Thanksgiving

In the USA it is Thanksgiving.
Since I last posted I have been married and divorced. I am thankful for and yet regret both. Thankful to have been married, regretful for having lost a friend. Regretful that the marriage failed, thankful that we each survived.

It's less expensive to make a Jewish wedding in Jerusalem than in the States, but here in Jerusalem we also have to contend with the Rabbanut, the Rabbinate. My brother observed that, if you go to deal with the Rabbanut with an open positive attitude, you come out hating them. They make you jump through hoops - which you have to pay for. My two favorite moments to mock were: I was required to prove that I was not a Kohen, even after one of the rabbis pointed out that I had previously been married to a convert - which would have rendered any Kohenic status void. The more amusing scene took place while I was waiting for the Rabbanut to present me with the document showing that, in their eyes, I was a Jew: a rabbi approached me in the waiting room and asked me to come downstairs to make a minyan.