At-one-ment

Pegs and I were pleasantly surprised when we woke up this morning to Steamboat’s first real snow day! It snowed a day or two ago, but it never really stuck to the ground. So we opened the curtains and joyfully watched the snow pile up in the front garden. While enjoying the weather in bed, we practiced meditating.

Once we finished our silent prayers, we then bundled up and headed to temple to repent our sins with the Jews of Steamboat.

Peg and I arrived at the temple a little late (no surprise) due to our private prayer session this morning, but got there right before the rabbi started Peg’s favorite part of the service.

Last night the rabbi had everyone write down a “confession” to share anonymously with the congregation about a sin they have committed to themselves, to their family/friends, to our planet earth, and to God. We shared our personal confessions the night before, and had planned to share the rest today. Pegs loved this.

The special facet about this exercise was recognizing another persons’ sin as your own. If no one had shared it aloud it might never have come up in your prayers.

Later on in the service, I had my first Aliyah during the Torah reading. The rabbi called up any person who went through a milestone this year, and having just graduated Pegs insisted I go up for this Mitzvah. It was a very special moment ending a very special Jew-year for me—having gone on my Birthright to Israel earlier this year, being named by the Jews Me’ira (which means “to shine”), getting Bat-Mitzvah’d at the Western Wall, and finally beginning to understand my religious heritage.

When temple finished, Pegs and I headed home to spend the rest of the day reading, cooking, and laying in bed. We had decided earlier we would properly break fast for ourselves in a gluten free zone; although it would not be with a group of family or friends, it was a very peaceful and rewarding experience for us both.

I am incredibly blessed to have been able to experience this High Holiday with my mom in such an intimate setting. The temple, the service, and all the people we met along the way were beyond encouraging and supportive of our current endeavors.

L’Chaim!