Afternoon prayer at 770

I didn't schedule to go to the shul that afternoon, but He whispered the idea that around 3pm, i will have a good surprise. I only had to bring my phone and pocket book of Mary Poppins. Except that my pocket book is full of spiritual and religious questions, not furniture. :-)

Outside 770, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

Month of Elul.

The section of women is empty compares to the men section.

Woman praying, and my French book to read, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

The door was open and i started to go to the first room.
And i heard the song.

I ran to the first row, because He knows that Jewish songs sung in a shul by Jewish men give me goose bumps.
But Mary Poppins had questions. She asked first a young lady who didn't know what was going on. She seemed Hasidic nevertheless. She sent me to another lady who explained me what it was: the afternoon prayer.
They start to sing, then they pray. We all turned our body to Yerushalayim.

Prayers, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

I knew that they prayed three times a day, but i thought that the second prayer was before lunch.
I enjoyed seeing that joyful community.
Honestly i thought that to repeat the same prayers 365 days a year can be boring. But they find something in their devotion to make them awesome.
A man was playing the clarinet.
My admiration is full of desire and inspiration. I can't take my eyes off them.
I filmed them, and took a lot of photos that afternoon. I spent more than one hour, wandering from a room to another one, rocked by the hirsute voices.

The rascal female friends screaming for ice-cream, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

Man with tefillin and tallit fascinates me, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

In and out of the 770, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

There was the same lady that i already talked with, who spends hours in the shul to 'hire' new believers to the Chabad cause.
I think that she knows who i am, because she switched in French fast. She has two suitcases full of flyers, business cards, etc… promoting the rebbe.
She gave me two cards.

Beloved pink pushka and a visitor caught by the nice tyrant,
August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

The moment of grace was when i asked her if they will blow the shofar.
"You are right! They should blow it! Let me find someone who will blow it for you!"
But before the pursuit of my shofar boy, she gave me a book of psalms in French.
She was persistent with the French language.
I am a little lost with the French because i am reading all these books in the language of Shakespeare.
The French don't like doing things like everybody, some spelling of Hebrew words are different from English. The men were still singing. A woman was singing loud in my back. My phone messed up, and i thought that i recorded her. But bad surprise when i downloaded all the images, once back home.
Anyway!

The woman who sang and a Chinese pushka,
August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

Between this lady who was talking to me and to another visitor that she caught, and the song of the men, i had a hard time to read the 112 and 113 in my book and i was taking photos too. Ubiquitous i was, badly.
Once, i finished the reading, she gave me a piece of paper where i had to write a blessing. She behaved like a teacher, looked at my paper, asked me for writing names of people i mentioned. I wrote Jewish names of people i know. I didn't know what to write, she put pressure on me. :-)
I made it short. I can't write like that.
That was not good yet. I had to write the Jewish names of my parents, also my mother.
I had to end this blessing by something like "Long life to Messiah…".
She was like a nice tyrant. :-)
Then, i had to choose a book among the ones she offered me. Then, a page and put the piece of paper inside. She made me recite a blessing. She opened the book and translated me the page that i chose. Many good things, she nodded.

Men praying, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

Where?, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

After the afternoon prayer, men have their tea time. Some tea time boys went to the rows to give pastries and beverages.

I asked the lady where was the rabbi.

"They are all rabbis", and she laughed.

Daven-ers in the background, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

Stretching, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

Tea-time boys after daven-ing, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

I tried to run away, but she didn't forget her mission, and His mission: my shofar boy!
I came to hear it, so i had to be patient. She played with her phone a long time.
She was watching videos, texting…
At my first attempt of evasion, she called me to come back to the window, someone will be there downstairs to blow it. Nobody came.

Man praying with a hand on the Holy Book, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

The second attempt, she ran after me, and we stayed outside.
She is well-known. The men that she called by their name, looked at her like she was meshuga. Then, they ignored her.
She said that one man was a friend of her husband, but she doesn't have a wedding ring. Weird!
I just realized that i don't remember if she wears a wig either. She is very Jewish because she didn't answer most of my personal questions. :-)
Mary Poppins, you are fired!
I gave up.

Cute rascal on a trotinette, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

Looking for a shofar boy, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

Looking for a shofar boy, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

I told her that women can blow the shofar. She looked at me like i was an alien.
- "It's written on Chabad.org website." (pleonasm?)
- "Really?"
He didn't make things easy, and He knows that i enjoy the company of meshuga people.
Each time i moved, she followed me.
That was funny.

My third attempt was another failure. She found a young Hasidic man. She didn't know him.
He answered in the affirmative to find someone inside.

We were sitting outside, waiting for my shofar boy.
Don't be in a rush, the Jews are always late, even if we didn't have a time scheduled.
She kept me busy, showing me a video of the rebbe, on her phone. And like in Eastern European movies, she was the voice of the translator.
I didn't try to escape.
Then, the shofar boy came out, a red hair young man.
-"Stand-up" she said to me.
Yes, sir!
He looked at us, and blew it!
It was a great sound, not like those which sound like a fart. :-)
That was very kind of him to interrupt his study to come and blow it.
I thanked him, and the lady too.
She hugged me, and pecked my cheek! :-)

My shofar boy, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein

But she didn't want me to leave. That was not easy to follow a conversation with her. She mixed French, English and Hebrew.
We were back inside, she wanted to give me her personal business card.
At the end, she saved my number, and called me to save her number.
She offered me to come at the shul for a Shabbos meal, but she made me confused, thus i don't know if she was talking about Friday or Saturday.
She took back her business card.
I have to go and told her that i will give money to the man who was still standing outside for the Hachnusath Kallah.
She was not jealous, but she made me understand that, that money won't go to the 770.
"But you do what you want", she said.
I had some Kosher food to buy around, and on my way back home, i bumped into this man, once again.
He gave me a big smile. I made a part of his day! What made him happy, made me happier!

Few minutes later after i left the shul, she texted me a long text about the "teshouva", in French. I have to check what it's in English. She signed her text. She has a Sephardi name. I have questions to ask her.
I will be persistent. I would like to visit other rooms of the 770. I think that she might help me. :-)

On my way to buy kosher food, August 2014, ©emmarubinstein