Image Up Advertising & Design

| OHCC LIVING | JANUARY 2024 | 39 Yiddish Club "Hide me! Hide me! Hide me, Stevie! Don't let him see me!" I was in the schoolyard of P.S. 213 on New Jersey Avenue in Brooklyn where I was playing baseball with my friend, Stevie Tommaru. It was Friday, late aernoon, at about 5:30 and Shabbat was about to begin. e door of the synagogue across the street opened, and I knew that in a moment an elderly man would appear, looking across the street at the schoolyard. e elderly man was my "zayde" (grandfather) who was looking for me to be the tenth man who would constitute a minyan (quorum). Among orthodox Jews, it is required to have 10 males above bar mitzvah age (13 years old) be present in order to conduct a religious service. I was the candidate, a boy of bar mitzvah age who would complete the quorum of ten. My grandfather called me from the door of the tiny shul (synagogue) across the street. "Donny mir dafen dir far a minyan, cum ahern". (Donny, we need you for a minyan, come here.) How could I refuse? I entered the tiny shul very reluctantly. e synagogue was actually located in the lower level of a small house. e living room, dining room, and front porch were crowded with long wooden benches and simple wooden lecterns. e upper level of the house was occupied by the "shamus" (caretaker) and his family, who maintained the synagogue. e women sat in the rear of the synagogue, behind a translucent cotton curtain, so that they could observe, but not participate in the service. I remember, that at the conclusion of my bar mitzvah service, in this very same synagogue, which I conducted in Hebrew, and Yiddish, the women threw bags of candy at me to commemorate the completion of the service and wish me a "sweet" life. I always gave up my baseball game in order to be the tenth "man" in a minyan. In actuality, I was proud to be part of this service, standing next to my grandfather, who glanced at me with love and pride. e scene with my zayde calling to me from the doorway of the shul was repeated many times. It almost became a ritual which we both enjoyed. I went through the pantomime of resisting the call to become a member of the "minyan", but really enjoyed being considered a man at the age of thirteen. My grandfather "kvelled" (loved) having me sit next to him at the service. Dozens of years have gone by…. e shul was reclaimed as a home years ago. My friend Stevie, all the congregants, and my loving grandparents, have passed away but the schoolyard where I played baseball with Stevie still exists. e building is more than 80 years old and ready to be retired. I no longer live in Brooklyn, but I wanted my adult children to see where I became a "mensch" (a good man). So, we drove past P.S. 213 on New Jersey Avenue one Spring aernoon. Children were playing in the schoolyard, but there was no elderly man standing in the doorway of a house across the street inviting any of the boys to join a Sabbath service. I wish I could relive those moments again… ! e deli luncheon was enjoyed by all who attended. e next general meeting of the Yiddish Club will be on Mon., Feb. 26, from 7 to 9 pm in Abravanel Hall. Details will follow. Please contact Carole Silverman at (H) 760-295-0606 or (C) 818-613-1306 if you are not receiving Yiddish Club emails. ~ Written by: Donald Kent, Board member and past vice-president. Don Kent, Bar Mitzvah, 1946

• Cover