A Menorah in the Hallway
By Jackie Wald
We are all part of the worldwide Diaspora. Some places have little pockets of Jews, others large concentrations—think New York, Los Angeles, London… If you’re like me, it feels as though we are always looking at those around us, thinking hmmm, I wonder if s/he’s Jewish. Sometimes when we travel the world, we find each other by chance. Other times situations are set up for us to meet fellow Jews. Cruise ships do a nice job with this.
A recent trip to Asia on a Viking ship last December made an effort to include us. Two Friday nights offered the opportunity to gather for erev Shabbos in a room with chairs, a challah and kosher wine. Cups, plates, utensils and a printed pamphlet of blessings were all arranged on a large table. Brachas for candles, wine, and bread were followed by Sh'ma and V'ahavta, Mi chamochah, V'shamru, Amidah and Aleinu, among others. No one was designated as leader. We all shared different tunes from our own backgrounds. Each one had a turn to read a portion. Conversations revealed where we all were from: California, Michigan, Texas, Florida, Montreal. We were able to gather on other occasions at mealtimes, on deck lounges. Some of us exchanged contact information and are still in touch. What a delightful way to connect with people. A prior cruise on the Norwegian line also offered a Shabbos gathering. Check these out if you have a cruise planned.
Some encounters are totally unexpected. My son and his wife came to Panama to visit us when we were doing volunteer work there for two years. We checked into our modest hotel in the capital. It was the second night of Hanukkah. My kids had brought a box of candles but not a hanukkiah. The resourceful preschool teacher, me, had glued nuts onto some old tiles that I had found in the toolshed of our host family’s house. Makes an adequate menorah. But as we walked to our rooms, there was a menorah in the hallway windowsill. Do you think we can use our candles in this one? we wondered. We thought that whoever put it there wouldn’t mind. We struck the match, lit the shamus, and chanted our blessings. Before we were finished, a door in the hallway flew open. A bearded man in an undershirt, trousers, kipa and tzitzit approached us, grinning broadly. He launched into a rousing “Maoz tzur ye shu ah tee” to which we all joined in. He was a rabbi from Israel, in Panama for a teaching assignment or something. He spoke Hebrew, a little Spanish. We gleaned from our conversation that he wanted to see who was celebrating at his menorah.
We found many Jewish connections in Panama City, Panama during our time there. It’s a welcoming country for all. Just one example of Jews reaching out and connecting in the world. Where have you found Jewish members of the diaspora? Look around the next time you’re somewhere … newish.
Jackie Wald is a retired professor of Spanish who is delighted to have moved to Albuquerque 5 years ago.
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