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View this post on Instagram Inside, ten men congregate every afternoon, sitting in the long, narrow room on the first floor. The “regulars” in the group are Buddy and Dean and Ben and David, Danny and Morris, Herbie and Eli, and Maurice, the one they call their leader. None is under 65. Buddy is wry, Dean is quiet, David is ninety. Maurice likes teaching. Ben likes people. Eli sweeps the steps. Herbie collects music. Morris came from a synagogue that was torn down. Danny’s father helped found this one. “We have practically a minyan if everybody shows up,” Herbie says, referring to the quorum needed to hold the prayer service. Ten men make a minyan. Ten men, at least, must be present for group prayer. Group prayer is a mitzvah, a commandment. . . .But there are only nine men in this group today. What do they do for the tenth? What do they do when not all of them can come? “It’s a problem that’s going to have to be dealt with, and recognized, before too very long,” Says David, alluding to his own age. . . .Herbie counts out loud. “One, two, three . . .five. Oh, you gotta make some calls, Buddy.” They sit, waiting for a minyan, in the same places every day, chatting, checking the hospital list, sharing news. And then, ?at five o’clock?, they pray. #saltstoryarchive #jenniferfreed #1991 #jewishmaine #minyan #makingminyan A post shared by Documenting Maine Jewry (@mainejewishhistory) on Apr 4, 2019 at 4:41am PDT
Inside, ten men congregate every afternoon, sitting in the long, narrow room on the first floor. The “regulars” in the group are Buddy and Dean and Ben and David, Danny and Morris, Herbie and Eli, and Maurice, the one they call their leader. None is under 65. Buddy is wry, Dean is quiet, David is ninety. Maurice likes teaching. Ben likes people. Eli sweeps the steps. Herbie collects music. Morris came from a synagogue that was torn down. Danny’s father helped found this one. “We have practically a minyan if everybody shows up,” Herbie says, referring to the quorum needed to hold the prayer service. Ten men make a minyan. Ten men, at least, must be present for group prayer. Group prayer is a mitzvah, a commandment. . . .But there are only nine men in this group today. What do they do for the tenth? What do they do when not all of them can come? “It’s a problem that’s going to have to be dealt with, and recognized, before too very long,” Says David, alluding to his own age. . . .Herbie counts out loud. “One, two, three . . .five. Oh, you gotta make some calls, Buddy.” They sit, waiting for a minyan, in the same places every day, chatting, checking the hospital list, sharing news. And then, ?at five o’clock?, they pray. #saltstoryarchive #jenniferfreed #1991 #jewishmaine #minyan #makingminyan
A post shared by Documenting Maine Jewry (@mainejewishhistory) on Apr 4, 2019 at 4:41am PDT