Shavua Tov and Small Miracles

Shabbos dinner with the Chassidishe rabbi was most inspirational. Actually made it to Mincha, Maariv and Kabbalat Shabbat services, the last of which was highly musical. Had forgotten how powerful a feeling it is to sing when it's a full house.

Most shocking of all was how much Torah was spoken among the people I hung around most of the night. Something about being sitting at the table of a revered scholar suddenly put everyone into Jewish philosopher mode, it was quite something to behold. I held back most of the time, preferring to take it all in since so many charged discussions filled every room.

There's an Aramaic word "chavrusa" which means friend (much like the Hebrew word for friend which is "chever" or "chevera"). In the context of studying Torah it is referred to one's learning partner. Finding one's chavrusa can be tricky, because it needs to be someone who has common learning goals as you and it helps if your souls resonate well. Ideally that person is also the same sex as you, since yeshiva studies require gender separation.

Anyway, I think it's safe to say that H-Shem sent me my chavrusa this past Shabbos. Which means even though I'm not spending my summer immersed in some hardcore Israeli seminary, I can still benefit from peer-to-peer independent study at home. It means not wasting my summer going after purely physical pursuits (working and acquiring) and gaining nothing spiritual. And surely someone who wants to hang out for tea and Torah will buffer any loneliness I will inevitably feel from being single. Torah among friends has been the only effective medicine against combating loneliness I've found. Something about community makes the grief of various losses a lot easier.

Not sure what I've done to merit such mazal, but having a new buddy that I can both be myself around AND geek out about Judaism with is pretty awesome. Was beginning to think I'd never see the day when I could finally relate to non-males.

Baruch H-Shem, it's going to be an amazing summer!