Today was my second day of classes. Monday is my 4-class day. On Tuesday, I have only one class, but it's Advanced Talmud, a doozie. (Please note that while the class is *called* Advanced Talmud, I do not in any way consider myself advanced in the study of Talmud. It continues to kick my tochas (butt).)
Meanwhile, my classes today seem to all be excellent, and I'm looking forward to all I will learn, but the sheer amount of work (in addition to two little kids and a congregation for which I'm leading High Holiday services solo and my new rabbinic internship at a different congregation) is daunting. My Contemporary Denominations class alone has a course pack that is 700 pages. 700! That's the most reading, though, and at least it's all in English, I think (as opposed to Hebrew or Aramaic).
I did start crying in my first class of the day, but that was only because right before it was my turn to introduce myself, the teacher mentioned that his mom had died in early August, so he is an avel (a mourner). Of course that set me off. Fortunately I study in a community that is nurturing and understanding, and I got myself under control reasonably quickly.
Have I mentioned that I'm studying to be a rabbi? Well, I am.
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