Shabbat

We arrived in Vilnius last Friday afternoon and made a modest Shabbat for just the two of us. Now, after a full week, we had a chance to expand our Shabbat experience - and we've had a really terrific time!

On Friday afternoon, Jessica went on a group tour of the Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum, which highlights Jewish life in Vilnius before World War II and during the Holocaust. I toured this museum on Tuesday in English; Jessica's tour was given by an 88-year-old former partisan named Fania Brantsovskaya. Her tour was incredibly moving as Fania shared personal stories about individuals depicted in photographs documenting the atrocities of the Shoah. The first picture one sees when walking into the museum is a large family portrait - Fania shared that only she and her cousin survived the war. Now, Fania passes her story on to new generations of students and rememberers.

Fortunately, we were able to lighten the mood after this heavy experience. Jessica and I collaborated on making a delicious Shabbat dinner (perfect challahs, caprese salad, spinach salad, bean pie, and watermelon for dessert), to which we invited our two friends from New York, Julie and Bengy. The four of us then proceeded to the Shabbes tisch (table), where members of our program gathered to share snacks and sing Yiddish songs in celebration of Shabbat. Two groups of students and teachers led the singing, almost entirely in Yiddish, and though not everyone understood what was going on, everyone seemed to love being with one another outside the classroom with nothing but good company and warm food to occupy us.

Today (Saturday), Jessica and I went to the Choral Synagogue. Built in 1903, this is the only one (out of more than 100) synagogues in Vilnius still standing, having survived both WWII and Soviet governorship. The community is, as it has always been, orthodox in its inclination, so Jessica and I were not able to sit together during services (as was expected). Though separated, we were warmly welcomed by those around us, and the beautiful singing of the service leaders conducted us through a service that is familiar to me even across boundaries of distance and ideology.

Congregants spoke to one another primarily in Yiddish, and when one congregant asked me Bistu Kohen, Levi... I knew to answer Yisroel. I was invited to give the fourth Torah blessing, which I tried my best to deliver with the Ashkenazic pronunciation of Hebrew that is customary in this conversation. The other men at the Torah scroll were warm and supportive, and I felt more comfortable than ever before in an orthodox congregation.

Unfortunately, my comfort and the comfort of those around me was disrupted by an apparently ultra-orthodox man who (it seems to us) makes a point of attending this synagogue even though it's not "his" community. After the sermon, which was delivered in Yiddish, this black-suited, long-bearded man ascended the bima and was immediately met with angry shouts to sit back down. The man ignored them and at the top of his voice, welcomed the visitors in the congregation to Vilnius (the only part of what he said that I understood as he was saying it). He then proceeded (as Jessica translated for me later) to berate the community for its poor observance.

His tirade became more and more emphatic, and at one point, a member of the congregation started arguing with him. After a couple minutes, most of the men walked out of the sanctuary; not long after, this man took his leave from the bima (though he remained in the sanctuary, continuing as he had the whole service to speak to people rudely using his "outside voice"). It was a real shame that he brought his bitterness and judgment to this community on Shabbat. Though he lamented the poor observance being displayed before visitors, truly he was the one being unwelcoming to foreigners.

The community soon recovered from its shock and anger, concluding the service as normal. Congregants bid one another a gut Shabbes and departed, turning off lights and closing down the windows as they left. (This, of course, caused the vociferous interloper to loudly declaim the congregants' poor observance on his way out of the synagogue.) Jessica and I said our good-byes and came home to enjoy once again last night's dinner food.

In the afternoon, Jessica and I visited two Vilnius sites. First, we traveled to Gediminas' Tower, whose history stretches back to the beginning of the fifteenth century. From the top of this old fortress, we had a great 360° view of Vilnius; we could see the huge cathedrals and small houses, the centuries-old Old City and the stark buildings from the Communist Era, the busy skyscrapers and the peaceful forest. It was amazing to have such a perspective on where we live, reminding us of how little we've seen in the week that we've been here.

We left the castle and walked through the business district of the city, replete with tall hotels, taller banks, a shopping mall and a casino! We visited the National Gallery of Art, which contained twelve large rooms full of an array of works created by Lithuanian artists over the past hundred years or so. Highlighted currently were several exhibits of artwork involving women, accompanied by explanatory signs that interpreted the use of women in ancient art, Soviet propaganda, and modern media. The art was really terrific, and there was so much that we couldn't see it all before becoming too exhausted to stay.

On our way home, we passed a small area near the river that seems to be a mini-fair. There were bumper cars and bumper boats, a huge bouncy-castle, several beach volleyball courts, and a skateboarding/biking plaza. Even better (for us), we stumbled upon Mano Guru, a salad restaurant with 1/3 of its meals vegetarian friendly! I enjoyed a tall glass of "cowberry"-pear juice, while Jessica drank some interesting hot tea, and we dined on delicious salads before topping off the meal with a piece of chocolate cake with cherries and vanilla ice cream (all for the equivalent of $15). What a find!

Tomorrow, we have a field trip with the program that will take us into the heart of Holocaust remembrance. We anticipate that the day will be very hard, though we're going to try to relate what we experience here on the blog. For now, though, we're still appreciating the beauty of our Shabbat, and we're looking forward to another expanding and engaging week of courses!