My kind of Yom Kippur

I didn't go to synagogue this Yom Kippur. I really dislike the dry synagogues in my neighborhood. I could have ventured to the friendlier Moroccan, Yemenite, Kurdish ones, but their services are way too unfamiliar to me. So I spent the day watchig my son play World Federation of Wrestling with our kitten. He'd wrestle with her lightly, slide her across the living room and throw her on the couch and count ONE! TWO! THREE! until Kitty Kat ran over to him begging for more! Alot of the day, I thought about God, and felt Him close enough and within me that I felt I really didn't "need" to be in a synagogue that day, although even the most affiliated go if they don't go any other time of the year. I just have this kind of repulsion to -have to do- what most Jews feel they have to do. The freedom to be myself that day was totally enlightening. I read 100 pages of The Jew in the Lotus - about several Rabbis' meeting the Dalai Lama in 1990. We had just the changed clocks back the Saturday before, so the fast ended wonderfully early - at 5:45 pm.

I opted to break the fast the Islamic traditional way - with a date and water.

"Here" I tried to coax Hubby into breaking the fast as I do, offering him a date.

"No, it's not Jewish" he told me.

"OK" and so I bit off the tip of the date and showed him the newly circumcised date. "Now it is"

He still went for the Coke instead.

That evening I went out with my two daughters - aged 21 and 18 - to Jerusalem's downtown area. The place was swarming with people. I saw Alex from Laughing Yoga in the crowd.

"Hey Alex!!" I shouted to him. He's real cute, young, and has long blond hair tied back in a ponytail.

"AAAAAHHHH HHAAAAAA HAAAA HHAAAAA HHAAAAAA!!!!" Alex and I had our own very loud laughing Yoga happening as we hugged each other hello.

My kids were totally embarrassed.

"MOM!!! How can you be like that in the middle of the street??"

I introduced them to each other.

He asked me - "Are YOU Jerusalem Gypsy that I read about in the Jerusalem Post newspaper? You wrote about Laughing Yoga there."

Now it was my turn to be embarrassed.

After he left, they were more mystified than embarrassed.

"Mom, how is it you know so many young, cute guys?"

Hmmmm. Isn't this one of the things I should be grateful for?