Expatiperro

Last Monday night, I went to Rosh Hashanah services with the local Reform congregation. A lot like stumbling onto the Democrats Abroad group in Barcelona, I was very lucky to find this, and just in the nick of time. At the debate party on Saturday, I met a fellow young Jew, Josh, who has been living in Barcelona for a year teaching English at a private school. Very graciously, he and his boyfriend invited me out afterward to a festival/concert put on my the city government in honor of Ramadan (Barcelona has a very large number of Muslim immigrants from Pakistan and South Asia), where we drank Moroccan mint tea, checked out the delicacies at the food booths, and listened to some very eclectic and diverse music acts from around the world. As we split up later that night, we exchanged contact information, which led to us meeting up two nights later at the Gran Hotel Catalonia ballroom for services.

The services themselves, being mostly reform in format, were familiar, but the congregation was a lot different than anything I had experienced before. Not surprisingly, the Jewish community is small here. I would say that there were an equal number of expats at the service than locals, and even among the locals, many are originally from Argentina. Given the past 500 years of Jewish history, or lack thereof, in Spain, I wasn't terribly taken aback. (Though before the Inquisition and expulsion of the Jews from the Spanish Empire in 1492, Barcelona was known for its religious toleration. One of the oldest synagogues in Europe is there, and the park near my house, Montjuic, or Mount of the Jews, takes its name from a Jewish cemetery.) However, even though many people were not native speakers, the services were conducted in Spanish- and even the transliterations were in Spainsh, which took a bit of getting used to. Baruj ata Adonai, elojeinu melej a-olam, etc...

Perhaps the small number of Jews here is related to the slightly intimidating security measures that I encountered in trying to get into the services. To get on the guest list, I had to email the congregation with my name, passport number, the name of my congregation in San Francisco, and why I wanted to go to services with them. The next morning, with my Jewish identity confirmed, I got a call from the secretary with the time and address of the services. Arriving at the hotel, I was asked what I was going there, and after responding that I was here for Erev Rosh Hashanah, was further interrograted Mossad-style about who I talked to on the phone, what the name of the congregation was, and when I had first gotten in touch with the temple. Finally, after 5 minutes, some misunderstandings, and Josh's vouching for me, I was able to get in.

Were the security measures necessary? I can understand, given Judaism's somewhat complicated history in Spain, if Jews here feel a little uneasy about being too outspoken or conspicuous. Many Jews here were originally from other parts of Europe who came to Spain fleeing the Holocaust, and who understandably might be scared to practice their religion openly. But I can't help but wonder if the security measures do more harm than good. Barcelona is an incredibly diverse and tolerant city, with people from all over the world, and of all different lifestyles, living and working together. And maybe if us Jews practiced their religion openly, people would see us for what we are, and not much different than everyone else.

I could be totally quixotic. But maybe a little openness could do wonders for being more accepted. And if it helps a certain non-fluent 23 year old trying to get into his first Spanish-language service, that's a plus, too.