This Shabbat was Molly and Bess’s last opportunity to experience a different synagogue in Israel, so Molly decided to visit Kehilat Tzur Hadassah. Tzur Hadassah is a Reform synagogue and they recently became a “twin congregation” with Molly’s home congregation, Temple B’nai Torah. Here is Molly’s Top 5 of the evening:

1. Meeting Rabbi Ofer Sabath-Beit Halachmi! He is genuinely one of the friendliest/happiest rabbis I have ever met. 

2. After a year in Israel, I am still amazed by how active the participation is in services.

3. Dinner at Alen and Gail’s house with their two children and the entire Sabath-Beit Halachmi family (one of whom happens to be Dave’s liturgy teacher). We were served dinner by someone who just happened to have been trained as a professional chef. 

4. Making a face-to-face connection with some wonderful people that will hopefully stay connected with TBT. Our conversation over dinner about Israel-Diaspora relations reminded me how important it is to make personal connections with Reform Jews living in Israel. 

5. Dave’s kippah getting us through the border check-point.

How has the year gone by without a report on Shira Hadasha in the “Jerusalem Synagogue” series? Shira Hadasha is a self-proclaimed orthodox, feminist congregation in the Germany Colony of Jerusalem, and might be Molly’s top pick of the year. Here is Molly’s Top 5 of Shira Hadasha:

1. The most liberal-friendly mechiza in town! Shira Hadasha’s mechiza is more like a sheer curtain that you can easily see through. And of course, it’s much easier to see through the mechiza when the little kids run through the aisle and pull the curtain open. Party foul! 

2. Shira Hadasha only begins their services when there is a full minyan of men and a full minyan of women (in other words there has to be 10 men and 10 women present). That being said, Shira Hadsha is always so crowded that the situation has never actually come up, but it’s comforting to know that the guideline is there. 

3. People here in Jerusalem take their synagogue names seriously. Kol Haneshama, for example, just loves to focus on breathing and our souls. So it is with Shira Hadasha (which, by the way, means ‘new song’). They Love. To. Sing.

4. The variety of hats worn by the women! Love them all. 

5. In addition to their prayer services, Shira Hadasha also loves to host “sing-songs” which are basically the Israeli version of a hootenanny. 

It’s been a busy semester, but Molly was finally able to get back to her Jerusalem Synagogue Adventures this Shabbat. For Kabbalat Shabbat services, Molly attended Mevakshei Derech, a community that recently joined the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism.

Here is Molly’s Top 5 of Her Visit to Mevakshei Derech:

1. This wasn’t actually the first time I tried to attend services there. The first time I went, they had just changed their service time to an hour earlier, so I missed services. This time I had confirmed that services would start at 5:30 pm. I arrived at 5:25 pm and the place was completely shut down - no lights, doors locked, no one there. So I walk around the corner just to check things out. When I return no more than 3 minutes later, the synagogue is up and running - lights are on, doors are unlocked with a welcoming committee standing by. An impressively quick turn around.

2. This community chooses not to have a rabbi. Their Executive Director/Cantor Iris Beth Weiner, leads services. She sits in the congregation for Kabbalat Shabbat, and then stands up for Ma’ariv.

3. This was an atypical Reform congregation in that their biggest crowd is for Saturday morning services. Upon arrival, there were about four other people there, and by the end we had a minyan. Cantor Weiner reassured us that Shabbat Shacharit is definitely the service to come to.

4. Our good friend and summer intern, Chaim Shalom was there! Apparently Mevakshei Derech is where Chaim does his student internship.

5. After Kabbalat Shabbat and before Ma’ariv, the Cantor started a friendly discussion of the weekly Torah portion, which soon became a hot debate among the Cantor, Chaim, and the man sitting behind us.

As you all know, Molly has been on a mission to experience a different synagogue in Jerusalem every Shabbat. This Friday, she was supposed to go “Hovevei Tzion”…but most likely ended up somewhere else entirely. Hovevei Tzion Street is a total of 3 blocks, but Molly could only find one synagogue, and she’s pretty sure it wasn’t the Hovevei Tzion with the amazing kiddush everyone speaks of.

That being said, Molly had a lovely Shabbat experience at Beit HaKnesset Hatzvi Yisrael (on Hovevei Tzion Street). It was an orthodox synagogue; the chazzan had a really beautiful voice, familiar melodies, and most of the people were in their 20s…but no kiddush!

Highlight of the evening: Walking up to the synagogue and finding a 2 year old boy sitting in his stroller outside. No parent to be found. The kid is just hanging out in his stroller. All of a sudden the kid gets up, walks to the middle of the entrance patio, pulls down his pants, and starts peeing. After he’s finished he puts his pants back on and goes back to his stroller. Still no parent. Ain’t no thang.

Continuing with her mission to check out different synagogues of Jerusalem, Molly went to the Jerusalem Great Synagogue for the Friday night Shabbat service.

Here is Molly’s Top 5 of the Jerusalem Great Synagogue:

1. It’s a short 5-10 minute walk from the apartment, right next to Supersol!

2. I sat next to a lovely episcopalian from Indiana, Dee, who is visiting Israel for three weeks.

3. Since the Jerusalem Great Synagogue is so large and open, you can actually see what’s going on while sitting in the women’s section.

4. The cantor’s beautiful voice - this is an Ashkenazi Chazzan, so it was different than Sephardic Chazzan I heard last week.

5. I didn’t get yelled at for crossing my legs.

Molly finally got around to checking out some of the synagogues recommended by summer intern, Josh Breitzer (here’s a refresher of what he suggested). This Shabbat, Molly went to the Ades Synagogue, also known as the Great Synagogue Ades of the Glorious Aleppo Community in Nachlaot.

Here’s Molly’s Top 5 Moments of Going to an Orthodox Shul:

1. Having the lady sitting next to me tell me I can’t cross my legs (still don’t exactly understand why, the boys can’t see us anyway)

2. Hearing the Syrian Hazzan…

3. …but not being able to see him

4. The ladies shaking their hands in the air as they prayed sincerely…

5. …and then one minute later returning to their regular conversation. Amazing how they can have kavanah JUST LIKE THAT!

Guest blogger Josh the Intern shares his Top 5 Jerusalem synagogues (which you may not have heard about):

1) Aleppo synagogue in Nachalot - be sure to check them out for pre-dawn Bakkashot in the winter months

2) Neo-Bratslaver synagogue in Katamon - lively mix of real Bratslaver hasidim and those whom their niggunim and nusach have inspired

3) Shir Chadash in Katamon - one-stop source for a Carlebach Shabbat

4) Yemenite synagogue - for a taste of one of the oldest, unchanging Jewish communities (some say the closest thing we have to what Temple services may have sounded like)

5) Sha’arei Sheinah - most Israelis’ favorite synagogue of all