By Joseph Fleischman

Joseph Fleischman offers an ode to New Haven’s Congregation Beth Israel – aka the Orchard Street Shul – on the occasion of its 130th birthday.

Orchard Street Shul

Those twin domes drew those home who,

moved by love and nostalgia too, remember the womb

of Oak and Legion Avenue aglow with the mama loshen glue

and rebuilt the beautiful, heimishe Orchard Street Shul.

The original year was 1924, when only 40 years before, circa 1884

our people came in mass to the American shore,

a surge of spirit of the grateful sort;

here, murmur on the gallery, prayer  buds in every pew

they knew mesorah is the midpoint hub that links every Jew,

the pulsate core to remain loyal before Hakodesh baruch hu,

Barber, butcher, bookseller, sage,

mystic,  merchant, all committed came to create

this yellow brick fortress and plant fruits in its orchard

that He might come every day to ‘renew the works of creation’

in the thoughts of their hearts and the words that they prayed.

Bridge to the past, broad steps to tradition

and souls in rich soil aflame as souls often do,

there was in each wooden bench a shiny cue, a glowing golden honey hue,

that fused them together through regular prayer

and the songs they would sing

so the lonely harmonics they sometimes heard

would be shared under ‘His abundant wings’.

Today, the earth itself is mad like never before;

and the heavens appear heavy and thick.

When the polar vortex moves it feels crazy;

in the news there’s a brutal disaster almost each day

and civic rules have bent in a way

that’s hard to comprehend and difficult to know.

Spiritual air seems so thin it may even feel hard to breathe.

Forever our place is to show

there’s a certain connection with the cosmos we hold –

the twin bond of our Sabbath home and the One Who created all to be.

If the world at times seems to slip out of control,

may this renewed shul help renew our souls

to recognize the nature of truth in our hearts is to follow

our faith in Hashem and in the unbroken dream of Jerusalem in peace.

Joseph Fleischman lives in New Haven with his wife, Reva. His book of poetry – The Village of S’fat – is available on Amazon.com.

Readers are invited to submit original work on a topic of their choosing to Kolot. Submissions should be sent to judiej@jewishledger.com.