It so happened that the last stop of the cruise in Victoria fell at 6:30 pm right before the beginning of the holiest day of the Jewish New Year, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. *Remember Jewish holidays start at sundown.
There was no way in G-d's green earth that Natureman would miss services. AND it also wasn't a certainty a Rabbi would be aboard ship although I started checking as soon as I saw the conflict in the dates of the cruise. SO just to make sure we could participate in services I googled Victoria, British Colombia and discovered that there not only was a conservative synagogue but it was the oldest Synagogue in Canada. I inquired as to their High Holiday schedule and their guest policy. We would be welcomed to join them. This is where a Halleluyah comes in... HALLELUYAH!
And yes, there was a Rabbi aboard ship who led a Kol Nidre service before docking for the dozen or so participants with a mini Torah. It was special as not only was the Rabbi our first woman Rabbi, but a black woman Rabbi who lives in Colorado. Services were sweet and short with familiar tunes. It is amazing even aboard the ship we had a minyan. BUT we would be the only ones of the group continuing our services in town. This stop in Victoria was basically only 5 hours and we would miss seeing Victoria and their acclaimed Butchart Gardens. BUMMER but that was the concession.
We docked a bit early and had plenty of time to take a cab to the downtown Shul and see a bit of Victoria in daylight. It had interesting European architecture and lovely plantings in their downtown area. If we only had more time... but apparently everybody always says that about Victoria.
Arriving a bit early before sundown we had time to find a seat in the peanut gallery (upstairs) in this historic place of worship. Congregation Emanu El is a progressive conservative synagogue celebrating their 150th anniversary.
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| history display case |
Besides gawking we also had some time to visit with people around us. Behind us was a pub / restauranteur and his college student daughter (Later we learned she's studying in Israel and one of her majors is Anti-terrorism- Now isn't that a sad commentary of the times?) Services were very familiar as the same holiday text was used that we use in La Crosse and I had one happy Natureman.
After services as we pondered how to head back to the docks, the gentleman that had sat behind us offered us not only a ride but to show us a bit of Victoria. In addition to seeing the lovely city at night, we also learned about his family's history and how they ended up in Canada. What an interesting story!
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| Parliament |
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| The Famous Empress Hotel |
Plantings by the marina which also had restaurants and pubs surrounding it...
the evening in Victoria couldn't have been any more memorable thanks to the kindness of strangers... There are nice people no matter where you go if you just take the time to talk to them.
We would wake up the next morning in Seattle where our adventure would continue before returning to the End of the Rainbow Valley.
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What a beautiful synagogue - it must have felt nice being there with a black female rabbi to lead the services, very different. You would have loved the gardens though. When I was on the bus trip with Pete we toured there but were given such a short time frame it was just a crazed run through to try to take it all in.
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