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"Congratulations," I said, not knowing exactly how to
respond. Rabbi Blatt finished sorting his mail and turned his attention
towards me. He hunched forward slightly, clasping his hands in front of
him. His smile turned gradually into a look of gentle concern.

"Pat;' he said, in a voice that was rough with age but in no way
abrasive, "what can I help you with?"

"I really don't know, Father-" I began, only to be gently inter-
rupted when Rabbi Blatt put up a single hand as if to indicate that he
was about to make a point.

''Ah-you're welcome to call me David, Pat. 'Father' isn't
exactly a title that's used within the community."

"Sorry, 1was raised Catholic-" 1hesitated for a second,
before correcting myself. "-David."

Rabbi Blatt nodded appreciatively.
"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure why I'm here, but 1
skipped work today and ended up coming here."

"Hrnm," he uttered contemplatively. "Dull job?"
I nodded, "1 work at an IT call center."

Rabbi Blatt smiled and nodded, knowingly. "So, what brought
you here on the day you chose to skip your job?"

"Well, again, I'm not really so sure. Curiosity, maybe."
"Have you been to any of our services before?"

''Actually, yes. I was here last Saturday. I was raised Catholic,
you see, but-"

"-It didn't really stick with you, did it?"

I nodded, then continued. "So last Saturday, more Out of
curiosity than anything else, 1came here for the services."

''And?"

'''Well, to be honest I spent a lot of the time reading Popular
Mechanics, but I thought the chanting was beautiful and everyone
around me seemed pretty happy."

"So, are you interested in converting?"

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