Shteiblach

Accidentally (or purposefully) waking up late on Shabbat morning in Toronto means missing the bulk of shul. In Katamon, it means getting the opportunity to attend one of the many services held at the Shteiblach.

A house-sized building in the middle of a residential neighborhood, the Shteiblach is exactly what it sounds like - many smalls shuls gathered into one. One enters the building into a lobby, and each of the five or six rooms off of that central area houses a different minyan, each one starting at a different time. As soon as one service ends, the room is vacated and another begins in its place.

Aside from the presence of rolling minyanim, ensuring a timely start for all but the sleepiest of Shabbat morning attendees, the most interesting part of the experience was the variety of the people who shared the ten a.m. room with me. Kippot ranged from black velvet to large white knit, from colourful crocheted to suede. Clothing seen were shiny black kapotas, untucked white shirts, striped polo shirts paired with shorts, and a range in between. Shoes noticed included white socks (on top of the pants, of course) and black slippers, sandals, crocs, and standard black fancy dress. The nusach of the prayers was dependent on the siddur you'd selected and on the person leading. Halachic decisions were rendered based on a shouted exchange of ideas. The Kohen and Levi aliyot were assigned based on a discussion within those groups. While yesterday's art gallery exhibit may have undermined our hope for the future of Arab-Israeli relations, today's experience demonstrated that there may in fact be hope for Jewish dialogue.

As long as you are Orthodox. And male.