Jewish Pride Night at New Hampshire Fisher Cats
posted by Minyan Shaleym at
10:44 AM
|
0 comments
Friday, August 10, 2007
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Minyan Shaleym goes Curling
A small but enthusiastic group of Minyan members travelled to Lowell to watch some of the World Curling Championships. We got to see four matches and learn a bit more about Curling rules and regulations. The games were exciting and the US beat Japan to get us off to a good start. The last game ended with even more excitement as the Norwegians had the hammer (last stone) and should have won but with the curling equivalent of an airball they lost to the Swiss. A good time was had by all (except perhaps the Norwegians!).
posted by Minyan Shaleym at
6:41 AM
|
0 comments
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Letter from Rebecca in Strasbourg
As some of you already know, I am living in Strasbourg, France thisyear. For those of you who are curious about Jewish life here, I am sending along my informal observations.
A bit of history
Strasbourg is one of France's largest, oldest, and best-established Jewish communities. Today about 20,000 Jews live in the city. Jews have lived here since the twelfth century, and as part of the Alsace-Lorraine region, they enjoy a unique relationship to the French government that dates back to Napoleon and the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine by the German empire in 1871. Via this « Consistory »system, religious education is made available to Jewish students in public schools and rabbis are paid public employees. During World WarII, the 10,000 Jews of Strasbourg fled to southwest France. Their synagogue was destroyed by Hitler Youth in 1940. After the war, 8,000 returned to rebuild the Jewish community. A new synagogue was inaugurated in 1958.
Unique traditions
Alsatian Jews have many traditions that are unique to their region, aswell as their own dialect, Judeo-Alsatian. One custom is to hang an onion stuck with feathers in the sukkah, to represent the idea of «b'tzel kanfecha » (in the shadow of Your wings) – b'tzel being a playon the Hebrew word for onion, batzal ; and the feathers representing wings. Jews have adapted many of the traditional Alsatian dishes to kashrut, for example creating choucroute (sausages and pickledcabbage) with fish instead of pork, or baking kougelhopf (a brioche baked in a tall round pan, see illustration above) with pareve ingredients. For Judeo-Alsatian recipes (in French, with European measurements !), visit http://judaisme.sdv.fr/cuisine/index.htm. The Jews of Alsace have also made an impact on the lives of their gentile neighbors. For example, there is an Alsatian saying that «during the Jewish holidays, there is no rain » and Alsatian banks print calendars that list Jewish holidays alongside Christian ones. Our Catholic landlord Jacques feels very attached to the Jewish community here and proudly told us how he telephoned his elderly neighbor to offer to help him build his sukkah this fall. Jacques knows to expect Jews washing their dishes in the canals around the city before Passover and considers the sight of a haredi Jew banal. This is quite a contrast to our Jewish friends here who tell us that their best memory of the United States was being able to walk around Manhattan in a kippah without being stared at (here Jewish boys and men wear hats or caps over their kippot on the street and bring briefcases for their tallitot to shul on Shabbat morning).
Orthodox domination
The official Jewish community of Strasbourg does not acknowledge non-Orthodox forms of Judaism. This means that the Union Liberal (theReform minyan) is relatively unknown and inaccessible to the community. Josh and I found the Union Liberal by telephoning the Consistory, which suggested that I visit a particular restaurant in town and speak to its owner. This guy then gave us the phone numberof the Union's president. The group meets one Friday night a month for davenning and a potluck in a suburb well outside the city of Strasbourg. They use the siddurs of the Paris and Basel Reform shuls, but most folks seem unfamiliar with Hebrew and the tunes. The president told us that they recently halved their number of meetings because they were having a hard time making a minyan.One of the highlights of my Jewish year was recognizing a woman from our regular Strasbourg Orthodox minyan at the Union Liberal. When I outed her (unintentionally, by suggesting that I'd met her before at the « Mercaz » minyan), she gave out a yelp of horror. We shared aride back to Strasbourg that night and she gave me a warm wink in shul behind the mechitza the next morning.
La vie à la grande shul
Strasbourg's main synagogue is home to several minyanim. In addition to the highly formal Ashkenazic services in the main sanctuary (complete with men's choir and shamash who wears a special Napoleonic hat while shushing people) there are two smaller minyanim, one Ashkenazic and Sephardic. This is the only part of France where Ashkenazim outnumber Sephardim. One Ashkenazic rabbi told us that the Alsatian Jews were saved by the Sephardim, because when they came at the beginning of the 20th century they brought with them more traditional customs concerning kashrut and shabbat. This has maintained the observance level of the community as a whole.Two signs are of interest to me at the grande shul : one at the entrance to the women's section reminds folks that Jewish law requires married women to cover their hair, especially at shul (though no one but me seems to need reminding and about a third of the women wearwigs) ; another at the exit of the shul encourages visitors : «dispersez-vous rapidement » -- leave the building quickly for security reasons.
Socializing around the table
Strasbourgeois Jews are generous hosts and proudly participate in the mitzvah of hachnasat orchim. A typical shabbat lunch begins with a warm-up course where kiddush is made over schnapps and cake is served. Guests who come for kiddush may then go elsewhere for shabbat lunch, while others may arrive post-kiddush for the meal. Jews here start with hand-washing, followed by kiddush (if someone has missed out on the first round with schnapps) and then motzi – often over two baguette-shaped breads topped with seeds, called « brechtes » in Alsatian. Alsatian women are amazing cooks and serve elaborate multi-course meals without fail. A typical meal opens with an hors d'œuvre of fish baked in pastry dough, followed with some sort of baked brisket dish or chicken. There are many vegetable side dishes before the meal concludes with several desserts (my favorite is «tarte aux quetsches » an open-faced fruit tart made with tiny Alsatian plums) and tea and coffee served from a thermos that's brought to the table. Birkat hamazon has several different melodies here, which Josh and I hope to learn and bring back with us to the States !
La discretion or anti-Semitism ?
People in France are much more private about their religious identities in general, and this is even more true for French Jews. It is hard for me to know if this reflects repect for the taboo of discussing religion in France or if it's due to a fear of discrimination. One day at the vocational high school where I teach,another English teacher approached me and said, « I am going to ask you a personal question. You don't have to answer if you don't want to. » Panicked, I acquiesced. « Are you Jewish ? » she asked. When I told her that I was, she answered « me too » and then scooted offto her next class without another glance. In another instance, an observant woman who teaches at a difficult suburban middle school where the majority of students are Arab told methat she would be « destroyed » if her students found out her religion. This tension with French Muslims may explain French Jews' support for the ban on the wearing of religious symbols (such as headscarves and yarmulkes) in public schools. French Jews seem to prefer the absence of religious symbols in public places over their own freedom (at least as we define that freedom in the U.S.).
I'll leave you with a short prayer in Judeo-Alsatian:Güt woch und güt Johr. Gott Avraham, Jits'hok, un Jakof, behut DeinVolk Jisroel in seinem Lauf. Liewe Shabes kaudech gejt dahin, die wochsoll uns komen zu Massel un Broch und zu allem gewinn. Güt Woch undgüt Johr. [Good week and good year. God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,may you be the protector of your people Israel in its singulardestiny. Dear and holy Shabbat has ended; may this week favor us andbring us blessing and sustenance. Good week and good year.]
To learn more (if you speak French) visit the website of the Jews ofAlsace-Lorraine at http://judaisme.sdv.fr/index2.htm.
Avec mes meilleures salutations,
Rebecca
A bit of history
Strasbourg is one of France's largest, oldest, and best-established Jewish communities. Today about 20,000 Jews live in the city. Jews have lived here since the twelfth century, and as part of the Alsace-Lorraine region, they enjoy a unique relationship to the French government that dates back to Napoleon and the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine by the German empire in 1871. Via this « Consistory »system, religious education is made available to Jewish students in public schools and rabbis are paid public employees. During World WarII, the 10,000 Jews of Strasbourg fled to southwest France. Their synagogue was destroyed by Hitler Youth in 1940. After the war, 8,000 returned to rebuild the Jewish community. A new synagogue was inaugurated in 1958.
Unique traditions
Alsatian Jews have many traditions that are unique to their region, aswell as their own dialect, Judeo-Alsatian. One custom is to hang an onion stuck with feathers in the sukkah, to represent the idea of «b'tzel kanfecha » (in the shadow of Your wings) – b'tzel being a playon the Hebrew word for onion, batzal ; and the feathers representing wings. Jews have adapted many of the traditional Alsatian dishes to kashrut, for example creating choucroute (sausages and pickledcabbage) with fish instead of pork, or baking kougelhopf (a brioche baked in a tall round pan, see illustration above) with pareve ingredients. For Judeo-Alsatian recipes (in French, with European measurements !), visit http://judaisme.sdv.fr/cuisine/index.htm. The Jews of Alsace have also made an impact on the lives of their gentile neighbors. For example, there is an Alsatian saying that «during the Jewish holidays, there is no rain » and Alsatian banks print calendars that list Jewish holidays alongside Christian ones. Our Catholic landlord Jacques feels very attached to the Jewish community here and proudly told us how he telephoned his elderly neighbor to offer to help him build his sukkah this fall. Jacques knows to expect Jews washing their dishes in the canals around the city before Passover and considers the sight of a haredi Jew banal. This is quite a contrast to our Jewish friends here who tell us that their best memory of the United States was being able to walk around Manhattan in a kippah without being stared at (here Jewish boys and men wear hats or caps over their kippot on the street and bring briefcases for their tallitot to shul on Shabbat morning).
Orthodox domination
The official Jewish community of Strasbourg does not acknowledge non-Orthodox forms of Judaism. This means that the Union Liberal (theReform minyan) is relatively unknown and inaccessible to the community. Josh and I found the Union Liberal by telephoning the Consistory, which suggested that I visit a particular restaurant in town and speak to its owner. This guy then gave us the phone numberof the Union's president. The group meets one Friday night a month for davenning and a potluck in a suburb well outside the city of Strasbourg. They use the siddurs of the Paris and Basel Reform shuls, but most folks seem unfamiliar with Hebrew and the tunes. The president told us that they recently halved their number of meetings because they were having a hard time making a minyan.One of the highlights of my Jewish year was recognizing a woman from our regular Strasbourg Orthodox minyan at the Union Liberal. When I outed her (unintentionally, by suggesting that I'd met her before at the « Mercaz » minyan), she gave out a yelp of horror. We shared aride back to Strasbourg that night and she gave me a warm wink in shul behind the mechitza the next morning.
La vie à la grande shul
Strasbourg's main synagogue is home to several minyanim. In addition to the highly formal Ashkenazic services in the main sanctuary (complete with men's choir and shamash who wears a special Napoleonic hat while shushing people) there are two smaller minyanim, one Ashkenazic and Sephardic. This is the only part of France where Ashkenazim outnumber Sephardim. One Ashkenazic rabbi told us that the Alsatian Jews were saved by the Sephardim, because when they came at the beginning of the 20th century they brought with them more traditional customs concerning kashrut and shabbat. This has maintained the observance level of the community as a whole.Two signs are of interest to me at the grande shul : one at the entrance to the women's section reminds folks that Jewish law requires married women to cover their hair, especially at shul (though no one but me seems to need reminding and about a third of the women wearwigs) ; another at the exit of the shul encourages visitors : «dispersez-vous rapidement » -- leave the building quickly for security reasons.
Socializing around the table
Strasbourgeois Jews are generous hosts and proudly participate in the mitzvah of hachnasat orchim. A typical shabbat lunch begins with a warm-up course where kiddush is made over schnapps and cake is served. Guests who come for kiddush may then go elsewhere for shabbat lunch, while others may arrive post-kiddush for the meal. Jews here start with hand-washing, followed by kiddush (if someone has missed out on the first round with schnapps) and then motzi – often over two baguette-shaped breads topped with seeds, called « brechtes » in Alsatian. Alsatian women are amazing cooks and serve elaborate multi-course meals without fail. A typical meal opens with an hors d'œuvre of fish baked in pastry dough, followed with some sort of baked brisket dish or chicken. There are many vegetable side dishes before the meal concludes with several desserts (my favorite is «tarte aux quetsches » an open-faced fruit tart made with tiny Alsatian plums) and tea and coffee served from a thermos that's brought to the table. Birkat hamazon has several different melodies here, which Josh and I hope to learn and bring back with us to the States !
La discretion or anti-Semitism ?
People in France are much more private about their religious identities in general, and this is even more true for French Jews. It is hard for me to know if this reflects repect for the taboo of discussing religion in France or if it's due to a fear of discrimination. One day at the vocational high school where I teach,another English teacher approached me and said, « I am going to ask you a personal question. You don't have to answer if you don't want to. » Panicked, I acquiesced. « Are you Jewish ? » she asked. When I told her that I was, she answered « me too » and then scooted offto her next class without another glance. In another instance, an observant woman who teaches at a difficult suburban middle school where the majority of students are Arab told methat she would be « destroyed » if her students found out her religion. This tension with French Muslims may explain French Jews' support for the ban on the wearing of religious symbols (such as headscarves and yarmulkes) in public schools. French Jews seem to prefer the absence of religious symbols in public places over their own freedom (at least as we define that freedom in the U.S.).
I'll leave you with a short prayer in Judeo-Alsatian:Güt woch und güt Johr. Gott Avraham, Jits'hok, un Jakof, behut DeinVolk Jisroel in seinem Lauf. Liewe Shabes kaudech gejt dahin, die wochsoll uns komen zu Massel un Broch und zu allem gewinn. Güt Woch undgüt Johr. [Good week and good year. God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,may you be the protector of your people Israel in its singulardestiny. Dear and holy Shabbat has ended; may this week favor us andbring us blessing and sustenance. Good week and good year.]
To learn more (if you speak French) visit the website of the Jews ofAlsace-Lorraine at http://judaisme.sdv.fr/index2.htm.
Avec mes meilleures salutations,
Rebecca
posted by Minyan Shaleym at
5:16 PM
|
2 comments
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Minyan Shaleym First Annual BBQ
Our First Annual Minyan BBQ was last Sunday and was tons of fun. Thanks to Alan, Rebecca, and Sarah for organizing and coordinating the BBQ. We had a good turn out and unbeatable weather. Thanks to everyone who came and helped make it a big success. I have posted many pictures below but I know some of you took pictures and I'd love to post those as well. Please email them to minyanshaleym at gmail.
Thanks and Enjoy!
Jessica
Thanks and Enjoy!
Jessica
posted by Minyan Shaleym at
7:21 PM
|
0 comments
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Welcome to the Minyan Shaleym Blog
Hi Everyone,
Welcome to the Minyan Shaleym Blog. I will be keeping up the blog and posting pictures of Minyan events. If you have pictures from recent events, please email them to me so I can post them here. Comments and suggestions are most welcome.
Sincerely,
Jessica Tytell
Secretary
Welcome to the Minyan Shaleym Blog. I will be keeping up the blog and posting pictures of Minyan events. If you have pictures from recent events, please email them to me so I can post them here. Comments and suggestions are most welcome.
Sincerely,
Jessica Tytell
Secretary
posted by Minyan Shaleym at
4:04 PM
|
0 comments
