Shabbat in Firenze
Our morning started with breakfast at the hotel and then going to the Moorish Style Synagogue. The Great Synagogue or the Temple a is one of the largest synagogues in all of Europe. Our plan was to arrive early for the service, stay for about an hour and then leave to go to our appointment time at the Uffizi gallery. Kowing this is an Orthodox synagogue we thought the arrangements were that we weren't to bring in any large backpacks. We got to the entrance where there were two armed soldiers serving as guards plus a person working for the synagogue. He would not allow any small bag into the facility. Lana stayed outside with the bags, which she didn't seem to mind.
On entering the man attending to the entrance told us we had to leave all cell phones or cameras with him. He also told us if we only wanted to go in for 5-10 minutes to come back on another day. We told him we wanted to attend the service.
Once inside we realized we had arrived even before the service began. There were some siddurim in a shelf as well as a few tallitot. One of the men sho entered was wearing a large streimel but most others were dressed in dark suits and moderate sized kippot.
The women, although told they could sit on the side downstairs went up to the balcony, Ezrat Nashim with another woman. The woman realized there was room to come downstairs behind a mechitzah so they came down.
We were told we could sit anywhere but if a Florentine asked us to move from their seat we should do so. It turned out no one asked any of the group to move. One man came over and tried to help some of the group find the page in the various different editions of the siddur. As they were doing certain psalms different men were reading or leading for others to hear. I was asked by the man who greeted us to do one, but not knowing their customs declined. At times they sang a few prayers, such as Shirat HaYam, the Song of the Sea from Exodus and it was possible to follow. Most of the time it was harder to follow. Around 9:40 everyone made their way outside as unobtrusively as possible to meet up with Lana and our local guide, Sylvia.
Right on the corner near the synagogue was the ubiquitous Chabad House. We strated our walking tour and one of the first sites we saw was the Church of St. Ambrose which is quite old, possibly dating in the 10th century. We passed an interesting looking series of connected archways which we were told was the old fish market.
We made our way to the magnificent Basillica of the Holy Cross. Two things stood out for me. One was the statue of Dante Allgheri just out front. The other was the six pointed star on the front facade. The architect was a Jew, Niccolo Matas who designed the star prominently into the church. The church was built by the Franciscans. Inside (where we did not have time to enter) were the tombs of both Galileo and Michaelangelo. Dante would have been there too but he was exiled.
Our next stop was the fabulous Uffizi Gallery, one of the top ten museums in the world. The crowds and lines were enormous. We had a reserved time to enter as a group but still had to wait about 45 minutes. Because of the crowds inside they brought along a second guide, Emanuella, and we split the group. I was in the group wiith Sylvia but heard similar comments from those with Emanuella. There teaching, uderstanding and way of getting us to look at the art helped me appreciate and understand much about early art, medieval and Renaissance in ways I never did before. Looking at alter pieces that to me in the past were too similar, now demonstrated new ways to look at the art and showed differences I never really noticed. Also seeing masterpiece works by Botticelli, DaVinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael was very special. We were exhausted but the time was not enough and many more visits would be required to see most of the museum. Thanks to the Medici's for insuring that this art was preserved and not sold off.
We walked to the Duomo as the rain increased in intensity. We viewed Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise. I remeber them from my last visit in 1965. We broke for lunch and returned to head towards the National Gallery to see Michelangelo's David. As I remembered it is an awe inspiring work. The group stayed at the statue for over an hour admiring this masterpiece.
We left the gallery and broke in different directions. Some went to the market, others headed to the Ponte Vecchio and some returned to the hotel to rest.
After dinner most of the group gathered for havdalah and some reflections on the trip. All in all a great Shabbat.
On entering the man attending to the entrance told us we had to leave all cell phones or cameras with him. He also told us if we only wanted to go in for 5-10 minutes to come back on another day. We told him we wanted to attend the service.
Once inside we realized we had arrived even before the service began. There were some siddurim in a shelf as well as a few tallitot. One of the men sho entered was wearing a large streimel but most others were dressed in dark suits and moderate sized kippot.
The women, although told they could sit on the side downstairs went up to the balcony, Ezrat Nashim with another woman. The woman realized there was room to come downstairs behind a mechitzah so they came down.
We were told we could sit anywhere but if a Florentine asked us to move from their seat we should do so. It turned out no one asked any of the group to move. One man came over and tried to help some of the group find the page in the various different editions of the siddur. As they were doing certain psalms different men were reading or leading for others to hear. I was asked by the man who greeted us to do one, but not knowing their customs declined. At times they sang a few prayers, such as Shirat HaYam, the Song of the Sea from Exodus and it was possible to follow. Most of the time it was harder to follow. Around 9:40 everyone made their way outside as unobtrusively as possible to meet up with Lana and our local guide, Sylvia.
Right on the corner near the synagogue was the ubiquitous Chabad House. We strated our walking tour and one of the first sites we saw was the Church of St. Ambrose which is quite old, possibly dating in the 10th century. We passed an interesting looking series of connected archways which we were told was the old fish market.
We made our way to the magnificent Basillica of the Holy Cross. Two things stood out for me. One was the statue of Dante Allgheri just out front. The other was the six pointed star on the front facade. The architect was a Jew, Niccolo Matas who designed the star prominently into the church. The church was built by the Franciscans. Inside (where we did not have time to enter) were the tombs of both Galileo and Michaelangelo. Dante would have been there too but he was exiled.
Our next stop was the fabulous Uffizi Gallery, one of the top ten museums in the world. The crowds and lines were enormous. We had a reserved time to enter as a group but still had to wait about 45 minutes. Because of the crowds inside they brought along a second guide, Emanuella, and we split the group. I was in the group wiith Sylvia but heard similar comments from those with Emanuella. There teaching, uderstanding and way of getting us to look at the art helped me appreciate and understand much about early art, medieval and Renaissance in ways I never did before. Looking at alter pieces that to me in the past were too similar, now demonstrated new ways to look at the art and showed differences I never really noticed. Also seeing masterpiece works by Botticelli, DaVinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael was very special. We were exhausted but the time was not enough and many more visits would be required to see most of the museum. Thanks to the Medici's for insuring that this art was preserved and not sold off.
We walked to the Duomo as the rain increased in intensity. We viewed Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise. I remeber them from my last visit in 1965. We broke for lunch and returned to head towards the National Gallery to see Michelangelo's David. As I remembered it is an awe inspiring work. The group stayed at the statue for over an hour admiring this masterpiece.
We left the gallery and broke in different directions. Some went to the market, others headed to the Ponte Vecchio and some returned to the hotel to rest.
After dinner most of the group gathered for havdalah and some reflections on the trip. All in all a great Shabbat.
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