Thanks to my viewers

I just checked the Stats of my blog and I am very impressed by the number of viewers around the world. I have more than 400,000viewers!!!!!!wow. I don’t know how to explain this popularity. Most of my readers come from Germany , followed by US, Argentina and Ukraine. I even have a large following in the United Arab Emirates. I am humbled by this positive response. I will continue to write and hopefully keep my readers informed about issues that concern me.

Please send your comments. 

Dr. Rifat Sonsino, Boston. 

OUR RECENT TRIP TO SPAIN

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

June 21, 2019

My wife, Ines, and I have been going to Spain for the last 12 years, each time for about two weeks, to help out Bet Shalom, a small but vibrant Reform congregation in Barcelona that does not have a full-time Rabbi. This year too, in early June, we made our trip, this time, primarily to attend and officiate at a family Bar Mitzvah. Here are some impressions of our visit:

1.     Bet Shalom is thankfully growing slowly but steadily. They now have about 120 members, a small religious school, and an active social action program. On Friday nights, they have services at around 8 pm, followed by a dinner for all the participants at 10 pm. Many people bring food, and all help out in the clean-up. This creates a great Sabbath spirit for all present. 

2.     The Bar Mitzvah of my brother’s grandson was memorable for the wonderful way in which he, the Bar Mitzvah boy, did his part, and for the fact that more than 20 people, mostly family members, travelled to Barcelona to share this special event. I conducted the Saturday morning service in English. (Other services are in Spanish, of course). 

3.     For us, going to Spain is special, because it enables us to see old friends and to reconnect with our dear ones and leaders of the congregation. A few of us also spent two days in southern France, visiting the walled-cities of Perpignan and Carcassonne. In Barcelona, in addition to the Bar Mitzvah, I also officiated at two Friday night services, dedicated a Torah (a scroll containing the Five Books of Moses), did a conversion, a wedding, and gave a few lectures.

4.     Unlike our synagogues in the United States, which are visible and clearly identified as religious institutions, often with a star of David at the main entrance, Bet Shalom is located not too far away from Gaudi’s famous church, Sagrada Familia, but, for security reasons, it does not have any identifying Jewish sign. The main door has rolling-down metal shutters, but it does have a small Mezuzah on the right door jamb. There are about 10,000-15,000 Jews in the country, but they watch what they do as Jews, and stay away from activities that will provoke extremists. 

5.     Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492 but there are a number of Christians who still preserve family memories regarding their Jewish background. The groom at the wedding, a prominent doctor who was the mayor of a town near Barcelona, told me that his mother or grandmother used to light candles on Friday nights, as it is customary in Jewish tradition before the Sabbath, and would always tell her kids, “We are not like the others,” meaning, we have our own traditions that we need to keep.

6.     Early in the year, I felt that Bet Shalom could use a second Torah. So I inquired among my colleagues in the States and was able to locate one in New Jersey. This was send to us to Boston, and, we, unopened, took it to Barcelona, all the time worrying that it could be lost or damaged. But the Torah travelled well, and we brought it safely to Bet Shalom. I dedicated it through a special ceremony on the first Friday night. The congregation was very moved and grateful. We also donated our own Yad (“pointer”). Now, the congregation can use both scrolls. 

7.     The food in Barcelona is exceptionally good, but daily meals are held at different times. Lunch, the main meal of the day, is about 1.30 to 2 pm, and dinner is rarely earlier than 9 pm. I had a hard time adjusting to this schedule.

8.      Spaniards love to drink their special kind of coffee and eat delicious pastries all day long. Across from our hotel in the Maria Christina area, we had 3 or 4 coffee shops, at times, one next to another, each with a small counter. They were busy all day long. In one case, Ines got her “cortadito” (a small cup of coffee) at a store manned by two individuals. I asked them: how can you make a living in such a small place, especially when you also close during the weekends? Their answer: we have the best coffee in town! And they did. 

9.      In Judaism, a Mikvah is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in order to achieve ritual purity. When a person emerges out of it, it is considered as if he/she were a newborn. Converts, in particular, are expected, by Jewish law, to immerse, as part of their conversion ceremony. However, there is no Mikvah in Barcelona. We have to use the public beach. This year, after examining one candidate in the synagogue before the Bet Din (the religious court) as to her knowledge about the basics of Judaism, we, the members of the court (3 of us) along with the candidate, her husband, and Ines, went to the seashore, where the prospective convert had to undress inside the water, and prepare to dunk. But the waters were wavy and cold, so she had a hard time doing it. So, a lady, a member of the court, had to get into the water with a bathing suit, and help her get under the water in order to achieve the desired goal. No one, especially, the candidate, will ever forget the details of this ceremony. Then, we all went out to eat and celebrate.

Ines and I will continue to keep in touch with our friends in Barcelona who continue to do a remarkable work with few resources but with great enthusiasm.