Sunday at the Square: Uh, Friday at the Square
Last Friday found me in an unlikely place for a big city Episcopal girl: It was sundown, on the Jewish sabbath and I was in Valdosta, Georgia in the Temple Israel synagogue. I was there to meet Rabbi Moshe Elbaz, the second panelist I’ve met for our July program A Rabbi, A Priest, A Pastor & An Imam. (Read about Pastor Julian, the first panelist I met, here.)
The cadence of the ceremony was different, but it too had its own lilting beat. The faces largely a different color than at Bethel AME, the welcome just as warm. But I felt the reach of history as deeply, as ancient ancestors echoed through the traditions of their liturgy. I could also feel the reach of Israel firmly into the heart of those assembled. The Rabbi’s son was planning a trip to Israel, readying his passport, describing the land of his forefathers in “milk and honey” terms.
In Valdosta it’s much easier to feel the minority status of Judaism than it is in the big northeastern city I come from. This is the only synagogue in southern Georgia. If you are Jewish in Valdosta, you have to work at it. Rabbi Elbaz says they swing the doors of Temple Israel open for a special event during the year, an event attended by far more people that there are Jews in Valdosta. This little Temple, filled with those who practice a faith unlike the majority, apparently is simply and thoroughly a part of this traditional southern town.
Shabbat Shalom.
Add comment June 21st, 2009
