Day 7: Shabbat in Cape Town - Sat 30 Jan 2016

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Sleep!!!! Yes we had a lie in - thank heavens for Shabbat. We went down for a leisurely breakfast and decided that together with Avi and Angela we would go to the synagogue in Arthurs Road for the morning service.

The service at Athurs Road shul was much more to our liking - no choir, friendly people in a very nice synagogue. After the service we went to the kiddush or the “bracha” as it is known in South Africa. From what we understand the “bracha” at the Marais Road synagogue was really spectacular and many of the congregation used it as their lunch. Arthurs Road provided a nice kiddush bracha as well.

Before leaving the shul we prayed in the mincha gedola service. Interestingly they ended with psalm 104 but not the series of shir hamalalot which are typical in diaspora communities on Shabbat afternoon during this season. Nonetheless the grandeur of creation extolled in Borchi Nafshi, psalm 104, was fitting praise for all the natural wonders we had seen and were yet to see on this African journey.

We went back to the hotel for lunch and then began the adventure of my sunglasses. My sunglasses were very similar to those belonging to Sam. He thought that he had accidentally picked up a pair of sunglasses at the synagogue that he had attended. So he had 'returned' them back to that synagogue. Poor Sam then had to go back to the synagogue a third time to recover my sunglasses. All’s well that ends well.

Don and I went for a walk along the sea front and watched the para-gliders coming down from the mountains to land on a green space along the sea front. Then back to the hotel and bed for a long snooze.

In the evening after supper there was a discussion as to whether or not to go out on the town. However, we were warned against walking by ourselves and the idea fizzled out. An early night followed a very restful day, ready for a long day tomorrow.

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