Prague Journal

Thursday, March 24, 2005.

I met with Eva and Martin this morning to get closure on most of our projects for Martin’s book and for the case conference in July. Both families are taking advantage of the long holiday weekend for outings in the country with their families.
This evening is Purim and there are no fewer than five separate megilat readings sponsored by different Jewish groups in the community. Rabbis Samuel Abramson, Ron Hoffberg, and Ben Rosenstein led a service in Czech, English, and Hebrew (respectively) at the Jubilee synagogue, followed by a raucous party on Dlouha street afterward. Bejt Simcha had a Megilat Esther reading for a group of “EuroJews,” followed by a party at the Manes Restaurant. Rabbi Narrowe read the Megilat for a large crowd at the Spanish Synagogue, followed by wine and hamentashen at the synagogue. Rabbi Karel Sidon, who had formerly been the chief rabbi of the Orthodox community, led a service in the High Synagogue at the Town hall. Rabbi Manis Barash, who recently rose to the helm of the Orthodox community (he had formerly been the head of the Chabad center in Prague), led the service at the Altneu Synagogue. At the same time, a performance of the Megilat story by costumed youths took place on the stage of the dining hall in the Community Center, followed by a few musical performances.
Several of us went to a jazz concert on the second floor of the community center after the services, where we were entertained by a piano, saxophone, bass, guitar, and vocal ensemble. Cynthia Rubin was there, with Miša Hajkova, the exhibition curator for the Guttmann gallery, and her partner Howard Sidenberg, a former New Yorker who has been in Prague since 1991 and now runs the Twisted Spoon Press. We bid goodnight when the music stopped shortly after 10 pm, but then became engaged in conversation on our way to the tram until after 11. Even at that late hour there were costumed party-goers, many of whom were quite drunk, wandering the streets around the Jewish quarter.

posted by JWinn @ 11:26 PM