Friday Night Services 1967

Near the bimah, His Honor Harry Zeitgeist davens like a holyterror toing and froing as his honorable Mrs. umphs in such awefuladmiration from above. Behind a carved balustrade, fanningherself with the rose colored supplement: kvelling at her baldhusband before silent prayer recedes—before the Kodosh. Herethe Aleinu ascends in baritones to a balcony, a newly painted blue

woman's section. Below, Young Mr. Frelech is singing the blues,though his vaybl Shandel's pregnant. At the news, he praised the HolyOne. Frelech's Fur Emporium was blessed with an apparent heirbut now the wife's nasty to his mother Rose. Everyone hears how awful!Then the ultra-sound (a girl!) and Rose paled, prayed, bawled.A meydl can't run the family business. So much farfaln fanning

flames of sibling rivalry. The brothers Frelech step outside, rabid fansat the Friday Fights—one for Terrell, the other Ali, black and blueauger pounding, pelting word after word, the family destiny balledin the mud auguring dry clay. Rose's fox stole bites its tail: un-holysacrifices, dead minks in the balcony. Eau de parfum like offalsmells up the temple as family intrigue smolders in the air.

Thou shall love the Lord with all thy heart. Erringidle chatter infuses prayer, upstairs and downstairs. Books as fanshide flapping lips: Izzy's broke in-laws, Mimi's brisket. It's awful.Gossiping, Coveting, Offending, Cavorting. Mrs. Rosen turns blue,catching Kit Katz and the Stone-boy necking in the stairwell. HolyCow! Danger-fields of no respect where children are having a ball

as if it was a Drive-In, or sneaking a beer or wolfing a treyf BallPark Frank at Yankee Stadium. A pity. Now Rabbe Blitzer's sermon eruditeas the Alter Rebbe (though Old Lebediker snored until the holyheavens opened and the seas parted to save us at which time he fanneda fart to rise the dead our way and then the whole gimmel class blewa mouth-fart, reenacting the deed which the boys thought awfully

good). Beside Bess Baum her mom. Poor Feyge Reis. Really awful.Feyge sits like a sick bird on a broken twig. The chemo made her bald.A dress of faded flocks droops from her shoulders as she bends, blowsinto a linen hanky staining it a faint rose. Her lungs strain for air,fearful she might faint. Her daughter's hand rests light as a silk fanbetween her shoulder blades. Feyge, dazed and doped: Nothing is holy

about this. Nothing. The ending days. Awful. Without air, deathreaches high and low becoming a bald profaner of prayers offeredin holy devotion. In the balcony, prayers settle like dust on blue paint.

Bimah:

The elevated area or platform in a Jewish synagogue where prayers are chanted and where the Torah is read

Daven:

To sway or rock lightly while chanting Jewish liturgical prayers

Kvell:

To rejoice or take delight in

Aleinu:

The closing prayer of the morning, afternoon and evening service

Vaybl:

A young married woman

Alter Rebbe:

Literally "the old Rebbe" and historically Shneur Zalman of Liadi, a Hasidic Rabbi from Liadi, Imperial Russia, who lived from 1745-1812

Gimmel:

The third letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Sometimes the letter is applied to a Hebrew school class, the third class of studies, which contains elementary-school-aged children