Wow, Rosh Hashanah was really an incredible experience. Spending the high holidays in Jerusalem is very unique, and is one of the reasons I chose to start my year here in Jeru.
My good friend Aaron Karas (who I have known since we were in dippers) spent the Rosh Hashanah with me. On the first night I went to dinner with my cousins. The food was great, and they had at least four fish heads on the table. They were all Israeli, and tried to convince me to make Aliyah. We shall see.
Thursday was a day of exploration. Aaron, Joe Step, and I, decided that the best way to truly experience Jerusalem during Rosh Hashanah was to see as many synagogues as possible. Thus we went Shul hopping. In total, we went to nine shuls and one church. Here are a few of the shuls we went to, and what we thought of them. I will be using the Jewish American Princess (JAP) synagogue standard judging scale. 1 is J.A.P. Temple Emanuel status, and 5 is Mea Shariim watch out!
Shir Chadasha: This shul off Emek Refaim was the first stop on our Shulka Hop. It has a reputation for having loud enthusiastic singing. Congregates are so obsessed with themselves that they recorded their very own album. The beema is placed in between the men and women’s section, which is very unique, progressive, and controversial. Despite it’s reputation, it was not a fun place to be for Rosh Hashana. It was very American and there were no seats. “I feel I’m at Temple Emanuel” said Joe Step.
Grade: 1.2-Modertly to Extremely JAPy and American
Sphardik Shul: We left Shir Chadasha and were walking down Emek Refaim, when we heard a powerful Shofar being sounded above. We soon realized that it was coming from a shul above a shop. We walked up a flight of stairs and entered a beautiful Sphardik Shul, which means the members were all from the Middle East. They blew the shofar during the middle of the Amidah (a very important silent prayer), which I had never seen before. Every few minutes the sound of the Shofar would cut through the solemn silence, bringing everyone back to reality. There was also a congregate who had Down syndrome, who at one point was called up to the bima to chant a prayer with the canter.
Grade: 3-A genuine local Shul.
The Great Synagogue: Walking up to the Great Synagogue, we were greeted by a man dressed in an all black suit, dark sunglasses, and a massive machine gun. To be honest we weren’t exactly sure if this Matrix looking security guard was going shoot us, karate chop us, frisk us, or just ask to put cell phones on silent. As we walked passed, the man nodded, and in a thick Israeli accent wished us a kind hearted “Shannah Tovah”. The Great synaguagoes slogan is “one people one synagogue. It seats 850 men and 505 women. It is massive. The cantor wore a funny hat that looked like it could be worn by a hot dog vendor. He was surrounded by a chorus of old men, who would randomly chime in with dramatic bravado harmonies. It was nice to sit back, and enjoy this show like service.
Grade: 2-Cool Shul with some Temple Emenual aspects.
Mea Shearim: A block away from Crack Square (one of the grossest bar scenes in Israel) is the ultra orthodox neighborhood known as Mea Shearim. The residents of Mea Sharim take everything in the Torah very literally, and prefer to isolate themselves from the secular world. At the entrance to the Mea Shearim neighborhood, a large sign warns visitors to dress modestly. Women who are not dressed modestly have been yelled at, and even had rotten vegetables thrown at them. This however, did not deter three secular boys wearing colorful button down shirts from exploring.
The neighborhood itself was rather grimy, and the streets were right out of a Polish shtettle. I have never been stared at so much in my life. We made our way to the heart of the residential area, where we spotted a baby with a Strimel on, which is a large tradition wool hat. At the entrance to the strictly residential area, there was another sign. It stated again the rules of the neighborhood, and also added that this specific area was “not for tourists or groups.” Being that we are on Year Course and are not tourists, we went in. Inside the residential area there were signs that that read, “Jews are not Zionists”, and "Free Gaza”. There were also more Chasidim, who continued to glare at us. After growing tired of feeling like aliens on a foreign planet, we left.
Grade: 5.7 Mea Shariim watch out!
Aaron and I finished our Rosh Hashanah by playing a lot of basketball against Israelis, and eating dinners random kind host families. Overall, my Rosh Hashanah experience open my eyes to the wide variety of Jews living in Israel, and how they each observe the holiday. Out of the countries I’ve visited in my life, Israel is the most culturally diverse place I have ever seen.
Respek the dress code!
Cantor for the great Synagogue.......or the hot dog man?
Just took this quick candid of Obama doing his thing at the Kotel the other day.
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