Synagogue to Church (Judeo-Christian Palimpsest)

The building now known as the Tried Stone Church of Christ was once a synagogue. The Southeast Hebrew Congregation was founded on Capitol Hill by Orthodox immigrants from Eastern Europe in 1909, and after World War II this house of worship was built. The congregation relocated to Silver Spring, MD in 1971. When the church acquired this property, the new congregation changed the name of the building but retained the Ten Commandments (inscribed in Hebrew) which were part of the original entrance façade.

Above, a photo from early in 2008 before the entrance sign was changed. How fitting that different periods in the building's history are visible in the layers of stone and brick.

P.S. For a more famous appearance of the Ten Commandments in DC, see this post. See also this torah ark.

Bar Mitzvah at Temple Micah

About a week ago, I attended the bar mitzvah of the son of one of my colleagues. Here are some images and (language-related) reflections! [Click any image to enlarge.]

Above: scriptural texts, commentaries, and prayerbooks on the shelves in the sanctuary of Temple Micah. The wood panels on the walls are inscribed with sayings from the Tanakh.

Here, excerpts from this day's designated portion of the Torah. The boy (man) of honor read aloud some lovely passages from Leviticus 14 concerning leprosy and bodily fluids. Note the direction of reading in the Hebrew text goes from left to right (see the page numbers at the bottom).

The layout of text in the scriptural commentary books is more complex that just two columns of text (see above). The Hebrew reads right to left, and English left to right, and in the notes you sometimes have to switch directions mid-sentence.

Some of us in attendance were mildly horrified by the glosses on the left hand page of the reading from the Haftarah.

The actual service was quite lengthy - and I have to say I never quite "caught on" trying to follow along in the prayer book. Temple Micah uses the Reform Siddur, and as you can see in the above each page includes the Hebrew text (#2), a phonetic transliteration in Roman letters (#6), an English translation (#7), and accompanying prayers (items on left-hand page). Looking at all theses glosses, finding aids, and text moving in different directions made me feel like I was navigating a complex website! For an informative blog posting on this prayerbook's layout, see this online user's guide (the image above comes from that website).

This was a fantastic experience, and I'm glad I was able to take part in the day's celebrations.

P.S. I was very intrigued by the way the Divine Name appears in the prayerbook. Apparently there are many different practices here, but I noticed that during the services everyone was pronouncing the abbreviated name (written יי ) as "Adonai" (= Lord). For more on the pronunciation and writing of the Divine Name, see this entry in this online Jewish Encyclopedia.

P.P.S. For more on the Divine Name in Hebrew, you might also consult this detailed explanation (strangely enough, from a website for Christians).

E Pluribus Unum, Arlington Memorials

E Pluribus Unum (Latin = "out of many, one"). The people interred at Arlington National Cemetery may come from many different origins, but all occupy a shared place of honor in the collective memory. Here, a rose garden monument bears the motto from the Seal of the United States.

Above, men from different backgrounds take neighboring grave plots: Gallagher is a surname of Irish origin (from Gaelic Ó Gallchóbhair); Cohen (‫כֹּהֵן‬) is a common Jewish surname.

For more Arlington cemetery tombstones, see here and here; see also the following posting.

Live Long and Prosper!

Philadelphia's South 7th Street synagogue was full of Trekkies. Torah ark, late 18th-early 19th century. National Museum of American History.

A piece of artwork at the Supreme Court offers another take on the ten commandments.

P.S. I've been informed that the "Vulcan" salute actually has Jewish origins; Leonard Nimoy (who portrayed Captain Spock) adapted the ברכת כהנים (birkat kohanim), a blessing used in certain services.

Chinatown: Hillel

This sign transcribes "Hillel" phonetically as 海 (hǎi) 勒 (lè). At first I thought it was strange that Hebrew was absent from this sign, but I now suspect the "flames" in the background might actually be a very stylized form of the appropriate Hebrew letters (הלל). If so, this is a rare trilingual sign!

Supreme Court: Moses and Tablets

Supreme Court Frieze. Moses' beard covers up "thou shalt not" (לא) on each of these commandments so the text reads "murder" (תרצח), "commit adultery" (תנאף), and "steal" (תגנב).

P.S. For another take on the ten commandments, see this Torah ark.