Houston, TX

Here I am, back in Houston, TX. I think I've done ten brisses in Houston in the last few years. Here was the first one... 

Anyway, that's old hat. This was my first time doing a bris in United Orthodox Synagogues since Hurricane Harvey destroyed their main building (I've been here since that flood, but the brisses I've done did not take place in the synagogue). 

The building itself is now just one big room - their social hall is now serving as their sanctuary, while one third of the room remains dedicated to whatever catering, such as their Kiddush on Shabbos, or the meal at a bris. Here's a balloon!

And here's a view of the front of the room from the "catering" area (taken while I was eating breakfast, yes.)

Being that the building now has no offices and no private rooms, I was in a bit of a quandary as to where I might prepare the baby and check him after the bris. But the rabbi had a great solution... a movable wall!

Now isn't this a nice little tucked away corner?

This particular trip was a bit of a nail-biter because the bris was Friday morning, and the only reasonably priced ticket I could find to get me back home for sundown on Friday (and the onset of Shabbos) was a 1:30pm Spirit flight.

And, of course, delayed....

But, thank God, everything worked out in the end. I got home with about 25 minutes before Shabbos, so despite any nail biting, I still have a full set of nice nails. 😁

My next travel bris is coming up Wednesday. You'll just have to check in again to see where I'm going. It's pretty exotic!

Curacao

Curacao is an island a little north of Venezuela. It identifies mostly as a Dutch colony, but I believe it is largely independent today. It has its own local language and its own local currency.

And it has one of the longest histories of a Jewish community in the Americas, including the oldest continuing-to-function synagogues in the Americas.

The Curacao Jewish community has a fascinating history, which I can't go into in this space. However, in more recent history, until this week, there hadn't been a bris in Curacao for 12 years. This is most likely a reflection of certain demographics, in that fewer younger people are remaining there, choosing to move off the island for other pastures.

There are babies, and little kids. But of the children I saw, most were girls. The occasional boy had moved to Curacao, but was not born on the island and did not have his bris on the island.

All that changed when this guy came along.

Look how he rocks that kippah!

It was an honor to be the first mohel in Curacao in over a decade. Aside from being a new destination for me, it was fascinating to see a community with such a rich history. The museum at the Mikve Israel - Emanuel  synagogue has some incredible pieces of Judaica, dating back hundreds of years. 

As for the bris: the next two pictures are of the same chair. It is an old chair, been used on the island for close to a hundred years. It has a unique form of the "kisei Eliyahu" (Elijah's chair) attached to it, with a bottom that slides out from the side of the main chair, and a back that swings around to form the back of the chair. There is also a board that comes out of the chair from the front (shown here) which was probably made for the mohel to put his surgical instruments. It is impractical for a whole host of reasons, so I slid it back into the chair, then put my Eliyahu HaNavi Chair drape.

Here are some pics from the old synagogue, Mikve Israel-Emanuel

The date of when they began building is hinted to in the verse above the door (5490 = 1730). The building was completed 2 years later.

Note the sandy floor! This was done on purpose!

I found this next feature fascinating. Note the names of the 4 Mothers of the Jewish people etched in the columns!

  

  /

I also enjoyed walking around a bit

Here's the old synagogue... now a law office. 

Here's some street art

Here are some panorama shots of the water and the downtown area

A few more from downtown

And finally a video of a tower clock with an interesting bell system

I also have a video of the longest pontoon bridge in the world, which opens and closes when a boat needs to go through. But it's too long for me to upload. 😲

It was a new destination, so a longer kind of blog post. Ciao!