This evening and tomorrow, the 28th of Iyar, marks the observance of Yom Yerushalaim, the anniversary of the liberation of the Old City of Jerusalem in 1967.
Six years ago, on the 50th anniversary, I delivered a talk at Shaare titled “My Grandmother’s Yerushalmi Memories” (for those who have Facebook, you can search for it in my archives or ask me for the link) and whose source material can be viewed here. In it, I tell stories my grandmother told about her youth in Jerusalem, living through the War of Independence and participating in the Six Day War. My grandmother, Chasida Gevaryahu (1923-2011), was a seventh-generation Yerushalmit, the second of nine children born to Rav Avraham Baruch Abba and Rebbetzin Chaya Basha Rackovsky (my parents are related - I explain how in more detail in the video).
On our last trip to Israel, my uncle, Dr. Gadi Gvaryahu, took Jessica and me to see the house in the Knesset Yisrael neighborhood, behind Machaneh Yehuda, in which my grandmother grew up. Nine children and two parents lived in two rooms. Their house was considered relatively spacious by the standards of the day, and was even considered luxurious because there was indoor plumbing!
Mystery Shul Of The Week
Kudos to Perrin White and Benji Zoller for correctly identifying last week’s shul as the Zoharei Chama shul, in the heart of Machaneh Yehuda. The shul has only one minyan for Shacharit- at vatikin, the earliest possible opportunity to say Shemoneh Esrei at Shacharit. The sundial on the facade was designed by Rabbi Moshe Shapiro, a watchmaker
in Mea Shearim and a self-taught astronomer who had learned the science required to design sundials by studying the pertinent writings of Maimonides and the Vilna Gaon. Shapiro built sundials for the outside walls of other synagogues, including the Hurva Synagogue in Jerusalem's Old City the Gr”a shul in Shaare Chessed.
This week’s Mystery Shul Of The Week:
Kudos again to Benji Zoller for sharing this shul with me, whose existence I was not aware of. It is not for the use of the general public- name the shul, its location and, for extra points, the significance of its design.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Ariel Rackovsky
Congregation Shaare Tefilla 6131 Churchill Way Dallas, TX 75230
