What's a Jew to do?

Being that I do live in Queens, the large population of Jews is no surprise. In SAT terminology,

Villa Crespo:Buenos Aires AS Cedahurst:Nassau County.

The flower stalls on the streets had signs wishing "L'shanah Tovah" to passersby, and the city was full of colorful posters for "Rosh Hashanah Urbano" - a fair of sorts. The best part was the food displays at the supermarkets consisting of all your Rosh Hashanah staples: matzah, felafal mix, and gafiltefish. Oh well, they get an A for effort.

Tonight, we went to Yom Kippur services at Chabad (in spanish - Jabad). It was the least enjoyable service I have ever been too - and I was a bratty, uninterested teenager. For me, Yom Kippur is the only holiday that incites any desire to attend services.
*Yom Kippur, for my gentile friends, is the day of atonement, where you seek forgiveness and hope to begin the new year with a clean slate.

Basically, it was a service for men. Fortunately, they were nice enough to tell the women "if you want to celebrate your holiday, you can watch our service from afar and be completely uninvolved". I'm surely not interested in being super-involved, nor do I mind men and women sitting separately, but I am not okay with being forced to sit behind a screen where I can't see or hear anything. The majority of the women were chatting while their children screamed and their husbands prayed. The men kissed the Torah while the women kissed the air. I find it sad that people (men and women alike) are comfortable with a religious community that treats women, and their access to worship, as inferior.

It was hardly a thought-provoking, forgiveness-giving, slate-clearing scene if I ever saw one.

With that being said, this will probably be my final visit to synagogue for a while, at least to a Jabad. But let's be honest, I only go on Yom Kippur anyway.

On the lighter side of Judaism, Julie and I just taught Alana my favorite Hebrew school tune - "Wherever you go, there's always someone Jewish, you're never alone cause god made you a Jew". Naturally, the lesson was followed by a sing-a-long (I've linked to the lyrics in case you have the urge to have a sing-a-long of your own).

I am now off to bed, disheartened by the reality of a Yom Kippur without bagels and lox.

I am starting to figure out how to use my new camera!