Adir Abebe ’23

Posted on July 19, 2024

“It’s made me want to explore it further.”

I grew up in a quite religious family. When I was 14, we became more masorti [aligned with the Conservative movement], but we’re still observant and deeply connected to religion. On Shabbat morning [of our trip to the US] we were at Romemu Congregation in NYC. For me, this was my first time at a Shabbat morning service  where they play guitar and speak into a microphone, and
broadcast live to anyone who’d like to watch on YouTube. At first, I wasn’t sure how much I related to it, or whether this was truly tefillah (prayer) for me. I remember meeting the congregation’s rabbi after the service, who was so happy we came that he invited us to his room. I don’t know… Something about those people, something in that kind of worship… I don’t want to say that it got me, but it interested me. And every Sunday since we’ve been back home in Israel, I’ve watched the broadcast from Shabbat morning, and it just feels like… something that shouldn’t work, but somehow exists. Shabbat morning services that are held in a church, no less — that’s not an easy thing to process at first. But every time I watch that broadcast, every time I watch them sitting and listening to the service, listening to the children — the boys and girls celebrating their Bar or Bat Mitzvah — it intrigues me. I still can’t say how deep that connection is and whether I agree with it, but it’s made me want to explore it further.