Let's Party!

I went to a Jewish party the other night. I think it had something do with the Hannukah being over, but I was a little unclear about the purpose for the party. Never having been to a Jewish party before, I was a little unsure what to expect.

When I first arrived, I realized that these were not “Seinfeld/Sandler” style Jews. These were the Orthodox Hasidic kind. They were all dressed in black from head to toe. The men had long beards and the little curly locks of hair on either side of their face. I figured that this party would probably be like most Christian parties I have attended, where people sit around with cups of punch or coffee, chatting quietly about the weather, politics, and Mrs. Haggerty’s new hair style, while music from the Gaithers plays softly in the background. (I’m only kidding! …Kind of).

At first, I was not disappointed. They began the party with some prayer. It was all in Hebrew, so I understood very little of it. The prayer was complete with lots of head bobbing which is typical of Hasidic prayer.

But then things got crazy.

Let me tell you – Jewish guys can dance! The place was rocking! One guy was doing flips and head stands on chairs. It was a little odd seeing a bunch of bearded men in black suits holding hands while singing and jumping around, but somehow, it all seemed natural. It was probably the most masculine type of dancing I have ever seen. I wondered if King David danced like this through the streets of Jerusalem. They need this kind of dancing on “Dancing with the Stars.”

Also, the party with the singing and dancing was strangely worshipful. I’m not exactly sure why, but there were numerous times during the party when I almost broke down in tears over the emotion being expressed in the singing and dancing. I asked one of them what they were singing (most of it was in Hebrew or Yiddish) and he said, “The Psalms.”

I was little confused about this, since I had recognized some of the tunes, and the words I knew for those tunes were definitely not from the Psalms. I asked about this, and he said that the Psalms do not have music, only words, so they sing the words of the Psalms to whatever tune they want. Sometimes, he informed me, they sing the same Psalm over and over, but to different tunes. They pick the tune based on the emotion they are feeling or want to express.

All in all, it was one of the best parties I have ever attended. The emotion and joy expressed were not what I had expected. Also, their love and acceptance of me — as well as people of many other religions and ethnic groups that were present — was astounding. I had always thought Hasidic Jews were a closed community, but this is not the initial impression I received.

Through it all, Paul’s words in Romans 9;3 kept ringing through my head. If you don’t know what this verse says, you’ll have to go look it up.

At the end of the party, I got invited to Brooklyn for another party, and was also invited to a Jewish BBQ (?!?!) later this year in upstate New York. I wonder if a “Jewish BBQ” has anything to do with the burnt offerings you can read about in Leviticus? …I think I’ll go find out.