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Mel Snyder | profile | all galleries >> Galleries >> Old Synagogue in Paris, "New-Age" Wedding tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Old Synagogue in Paris, "New-Age" Wedding

A rainy March Sunday in Paris, where my son Aaron and I had attended the bar mitzvah of a friend's son -- and then, spent a few days seeing Paris. A Catholic country, much of Paris commerce closes on Sunday, so we set off for the Jewish quarter.

We almost missed seeing the old synagogue, on a small street that leads to the Picasso museum. When I realized we had missed it, we walked back. There, across the street from a Cheder (Jewish school where a large security guard in payas (side-curls) visually checked everyone passing by, was the synagogue.

I decided to go inside, and Aaron reluctantly followed me in. Aaron has a fear of authority and being in the wrong place. We put on yarmulkas at the door. There was some kind of ceremony inside.

It was an orthodox wedding! Bride and groom cloaked in a giant tallit (prayer shawl) under the chuppah (wedding canopy).

Aaron could have cared less, and was sure I was going to be thrown out, because I took out my digital camera and began focusing on the chuppah. We had run afoul of a strange rabbinic custom at a Paris conservative synagogue the day before -- "No pictures on Shabbat!" (even in the social hall!), he angrily gestured to me, as he solemnly said the blessings over bread -- AND THE HAM SPREAD OUT ON THE KIDDUSH TABLE BEFORE HIM. (So you know even French Jews are "different.").

Believing I'd be once again chastised for shooting in a French synagogue, Aaron turned to walk out of the old synagogue, because he could not see what I could see: A digital video camera and several digital still cameras were being held up under the chuppah -- a clear indication that photography would be OK.

I took some photos and went out to find Aaron -- and he was nowhere! I was angry first (was he hiding around a corner?) then concerned he had wandered off.

As the last of the guests were leaving the synagogue, out strolled Aaron with a strange smile on his face.

It seems as he was heading for the door, he was swept up by a group of late-arriving Orthodox Jewish men, who probably figured he was a foreigner, and should have a better view -- so they swept him in with them. He said his feet didn't really touch the floor as he was "ushered" in and handed a prayer book.

So he had a front-row view when the rabbi lifted the tallit -- and what he told me about the bride and her family was so amazing I could not believe it until I saw her for myself. Aaron was so shocked by her appearance that he was certain he could not have been in an Orthodox synagogue, but I assured him he was.

Click on each small photo for a better view. Look closely at the bride, and you will see why Aaron was so amazed.

I thought, from a distance, she might be a Moroccan Jew. But no...up close, wearing the classic "bindi" between her eyes, was a lovely Indian woman.

Old Synagogue Jewish Quarter.jpg
Old Synagogue Jewish Quarter.jpg
The interior was classic.jpg
The interior was classic.jpg
...as was the ceremony.jpg
...as was the ceremony.jpg
The men were on the main floor.jpg
The men were on the main floor.jpg
...and most women in the balconies.jpg
...and most women in the balconies.jpg
A few younger women stood at the back.jpg
A few younger women stood at the back.jpg
The groom was an Ashkenazi Jew.jpg
The groom was an Ashkenazi Jew.jpg
And the bride was a beautiful Indian woman.jpg
And the bride was a beautiful Indian woman.jpg