I spent most of last week in NYC with my mom, and it was a really lovely visit. Among the highlights were definitely lots of really great food and taking in the great culture of the city. Here are some things we did:
Saw three great shows on Broadway: Jagged Little Pill (great musical performances), Ain’t Too Proud (also really great musical performances), and The Inheritance, Part I (I am reading Part II in the script to give myself the full experience!)
Ate at Katz’s Deli, Sardi’s, some great diners, and had NY bagels nearly every morning (why can’t we have good bagels everywhere in this country? Now that’s an initiative to get behind!)
Introduced my mom to the Tenement Museum, one of my very favorite places in NYC and likely one of my favorite museums in the world (albeit, it is a very non-traditional ‘museum’). If you have never visited there, I highly suggest it, and my two favorite tours are Sweatshop Workers (this was the first tour I ever did there, and I did this again with my mom) and Shop Life (which I sent my mom on first before joining up with her). The museum also has one of the most interesting and nicest gift shops.
Attended services at Central Synagogue on Friday evening. They were so lovely and the music was phenomenal. I was ordained as a cantor at Central in 2006, and hadn’t been back there since. It holds a special place in my heart because of that. We were joined by my good friend Kay Magilavy, who I know through my many years at my second home in Jersey City, Temple Beth-El, where I served as student cantor for four years. I also learned that Central Synagogue has a cap of 2600 members at any given time and you have to get on a waitlist of 18-24 months to become a member there. What a problem to have!
We visited with friends Emily, Dan, Hannah, and Andy Eckman in Brooklyn and had a wonderful lunch with Debra Stolzenberg at one of two diners that we enjoyed. It was great seeing a few friends.
I also reconnected with many former teachers and a few colleagues at HUC on Wednesday for their weekly practica—these are basically ‘fake service’ presentations that are an essential part of the cantorial training program. I hadn’t been back in the HUC-NY building in a very long time, and had not attended any practica since my days at HUC, so this was a really special moment for me. The practica were presented by two second year students—thus, these were the first they ever presented of the four that are required of the program (two contemporary and two traditional practica). Both students did an excellent job, and I was really delighted to see how the feedback section which follows has been updated to be really positive and helpful in its constructive criticism. In my days, there were times that the feedback and discussion didn’t always flow in this direction, so it is a wonderful improvement.
Oh — my mom and I also attended a taping of the tv show The View, which was just a lot of fun, and on my mom’s list of top things she really wanted to do.
We stayed in a 1920’s apartment/airbnb with a three floor walkup. It was a very authentic NYC/Manhattan living experience. The location was great! (And now I sound like a New Yorker!) It is safe to say that we got our fairshare of steps every-single-day. (And, yet, it seems neither of us actually lost weight … darn!)
I am now back in California for approximately a week, and will be getting ready for my extensive Europe trip rapidly approaching. I am fitting in a whole lot of Orangetheory classes also, as they don’t roll over, and I have to make sure I get them all in! I, unfortunately, lost two classes last month, but this was due to me being sick and there was just no way to fit them in or to force myself to work out and potentially make myself sicker.
I am set to have a session with the sound healer I am working with this week, and then on Friday, am going to this really cool-looking visual/music meditation called Mesamerica in Costa Mesa (has anyone done this? It looks amazing. I will let you know what I think.) And, for Shabbat evening this week, I am attending Beatles Shabbat at B’nai Tzedek in Fountain Valley. If you would like to join me, please let me know. (Dinner with RSVP at 6:30, service at 7:30)