Today was the most meaningful of all the days so far. I went to Friday night services at a synagogue and saw Jewish life alive and well in Berlin. I got choked up when we sang the Shema. It has so many meanings to me – it’s the prayer my parents said with me every night as a child, the prayer I sing every night with my children as I put them to bed, the prayer people said as they were led into the gas chambers and the prayer that defines us as Jews.
It was so loud and all the people there – Jews from many different backgrounds – German Jews, former USSR Jews, Israeli Jews, American Jews, Australian Jews, British Jews, and Austrian Jews – all sang it together announcing that the Jews live!
Little children were running around, the prayers were loud and full of excitement and the dinner after was packed to the brim (all the seats taken, people sitting outside and standing). Someone even started singing Am Yisrael Chai which soon spread around the room. It made me realize we Jews are resilient and even when we get kicked and knocked down we somehow end up on our feet. It gives me hope for our future and for the future of my children.
Hava Shirazi lives in Maryland.