Travel log:
The 17 men around the bema said the Amidah facing West at the Kenneseth Eliyahoo Synagoge in the Colaba section of South Mumbai.
It was the first time I said the prayer facing any other direction but East, in order to face the Western Wall of the former Temple in Jerusalem.
The service, in the 125-year-old orthodox synagogue, was attended by about 17 men and six women, mostly of local Marathi-speaking Mumbaikars. Some Ashkenazi Chabadnicks filled the pews to ensure the congregation had a 10-man minyan for the service which was conducted in a traditional Sephardic Hebrew with an English sermon.
Both inside and outside, the shul is coated in a soft, but distinct baby blue paint in an otherwise polluted city. The bema stands in the middle of the sanctuary, below gold painted chandeliers. The ark is in the traditional place at the front of the room, below the array of colors which are barely contained within a two-story stainglass window.
Corinthian columns support the balcony and separate two rows of pews, one close to the center and one along the wall. The pews in the farther row, along the wall, sat below the open windows which provided a modest, but necessary breeze.
Outside armed police guards stand on the streets of a bustling and predominantly Muslim neighborhood.
Tourists may enter at any time with a valid passport and Rs. 100 for photography priviledges.
To enter for services I was asked by a non-English speaking employee: "Jew?" and "Passport?" Another non-English speaker attempted to ask me: "Come where?" I guessed and said: "New York." With those solid credentials I was welcomed in and showed to a seat.
So let me get this straight. "New York" = "welcome" ... boy do they have that wrong.
ReplyDeleteNew York = Up Yours