Chanukah and and Mr. Menorah-head
I grew up at the oldest and largest Reformed congregation west of the Mississippi River (1200 families at the time), complete with its own summer camp in the Colorado mountains. The sizable sanctuary seats the better part of a thousand people in an impressive three-story space. The Rabbi was very much a city leader and not just for the Congregation. He was formal and polished, carried himself well and always projected a sense of formal and serious leadership. He was a suit-and-tie rabbi, not a sandals-and-shorts rabbi.
In the Fall of 1997, I interviewed and accepted a job in Boise, and planned an apartment-finding trip for December. Flying out on Friday the 26th, I managed to secure a place to move into a few weeks down the road, when I would move permanently to the City of Trees. I didn’t know a soul in town; it was Friday night, so I looked in the phone book and found the one entry under "synagogue," called the number, and then found my way to 11th and State for the 7:30 service.
It just so happened that it was also the 4th night of Chanukah, so I would get to join in with candle lighting in this new congregation. I managed to find parking and sat near the back, enthralled by the intimate little building that was smaller than the little chapel at my Denver congregation. I sat down and, happily, was familiar with the Gates of Prayer. I followed along, noting the difference in some of the tunes, and glad that my new rabbi could sing well and seemed more relaxed on the bimah.
After Shalom Rav, the Rabbi moved the book aside and began reading a rhyming cadence about the Jews down in Jewville. When he taped an electric menorah to his head (as this was pre-bicycle helmet upgrade), I knew I was not in Colorado anymore.
Later I learned that Rabbi Dan could play harmonica, and was the best banjo playing rabbi of his class. We have played Jewgrass, have been Unplugged, “The Band,” “The Moody Jews,” and “The Red Sea Ramblers” over the years; and I couldn’t be happier with how a first impression of a rabbi taping an electric menorah to his head was the right one. This congregation is a welcoming family in the Boise community.
