We attended services this morning via Zoom – it was fine, but not like being there in person.

I have a credit card which offers 3% back on travel and restaurants (4.5% if you redeem through their travel portal). It has had a quiet pandemic. But things are looking up for it.

Our Africa trip that didn’t happen last year has been rescheduled for a few months from now, so we had to pay for it and buy the airfare; I also bought the airfare for my upcoming 50th High School Reunion.

My card is exhausted from all the sudden activity – I will have to feed it before asking it to take on the Antarctica trip we also have planned!

Tonight was Board Installation Shabbat at Shir Hadash. I’d been looking forward to the service since accepting the position of Ritual Committee Chair, and I expected to attend in the usual way – on Zoom. But that didn’t happen.

Instead, tonight’s service took place on campus (outside), with a relay on Zoom. It was wonderful seeing people in person again, even without the bottom halves of their faces being visible – there were hugs and handshakes, too.

We always start services by singing “Hinei Ma Tov” (from Psalm 133), but the music that we sing changes from week to week. Tonight, the music was Elana Arian’s version – the English lyrics are:

  How good it is (How good it is)
  How sweet it is (How sweet it is)
  To be together on this day.

And it was SO good and sweet and pleasant to be with other people, singing together (quietly, with masks) on this day.

Shabbat Shalom!