I wear my sandals with tights or not till it's too cold, or too rainy.
The subway stop to be in the Jewish area is Saint-Paul, line 1.
You cross rue de Rivoli (Rivoli street), and you arrived in rue Pavée (Pavée street), where there is that shul that i already talked about more than one year: Agoudas Hakehilos:
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| The 'inspector' of Etrog, rue Pavée, Paris, October 2014, ©emmarubinstein |
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| Lulav for sale, rue Pavée, Paris, October 2014, ©emmarubinstein |
Hector Guimard was the architect, and i like his creations.
The street was full of sellers of Lulav and Etrog… I became meshuga when i saw that.
The shul was open, and a man was at the entry, checking a Lulav.
I decided to go inside, but i was not sure that they will let me in.
I asked a man if the women section was open. He replied that i could go, followed me and said that there were lots of women there. French Jewish humor: the section was totally empty, and i visited it with great pleasure. All the details are important in the art of Hector Guimard.
I had a look at the holy books: all are in Hebrew.
I don't like the French version, that makes me feel reading a Christian bible, i don't know why.
Lot of red which is my favorite color.
I tried to find the man, who is the kind of 'superintendant' and 'manager' of the shul, what i learned later by a young man who sold me an Etrog. He added that he was very strict… but he was very nice with me. :-)
The French sista is back in town! :-)
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| Agoudas Hakehilos, men entry, rue Pavée, Paris, October 2014, ©emmarubinstein |
I took some photos, and i will be back soon for a day of celebration of Sukkot. I am intrigued by what kind of women i will be 'buddy' with. :-)
There are two floors for the women. That might be packed the next few days.
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| Agoudas Hakehilos, men section, rue Pavée, Paris, October 2014, ©emmarubinstein |
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| Agoudas Hakehilos, women section, rue Pavée, Paris, October 2014, ©emmarubinstein |
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| Agoudas Hakehilos, rue Pavée, Paris, October 2014, ©emmarubinstein |
Then, i went outside. There were two French tourists intrigued by what the Jews were selling. They like the facade of the shul. I invited them to come inside.
The young man said that he was not sure if they can go outside because the 'manager' might be angry.
I understood later why he was nice with me, because he thought that i came for praying, not for visiting by the way i asked for going inside.
Strangers are not actually allowed to go inside because of the paranoia of someone hiding a bomb in the shul.
Nobody has forgotten the bomb attack of rue des Rosiers in 1982:
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| Agoudas Hakehilos, rue Pavée, Paris, October 2014, ©emmarubinstein |
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| Agoudas Hakehilos, rue Pavée, Paris, October 2014, ©emmarubinstein |
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| Rabbi Mattasuf, according to a Chabad man from Crown Heights. Who sent him to me to spy me? :-) rue Pavée, Paris, October 2014, ©emmarubinstein |
The last acts against Jews those last months make people cautious.
I am still in the 770 mood: i go inside any shul like my second home.
I bought the full Sukkot pack. I said to the seller that i have to trust him to sell me a good Etrog. It has a nice shape. I promise that i am not going to draw a naked Hasidic on it, as i did two years ago. :-)
The Lulav doesn't seem a good one. He gave me one who has not approved by the rabbi. He will have to ask for forgiveness next Yom Kippur to have sold me a crappy one. :-)
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| Seller of Lulav and Etrog, rue des Rosiers, Paris, October 2014, ©emmarubinstein |
I can actually feel the gap between the American Jewish community and the French one.
The three bigger Jewish community in the world are Israel, USA and France.
I don't know if it's the consequences of the WWII, but the majority of the French Jews has abandoned Hashem.
The woman at the shul where i have been for the end of Yom Kippur said to me: "The French Jews remembered that they are Jewish at 7:15pm." They probably think of food. :-)
My first days in Paris, i wanted to eat everything. Food smells so good.
But Parisians, please, shower! First day, i met six persons stinking sweat. Deodorant is for sale everywhere. Thanks for my nose!
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| Seller of Lulav and Etrog and a Lubaba, rue des Rosiers, Paris, October 2014, ©emmarubinstein |
I went back home, and i showed what i bought to my mom.
When she was young, she was 'au pair' in a Jewish family, very observant in London during one year. She didn't remember Sukkot.
Before going there, she met their last 'au pair'. She said that the family was nice, and if my mom likes eating, she will be pleased.
She put on weight, eating all the pastries. When she went back in France, her friends said that she looked like a little barrel that they could roll.
The wife cooked very well, but my mom was not allowed to cook non Kosher. Sometimes, she invited my mom in restaurant where she could eat what she wanted. She liked my mom a lot and asked her for shopping. She liked the way my mom dressed up.
The only thing that my mom didn't like in this family: they were very dirty. There were three children. The little girl was stinking. My mom had a hard time to cuddle her. :-)
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| Seller of Lulav and Etrog with tourists asking questions, rue des Rosiers, Paris, October 2014, ©emmarubinstein |
My mom didn't remember to have seen the Etrog in their house. I explained her what it was about.
She said: "Don't try to get converted me. It won't work. Many people already tried."
I laughed. I said to her that i will spank her with the Lulav. :-)
That was the good moment to ask her for the phone number of her half-sister. She ignores her since many years now. A dark story of inheritance: my half aunt stole the part of my mom and my uncle.
I don't want to go into their family story. So i told her that if the half aunt asked something, i will tell her that i found the number in the phone book of my mom.
I will call her next week. I actually hope that she has some papers concerning my grand-mother, and why not my great grand-ma.
Hope that my grand-ma didn't burn them before the WWII to escape from the Nazis.
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| Paris, October 2014, ©emmarubinstein |
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| Paris, October 2014, ©emmarubinstein |
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