I tried to contact Jews in Sweden via the Union for Progressive Judaism website, but the contact listed there bounced. The contact in Stockholm referred me to someone in Uppsala, with the caveat that they may no longer be active, and I never heard back from them. The email contact person in Stockholm was gracious about providing me a ticket at no charge to attend there, so I went to The Great Synagogue in Stockholm for Erev Rosh Hashanah and Rosh Hashanah morning (and again for Kol Nidre). I really needed the ticket; security to get near or into the synagogue was very tight. Nobody greeted or spoke to me. I smiled at various people, and babies. I did eventually find someone who said Shanah Tovah to me on the way out. The security people clearly recognized me on subsequent visits; there was no second interrogation or need to show my passport.

 

The service was conservative, a tenor cantor chanted all the Hebrew text while the congregation sat passively. There was a small volunteer choir with a very limited role, up in the balcony. Music was very limited in all the services I attended, including Kol Nidre. Men and women did sit together, but there were many women up in the balcony. People came and went throughout the service, and there was a children’s corner with toys and books at the back of the sanctuary. Children of all ages were there with their parents, running around and playing. That informality was nice, especially with such a stern congregation. There was no oneg after the Erev Rosh Hashanah service, no sweet new year with apples and honey! So I went nearby and bought some kladdkaka , which was delicious.

 

 

 

They did announce some page numbers in Swedish and English. There was a female rabbi who did all the Torah chanting and gave the sermon in Swedish. Another rabbi (?) did all the shofar blowing, which was clearly very taxing.

The only thing that reached me in a meaningful way was the shofar blowing. I’m glad I heard that. I missed our group of shofar blowers around the sanctuary; I like the community element. I really missed being with the Micah choir and clergy and friends in the congregation.

I went back for Kol Nidre, but didn’t feel like going back for Yom Kippur. So I created my own day of fasting and reading and writing in my journal in my room at the institute. I re-read Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared: The Days of Awe as a Journey of Transformation by Alan Lew, thanks to immediate Kindle download. I was able to have a more meaningful and spiritual day, and was no more lonely than I would have been had I gone to the Stockholm synagogue. It was my birthday, which was another strange element to the day. I don’t remember another Yom Kippur on my birthday. But I had a good day.

This experience taught me how important it is to connect to people at synagogue. If the Stockholm synagogue were my only Jewish choice, I doubt I would attend. The fact that Temple Micah visits are always rewarding and I get something meaningful each time brings me back to Micah again and again. It is my special relationship with the people and community at Temple Micah that I love.