Falling Asleep to the Sound of Waves
Actually, this post has nothing to do with the title, but it sounded poetic, and since it's what I'm doing, the title works. :)
Lots of things have happened since I last wrote, so I will pick and choose some highlghts. To start, I'll write about the last night of Hanukkah at the St. Thomas synagogue. I forgot to bring my cable to connect my camera to the computer, so I can't post the photos yet. I'll try to post the photos I took, sometime soon.
The St. Thomas synagogue is the oldest in continuous use in the western hemisphere, and was built by the island's Jewish population, which was Sephardi at that time. I also learned the the US Virgin Islands have had 3 Jewish governors over the years. The Paewonski family, a very prominent family here, is Jewish and years ago one of them was a governor here. The Paewonskis are still members of the St. Thomas synagogue. I wonder if the long-standing presence of the synagogue, indeed, on "Synagogue Street," has assisted in making the Virgin Islands less anti-semitic than many places. I have no way of knowing for sure.
Interestingly, since the synagogue is Sephardi (actually, it's now Reform, but since it was built in the Sephardi style), it has a different seating arrangement from that found in Ashkenazi synagogues. The congregants sit on two sides, facing one another, (men and women together), instead of facing the bimah. The floors are covered with sand, as I think they always have been. There is a lot of wood, and it's all solid mahogany, harvested long ago from the VI's mahogany rainforests. The wood is my favorite part, but there are also beautiful hanging candelabras, shabbat candleholders, and of course their Hanukkiah.
I didn't realize that visitors to the island are welcome to bring their menorahs right into the synagogue and light them alongside the main Hanukkiah, but it was a beautiful sight! There were 5 or 6 menorahs on the table, and of course it was dramatic, being the 8th night. The rabbi welcomed visitors to come up and light them all at the same time as the Hanukkah blessing was recited, so apparently this is an old tradition. Otherwise, I imagine visitors would have simply left their menorahs in their hotel rooms.
I was a little disappointed that the rabbi didn't talk about Hanukkah much that night; instead, he kept to the weekly Parsha (Torah portion), but that was also interesting. The synagogue was renovated not too long ago, and in the course of the renovation, the historical society determined the need to cover up the incredibly beautiful interior walls, which were made of brick, stone and coral. They made the decision because the mortar in the walls was crumbling, due to being mixed with sand and molasses. What a shame! A lot of charm was covered up by white plaster. I wish they could have kept it the way it was. Still, it was a nice service, and I'll try to post pictures later.
Here's a kitty-rescue story:
My mom and I found a little kitten, about 8 weeks old, near Mom's house last week. She asked me to help it, which turned out to be really healing for me (and hopefully, for the kitten, too!) This poor little guy was in terrible condition. He was meowing pitifully from under a truck, and when I picked him up, I saw that he would become a beautiful long-haired cat, if he received some TLC and medical care. But he was far from beautiful at that moment, because he was very ill with some kind of respiratory infection and he was filthy. His eyes were glued shut by the infection and a lot of dirt or cement, his nose and mouth were covered by cement and dirt, as were his paws. And his behind-- I'll spare you the details, but I promise it wasn't pretty. While I gave him a very thorough bath and blow-dry (poor guy!), Mom bought him cream. He wouldn't eat, and we decided to take him to the island's no-kill shelter for care.
They have been giving him excellent, quarantined medical care and tons of love, and the manager even took him home over the 4 day weekend so she could provide round-the-clock care for him. The vet won't be back on the island until Friday, so I won't be here when he's tested and immunized, and therefore, I can't take him home. He has to be tested for feline leukemia virus, and if he has it, he will need to be put to sleep. (It's one of the understandable exceptions to the no-kill policy, since the virus could destroy all the island's unvaccinated cats.) So let's hope he tests negative! Though there is no way I could keep him, the shelter manager let me know that since he's so young and is a long-haired cat, he will be "snatched up in no time at all." Great! I'll go back to visit him again, just to check in and give cuddles (for the 3rd time... :))
On that note... this laptop battery is about to die, so I'm signing off. Goodnight all, and have a pleasant tomorrow.
Lots of things have happened since I last wrote, so I will pick and choose some highlghts. To start, I'll write about the last night of Hanukkah at the St. Thomas synagogue. I forgot to bring my cable to connect my camera to the computer, so I can't post the photos yet. I'll try to post the photos I took, sometime soon.
The St. Thomas synagogue is the oldest in continuous use in the western hemisphere, and was built by the island's Jewish population, which was Sephardi at that time. I also learned the the US Virgin Islands have had 3 Jewish governors over the years. The Paewonski family, a very prominent family here, is Jewish and years ago one of them was a governor here. The Paewonskis are still members of the St. Thomas synagogue. I wonder if the long-standing presence of the synagogue, indeed, on "Synagogue Street," has assisted in making the Virgin Islands less anti-semitic than many places. I have no way of knowing for sure.
Interestingly, since the synagogue is Sephardi (actually, it's now Reform, but since it was built in the Sephardi style), it has a different seating arrangement from that found in Ashkenazi synagogues. The congregants sit on two sides, facing one another, (men and women together), instead of facing the bimah. The floors are covered with sand, as I think they always have been. There is a lot of wood, and it's all solid mahogany, harvested long ago from the VI's mahogany rainforests. The wood is my favorite part, but there are also beautiful hanging candelabras, shabbat candleholders, and of course their Hanukkiah.
I didn't realize that visitors to the island are welcome to bring their menorahs right into the synagogue and light them alongside the main Hanukkiah, but it was a beautiful sight! There were 5 or 6 menorahs on the table, and of course it was dramatic, being the 8th night. The rabbi welcomed visitors to come up and light them all at the same time as the Hanukkah blessing was recited, so apparently this is an old tradition. Otherwise, I imagine visitors would have simply left their menorahs in their hotel rooms.
I was a little disappointed that the rabbi didn't talk about Hanukkah much that night; instead, he kept to the weekly Parsha (Torah portion), but that was also interesting. The synagogue was renovated not too long ago, and in the course of the renovation, the historical society determined the need to cover up the incredibly beautiful interior walls, which were made of brick, stone and coral. They made the decision because the mortar in the walls was crumbling, due to being mixed with sand and molasses. What a shame! A lot of charm was covered up by white plaster. I wish they could have kept it the way it was. Still, it was a nice service, and I'll try to post pictures later.
Here's a kitty-rescue story:
My mom and I found a little kitten, about 8 weeks old, near Mom's house last week. She asked me to help it, which turned out to be really healing for me (and hopefully, for the kitten, too!) This poor little guy was in terrible condition. He was meowing pitifully from under a truck, and when I picked him up, I saw that he would become a beautiful long-haired cat, if he received some TLC and medical care. But he was far from beautiful at that moment, because he was very ill with some kind of respiratory infection and he was filthy. His eyes were glued shut by the infection and a lot of dirt or cement, his nose and mouth were covered by cement and dirt, as were his paws. And his behind-- I'll spare you the details, but I promise it wasn't pretty. While I gave him a very thorough bath and blow-dry (poor guy!), Mom bought him cream. He wouldn't eat, and we decided to take him to the island's no-kill shelter for care.
They have been giving him excellent, quarantined medical care and tons of love, and the manager even took him home over the 4 day weekend so she could provide round-the-clock care for him. The vet won't be back on the island until Friday, so I won't be here when he's tested and immunized, and therefore, I can't take him home. He has to be tested for feline leukemia virus, and if he has it, he will need to be put to sleep. (It's one of the understandable exceptions to the no-kill policy, since the virus could destroy all the island's unvaccinated cats.) So let's hope he tests negative! Though there is no way I could keep him, the shelter manager let me know that since he's so young and is a long-haired cat, he will be "snatched up in no time at all." Great! I'll go back to visit him again, just to check in and give cuddles (for the 3rd time... :))
On that note... this laptop battery is about to die, so I'm signing off. Goodnight all, and have a pleasant tomorrow.
posted by Yaakova | 6:38 PM
2 Comments:
I am so glad to hear you are having a great time away, you deserve a good break.
I can't wait for you to post some photos!
Happy New Year!
:D
wow, this sounds like one heckuva a trip! i'm glad everything's going so well, and i was so happy to hear about the little kitty! awww! and, to the business end of this comment--alas, you've just been tagged. try not to hate me!
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