Gathering in the men section at 770

When i am going to a concert of music bands that i loved when i was a teenager, and the audience is very young, i feel very old.

Entry, 770, September 2014, ©emmarubinstein

Books and black hat for ladies, 770, September 2014, ©emmarubinstein

Mechitza 770, September 2014, ©emmarubinstein

This gathering at the 770 gave me the same impression. A few ladies were there, and most of them were young girls and teenagers.

Twice a year, 770 opens the men section to women. And i was there of course!
They opened it before Rosh Hashanah.

Moment of grace: devotion, hands, 770, September 2014, ©emmarubinstein

Whispering the name of Hashem in his ear!, 770, September 2014, ©emmarubinstein

I used to watch these men all the time. That was my turn to touch these holy books, smelling the sweat of men. Some men were still there and hid between shelves. A mechitza too was there to let many men study and pray. I was a little mouse watching at them.

Daven and study, 770, September 2014, ©emmarubinstein

Daven, 770, September 2014, ©emmarubinstein

Daven, 770, September 2014, ©emmarubinstein

The bochurim were in the women sections to spy us. That was their turn.
Some took off the glass of a window to have a better view!
They have seen all the graffitis of love probably!

Rascals looking at women, 770, September 2014, ©emmarubinstein

When men looking at women from my favorite room,
770, September 2014, ©emmarubinstein

A woman was on the stage for a speech, following by a rabbi.
There was not a lot of discipline, and i was amused by that.
I was wearing a helmet of an anthropologist.

He saw me but shhhh, 770, September 2014, ©emmarubinstein

Awesome devotion in the background, 770, September 2014, ©emmarubinstein

I had a look at the books, they were all in Hebrew.
After the speeches, many women left.
I stayed because it was the occasion to visit the rebbe's room.
In the line, i met an angel, a young Lubaba woman.
I had a flyer with the explanation of the rules of Rosh Hashanah, day by day.
She was from Florida, and was in Crown Heights for the High Holy Days.
She translated me a prayer.
She tried to find a book with an English translation: none.

The silence of daven, 770, September 2014, ©emmarubinstein

She asked me to read the flyer. She explained me everything, page by page. We haven't finished, because it was nearly our turn to go to the rebbe's room.
The men came back in their section for the evening prayer. That was amazing!
I wanted to leave the line to take some photos, but it would be rude to leave the angel.

Daven in the rebbe's room, 770, September 2014, ©emmarubinstein

She knew that i couldn't read a psalm or a prayer, because i had no book in English to do it.
I could read the flyer, thinking of the rebbe, she said. That's what i did.
This flyer included the Jewish rules and the rebbe rules.

An old lady was at the entry of the room, checking if we had kissed the Menorah. She took her job very seriously. I couldn't stay more than ten minutes, it was so hot inside.
I felt a huge devotion.
A man was in the stairs looking at us: so many ladies suddenly.

Looking at all these ladies getting out of the rebbe's room, 770,
September 2014, ©emmarubinstein