ETZ HAYYIM POETRY WORKSHOP APRIL 2012

Seven people signed up for the course. Some knew each other well, others a little, one had come from Ayios Nikolaos for the week and knew nothing of the synagogue.

No one knew what to expect. At the most, they hoped they might write one poem during the week. As it turned out, most ended up with four or five. Not always finished poems, but poems they will work on later. The group hopes now to carry on meeting, sharing their work in person or online.

We met for four long group morning workshops Monday to Thursday, and I saw members of the group individually in the early afternoons. We followed up with two-hour afternoon workshops, Monday to Wednesday.

The group were wonderfully supportive of each other. They came to trust each other; things emerged in their poems that surprised and sometimes alarmed them but they went with it. They were generous to each other, suggesting words, really listening to each other, and were a delight to work with.

On Thursday we polished chosen poems from each member and practised reading techniques, at first in the library and then in the synagogue itself. In the evening they read out these chosen poems in the synagogue to a small invited audience.

We concentrated on being specific: finding the universal in the particular, the large profound emotions in tiny concrete detail. The synagogue was crucial: the way that you find the profound and the spiritual through concrete detail, however small, was all around us.

Since it was the Seder on the Friday before the workshop, I included some poem-generating exercises motifs from the Haggadah – questions the children ask, the different children inside us, the idea that the word “Egypt” in Hebrew also means “narrow” and “restricted,” the sense of coming out into the wilderness wondering if it might not be better to return to the safety if restriction.

The five exercises that produced most poems were about a mother’s kitchen and a father’s childhood; about an object in the synagogue and a door in the synagogue; and about an encounter.

I feel the leader of a poetry workshop should do the exercises at the same time as the group. These often don’t work particularly well but I do them anyway. But this week, whether it was the special group or doing it in the Synagogue, or a mix of the two, some of the poems I wrote myself did come alive. So I have included them here. It was a real privilege to spend such a concentrated week thinking about poems, and writing them, in and around Etz Hayyim.

Ruth Padel, Hania, April 13^th 2012

THE OPEN DOORS

If you sit down and look through a repeating sheaf

of open doors –  double folds to the west

where the Sabbath bride enters at sundown,

double folds to the east where the ghosts gather

asking us to listen, please listen, remember –

and carry on looking, taking in

the brassware, turnable ring-handles,

knobs and side-locks, and above them

semi-circles of stained pine fitting the frame

to each soft white arch, you see

a strip of green. Lobes of an iris leaf.

Young fern and the naked blue stem

of a rose. Forked trunk of a pomegranate tree.

MAMMOTH-BLOOD

I met him in the courtyard at twilight

where they put up the tents at Sukkot.

A wanderer who had come into his own.

The olive-tree had been hard-pruned

along its branches. Only the tips were in leaf,

grey fingers stretching into the light

but you could see the new growth starting.

The roots were crazing the floor

of pebbles up into a mound like a veruka

and I thought of the ceramic black bird

my mother notched in the centre of her pies

whose yellow beak cracked the crust.

He had a cello in his hand, the spike

cantilevered between one pale sea-

pebble and the next. The grain maroon -

as if someone had dunked it in mammoth-blood -

but peat-brown under the f-holes, like swirls

in a mountain stream that leads to the tarn.

It wasn’t all bad, he said. I ran my finger

through stone grooves round the cavity

where a tap hangs over a cup on a silver chain.

I lifted an amphora handle, stuck

to the lip and part of the flank

of a broken jar face-down under the tree

as if trying to keep a lid on rising roots.

The past is not where you left it. The corridor

you didn’t follow, an arch into a cloister,

the half-seen winding stair and that door

you never opened into the wood:

they whirl within, cracking the floor.

THE ELECTRIFICATION OF THE SYNAGOGUE

I am looking too hard, or this scene

is looking too hard at me. Rabbi Evlagon in black

beside seven naked bulbs, the first electric light

in town. What of the chandelier, a shiver of gold

chrysanthemum. Or, if you prefer, the roof?

And the whole island about to be lit up

like a Christmas tree. Eggs dropped by aeroplanes,

who could have foreseen that? This is prayer

in the light, for the first time. A dreaming

into chinks between square stones

gleaming, edge to edge. Chain, bevel, flex

and rope – and no way out. No eye at all

for in-between thinking, as the glare goes out

like a drop laid on the tongue. Listen, says the dark.

THE WORD FOR EGYPT

The iron lamp on the outside wall is on

and shouldn’t be. It is a cage of wasted light

in daytime, and the wise child would turn it off.

But I don’t. I sit under it after the rain

in this back courtyard by broken inscriptions

and pebbles on the graves of rabbis.

We are out in the wilderness now, a dripping square

of green and white, and behind us is the word

for Egypt: narrow, constrained, but an easy life.

Do you want to go back?

TO SPEAK OF DISTANCE

To speak of distance, the sanctuary lamp:

something you must do or find

and a world you must escape. Never mind

ghost-rumours of an immigration gate.

Grab a revamped passport. Speak of hope,

born as she always is on the site of loss:

a cinnamon bird

with a thousand resistance strategies

fretting her wings like mica charms

or ancient pilgrim songs

sewn in a Book of Psalms. The task

is to assimilate. To move between

the languages – in your case

Hebrew, Turkish, French and Greek –

and celebrate your journey to the shrine.

Everyone’s crossing is a pilgrimage.

The hard thing is to pass; harder still, to fold

those wings, to drop the mask

and translate old words

into new. Jump to it. You’ll find

fresh bearings for a crossing-place

somewhere. This is our exodus: cliffs of fall

on a floating island. Here is our constitution.

And here are the moon and sun

in never-before-seen positions, struggling to be heard.

Ευλογημένο Πέσσαχ

Σας προσκαλούμε να γιορτάσετε μαζί μας και να τα, τα

τελέσουμε το φετινό Σέντερ, την πρώτη βραδιά του Πάσχα,

στην Ταβέρνα ΕΛΑ οδός Κονδυλάκη, στη παλιά πόλη των Χανίων, Παρασκευή 6 Απριλίου, και ώρα 20:00.

Η τιμή του γεύματος (συμπεριλαμβανόμενων όλων) είναι 25 Ευρώ.

Για κρατήσεις, παρακαλούμε να επικοινωνήσετε μαζί μας έως της 2 Απριλίου.

A Blessed Pesach

We invite you to join us in celebrating the First Night of Pesach with the annual Passover Seder at

ELA Restaurant on Kondylaki St, Old Town Chania, on Friday, April 6th, at 20:00

The cost for the meal (all inclusive) will be 25 Euro.

Please RSVP by April 2nd

]]> http://blog.etz-hayyim-hania.org/index.php/2012/03/seder-for-pesach/feed/ 0 http://blog.etz-hayyim-hania.org/index.php/2012/03/human-reason-or-divine-revelation/ http://blog.etz-hayyim-hania.org/index.php/2012/03/human-reason-or-divine-revelation/#comments Wed, 07 Mar 2012 09:08:46 +0000 admin http://blog.etz-hayyim-hania.org/?p=686 Dear Friends,

We are pleased to invite you to an evening with stimulating talk and discussion by Professor Dr. Jeffrey Macy, which will be held on Wednesday, March 14 at 19:00, at Etz Hayyim Synagogue.

Human Reason or Divine Revelation?

4 Approaches to “True Knowledge” in Medieval Jewish and Islamic Thought

“Seek the Truth wherever you can find it”, or “All the Truth and the guide to proper actions can be found in the Divinely revealed texts and the authentic traditions of our religious community” — which is the right path according to Medieval Jewish and Islamic thinkers?

Perhaps surprisingly, among medieval Jewish and Islamic thinkers there are conflicting views regarding the proper way to attain “True Knowledge”.  This talk will examine the 4 basic approaches that can be found among Medieval Jewish and Islamic Philosophers and Theologians regarding the use of Human Reason or the acceptance of Divine Revelation and Authentic Religious Tradition as the proper approach to ascertain the truth and to find the proper way in which to live.

Dr. Jeffrey Macy is Senior Lecturer and past Chair of the Political Science Department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.  He has taught as a Visiting Professor at numerous universities, including three years at Yale University, and he has served as a Research Fellow at Harvard University. During the current academic year he is a visiting Professor in the Political Science Department at the University of Crete.  His academic specialties include Ancient and Medieval Political Thought, Religion and Politics in the Ancient and Medieval world, as well as Jewish and Islamic philosophy.

N.S.

Μην κόβετε τα δέντρα
Αφού και ο άνθρωπος
είναι ένα δέντρο του αγρού.

We invite you to participate in our Seder for Tu B’Shevat, the Festival of the Trees,
the 8th οf February 2012, at 18:00 at Etz Hayyim Synagogue on Kondylaki St.

Σας προσκαλούμε να γιορτάσετε μαζί μας το Του Μπ’Σσβατ, τη γιορτή τον δέντρων,
στις 8 Φεβρουαρίου, ώρα 18:00,στη Συναγωγή Ετζ Χαγιίμ, πάροδος Κονδυλάκη.

This company is quite impressive in its concern for clients beyond the construction or acquisition of property.  They have three parallel organizations that 1) are responsible for obtaining ALL necessary permit including residence permits for Israeli citizens. 2) The maintenance and 3) upkeep of the property.  Full information can be obtained from their site at: www.kretaeiendom.com

We were all especially touched when he told us that he always felt that Etz Hayyim had no roof and that his prayers went directly up into the heavens with none of the normal interference and distraction of political in-fighting in other communities. After Neilah when he blew the Yemeni shofar that we have, we broke the fast in the Synagogue as it was raining (which for us is always a propitious sign), and then after a dinner together he left by taxi for Herakleion.  Next year he plans to bring his wife who is at present pregnant along with his son to spend R-HaShanah and Yom Kipour with us.  Like the rain, Lior is a special blessing for us here.

Guests of Note:  Ruth Padel the poet and great-great grand-daughter of Charles Darwin was with us for a week after giving a poetry reading in Loutro. We managed to set in motion for a poetry work-shop to be held in the new Resource Centre in the Spring.  The author of several books for children, Doreen Rapapport and her husband Bob Rosegarten, the Emeritus Mayor of Great Neck were also with us for Yom Kipour.  Both have been friends of the Synagogue from the days when initial work was being carried out for its renovation in 1999.

N.S.

Σας Ευχόμαστε Καλή Χρονιά και Χρόνια Πολλά.

Σσανά Τοβά

-5772-

Shana Tova

We wish you all a Blessed New Year.

Σας προσκαλούμε να γιορτάσετε μαζί μας τη

Ροσς Ασσανά, Τέταρτη, 28 Σεπτεμβρίου.

Οι προσευχές θα αρχήσουν στις 19:00 και θα ακολουθήσει γεύμα στο εστιατόριο Έλα (Οδός

Κονδυλάκη) ώρα 20:30.

Για την κράτηση θέσεων παρακαλούμε επικοινωνήστε μαζί μας έως της 23 Σεπτεμβρίου. Το γεύμα θα είναι €20 το άτομο.

We invite you to join us for the celebration of Rosh Hashanah, on Wednesday, September 28th.

Services will be held at the Synagogue at 19:00, followed by a meal at Ela Restaurant (Kondylaki St.) at 20:30.

Any one interested should RSVP by September 23rd. The cost for the meal will be €20 per person.

]]> http://blog.etz-hayyim-hania.org/index.php/2011/09/invitation-for-rosh-hashana/feed/ 0 http://blog.etz-hayyim-hania.org/index.php/2011/08/visit-to-etz-hayyim-by-high-school-students-from-germany/ http://blog.etz-hayyim-hania.org/index.php/2011/08/visit-to-etz-hayyim-by-high-school-students-from-germany/#comments Fri, 19 Aug 2011 09:35:57 +0000 admin http://blog.etz-hayyim-hania.org/?p=622 As part of their summer camp on Crete, a group of about fifty high school students from Germany visited the Synagogue on 11 August. The Protestant parish of Ehrenkirchen-Bollschweil in southwest Germany organizes this biannual summer camp which is integrated in the History and Religious Studies curriculum at the students’ high school and allows them to explore the history, culture and nature of Crete.

After a first visit in 2009, parish minister and high school teacher for Religious Studies Ulrich Greder brought also this year’s participants of the summer camp to Etz Hayyim Synagogue to hear a presentation about the history of Etz Hayyim Synagogue and the Jews of Crete as well as some general information about Judaism and Jewish holidays as they are observed at our Synagogue.

The next visit of participants of the summer camp to Etz Hayyim Synagogue is already planned for next year, when parish priest Adela Strobel will take on the organization of the summer camp.

Etz Hayyim Synagogue regularly welcomes groups of high school and university students either from Hania, Greece or abroad.

Η τελετή άρχισε με τον χαιρετισμό προς τους καλεσμένους από τον κ. Νίκο Σταυρουλάκη. Στη συνεχεία ακολούθησε  ένα λεπτό σιγή καθώς και μια έκκληση προς όλους να συλλογιστούμε όχι μόνο τον χαμό της κοινότητας άλλα και όλων αυτών που έχουν χάσει τη ζωή τους, κάτω από παρόμοιες συνθήκες σε όλο τον κόσμο, τα τελευταία 60 χρόνια.

Ακολούθησαν  προσευχές και η επιμνημόσυνη δέηση, το διάβασμα του ποιήματος της Ζέλντα Μισκόβσκυ «Ο ΚΑΘΕΝΑΣ ΜΑΣ ΕΧΕΙ ΕΝΑ ΟΝΟΜΑ» και, αμέσως μετά, το διάβασμα των ονομάτων των 276 θυμάτων και το άναμα κεριών. Με αυτόν τον τρόπο έκλεισε η τελετή.

Since 2001 we have been able to have a memorial service for the Jewish Community of Hania that perished in 1944. This year was especially significant as we had not only a very large attendance (a full synagogue) but the memory of the Community was honored by the presence of official representatives of the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, City- Council as well as the Jewish Community of Athens and the Central Board of Jewish Communities of Greece.  The service opened with a short homily by the director of the Synagogue (Cf. below) and then as is normal with us – the service was taken over by members of the fraternity. Leon Gavrielides recited the prayers, blessings and admonitions of the Shema. Gabriel Negrin led the Amidah of Arvith and Nataly Ventura read a poem – Each of us has a Name.  As we had more than a formal minyan Roger recited the Kaddish and then the Ehal was opened and in common we formally recited the Yizchor for Martyrs and read out the names of all of the 276 member of the Community who perished in 1944. At the end of this votive candles were lit and distributed throughout the two gardens of the Synagogue.

*

This is not an event that calls for us to make long speeches that do little more than stress something about ourselves.  Neither, to my mind, is it necessary for us to linger over the pain and suffering of a community that was left in 1941 with no leadership and that perished in some form of wonderment.  Ten years ago I spoke here at the re-dedication ceremony and re-defined the new role of the Synagogue – not as a focal point for a Jewish community but rather as a place of prayer, recollection and reconciliation. In some strange way Etz Hayyim has done this and at the same time has remained a vivid sign of memory of the tragedy of 1944 when its last formal community ironically met its death – not in the camps of Germany and Poland but embraced in the Cretan Sea.

What meaning we can give this is to be found only in how we respond now to our lives and to the world about us which for many has not really changed appreciably.  Genocide, hunger, displacement and insecurity are still with us - hidden and at times justified in another context dictated by time and the abuse of language.

Before we begin I should like us all to sit in silence and see if there is any meaning that we can give to the death of our community in 1944 – or in the deaths under similar circumstances that have followed in the course of the past 60 years. If there is no meaning then these tragedies are empty and futile.

N. Stavroulakis