To make Art, I need a full Heart

Day Two, August 2                     Driven from my home by hip hop

I know many many people like hip hop, but this is Shabbat and it wasn't the kind of noise I wanted to hear tonight, so I forced myself into traffic to drive to my synagogue across the river and through the Other City to get a little shabbat shalom. Despite  working all night, I had gone to my Friday women's Alanon, followed by lunch with the small group that usually meets for Vietnamese food at the same place every week. This, I felt, met my need for community and I planned on going to the pre-service meditation at my synagogue tomorrow morning....no, my SHUL (learn the word! It's shorter for me to type)

I went home to nap and maybe art, and definitely blog about I knew not what, but NOOOOO.
110 feet below me, in the little city park, there was the loudest concert of the summer. I've heard jazz, great and horrible. There has been nostalgic music of my youth played by geezers. Yes, I know they're probably my age, but as long as I don't actually SEE them playing, I feel young. But tonight....aargh. I posted a Seuss-like complaint on FB and drove off to shul.

I do not like the hip hop noise. I do not like the noisy boys. 
I do not like it in my ear. I do not like to hear it here. 
This "music" has come in my cave when Shabbos Peace is what I crave
The traffic to my shul's a curse. But all this noise I hear is worse. 
I may be late. But I won't wait. At least I won't hear crap I hate.

And in that mood, I grumpily drove in search of peace. This is what I saw in the entrance hall when I entered the very noisy and crowded little oasis of Shabbat

Hmmm. Could this possibly have something to do with the legal wedding performed after midnight when same sex marriage became legal on August 1st in Minnesota? We hadn't just defeated the amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman, we had passed a bill making same sex marriage legal! There was only one Jewish wedding that night at City Hall, and it was from our shul.

OH I wish I had thought to take a picture of the huge crowd in the sanctuary and the rainbow chuppah the rabbi and music director stood under to lead services! There was very little room, but much much music. We sang. We clapped, we danced the hora. There was drumming and ululating (that was me)

Every same sex couple who had gotten married at any time was asked to stand, say how long they'd been together, and where and when they were married so that we could all celebrate that their marriages were now legal in our state. 

THIS is what it was all about:

There were couples together for 20-40 years, and children ( and grandchildren!) shouted out their gratitude that their parents' marriage was finally legal. I sang. I cried. I danced. We did go through the prayers of Erev Shabbat, and then when it was over, we adjourned to the hall where there was rainbow challah once again, and a feast of fruit and cakes. 

Rainbow sprinkles, vegan-gluten-free cupcakes. And, as the shortest congregational announcement said...we had Scotch!

My favorite part was watching the various couples who took turns cutting the giant cake so that we could all feel like part of at least 30 weddings, no matter when they had happened. 

Nametags read "Wife of ___" of "Husband of____" and there was hugging and more clapping and more joy than I could stand. 

Thanks to the hip hop sending me forth, I had another immersion into another one of my communities and I now go to bed with Shabbat Shalom in my heart.  

As you can see, our rabbi was totally verklempt that night at City Hall, and so was our governor.  

Mazel Tov to all, and to all a good night!