On Morning Minyan

I love shacharit. I didn't realize this before, because my life has for several years been full of bad shacharit experiences. But there's no reason for that. The world is full of good shacharit experiences, if you're willing to go out and look for them (at 6:30 in the morning). It's not like the NSJC morning minyan is so brilliant or full of kavana or anything, but at least it's a minyan, and not only a minyan but one that includes me, and that puts it above anything I've been part of since...USY Encampment? And it's reminding me why I started putting on tefilin in the first place. Standing in a room with a handful of men and women all getting up at the crack of dawn to come together and wrap leather thongs around their heads and arms is some experience, let me tell you.

I got to feel extra-old today, though. When I was twelve and thirteen (or thirteen and fourteen?) I volunteered with the preschool camp at NSJC. Today, a girl who was in one of those classes had her first aliyah as a bat mitzvah (and brought bagels--yay). The party's next week; my sister is invited. I hope the kippot are a color I don't already have--my collection is too full of repeats!