A Pop Quiz To Get Into Synagogue

[KamaAina]

http://tabletmag.com/scroll/189142/a-pop-quiz-to-get-into-synagogue

Leaving in a light drizzle, I began to cry. The streets of London aren’t like those of New York City, where crying in public is par for the course, almost a right of passage. I clasped one hand over my mouth and the other to my gut, pulling my sorrow back inward.

I tried to name my sorrow as I walked to lunch. I have had to prove my Judaism before, and in ways far more painful. But never had I done so in order to simply enter a shul. Never had shibboleth been needed in order for me to pray in community. The questions were like those asked by El Al security before a flight to Israel.

It was both the act of proving my identity and the dark reality of why I was being asked to do so that had me fighting the urge to sink into the pavement on that gray Saturday. I cried for the security I’d left behind as an American Jew, and for those who could not fathom it.

Two Shabbatot later, another shooting, another dead Jew in a synagogue in Europe. Both soldiers and armed volunteers adorn our houses of worship. Who stands outside of yours?

[dilby]

1. That really sucks, something I have never even thought about living here in the US.

But definitely a good thing to know for the next time I am in Europe, I wonder if I can just show my cut and bypass the 20 questions.