This afternoon I was sitting on the low stone wall in the MASS MoCA courtyard, beneath the upside-down trees, kicking my heels and waiting for my 2pm appointment to arrive, when a man about my age walked by with an eager dog on a leash.

"That's a beautiful kippah," he said, stopping and smiling. (I was wearing my favorite kippah, the rainbow knit one I got at Elat Chayyim.) "Did you make it?"

"No, sadly," I said. "I wish I had! It was made by Belle Kipa."

We chatted a moment longer, and then he said, "hang on, you might enjoy this." He dashed to his car and brought back a postcard promoting Challahpalooza (a.k.a. the Berkshire Jewish Music Festival, a presentation of Chabad of the Berkshires which will feature the band Klezmerfest, a children's choir called M Generation, and the BIMA Jazz Ensemble.)

And then we shook hands and wished each other well and he headed off, as the bride and groom I'm marrying this weekend arrived and I transitioned into thinking about wedding logistics.

I don't know that I'll attend the festival. Having listened to the children's choir online, I'm just not excited about their music (not to mention the fact that the "M" in the name "M Generation" stands for Moshiach, which is a little corny to me)  and if I were seeking out klezmer I'd head down to Club Helsinki, which is a more energetic and interesting venue.

Still, it was a sweet little encounter. I'm often pleasantly surprised by the reactions I get when I'm wearing a kippah. I'm still not likely to shift my practice to wearing one all the time, but I do like the conversations that arise...

Technorati tags: religion, Judaism, Berkshire.