07/17/2019 02:51:32 PM
Installment #10
On April 27, my last Shabbat in Israel, I got up somewhat early to attend services at the Great Synagogue of Tel Aviv. (As I said last Saturday, if learning about this grand edifice, down on its luck, doesn't interest you, then you can skip the next five paragraphs.)
THE VENUE: This synagogue was completed in 1926, & renovated in 1970, so it is within sight of its 100th anniversary. But it has fallen on hard times. Many Orthodox Jews have left this neighborhood, and though the Sanctuary, with a large balcony, seats about 1,000, I would guess that we had about 30 this morning. It has a large dome, and stained glass windows depicting synagogues destroyed during the Holocaust. The walls of the Sanctuary badly needed a paint job, and about a quarter of the bulbs in the chandeliers needed replacement. Surprisingly, the quotation above the ark is the rather warlike
קומה אדוני ויפוצו איביך, וינוסו משנאיך מפניך
Arise, Lord, and scatter Your enemies, and may those who hate You flee before You.
THE SERVICE: Services started at 8:30 and went till 10:30 am. I arrived at about 8:45. I had not packed a jacket or tie for this trip, so in the Jerusalem Great Synagogue, where most of the men WERE wearing jackets & ties, I felt a bit underdressed. Not here. I saw only one man wearing a jacket, and he wore it as part of his Hassidic garb, not as a fashion statement. Most of the other men, like me, were wearing button-down shirts, open at the collar.. There were even a few young men wearing T-shirts!
There was no Choir, and no professional HAZZAN. (Hence the brevity, compared with her sister congregation in Jerusalem) The Shacharit was DAVENED by a young man (from Chicago, as he later told me). He had a lovely voice, and led the service in a straightforward, unembellished style.
In the Torah Service, the Kohein who had the first Aliyah also CHANTED his Torah portion. Likewise, the Levi who had Aliyah #2. I was thinking that if all those with ALIYOT do their own Torah chanting, that is a remarkable custom when I was suddenly tapped on the shoulder. Would I like the 3rd ALIYAH? My first thought was, WOW! A guest whom they've never seen before, and they're offering me an ALIYAH! How welcoming! Then I thought, but am I expected to chant the Torah portion as well as the blessing? I timidly asked, and was reassured, "Oh that's just the Yemenite custom. Just the blessings will be fine." So at the appropriate moment, I went up to the Bimah & recited my before-and-after blessings. Then, the GABBAI recited the Mi Shebeyrach, wishing me & my family health, happiness & long life. The text he used incorporated a phrase about making a contribution to the shul, & as he chanted, he handed me a self-addressed envelope for that very purpose....to be used AFTER Shabbat, of course!
There was no sermon. During the Mussaf Service, the young man who had led Shacharit was in the back of the Sanctuary setting up the Kiddush, a modest affair, with plastic shot glasses of wine, some matza (Since yesterday was the last day of the Chag, Orthodox Jews here won't taste their first bread till tonight.), some macaroons & some cheese. And whom should I run into at the Kiddush table but another one of the volunteers with whom I had served for three weeks, whose husband had been one of my roommates! Small world!
So in the afternoon, I went for another walk. I discovered a fascinating store. You can see the likeness of JFK, Joan Crawford, a famous painting by Van Gogh, all on....SOCKS! It was a socks store. You can probably get your bubbe or zeyde's picture on a pair, if you want! Then I passed a real estate agency, with signs in the window of apartments for sale, for between 2.8-6.8 million shekels ($773,290-$1.9 million). Any takers? If so, keep buying those lottery tickets!
The restaurant where Linda & I had dinner was built around a tree. Undeterred, the owners used it for various electrical fixtures. Israeli ingenuity!
Lastly, here is a photograph of the garden in front of Kikar HaTarbut, Culture Square.
