Seagulls swoop down on Tashlikh ceremony on boat launch dock in East Mooring Basin in Astoria.
The seagulls swooped in immediately to consume our breadcrumb sins, and just like that, we were cleansed! We had just completed the Tashlikh ceremony to conclude the first Rosh Hashanah morning and afternoon service on the North Coast in 50 years, after a wonderful evening service the night before. Local apples and honey, fresh challah,
Rabbi Yankl reads Torah with Ann Goldeen following at Rosh Hashanah service in Astoria.
pastries, eggs and salads were enjoyed after the services – no Jewish gathering is complete without food! And it was just marvelous for me to recite the various prayers and songs that filled me with such joy and wonder as a kid in New York; this time with friends, neighbors and some strangers (not any more!) from the Oregon Coast and beyond.
An auspicious way to start the New Year, the 5774th one by the Jewish reckoning. But only the capper on an amazing month in the life of the Rabbi! As it’s true that a picture speaks a thousand words (or something like that), so this post will be the story behind some of the the photos I just uploaded to this computer from my iPhone, spanning the Astoria Regatta Parade in August to the Tashlikh ceremony today.
The Astoria Clowns ride by in the 2013 Astoria Regatta parade.
This year the Regatta parade fell the day before my 55th birthday, and it was the first time in a few years that I wasn’t in the parade, so I was able to roam the crowd and take some photos. Evidently, I missed the best float – Dragolution – which won top honors, and was definitely the favorite of most I talked to that day. What I noticed about the parade was that it celebrated Astoria’s natural resource industries, and the institutions and values that go with them. A little disturbing to me, but in general, the mood was festive, and it was a fun time.
This summer, I spent most of my time in Astoria and Cannon Beach, since I was in the Coaster Theatre production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, which finished its (quite successful) run on the last day of August (and began for me back in April with auditions, while I was still performing in The Lewis & Clark Melodrama at the Astor Street Opry Company‘s playhouse in Astoria). The forced home-stay was balanced by a steady stream of visitors, sunny days, and more reading than I’ve done in years.
The cast of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
In August, I had the pleasure of meeting an old friend from my Brookhaven National Lab days, along with her husband and three beautiful kids. It all started back in March, as I was preparing for the Great Northeast College Tour (more on that in a future post) with my son, Tevan. We were going to visit schools in New York, Philadelphia and Boston, and in researching things to do during the trip, I found out that Sageet still lived in the Boston area, and that she would be coming to the Pacific Northwest with her family for a conference and road trip in August. We spent a wonderful day at Cape Disappointment State Park, eating the awesome Serious pizza, hiking, and catching up. We went to the Astoria Column the next day, and in between, I talked with her husband about complexity, networks, math education and more. Lots of things came of that conversation, which I’ll relate in a future post.
The Rabbi’s family and friends on Cannon Beach.
The following weekend, our friends Monica and Angus visited, and we all went to see the other play at the Coaster this summer – The Importance of Being Earnest. More discussions – about politics, math, education, living – and another great weekend. One of the highlights – a tour of the Sanborn house that is absolutely spectacular!
Then the deluge hit. The following Wednesday, we had a Couchsurfing visitor from Marseilles, France. Nancy and Tevan were off to Portland, where Tevan left from to return to Interlochen and his senior year of high school. Arnaud and I went out to the Fort George Brewery for dinner, and the Blue Scorcher Bakery for breakfast the next morning, and he got a mini-tour of Astoria. We got a nice bottle of Marseilles rosé wine, and I got some great conversation. Arnaud was back in the US as part of his 40th birthday present to himself, after spending 9 years here for school in Atlanta a while back. He landed in San Francisco, visited Crater Lake, and then drove up the coast to Astoria, then was headed to Portland, Mt. Rainier, Seattle, Chicago and Washington, D.C. Cool guy!
Breakfast special at the Blue Scorcher – poached eggs with Chicken of the Woods mushrooms and salsa. Yum!!
The next two days, we got to spend time with some old friends, Tom and Joan, now living in Sequim, WA. We met them on Vashon Island when we lived there just after getting married. They were on their way to Crater Lake for a mammoth bike trip, and we gave yet another tour of Astoria, and visited Fort George, the Blue Scorcher and the Column again. We even had the wonderful tuna and fries from the Bowpicker!
And finally, immediately on the heels of that visit, Monica and Angus returned to see the closing performance of Forum. Angus and I talked math, and you can see some of his writing right here on the Edge.
We were supposed to get yet another Couchsurfer on Labor Day – a biker on a trek from Seattle to LA – but he decided to head to Portland instead of stopping in Astoria. Good thing. We were visitor-weary.
Well, school is back in session, and the traditional summer is over. Thunderstorms tonight, and the days are getting woefully short. Before you know it, the end of the secular year will be here. No doubt there will be further adventures to report before then, but as the new Jewish year begins, and many of us reflect on the year just completed (and how we can do better this coming year), it seemed a good idea to at least share some of my August doings along with the photos which bring back some of those memories to this aging rabbi.
Happy New Year! L’shana tova!
Day 5 of the 10 Days of Awe or Atonement. Wanted to let you all know about the Unetaneh Tokef, which sums up the story of the High Holy Days’ services and tradition: http://www.ou.org/chagim/roshhashannah/unetanehtext.htm. May you all be written into the Book of Life for another year of peace, happiness and fun!
Bless you Bob for marking this holy season. I love the turn of days surrounding the fall equinox. Surely all of us can help repair the world through reflection, repentance, and prayer.
This evening at sunset I’ll be musing on what it means to get right with G-d, be a better steward, become at one with creation. I’ll pray for humans to be kinder toward each other and all living creatures.
Amen, Brother Watt.
Thank you for your lyrical thoughts, Bob! I was part of those historic High Holy Days services, and they were amazing indeed: the beauty of traditional melodies, the warmth of community, all with a backdrop of sea lions barking in the harbor below. I hope this is the beginning of an annual tradition.
May all of you experience a New Year of transformation, of turning back to your truest, wisest, and most beautiful self. While these holidays began in a part of the world where autumn has a different quality, I find it remarkable how the climate of this part of the world harmonizes so well with that impulse to teshuvah, to turning (back). I remember learning years ago that the colors which deciduous trees turn in the autumn are actually the leaves’ true colors underneath the green of clorophyll. This year, may we find our true colors underneath whatever’s grown or been painted over them!