The WQ

My shul has one of the weirdest collections of people I've ever met. And, I'm not talking just on Purim. Dov Bear, in a moment of inspiration, referred to it as the "Nassau Community College of Shuls".

There are a handful of normal people, but only a few. The shul is a collection of ba'alei teshuva, gerrim, Russians, FFBs who have moved to the right, Chassidic wannabes, Litvaks who like the quiet, Yekkies who like the quiet, Israeli Nationalists, and sundry others. Most are united by being inspired by our Rav and being a little bit (or more) 'off'.

The few of us who are normal measure the weirdness of the shul by what we call the WQ, or Weirdness Quotient. WQ measures the number of whackos relative to the number of normal people in the shul at any point in time. On Shabbos the WQ is usually off the charts because besides our own, home grown whackos, we attract some of the weirdest Jews from around the metro area and, indeed, the world.

Every time we think the WQ is going down because of an influx to the shul of normal people, a few particularly strange birds seem to join and the equilibrium is restored. And, sometimes when you think the WQ can go no higher, a few visitors from another planet show up on our doorstep for shabbos.

All in all, never a dull moment.