The Sound of the Shofar — on the Staten Island Ferry
“My adventure reminded me of how easy it is to perform a mitzvah, celebrate Shabbat, break bread with new friends — and the reasons WHY I love all of these traditions!”
By Laurie Shelton
Last week, on a sunny, humid afternoon in New York City, I noticed a group of young women dressed very modestly — their skin almost fully covered. My friend Tracy and I had decided to do the tourist thing that day, and as we began our ride on the Staten Island Ferry, I asked the girls a touristy question: Are you from Crown Heights?
A gal named Shayna immediately picked up on my assumption (as I’m sure the entire group did), and responded by asking me if I was Jewish. Boom — instant bond. I may have been raised in a Conservative Jewish home versus the far more Torah-observant Orthodox stream that these women are a part of — but it mattered not. And before I knew it, my new friends had invited me to a dinner and personal walking tour of the Heights with them in a couple of weeks. I cannot wait!
For an Arizonan traveling through the East Coast for a few months, the connection I made with these women was already the highlight of that particular day — if not week. Little did I know that it would spark a true “Hashem” moment…
Without Tracy and I knowing it, an observant-looking Jewish man had been listening to our conversation with the young women. He was with his four children, who were all wearing kippahs and traditional tzizit strings dangling down from their clothing.
After the girls exited the ferry, but before we did, this man came up to us and asked: “Did you two say you were Jewish?” After we told him yes, he further asked us if we had heard the shofar blown yet today. With it being the Jewish month of Elul, and leading up to the Rosh Hashanah New Year holiday, it is a mitzvah to blow it for others to hear. Among the many things that the sounding of the shofar signifies for the Jewish People, one of them is looking inward and feeling humility — in order that we may better ourselves to more full participate in a hopeful future.
When we told this friendly man that we had not yet heard that very familiar sound, he immediately pulled a small shofar out of his backpack and started blowing it for us right there on the top deck of the ferry! It was an incredibly powerful moment (watch it here!). We all said “Baruch Hashem,” and Tracy and I offered him our most sincere thanks for the blessings and special treat he had extended to us. A magical surprise, or a true gift from G-d? I think the latter — and the gift of this experience once again strengthened my ever growing faith in Emuna. Always a believer!
When Michael first asked me if I would write for JEWDICIOUS, he told me that bringing an international traveler aboard who writes about her adventures and connects them to the concepts of faith, family, and the human experience would be a “grand slam addition!” How could I not bite on that?
Being Jewish on the road has always felt to me like an invisible thread that constantly connects humanity on so many levels. I’m currently on a domestic voyage as a remote worker, living a dream life, submerging myself with locals and exploring cultural events — including many Shabbat dinners. I had always been curious about what it is like to live on the East coast.
I began the summer in Portland, Maine in July, then made my way to West Hartford, Connecticut for August. Now I’m experiencing NYC for the entire month of September. It’s a very special month to be here, as I’ve already begun celebrating the high holy days with new folks in new ways.
Though I have spent Passover Seders with Torah-observant Jews in Bangkok and in an Orthodox rabbi’s home in Israel, as well as a Rosh Hashanah dinner in Vietnam and a Yom Kippur breakfast meal in Cambodia — being welcomed in the US by fellow Jewish organizations has opened my eyes once again to our unique bond through heritage.
Upon my arrival in NYC on a Friday, I was invited to attend a Shabbat gathering at an outdoor monument on the Upper West Side. A young gentleman from Israel organizes it each week. He receives donations of food from kosher restaurants in the area that would have otherwise gone to waste: Challah, hummus, potato knish, salads, sushi, wine, grape juice, babka — you name it. A full meal with prayers, sermons, and singing. An incredibly warm welcome from a lovely group of new friends.
The best part of that Friday evening was my walk home through Central Park. The streets of New York City were filled with other Jewish people walking home from their Shabbat celebrations. I was greeted by so many passersby with a “Shabbat Shalom” and a warm and knowing smile — some even stopping to chat. All because of a common tradition that compels strangers to provide small mitzvahs of welcome, friendliness, love and peace.
Just a month earlier, I had been invited into a Chabad Rabbi’s home in Maine for Shabbat. While some of the customs and prayers differed from the less formal Shabbat in NYC, it was a likewise priceless experience. Meeting other travelers and seeing how open people are to one another inspires me to no end.
In each of these experiences, I felt palpable connections with all of the new folks I was meeting and interacting with. There’s no question that it stems from that invisible thread of shared Jewish history — on a spiritual level.
Yet to be clear on this Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish traditions of generosity and hospitality are not limited to extending them solely to members of our primordial tribe. Far from it. It is just as much about welcoming all human beings, no matter what their background. In fact, this commandment appears more times in the Torah than any other:
“You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 19:34)
This sojourner traveling the coast is so excited to break bread with new friends in Crown Heights — and to see their neighborhood through their eyes. Who knows what I’ll learn? It might even end up in JEWDICIOUS!
Shanah Tova. I am wishing everyone the gifts of peace, health and love over the next 12 months.
Laurie Shelton is a Veteran Adoption Specialist and an avid international Travel Writer who has corresponded from more than 30 countries.
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