Thursday, September 27, 2012

0 for 5

No Golden Shtenders were given out over Yom Kippur.
The older gentlemen leading Kol Nidrei wasn't my cup of tea, Baal Shacharit had a nice voice but poor nusach and melody selection, Baal Musaf was alright until he used Fiddler on the roof for וכל מאמינים (GONG!). Baal mincha used this kaddish to start and then again as his victory kaddish. Enough said.
....and then the older gentlemen who had led kol nidrei led Neilah using the geshem nusach. Gong. and then he sang more or less everything to this melody. Double Gong.  All in all it was an easy fast but the davening left us feeling a bit wanting.






Thursday, September 20, 2012

Gmar Chatima Tovah

....and a Golden Shtender has been awarded to Dr. D, physician for an outstanding Musaf second day of R"h. Dr. D nailed Unetaneh Tokef using this nusach and then led a flawless Modzitz Ein Kitzvah earning him his 2nd Golden Shtender (his first was awarded two years ago for an excellent Y"k musaf at a vatikin minyan).

The NF led Shacharit first day R"h rather uneventfully.
my only new "chiddush" was switching to אנא ה' by Carlebach in the middle of לאל אורך דין....At the last second, I also decided to shake things up a bit and rather than using the traditional "victory" kaddish, I used the Modzitz Kaddish instead. Correct move.  Mrs. NF tells me the entire davening was well recieved.
 The guy whol led musaf first day was rather creative, using Leanord Cohen's Who by Fire for מי באש in Unetaneh Tokef and again Leanord Cohen's Hallelujah for הללוליה. Being that our minyan consists of  people who enjoy singing/ harmonzing, it came out very nicely. Very gutsy.

So now we are in the 10 days of Awe and the NF has been getting the occasional email/phone call about moichelling. "Will you Moichel me?", I am asked.

Two reactions:
1. Maybe the NF has a sick mind (not just maybe- he does), but Moicheling really sounds like something very dirty  that happens in the men's mikveh or in the back of the beis medrish between very "special" chavrusas or alternativly out in the pasture between a man and his sheep. Not that it makes them bad people  or anything. (We don't judge here at Nusach Freak). But I'm not into that sort of thing so no, I will not moichel you.

2. You want me to forgive you? Tell me exactly for what you would like to be forgiven. You are not getting away with a blanket, "will you moichel me". I want to hear everything you said about me or did to me in the last 12 months.  Then I can decide if I will forgive you.

Any way, the NF wishes everyone an easy fast and an enjoyable moichelling if you are into that sort of thing.


--- the NF

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Shana Tova

Shana Tova to the greater gonging community.
the NF apologises for not having written more in the last few weeks--- between work, helping Mrs NF get the 4 little NFs settled in their new respective schools and the sefer torah (now 82%+ finished - we ordered the עצי חיים a few weeks ago and sat with a designer this morning on the מעיל),  I've had little time to breathe.

The NF has a relativly light schedule for the yamim noraim --- I'm only davening schacharit on the first day of Rosh Hashana at a small private minyan here in Jerusalem ....and I'm really thrilled not to be organising or gabbaing this year.


Here are links to two new songs worth listening to before the yamim noraim....


The NF