Presence

When we started the Shomrei book club, I got comments from a few people who wanted to let me know that they thought the book club was a stupid idea. Various arguments were presented, some said that they thought social events in the context of the shul were extemporaneous, others thought that reading as a form of group education was a waste of time. My response to most of them was, "If it doesn't interest you, then don't come." Many of them didn't (in the end, we had to turn people away, as we had much more interest than anticipated).

But, as they say, "I know something you don't know." The next book is going to be one that no one is going to want to miss. We probably won't be able to have the discussion in someone's home, and I'm betting that we are going to have to turn people from other shul's away. This type of book, with a discussion led by either the author or a recognized expert on the subject matter, is really what we had in mind from the beginning.

What book, you ask? I can't say just yet, as we are still finalizing the details. But it should be pretty easy to figure out.

Either way, I'm already laughing.