I arrived in New York last Wednesday and settled in to my apartment on 115th & Amsterdam, a short stroll from the 1 line on the Subway (I love public transportation), which I take early in the morning and early in the night to and from Hadar, on 69th & Amsterdam.
I want to tell you about each day, every class, every dvar Torah, the experience of davening three times a day with a community, being surrounded by people committed to vibrant Jewish life through learning, praying, and connecting with other people. It’s a little overwhelming. Mostly it feels utopian.
I had some hesitation the first few days about davening; it was (still is…) fast and not having a mechitzah compounded the contrast to davening alone at school, where I’m usually completely in my own space. In just a week, though, I’ve come to love the communal davening. I love the communal mumbling then the silence of the amidah – communal silence fascinates me. What an idea – to gather people and share a private, nearly silent experience.
This is a totally egalitarian community: men and women daven together 3X/day, men and women wear tefillin everyday, men and women learn and teach gemara, men and women do service projects. Like Wellesley, it brings humanity, rather than gender, to the center (which seems to me to be pretty rare, particularly in an observant context. It happens even more so than at Wellesley, I suppose, because Wellesley uses gender separation to overcome gender issues, while Hadar somehow renders gender differences irrelevant to the conversations at hand. Assigned chevruta partners for Tanach and Talmud are same-gender by and large, though).
Most days go from 7:30AM-9:30PM (here’s the schedule if you’re curious – it’s amazing. Monday, at the end of the day, I was completely exhausted. Tuesday, I left feeling ready to take on the world. It’s so satisfying to have a really full and stimulating day).
I wish I had the energy to prepare an eloquent drash on some of the beautiful Torah I’ve been learning, but, alas, I’m tired and Shacharit is at 7:15 tomorrow because of Rosh Chodesh, so just a little sociology for tonight...I hope you’re doing well wherever you are reading this.