Shabbat dinner

Last Friday evening dad and I were invited to a Shabbat dinner in a Rabbi's home. Prior to the dinner we attended the evening church service in their synagogue. The men were in one big room, and the women (me included) sat on the edges of this big room, separated by a wall and thin veil we could barely see thru but heard well. They were reciting hymns and prayers from their book (I had a copy of the book which was both in Hebrew and English, but since I didn't know Hebrew, I couldn't follow the English well because I didn't know where they were).

All the men wore white shirts and dark suits, with a head covering. All the women wore variations of black, white, tan and most had their head covered. I had not brought a scarf or hat, so the man we were with gave me a scarf of his and wrapped it around my head. I hate to say this, but the scarf was so dirty and musty smelling I couldn't wear it very long. Once I saw some of the women without head coverings, I took it off.

After the service we walked to the Rabbi's house (driving or riding in a car is not allowed once Shabbat begins, but since all the living quarters are built around the synagogue, the walk was maybe 10 minutes). This particular Rabbi welcomes everyone to dinner - no matter their religious affiliation. He was very kind and welcoming to us. They had crammed tables and chairs to seat close to 60 people, and still more came. They set up more tables until they probably had close to 90 people for dinner. They passed around a bowl of water to rinse your hands before eating. Then the courses came - sweet halla bread, eggplant, chicken and carrot soup, apple/rice puddings, oven-baked chicken, then cookies. Other foods were also passed around but since we didn't know what they were, we passed. While eating, the Rabbi would talk in Hebrew and then English, and all would sing in Hebrew.. He announed to everyone that all the Jews would be learning the same lesson tomorrow (which was news to me - I didn't think they were organized enough to have that happen). He also encouraged them all to "wake up and SEE the blessings of being who they are and where they live". The dinner started at 9:00 PM and we left at 11:00 PM.

In contrast, our Shabbat was a very inspirational Sacrament meeting the following day. We had 4 students speak of their experiences here and their testimonies of Christ, and 3 musical numbers by the students (vocal duet, violin duet, men's quartet), besides the student choir singing another of dad's hymn arrangements for prelude music. They are all so sincere and talented!! When this group arrived I didn't know any of them and I missed the 1st group we had here. But after going on the Jordan trip and getting to know this new group, I will really miss THIS group now!