The Synagogue

We were all (the 6 of us – 3 old Moroccans and 3 young Americans) stunned. It was a beautiful synagogue, even by night. The roof had caved in on one side but all in all it was completely in tact. The bima was there and the ark was in near perfect condition. The benches were set up so that you could start praying right there and then had you wanted to. Boxes of prayer shawls, kippot, and prayer books were stacked on the left side of the synagogue. We took pictures and paired up to discuss what we were looking at. Using the light of our cell phones we illuminated that synagogue for the first time in a long time. I taught my new friend some Hebrew as he fondly recalled growing up in Er Rachidia with his Jewish friends. At that moment I knew that this site alone was worth me coming to Morocco and I am eager to share with everyone pictures and video and am working on putting together a presentation for when I return. It wont cost much to restore this synagogue and I am going to start work on the synagogue while I am here. When I get home I hope to start raising funds and getting together volunteers to come to Morocco who will help me seize this historic opportunity.