Welcome to Gaia! ::

I'll be out of my home country from Monday the 24th until Tuesday the 1st. That's Christmas through New Year's for those who measure time by those holidays; for me, that's just the two cheapest days of the year on which to buy plane tickets. Specifically, I'm going to France, and I won't lie about it, I'm nervous.

I've been hearing some rather nasty news stories and personal tales of anti-Semitic sentiments and behaviors (including violence) in France for the past few years. I've been wrestling with myself over this for a while. Do I want to wear hats and scarves that look like they're there purely for fashion, so that I am not identified as Jewish? Or do I have the kishkes to be visually identifiable as a Jew, and to face with strength whatever comes after me?

I've decided that I don't have the spare cash to buy a bunch of hats that don't look Jewish. I also realized that while I may have the kishkes to be open about who I am, I don't have the kishkes to try to lie about who I am; I think lying takes so much more work, energy, and bravery than simply being true to myself. Finally, I don't have the kishkes to enter Europe, which saw the Nazis and other anti-Jewish crowds firsthand, dishonestly. I don't have it in myself to (effectively) tell all those who died there, and all who were left behind, "Your legacy inspires me when I'm safe on home soil, but not when I'm this close to where you suffered for being one of our people. I'll talk a big game at home, but when I go somewhere else, I'm going to shut my mouth and pretend I don't know you." That would be like spitting on the graves of those who proudly covered their heads, grew out their side-curls, put mezuzot on their doorposts, and refused to lie about their allegiance with the people and the God of Israel.

So, both by circumstance and by bravado, I've pretty much got to do it. Undercover covering is not my style. I'm coming out with my chin up and my head covered.

Good luck. Personally, I tend to carry items that can be used in improvisational self-defense (what can I say, I'm a fan of Krav Maga). I find a pen in the pocket, keys attached to a nice long cord, and even a small pocket knife all work wonders for taming nerves about aggression.

By the way, voted for option one in the poll. wink

Have fun in France.

Remember, a Bic lighter held in your hand makes a lovely knuckle brace if you need to throw a left cross at someone.

Other than that, don't worry about being hassled for being Jewish.

xd That's so ironic, but I guess there's always spring break or summer?

A random bit of info, carry some keys with you, even if you don't have a car. Better to be safe than sorry?

Actually, I can't carry keys either, on Shabbat. Paris has no eiruv.

Let me explain.

Carrying is one of the thirty-nine categories of m'l'achah (acts of mastery, often mistranslated as 'work', the things that are forbidden on Shabbat). Carrying anything at all in the hands or pockets is forbidden on Shabbat. This includes one's prayer book, an umbrella, or, yes, keys. One is forbidden to carry these items from a private area into a public area, and vice versa. I couldn't see one lying in the street and take it inside; I couldn't bring one from my apartment to the synagogue because that would require me to take it onto the sidewalk or street, which are public areas.

However, one is permitted to carry needed items from a private domain into a semi-private domain, and vice versa, by virtue of an eiruv -- a 'boundary.' This can be a natural boundary, such as a river, or a man-made boundary such as a fence of any kind. What turns it from a public area into a semi-private area is that food is cooked in one home/location, and brought into the semi-public area, before the start of Shabbat. My home community has an eiruv. Its boundaries are partially defined by our lake shore, and partly by a string that has been strung from one telephone pole or signpost to another, around our entire (rather large) neighborhood. The eiruv is established by checking the strings every Friday before Shabbat, and also by having someone in the community bake a few loaves of challah and then bring them to a publicly accessible location (the synagogue) before the start of Shabbat. By virtue of this eiruv, I'm permitted to carry my apartment keys, my prayer book, and my identification (in case I get run over, G*D forbid, and have to be taken to a hospital, they need to know who I am, whom to contact, and who carries my insurance).

Paris, however, has no eiruv anywhere in the city. Thus, observant French Jews can't carry anything, including keys to mechanical locks. I can't carry my keys.

Even if I could carry my hotel room key within an eiruv, I couldn't use it, because it'll be an electronic key. Use of electricity is forbidden on Shabbat. That puts the key into the category of muktzeh -- an item which can only be used by violating the laws of Shabbat, and therefore which should not be carried or even touched if it's possible to avoid it. Since I can't enter or leave the room without using electricity, I've come to the conclusion that I will simply stay in my hotel room during all of Shabbat.

This is what happens when I'm not the one who gets to make the hotel reservations. My father-in-law, I greatly respect, but he does not live by halachah, and therefore he doesn't see the problems for someone who does.

Oh, yes. Loads of things one doesn't do on Shabbat if one is observant. Here's a (comparatively) brief bit of information on the things one doesn't do:

http://www.ou.org/chagim/shabbat/thirtynine.htm

So what's left to do, after all these things are taken away? Very little. One can pray. One can visit family and friends who live within walking distance. One can study, but only subjects that don't conflict with the spirit of Shabbat. Basically, one is steered into developing relationships with one's family and with Hashem. It's very relaxing, and I'm convinced that as the song says, "More than Israel has kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath has kept Israel." When there's nothing to do but connect with one another as individuals, the relationships have a chance to grow, deepen, and flourish in a very natural, but often intense, way. Shabbat really enhances the family dynamic, if everyone in the family is committed to it.

Welcome back; I'm glad you enjoyed it! I went there in '99 or so before all the airline and Anti-Semitic mess- it's good to know that not all parts of it have changed for the worse. Odd how obsessed she is with France, though. xp