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We disembarked old style at Orly, landing far from the terminal, descending the plane by a staircase and going by bus to the building. At the aiport and around Paris I have noticed at first glance much less evidence of the surveillance and security consience state that exists in the United States. Even in highly touristy areas like the Marais and Notre Dame this seemed the case. It struck me just how much as an American I have gotten accustomed to surveillance cameras, soliders, police and security alerts all around us. I am curious to see how the other locations we will visit compare with Paris.
Yesterday I had the oportunity to spend a fair amout of time with locals - our Paris rabbi Tom Cohen and I spent an hour at the Cafe des Psaumes in the Marais where he lives. This cafe is a uniquely European Jewish phenomenon. It is supported and run by an organization that during World War Two helped save Jewish children by finding them hiding places in convents and monasteries and keeping a list of the children so that after the war they could be reunited with any surviving family members or
Street musicians
Afternoon music around the corner from the hotel. be reconnected to the Jewish community. After that mission was completed they turned their attention to other kinds of work, especially helping the aged. This cafe was founded as a way to keep seniors who live in the Marais connected to that very important forum of socializing in France - the cafe. The beverages are free for seniors and anyone else gets them at very low prices. This way elderly people can meet and mingle in public. What a fabulous way of honoring and helping the elderly rather than segregating them.
Tom and his wife, Rabbi Pauline Bebe, continue to energetically lead the fight for building liberal Judaism in francophone Europe. There are now 10 communities in French speaking Europe. He described to me that in the six weeks in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo and Hypercasher terrorist attacks his synagogue had round the clock soldiers guarding the building. He decided to spend a hour and a half each day with the 12 young men and women soldiers and let them ask him anything they wanted to know about Judaism. They took him up on the invitation. He shared with me that they were especially curious
la rue Gay Lussac
View from the hotel roof about three areas: How to understand the differences between the ritual rules they noticed in the Orthodox synagogue they were also guarding down the street and Tom's community; why did the attacks on Jews in Toulouse, (where their unit was from) and the attack on police there and in Paris coincide with the attacks on Jews; and what about conversion to Judaism. The third question really surprised him.
He also chose to violate the strict separation of church and state in France by inviting in a soldier every Shabbat service to read the prayer for the safety of France. As a foreigner he told me he could get away with violating that taboo. A most memorable Shabbat occurred when a French soldier of Guyanese origin read the prayer and then asked to stay for the remainder of the service. In this and other actions rabbis like Tom help build bridges of mutual respect and friendship amidst the plurality that is French society.
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Sarah Siegel
non-member comment
Of course, the cafe is a suave-er, Frenchier version of what Stamford, Connecticut does for its Jewish seniors, hosting subsidized lunches a number of times a week at the local JCC to which they invite the pre-schoolers to parade around periodically as well as middle-aged expert speakers on Jewish topics. This cafe, though, is an all-day, organic chance for seniors to interact with people of all ages from the community and that's wonderful. I also like learning about Rabbi Cohen making informal learning opportunities available to the people by whom the community needs protection.