Day 4 – L’shana Tova!

I am awesome! I am superhumanly brave! I can do anything! I am master of trains and maps and little cobblestoney streets, yes, even in heels! Today was a good day! Today I ventured out completely on my own, and had a great time. I took the Ubahn from near my house across town to Orianberger Strasse. The area is known for two things – places that stay open late, and the New Synagogue. An unlikely combination, but hey, whatever works. I had a little time to explore the area, and then I went to services for Erev Rosh Hashanah. The temple building is enormous, maybe five stories? Most of the space is used as a museum and is open to the public, but on the top floor they have a very nice space just for the congregation. The Synagogue is listed in most of my tour books as “a fervent symbol of the revival of Jewish culture in Berlin,” which sounds like a PR spin to me, but I did really enjoy services. The temple has two (female) rabbis, but the cantor led services tonight. She had a truly, truly beautiful voice, and led almost the entire service in Hebrew. Between the Hebrew, and a nice woman sitting next to me, I was able to follow along. The tunes were a little different, but the prayers of course the same. There were about just over 200 people at the service, which filled the room. The congregation seemed really young – very very few people over the age of sixty. A few families, and actually a lot of Americans. I met a few students (on their year abroad) who were speaking English, and then a few other English speakers came over to join us. Afterwards, we had apples and honey at Kiddush, and then I went out for a walk with some of the students, to explore a little and grab a beer.

It feels sooooo good to finally see the city from my own two feet! Now I feel oriented and I can start to settle in. Tomorrow I start work. Can’t wait!