Oddly,
the beautiful synagogue with elaborate Sephardic artwork and woodwork,
stood cold and dark, empty but for the side chapel where three men and
just as many women, many not even Jewish, sat rushing through the
Kabbalat Shabbat service. I left quickly, eager to join in the magic of
what would soon follow. The Bulgarian synagogue remained a museum,
frozen in the chasm that segregates the community and closes their
hearts.
Between
translations, I lead the congregation in worship. We follow the outline
of the service, only bare bones for these people who have not stepped
foot in a synagogue for maybe sixty years. We are the Judaism they
haven't experienced or don't know how to identity with.
When
V'shamru comes up in the service, dad and I belt out an off-key version
of the traditional. Yet, the congregation sits silent. An older
gentleman speaks up, saying now they will do the Bulgarian traditional
prayer. A singer in the congregation begins and immediately everyone
chimes in. Dad and I sit there awestruck. This congregation not only
knows the liturgy, they can sing it! Were we to give them an opportunity
to open their hearts and sing, who knows what would come from their
beautiful voices!
As
the service comes to a close, dad suggests that individuals mention the
name of a family member of friend who they are remembering. Every
person minus the children in the room said a name. Each name was a
family member, a friend. As my father's hand and eyes passed around the
room, each person first met his eyes, then mine, demonstrating their
desire to connect. Yet each name had not been said, had not been
remembered with Kaddish for many years, if not ever. It brought tears to
my eyes, making me recognize the importance of community, of helping
people open their hearts and their minds. And, coming to the words of
Kaddish, the rest of he congregation stood with us and recited what they
knew from memory. The words washed over us and seemed to lift up the
congregation, buoying us into the conclusion of the service. This was
truly beauty at its finest.
