Kol Nidre

Through the help of a friend, I was able to find out the time and location of Kol Nidre services in Sarajevo this year and connect with the very small Jewish community here.

The services were held last Friday evening in Sarajevo's “new synagogue”, which is just across the river from old town. The building is quite large, making it obvious that Sarajevo's Jewish community at one time was much larger than it is now. There is a tall gate surrounding the building, and so I was happy to find it finally open when I arrived a few minutes before the services were to begin. I confirmed that I was in the correct place and had a seat in the lobby, waiting for the door to the upstairs chapel to be unlocked.

All together, I counted 34 people at the services, mostly quite elderly. The few young people I saw seemed to be foreigners (other Americans, Germans, Isrealis). In the lobby, I heard a mixture of Bosnian, Hebrew, English, and Ladino. Because the Jewish community is Sarajevo is so small, the service seemed to cater toward a variety of denominations and levels of observance, and men and women sat on separate sides of the room to respect those who are more traditional. Coming from a reform background, this seemed a little bit strange to me, as did many of the sephardic tunes used for chanting the prayers. I tried my best to follow along and found it quite interesting to watch unfamiliar traditions mix with ones more familiar to me. I felt grateful to have learned many of the prayers as well as a bit of Hebrew when I was young, and now see how much of a common language can help a diaspora connect.

Meanwhile, I worried about my family back in Colorado, which has been experiencing terrible flooding. Fortunately, they remained safe, with relatively little property damage. However, the town of Evergreen, near my parents' cabin, was completely shut down and certain buildings have been washed away. I am so relieved and grateful that my family is okay and feel a bit humbled when I think of how much I tend to complain about minor daily stresses and inconveniences.

In the New Synagogue