I wept. In a strange shul, with an unfamiliar crowd, I was uninhibited, free to access my emotions and come closer to my Maker,
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Last year I stood for Kol Nidrei alongside women who barely knew how to hold a siddur. The shul was all stained glass and wood panels — huge and beautiful — and it was also the apex of modern orthodoxy.
So what were the three of us doing there starkly out of place with traditional white tichels atop our sheitels where there was nary a wig in the crowd?
In the lead up to Selichos advertisements spring up featuring famous chazzanim and choral groups for a rousing davening. Growing up we looked out for those ads and the first night of Selichos would hold a touch of adventure as we traipsed into synagogues worlds away from the chassidic shtiebel we were used to. But they offered a unique brand of inspiration and there were always plenty of familiar faces among the dress hats.
The older (and wiser) members of our family had long since abandoned the practice in favor of davening with our regular congregation but last year I was struck with Selichos fever. When a friend forwarded me an invite to a Choral Selichos I didn’t think twice.
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