Secret Shul-Goer No 26: Shul on a ship - The Jewish Chronicle

The Secret Shul Goer is on holiday. I’m currently sailing across the Mediterranean on board a very splendid cruise ship. But the shul-goer never rests. There is always work to do. Someone else who never stops working is Rabbi Marc Gruber of the Central Synagogue Beth Emeth in Long Island. He was officially on vacation; but rabbis never fully switch off, and he found himself tasked with leading the Friday evening service. I think he must have felt the same combination of resignation and duty that doctors experience when they hear that mid-flight announcement “Is there a doctor on board?”

But if Rabbi Marc was prepared to lead the service, then the least I can do is offer to review it. So here, for your enjoyment, is my review of the Kabbalat Shabbat service, led by said Rabbi Marc, as the assembled guests gathered to welcome the Sabbath as we sailed from Spain towards Gibraltar on board this beautiful ship.

It goes without saying that this was a service quite unlike any other that I’ve reviewed so far, both in terms of the décor of the prayer space, and the make up of the congregation. The service took place in the small theatre on Deck 4. Unfortunately, the theatre had just been used for a family bingo game, so after taking a siddur, on which more later, we spent a few minutes gathering up the discarded bingo cards before taking our seats. Indeed, there was something of a gambling theme to the whole proceedings. As we waited for the service to start we could hear the whir and jingle of the slot machines in the casino, located next door to the small theatre. Then, halfway through Shalom Aleichem, the croupier announced on the tannoy that an Officers versus Guests poker tournament was about to begin. I took a furtive glance around to see if anyone was enticed to leave, but everybody stayed. Clearly, we were all hedging our bets on divine intervention instead.

Before the service could begin, Rabbi Marc needed to ascertain which way was East. Clearly, there was no Ark to guide us. And this being a gathering of forty or so Jews, there was no shortage of opinions offered. Eventually, after working out which side of the ship was starboard and which was port, and factoring in the direction the ship was heading and the height of the sun in the sky, we opted for the general direction of the fire escape in the corner of the theatre.

Rabbi Marc was unfamiliar with the edition of the siddur provided by the cruise company, which was unfortunate, because it was rather difficult to navigate. It was called ‘Shaarei Simcha’, which roughly translates into ‘Gates of Delirium’, an apt enough title, given the slightly inebriated state of most of us there, this being early evening on an all-you-can drink holiday. But perhaps our hosts were on to something? The gathering was very mixed in terms of nationality, level of observance and branch of Jewish affiliation, which could have made for an awkward experience. But our slightly tipsy state meant that the atmosphere was actually very jolly.

There was lots of singing, and Rabbi Marc went out of his way to include the handful of children that were in attendance. If I had to pigeon-hole the service, I’d say that it inclined towards an American Reform style.

There was a fair amount of English. There was also a good deal of Hebrew singing, and a few moments in which Rabbi Marc paused for the congregation to contribute personal thoughts and reflections. In particular, he asked us to describe any “Jewish moments” we had experienced on the cruise. Given that we had just spent two days in Spain, home of the famous ‘Golden Age’, and birth place of the greatest Jewish poets and philosophers who ever lived, you’d think we’d be able to offer something. But we all sat in stony silence, looking blankly at our shoes. Thankfully, one of the children then described the family of dolphins that she’d spotted jumping in and out of the water that morning. In the absence of anything better from the adults, Rabbi Marc decided to run with that, and we sang the appropriately titled ‘Mah Rabu Ma’asecha Adonai’ – ‘How wonderful are your creations, O God!’

At the end of the service, which lasted roughly twenty minutes, the children were invited to light the Shabbat candles. Or, more accurately, switch on the electric candles on the table at the front of the theatre. (Safety first!) Then, we all stood around the table for kiddush and challah. Cruise ships are known for the excessive generosity of their food buffets, and this was no exception. A large glass of expensive dinner wine was laid out for every person, and there were four enormous challah loaves to share between us all. I feel duty bound to report that these were the freshest, most delicious challot that I’ve ever tasted. Though I did feel a momentary pang of homesickness, as I noticed that everyone was happily eating the challah and nobody was initiating the obligatory “Are these Daniels or Carmelli?” conversation.

But, however delicious the challah or generous the wine portion, that wasn’t what I noted as the standout feature of the service. It was the sheer joy of gathering together, for half an hour, with fellow Jews from across the globe. Almost every religious affiliation was represented; an orthodox family from Edgware, a French Serfardi family originally from Morocco, and a couple from Ohio who told me that they only go to Temple twice a year, once at Yom Kippur and once on board their annual cruise ship vacation. We all came together, to welcome Shabbat and to introduce ourselves to each other, before going our separate ways. As we sailed away from Spain, home of the infamous inquisition and expulsion, it was a poignant experience to spend these few precious moments together, in reflection and song.

Read our first 25 reviews, of St Albans Masorti Synagogue (SAMS), Muswell Hill Synagogue, Bushey United Synagogue, Edgware and Hendon Reform, Cockfosters and North Southgate, Finchley Reform, New London Synagogue, Hampstead Garden Suburb Synagogue, West London Reform, Radlett United, Kol Nefesh Masorti, Wimbledon Reform, St John's Wood Liberal, Dunstan Road, Lauderdale Road, Lubavitch of Edgware, Oxford Jewish Congregation, Kinloss, Brighton and Hove Reform Mill Hill United, Ilford, Shomrei Hadath, Woodside Park, Alyth and Barnet United. And read her end-of-year awards for 2017 here.

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