Shabbat shalom.

Thanks to a group of scholars who needed a ride to their chosen religious services, I attended my very first Shabbat tonight. Everyone was very friendly, the rabbi sang beautifully, and I even managed to catch the tune a time or two. (Makes me wonder if there was anyone up there scratching their head and wondering, "Well, this voice sounds familiar, but isn't it usually speaking in a different language?...")

Some passages of prayer that made me pause to think (which I managed to scribble hurriedly in my little notebook):

"May the door of this synagogue be wide enough to receive all who hunger for love, all who are lonely for friendship.
May it welcome all who have cares to unburden, thanks to express, hopes to nurture.
May the door of our sanctuary be narrow enough to shut out pettiness and pride, envy and enmity.
May its threshold be no stumbling block to young or straying feet.
May it be too high to admit complacency, selfishness, and harshness.
May this sanctuary be, for all who enter, the doorway to a richer and more meaningful life."

Certainly something to meditate on.