Shabbat, Krakow

We really needed Shabbat after the experience of Thursday. I suppose this amount of stored energy contributed to its magic. We spent Friday night and Saturday morning services in the Tempel Sinagoga, the progressive synagogue of Krakow. Thes walls had probably not heard music like this since 1939. The synagogue was rebuilt after the war, and is mostly of Moorish design inside, with hints of Art Deco and neo-Baroque, the walls painted and carved with rich lapis, deep reds and gold leaf, chandeliers hanging from above, a neat balcony above. Friday night was a service in the style of Lewandowski, with all the cantors providing the choir and about 7 or 8 cantors leading the service in turns. It was so much fun for us to fill the space with sound, to be the m'shor'rim (providing humming of chords for the cantor) giving support to the hazzan. Our services were part of the Jewish Music Festival, and so the synagogue was packed wall-to-wall, sans air conditioning, with us and a large Polish audience at both serivces. The davening on Shabbat morning was equally glorious, and it was amazing to hear hazzanic improvisation at its best from my colleagues.
Ah, but the thorn...the chief Rabbi of Poland decided to exert his power over the situation (remember that this particular synagogue is progressive) and asked us to separate men and women--this was after everyone was seated in mixed company and we were already feeling like sardines. So we played musical chairs right before the Friday night service began. And of course, no women were allowed to lead services. More than a few of us were all but pleased at this situation. Minhag hamakom (the custom of the place) aside, we were not told in advance what to expect, and how exactly does this represent the Conservative movement?? I don't have a problem attending an Orthodox service, but for my colleagues to agree to this, as representatives of the movement, poses a very serious problem, in my opinion. Upon which I will not elaborate here, but you get the picture.

The afternoon was filled with various lectures and programming. Hazzan Jack Mendelson did a session on improvisation (his Kiddush on Friday and Shacharit on Saturday were out of this world), Hazzan Arianne Brown did a yiddish theatre program, conductor Nick Strimple talked on the Holocaust and the creative impulse, and finally Dr. Steven Berk, who has been the incredible guest lecturer, spoke on the birth, death and re-birth of Polish Jewry. He is the an absolutely mesmerizing speaker. I have no idea how that much knowledge can fit into the head of one person.

In the evening, we led Havdalah for the Festival, and the main square of the old Jewish Quarter was wall-to-wall people all afternoon and evening to hear various bands and finish up Shabbat. I think the music went well past 1am. I felt as I left the square at about 10pm that I was in a time machine. I walked away, alone in this packed crowd, from mostly Poles drinking beer and listening to klezmer-fusion bands, and suddenly came upon a few open ground floor windows where men in streimels and peyes were beginning to daven maariv, singing nigunim and gaining momentum. I felt like a naughty six-year old, hiding by the side of the window to listen so that no one would see me--ah, the evening service led properly in the Ahava Rabba mode--but more importantly, I might have been in 18th century Poland. To witness this firsthand after nearly all of Poland's rich Jewish culture had been essentially extinguished 50 years ago...and then from across the street, yet another minyan of men singing Carlebach songs...the streets teeming with people moving toward and from the main square, beer in hand. It was truly a moment!