Shul Musings

1. Friday Night Lights.

One of the things that makes my shul special is the Friday night davening. Each week, well over 300 men (and about 50 young women, mostly high school and post-seminary girls) join us for Kabbalas Shabbos. (Many of the men are freeloaders; they come each and every week but are not members or associate members and don't give us a dime; but I digress).

Our Kabbalas Shabbos is not nusach Carlebach. The nusach is the regular ashkenazi nusach. What separates our davening is the intense L'cha Dodi, which is usually put to one of many popular Carlebach niggunim. L'cha Dodi is usually done to two different niggunim, with the first 6 stanzas done to a heartzige, slow niggun and the last four, starting with Lo Siavoshi, to a much more upbeat tune.

The place really rocks, especially towards the end, and even after the last four stanzas, when we usually sing the niggun without words, three or four more times.

In two of the last three weeks, the ba'alei tefilah, decided that rather than a Carlebach tune, they would employ complicated shinny shoe niggunim that about ten mispallimim knew. Talk about taking the air out of a balloon. This is especially disappointing because many of us, who have very intense work weeks, look forward to the L'cha Dodi which serves as a transformation of sorts from the chol to the kedusha of Shabbos.

As I like to say, Ich Kenesht.

So please. If you're going to take the amud at our shul, please stick to the basics. It's not about shlugging up the shul to show them how clever you are that you were able to put L'Cha Dodi to the latest Shweki tune. It's about rocking the olam. In as simple a way as possible.

2. The Schnorrer Problem.

Sunday morning shachris was inundated by 8 schnorrers. I felt as though I was davening at the Kotel. Our shul has not adopted a "no schnorrer in the sanctuary" rule and it is becoming more and more of a problem. Besides the issue that many of the schnorrers are probably outright frauds, it is getting more difficult to concentrate on davening because the schnorrers do not have the courtesy to wait until after the amidah and, instead, collect during all parts of the davening, including kriyas Shema.

As I like to say, Ich Kenesht.