Tag: Synagogue

If a city or town I travel to has a beautiful or historically significant synagogue that is open to the public, I’m often drawn to visit it. There are at least a couple of reasons for that.

For one, I’m culturally inclined to feel an affinity for synagogues. I always found services excruciatingly boring, and I don’t think I’ve ever been a believer—in any religion. But, that having been said, I still have my Bar Mitzvah certificate from decades ago. So there’s still something there.

Secondly, I visit a lot of old churches and cathedrals when I travel around Europe. A lot. I have no attachment whatsoever to Christianity. I just admire the beautify and grandeur (and age) of those old edifices. But visiting them makes me feel guilty about not visiting many of my tribe’s places. So if I hear or read of a nice or historical synagogue I might visit it out of guilt. But only if there are no services on at the time. There’s only so much excruciating boredom I’m willing to put myself through while traveling.

There might also be other subconscious reasons why I visit a significant synagogue. But how would I know? What the heck do you think “subconscious” means?