Shabbat in Jerusalem

On Shabbat morning, December 10, 2011, Leslie and I woke at 6:30 for an early breakfast with sisters Myra and Maxine from Brooklyn.  The breakfast was lavish even on Shabbat, though some features were missing, such as custom-made omelets.  We walked together to the Italian synagogue near Ben Yehuda Street at 9.  We sat in the women's balcony built directly over the bima so that we had a constant view of the lectern, the Torah, all the prayer leaders, and all the honorees.  There were windows in front of the balcony that could be pushed out at the bottom to afford an unobstructed view of the ark, one end of the sanctuary, and the bimah which was in the center of the room.

Several young boys had the job of undressing and dressing the Torah.  Instead of a simple band or tie around the torah, there was a thick cumberbund-like belt that was wrapped many times around and around the torah scroll, with an ornate cover over that.  Many young children ran in and out of the sanctuary and the women's balcony.  Places began to fill close to 10 or 10:30. We were able to follow the prayers and the reading of the Torah and Haftarah easily with our English siddurim and with the Italian translations in the chumashim.

The sanctuary was ornate and colorful. The men and boys interacted and walked around, moving to face the ark during certain prayers. On two occasions during the priestly blessings, fathers wrapped their sons in their tallitot, placed their hands on top of the boys' heads, and blessed them in an intimate and physically affectionate way.   The priestly blessing was chanted slowly, one word at a time, with an ornate musical motif.

I loved the service, found it accessible.  I enjoyed the pace of the davening and the readers.  Each honoree received an elaborate misheberach which seemed to be just for them.  I found that the time passed quickly.  Even though we were not invited to enter the sanctuary, I felt very much part of the service, viewing it through the windows provided.  When shut, the windows had carved out lattice patterns. There were sticks hinging out from the bottom of the windows that allowed the windows to be propped open at about a 30 degree angle, so we had full visibility of the bimah in the center of the room, the ark, and the benches for the men on each side. Several men looked up toward the women's balcony frequently and I saw some meaningful glances exchanged between one of the men and the woman sitting next to me.  Rabbi Weiner mentioned that these glances to and from the women’s balcony serve as a kind of dating service for the young people of the congregation.

After services we had a lavish Shabbat lunch at the hotel:  20 salads and vegetable dishes, 10 meat dishes, 20 desserts. I limited my eating, filling my plate only once with salads and fish.  I must admit that I tasted samples of six different desserts.  Even with the limitation, I ate too much.  

Several members of the group met Ronny at 3 for a Shabbat walk in the neighborhood. We walked through the Rehavia neighborhood where the prime minister and the president live, and the Yemin Moshe neighborhood, the first created outside the Old City walls by Moses Montefiore, the stockbroker for the Rothschild family. That's where the windmill is located which was supposed to be used to make bread, but it was never functional.  When we visited the King David Hotel, I was impressed with the luxury and elegance and fascinated with the signatures of celebrity guests engraved in the floor.

Leslie and I both skipped dinner and packed for our trip the next day to Jordan, leaving at daybreak. Leslie stayed in the room to rest her feet, and I walked to Ben Yehuda Street with the Currans and the Models for a cup of coffee while they ate supper at The Bleeker Street café.  This was the café we started our stay in Jerusalem five days earlier.   After dinner, we did some post-Shabbat shopping.  I was thrilled to find a beautiful pewter hanukkiah for Louis with a design of buildings from the Old City.  When I was enjoying my tour and learning about the Old City, I thought often of Louis.  I feel sure that he will visit Jerusalem within the next few years.