A Special Event

Last Wednesday morning (yes, I know, I'm running a bit late with recording this), David and I were looking to fill in time before we met Cookie, who was due to arrive from Copenhagen around the middle of the day, so David suggested we go in search of a couple of the old synagogues in Paris to see what they were like. 

In 2009 we visited the synagogue in Siena, Italy and found it very interesting.  It had been built at the end of the 18th century and we had a chat with a lovely woman there who showed us through, telling us that they were proud to have added a new member to their congregation following the recent birth of a baby to a young couple who lived in Siena.  She advised that this brought the total number of Jews in Siena to 22.  The synagogue was in some disrepair and quite modest in appearance. 

On Wednesday we sought out two synagogues here in Paris, one on Rue Pavee which had been consecrated in 1913 and the other on Rue Notre Dame de Nazareth, consecrated in 1852.  The former was very run-down, sadly, but we spoke to a gentleman there and were made welcome.  Due to lack of language skills, we weren't able to discover anything about the Jewish community, but it was nice to see the inside of the building.  The latter, older, synagogue was actually more ornately decorated and seemed to be in better condition than the former. 

Afterwards we walked around the local area and noticed there were a few Jewish cafes and shops and other evidence of Jewish life.  We had a little morning tea at the Korcarz deli on Rue de Rosiers and can highly recommend the poppyseed strudel next time you're in Paris!

Today is Yom Kippur, the highest holy day in the Jewish calendar.  For Jews all over the world it is a day of fasting and deep self-contemplation, a day when we ask for forgiveness for any wrongdoing over the past year and ask G-d to look after us in the year ahead.  Cookie and I wanted to observe this day despite being away from home, where one would normally attend the local synagogue and say appropriate prayers, including one called Yizkor for departed loved ones (parents, specifically).  My cousin Linda in New York had told me that she once spent a Yom Kippur in Paris and had gone to Notre Dame and said Yizkor there.  After seeing inside Notre Dame earlier this week, the idea of doing this struck me with such strong emotion that I decided it was the perfect location for Cookie and me.  I don't know a lot of Jewish prayers off by heart so I did a bit of research last night and prepared something for us to recite.  Now I have no idea whether it was the "right" thing for us to do, but it was certainly right for us.  Although the prayer I put together was not exactly what would have been said in a synagogue, I didn't think that really mattered. 

This morning, my darling girl and I sat in the very back row of the Notre Dame, huddled together, and whispered first the Kaddish (prayer for the dead), then Yizkor in Hebrew and English then (my favourite) the 23rd Psalm ("The L-rd is my shepherd...").  We were both quite teary and I am absolutely certain we will remember the event for the rest of our lives.

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