I spent my chag up in Washington Heights, where as RH host stated: the skirts are longer, necklines are higher, and the suits are darker. It was low-key but otherwise similar to the UWS. The only exception: people still believe in the myth of Tfillin Dates* which I will talk about some other time.
The Middle at Jewlicious posted an image of a torah, and some torah facts. Which is nice, and topical, but none too exciting. Kesher Talk has some of the same information, but also compares Simchat Torah to a wedding, a metaphor which isn't too stretched by the holiday, where a member of the community is designated as chassan bereshis (groom of Genesis). On the other side of the mechitza (or tri-chitza, or no-chitza) the JWA blog listed some accomplishments made by Jewish women in the last year, including a female soferet, or torah scribe.
For the younger crowd: Matzah and Marinara talks about the difficulty of controlling 5 and 6 year olds during a long service.
And last, but not least, Jameel relays a story about his service where someone almost dropped the torah and the guy who zoomed up to catch it. This reminds me of a conversation that I had with my mother during Shavuot services, as my father was doing "hagba" the ceremonial presentation of the torah scroll to the community.
Me: That's how I judge future boyfriends.
Mom: On what?
Me: They need to be able to show at least four columns of text. (this requires some strength)
Mom: Don't forget that they should be tall enough that you can see it over the mechitza.
Lady in front of us: I have a son who just graduated from med school.
Yes. This actually happened.
My perfect man. Note the red hair. And the popped collar.
*Tfillin Dates are dates where the guy carries his Tfillin (morning prayer accoutrements) with him on a date so that after he sleeps over he can pray unhindered the next morning.
