I am reminded of this song by Safam, in which they sing, "The Only Ashkenazi in Kiryat Sh'mona." And so it seems in Teverya.
When Ester and I lived in Nachlaot years ago, we were surrounded by a bunch of little Sephardic shuls. At times it seemed that they were competing for the "local business" just to get a minyan in their individual shuls. The Gabbai from one of the smaller minyanim would actually come to the gate of our courtyard, tap his cane and beckon me, by name, to come and join them for their Vatikin Minyan!
There was a certain convenience to having several options so close by – even if they were Sephardic. Of course, there were also numerous Ashkenazi Minyanim within just a few minutes in every direction as well.
Not the case in Teverya. We knew coming in that Teverya was a "Sephardic Area". But I didn't realize that it is really impossible to find an Ashkenazi Minyan here. Now I get excited if I can just find an Ashkenazi Siddur.
A few times, I've gotten some leads on where to find an Ashkenazi Minyan here in Teverya. However, each quest had led me to the increasingly familiar Sephardic Tefillah.
By the way – there are some things that I love about davening with a Sephardic Minyan. First, there is very little that is said quietly. The Tzibur often says all of the words out loud, all together. (That does explain why Pesukei D'zimra took one hour today). It's really a great thing for the children to truly learn the words of the Tefillot (and not just the last line). Second, there's always food being served. Third, I like how the Kohanim make their way around the shul to shake hands with everyone after Birkat HaKohanim (and how they kiss their hand afterwards).
Still – I miss saying, "Brich Hu."
And so we begin to build an Ashkenazi Minyan. The plan is to start with a Friday Night Minyan – Carlebach Style. The date for the first minyan – to be held at our home in Mordot Teverya – is set for November 5 (Shabbat Parashat Toldot).
No comments:
Post a Comment