Shalom magazine - The Atlantic Jewish Council

arouNd our regioN:
continued from page 45
their new place about five or six years
ago. The new complex of three buildings,
connected by tunnels, only a few blocks
away from the Dom and Alt Rathaus,
contains the synagogue, Gemeinde offices
and Jewish museum. The complex is
guarded by police almost round the clock,
and by several Israeli security men.
The Gemeinde is open 24 hours a day and
to enter one must talk to the Israeli security
person who sits behind bullet proof glass.
The museum, on three floors, has a kosher
snack bar on the main floor, next to the
Judaica store. At this visit were curated
Israeli artists and their displays. There was
also a section of the history of the Jews in
Munich, which dates back to about 1275,
when Jews were first mentioned in official
documents.
The Gemeinde building also houses a
kosher restaurant called Einstein’s, with
a picture of the celebrated physicist
putting forward his theory of Cholent on
a blackboard! I had lunch here and was
amazed when the manager told me he was
originally from Montreal, but has been
living in Munich for a few years with his
family. He only smiled when I asked him
how a Sephardic person with the family
name of Sousanna fit in this very Ashkenazi
community.
To enter the synagogue when it’s not open
for services requires a visitor to undergo
questioning by the security agents and the
presentation of a passport. The agents keep
the passport and give you a guest pass. The
tunnel to the synagogue contains memorial
plaques and named all of the Jewish
residents of Munich who perished in the
Shoah.
From the synagogue basement, it is only a
single flight of stairs to the sanctuary. The
staff was very busy preparing the sanctuary
for a Bar Mitzvah the next day. I met the
Shames, or beadle, a very charming man
by the name of Erich Lehmann, who was
originally from Mainz. He showed me the
Aron haKodesh with its eight Torah scrolls
beautifully dressed in decorated donated
mantles. I took many photos. What was
very impressive was the ceiling made of
plexiglass to maximize the amount of light
entering the room.
That evening for
Shabbat services I had
arranged to be with the
Chabad Rabbi - Rabbi
Diskin, who has been
stationed in Munich
for 21 years. He and
his wife run the local
Chabad house which is
across the hall in their
apartment building. The
Chabad organization has
about 10 houses across
Germany as listed on
their website at www.
chabad.org Rabbi Diskin,
his wife and two young
children were very
inviting and kind.
I joined the Rabbi
on the short walk to
the Possartstrasse
synagogue. The
ubiquitous Israeli security
agent was present at the entrance but did
not ask me any question as I was a guest
of the Rabbi. Services were, of course, late
starting. After all, schmoozing business was
the first order on the agenda!
A young fellow from Kiev who is studying
in Munich led Mincha. The people in
attendance were mainly of Russian
origin, with a smattering of former Polish
residents. There was also an Israeli visitor
and a man from South Africa who had made
aliyah many years ago.
Rabbi Diskin then led the Kabbalat Shabbat
services. As is the custom, the Rabbi invited
anyone who needed or wanted a place
to go for Shabbat – an act of Chesed. The
Rebbetzin had made a delicious supper and
the discussion around the table included
Chassidic stories about great saintly rabbis,
the current state of political affairs in
Israel and the United States, and many
other related topics. As I was leaving, the
Rabbi reminded me that, as a visitor to
the community, I was invited to the Bar
Mitzvah the next morning.
I arrived at Ohel Yaakov at about 8:45am.
Erich Lehmann greeted me at the door
wearing his top hat and high collared shirt
with cravat. Of course, there was the gold
chained watch across the vest. The shul
began to fill and eventually there was
Page 6 Tishre 5771 - Vol 35 No. 2
Interior of the Worms Synagogue
standing room only in both the men’s and
women’s sections. The shul rabbi, Rabbi
Langnas, was originally from the U.S., but
has been with this shul for 12 years. He has
a very nice voice and started the psukei
d’zimrah before the chazzan took over. The
chazzan was a young man with a very soft
and melodious tenor voice. The Bar Mitzvah
boy did his chanting of the Maftir and
haphtarah very well, after which everyone
on the Bimah was peppered with candies.
Both the Rabbi and the Bar Mitzvah gave
short talks in German. I was sitting next to
a man who was both a medical doctor and
a dentist. He indicated that Jews who are
members of the Gemeinde are taxed at a
rate of 8%, half of which is deductible from
federal taxes. He lamented the fact that
many of the Russians and Israelis in the city
are not members.
After services ended, a buffet was served
outside of the Gemeinde building. The
way was lined by some of the adults in the
community singing mazal tov songs to the
family of the Bar Mitzvah.
My brief trip to Germany’s Jewish
communities showed how out of the
ashes of destruction and annihilation a
community can be reborn, with vigor
and vitality. Yasher Koach to the Jews of
Germany.