All posts tagged as: synagogue
The Houses of God
Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of design blogs, especially ones that tend to focus on interior design and home decor. Combined with all the talk about the High Holidays, I’ve been thinking about my favorite synagogues. Churches are usually very visually imposing and very intricately done, and it is easy to forget that Jewish places of worship can also be incredibly detailed, with meticulous design that dates back to the turn of the last century or before. Above is a photo of the Touro Synagogue in Newport, RI. It is the oldest standing synagogue in America, and every time I see it I am surprised at how wonderful it still looks. Another one of my favorites is Sixth & I in DC, where they now hold concerts and other cultural events. A friend of mine is getting married there in a few months! Check it out:
Anyway, do you have favorite synagogues? Post your favorites in the comments!
Zaydee turns 80
I spent all weekend with the extended fam for a cousin’s bar mitzvah celebration, which culminated with an 80th birthday party for my Zaydee (poo poo poo). Zaydee is a man of humble means, whose resume reads janitor, milk truck driver, and chazzan. Can’t say who would have won a cantor-battle between him and Jeremiah Lockwood’s grandfather. During davening, a pretty standard revue of centuries-old Shabbat prayer melodies, Zaydee angrily turned to us and asked, “Who chose these tunes? It sounds like an Irish wake!” That stood alone as a pretty good zinger. But then he threw in this bold claim: supposedly, he and Bubbie stayed up ’til five in the morning with Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach the night that the singin’ rabbi composed his melody for Ein Keloheinu
. That might sound outlandish, except that Zaydee has a knack for backing up his stories with remarkable minutiae–in this case, a location: a club on 41st Street that was supposedly a well-known venue for Jewish and Israeli musicians. Anyone know the name of this place?
We love you, Zaydee. Keep those stories coming ’til 120 