High holidays away from home, Part 2

Yom Kippur was this past Friday night and Saturday. THIS time, we were armed with a map, and our driver found it, no problems. (Driving on Yom Kippur is a big no-no…but what to do when there is only one synagogue, 30 minutes away by car?)

The service was very different from what we are familiar with…what was read, and the melodies that were used. There were many Israelis present; generally expats that work at the Israeli embassy but there also seem to be a number of Israeli entrepreneurs here. Many of the Israelis, as facile Hebrew readers, were called to lead parts of the service. Amnon was called up for one of the blessings during the Torah reading, and he chanted the beautiful Iraqi melody with his beautiful voice. He was then tagged to read a large portion of the service, which he did (mercifully) in rapid fire Hebrew.

I think the service was pretty torturous for Jesse and Adam. They have rarely gone to synagogue outside of our own wonderful congregation in White Plains (Bet Am Shalom). The whole spiritual experience is bound together – you are with people you know and love, the service is familiar and predictable, and you are able to reflect on your soul and whatever else you typically do at high holy day services. I remember my first service away from the “familiar” when I did my junior year abroad in Israel. It was a grand epiphany for me….There was no spiritual power in it at all. Which was upsetting at the time: If you are truly communing with G-d, then the location shouldn’t have that much effect. Yet it does. For Jesse and Adam, a big part of the holiday experience is also being with their friends from early childhood; and hanging out outside of the service. That was not an option here; indeed, they couldn’t even leave early, since Amnon was one of the key service leaders. Well, suffering is what you are supposed to do on Yom Kippur…