I'm not aiming in this blog to complain about the shuls I pray and say kaddish at. While I'm not happy about everything, they are in general good places to daven and have excellent rabbis.
I do have one complaint about which I spoke to the Rabbi a few days back: the physical condition of the shul. It's messy. There are books and other random objects lying around. The ark should be moved slightly to create more space between it and the Amud (prayer stand). No one seems to pay attention to the physical space. The mess doesn't prevent us from praying. But it's bothering me. (An observation: the shul would not look like this if women ran it.)
Why does this matter to me? Well, I'm my mother's child. My mother kept an immaculate home. Her office, which she personally designed, was a work of beauty. Every object had its rightful place, a place chosen after due consideration to aesthetics and function. The cleanliness and order of her home owed not to an obsessive cleaning compulsion, but grew out of her philosophy of living: every detail of life is important, don't leave things to chance, create an outer reality that mirrors your inner values, seek to create beauty in the world around you.
Needless to say, the physical space of shuls don't usually live up to these standards. But I will try to improve the appearance of the shul, both for my needs as well as in my mother's honor.
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