Bonjour! Bienvenue en France!

Rabeinu Tam Shul

As I hinted to in my last post, I went with three friends (well technically one co-worker, his roommate and my boss) to Troyes, France.  For all those who have been paying attention thus far, that is where the Rashi, Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, was born and moved back to at the age of 25.  What better activity to do on a Sunday during the 9 days.

Memorial for Rabeinu Tam

The first stop on our journey was actually to Ramerupt, France where we went to a shul that had a memorial of Rabeinu Tam. Rabeinu Tam was born in Ramerupt and incidentally was the grandson of Rashi. Since we left at around 4:30 AM, we got to the shul in time to daven shacharit.  It was a small building and the man who is in charge saw us driving around and assumed that we were there to see the shul.  So he came out and opened it up for us.  Apparently his father was in charge of the shul and I think before that his grandfather.  (You all see where I'm going with this..) So back to the story.  We got in, daven'd, looked around and then were on our way.

Inside the "Rashi" Shul

We stopped at a random coffee shop along the way would definitely be described as a hick town - you know one of those places where everyone really does know your name.  (and they are always glad you came). Although not sure if they were glad that we came or not, but alas, we were there, buying some coffee (and tea for me).

French Poodle, In France

Following that small break we continued on our journey (with a short stop for brunch at a picnic bench that we found) to Troyes! Troyes was a bit larger then Ramerupt, but still had that same small town feel.  We found the shul that is called the Rashi Shul. It was not opened, but there was a phone number on the door.  After two attempts we convinced the owner and his son to come open the shul for us.  They showed us around and showed some very old sefarim that they have on display. We then received a map of the town and other "Rashi" spots.

Rashi Memorial

The people of Troyes don't know where Rashi is buried, but they have put up a memorial statue for him (as seen in the picture).  It's a huge round black and white object with the "reish", "shin" and "yud" carved out.

Street Where Rashi Supposedly Lived

We then went to another part of town to the actual street that Rashi suppodedly lived on.  As the four of us strolled the same roads that Rashi strolled, breathed the same air that Rashi breathed and learned the same torah that Rashi commented on we knew that although many things have changed from  his time, there were many things that have remained the same.

Our day in Troyes had come to an end and we were off again on the road for our four and a half hour journey back to Brussels.

Mostly Past, Some Present, Small Hint About the Future

It's been a while since I've last posted.  A lot of things have happened over the past few weeks, so without boring you will ALL the details, I'll try and gloss over the highlights:

Amsterdam

On Sunday a few weeks ago, I went with some locals to Amsterdam for the day.  It's around a 2.5 hour drive north from Brussels.  There are a few random kosher restaurants so we went to go eat at a deli place - i got the corned beef sandwich.  (Just in case any of you are going to Amsterdam and you stumble upon a random Kosher deli place don't get the corned beef.  I assure you, it is much better from dad). We then went to a picnic with some local Jews, where we ate some more.  Following that we walked around the city.  I found the canals, saw the Amsterdamites ride their bikes and then went to another restaurant for dinner before leaving.  

Budapest

One of the perks of my job is the travel.  For those who do not know, I work for an organization that runs events for Jews in different cities across Europe.  Guess where their summer event was held... nope, you're wrong -- I would think it was obvious from the heading of this paragraph... in sunny Budapest!  Really pretty city, great weekend and I had an opportunity to bond with my coworkers.  So all in all, it worked out!  One of the highlights:  We had executive lounge access - basically it was an area on the 9th floor with a huge balcony - free food (although mostly not kosher) and free drinks.   Monday night after most of the participants had left the six staff ordered food from the local kosher meat restaurant - I got the local delicacy, goulash - and ate on the balcony as the sun set over the Danube River.  Not bad for a backdrop. 

Shabbat, This Past Weekend

In general, the couple that runs the organization that I work for hosts friday night dinners for any and all of the local Jewish students and young professionals.  They have been both away the last few weeks so no friday night dinner.  This past shabbat my co-workers and I decided to host dinner.  We sent out the message that we are doing it and had around 35 people respond that they were joining.  Wednesday night we went shopping, Thursday night and Friday we cooked and prepared everything.  Friday night, the meal exploded to over 50 people - we had to set up extra chairs and place settings.  Thankfully we had enough food, thanks to my 'better cook more just in case' mentality.  I also gave a dvar torah (thanks dad).  All in all it was a very successful meal.  People were telling me how good the food was and how much they enjoyed it.  We're making Friday night dinner again this week.  Hopefully it will be as good as last week, only time will tell. 

The plan for this Sunday is to go to Troyes, France - a 4.5 hour drive from Brussels - to visit the graves of Rashi and Rabeinu Tam.  I think it's a great Sunday before Tisha B'Av activity.

And so are the days of our lives...