decide to learn more. I can run services and have run sederim for Pesach. It is fun. Did I grow up that way? No. I took more upon myself.

But some people never did any of this. Then the bug bit them, they learned more, and decided to keep going. That’s great. But these folks don’t need to criticize those who didn’t follow this path or tell people at services what they are doing wrong. In most cases, nothing is wrong, and the “newbie” doesn’t grasp how many customs there are.

They often like to talk about how good they are now. I know a few die-hard Mets fans who said they gave up their TVs. It is killing them that they can’t watch sports. (For the record, there’s nothing to watch when it comes to the Mets. Watch the Yankees.) Anyway, they talk about how they used to see Broadway shows, concerts at the Garden, and Marvel movies, and now say it is wrong. They criticize others for doing so.

Their current lives are lifestyle changes and major transitions. But it doesn’t mean the old life was wrong. It is not like you were a druggie or an alcoholic and are now drug-free and sober. Enjoy your new life and remember where you came from.

The Babies are Named

Eight days later, Alana and Marc left camp and went home. Before they left, Alana nursed her beauties. Marc sat with the Woodsman and listened. On the eighth day, the herd of buffalo approached the babies and blessed them.

Marc got behind the wheel. Alana carefully placed the babies into her Infiniti. Alana put Depeche Mode onto the sound system and signaled it was time to go. They drove straight to the temple. Their parents were waiting. Yes, these two have parents. They are very strange. Anat, Jen, and all of the others were waiting with big smiles and gifts.

The mohel was ready to perform the circumcision on the boy. He stared at the knife. The girl was beside him. She, too, stared at the knife. The mohel gave him some Shiloh wine. Anat knew the owner of the vineyard. She had him make a remarkable vintage. Marc and Alana gave out a bottle to all attendees. The girl snagged some of it. Was this a sign she would be like her mom? As the mohel cut the foreskin, the boy just smiled. His eyes fluttered. They wanted to name him Palpatine. But settled for David Benjamin. He has this funny look in his eyes. Of course, Marc and Alana were waiting to see what he would do. Would he shoot lightning out of them, like Palpatine? The two were quite worried about how powerful their children would be. To the best of their knowledge, they are the only two born to parents who both have powers. The girl was named Sarah. They were thinking of Leia or Ashoka. Or maybe just Tano. They would probably call their kids the Star Wars nicknames. Sarah and David Benjamin seemed happy. They were dressed in cute, all-black baby clothes from Sisley.

They went to the basement of the shul for bagels and lox. Jerry was bouncing around. He was making sure Gillil was ok. A great big brother he is. Suddenly, they heard some loud noises outside.

Jay was bashing cars outside the temple. Anat immediately pelted him with raisins and dates. She was taking care of business. But Jay snuck away and entered the delivery door by the kitchen and started shooting glass. A piece shot off Sarah and Benjamin David. Marc and Alana ran over to their babies. They looked like they were smirking. They were in their strollers. The two kids looked at each other.

Suddenly, the strollers started moving. Marc and Alana got nervous. They knew the kids were ok. They knew some of their friends were waiting for this moment. They wanted it to be delayed. They certainly didn’t want their parents and other relatives to see what would happen next.