Shabbat in Nabagoye

It is now Monday as I write, but between the power being on and off, the internet router sometimes being in the guest house and sometimes borrowed by others, Shabbat and our activities, this is the first time I could actually write about our amazing Shabbat in Nabagoye.

 As the sky turned to shades of purple, gold and pink and the sun began to sink low, we ushered in Shabbat at the Moses synagogue with the traditional psalms accompanied by guitars and the punctuation of African drumbeats.  Hebrew flowed seamlessly into Lugandan (one of the many languages spoken in the village) and the community members knew everything by heart.  The prayers came to life as the congregation, from youngest to eldest, sang in harmonies that reminded me of Ladysmith Black Mambazo – they are influenced by the music of other African countries as well as Uganda.  I had to literally pinch myself to be sure I was really here praying with the Abayudaya community that I’d learned about and longed to visit for so long.  The tunes that I was used to hearing on recordings and teaching to the Torah Tones, Mount Zion’s adult choir, were enveloping me live!  I had goose bumps as I heard the young but strong voices of the littlest members of the kahal who sang with great enthusiasm.*

As we moved past the opening psalms into the main part of the service, the instruments were put away, but the pulpit still served as a wonderful “drum” for the service leaders.   The power went on and off several times throughout the service, so at times we could only see the light of the two Shabbat candles sitting on a chair in the corner of the synagogue.  After the service, we joined together in a tent outside the synagogue for a Shabbat dinner that our group sponsored for the community.

As if Shabbat evening were not special enough, the morning highlight was calling four women to the Torah as b’not mitzvah, the first time adult women had become b’not mitzvah in this community.  Each one led a part of the service or chanted Torah, gave a short d’var Torah and received blessings from several family members plus the rabbi who is related to almost all of them.  It was 

very moving.

After a great Shabbat walk to see where Semei Kukungulu, the founder of the Abayudaya, is buried, I spent some time talking with Rabbi Sizomu and one of his brothers, Aaron Kintu Moses who runs the Hadassah Primary School here.  Everyone in our group seemed to enjoy the quiet and relaxed atmosphere of Shabbat. 

The day ended with a group of children leading Havdalah in the middle of a big circle of adults.  There was no wine because it is difficult to get kosher wine here, especially since grapes don’t grow in Uganda.  The spices were fragrant leaves from a tree.  Our voices joined together in Debbie Friedman's havdalah tunes as we said goodbye to Shabbat and ushered in another fascinating week in Uganda.

*If you’re interested in hearing music from the Abayudaya, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YVEF3vq9lM  and/or you can purchase a CD (a 2005 Grammy Award Nominee for Best Traditional World Album) at http://www.folkways.si.edu/abayudaya-music-from-the-jewish-people-of-uganda/judaica-sacred-world/album/Smithsonian

--Rachel Stock Spilker