Secrets of the synagogue in Synagogue Street in Singapore

Magain Aboth synagogue. For details of photo go to Wikipedia.

The top site for colourful photos of the synagogue in Singapore is the Long and Winding Road website, promoting the Secrets of Singapore book.

The Mikvah

 I have visited the synagogue several times, once on a tour organized by Friends of The Museum, which included a side trip to the mikvah. (A mikvah is a ritual sunken bath with running water for women).

 I also visited with the family on a Saturday morning where I witnessed a bar mitzvah when ladies threw wrapped boiled sweets from the ladies' gallery. (Later, throwing items was banned on health and safety grounds.)

 I visited again for a Friday night service and dinner (after paying in advance so as not to exchange money on the sabbath). I wanted to try out some recipes and compare the Sephardi (Spanish and Southern and Asian style cuisine, which features more rice) compared to Ahskenazi cuisine (German and northern European and western European, Russian and Ukrainian style, more popular in London, England, featuring potatoes such as latkes and  dumplings.) So I went back yet again to see the kosher food shop. 

Jacob Ballas And Blue Stained Glass

What I missed on my previous tours and visits was the wonderful blue stained glass in the reading room of the Jacob Ballas centre, named after the stockbroker who built it. He also donated  a swing for children in the Jacob Ballas Children's Garden in the Botanical Gardens, one of the national parks of Singapore - which is free to visit.

When I look up synagogue street on the internet I get Synagogue street in Norwich England. That's news to me. But what I am searching for is Synagogue street in Singapore. 

Useful websites

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1791756220849507&type=3

https://www.nparks.gov.sg/gardens-parks-and-nature/parks-and-nature-reserves/jacob-ballas-childrens-garden

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/singapore-virtual-jewish-history-tour

The most Beautiful Synagogue In Europe?

I visited the synagogue in Sofia, capital of Bulgaria. The synagogue is already open, although still undergoing renovation. You can see the columns with gold decoration around the tops, the huge central chandelier, the ceilings painted blue with stars.

Al around are the numerous six point star,s called magen David, or star of David. The six point star is known to Jews as the star of David and Muslims call it the seal of Solomon. The floor also has stars with more points.

The so called museum is at the moment (June 2019) just one case of objects on the left. Join up with another visitor if you don't know what the objects in the case are, but you can read the captions and check up on Google. For instance, there is the curved ram's horn used to blow loudly with great effort during the service of New Year.

It might help you to recall that the seven branch candelabra is for the Sabbath. 

Seven branch menorah in Sofia's synagogue.In Bulgaria.

The festival of lights in the autumn is Hanukah. The eight' branch candlestick', actually a nine branch candlestick, is called a hanukiah.

There is  small entry charge. One case on the wall on the right has items for sale, such as music, and head covering for men in satin look material in bright colours, such as green (kippot in Hebrew).

Keep looking and you keep seeing more intriguing objects. On the floor on the left is a glass panel you can walk on revealing what was discovered underneath, broken pieces of stone with carvings.

I was very impressed with the synagogue. I thought it was the most beautiful I have seen, of those open to the public. Maybe I should get out more.

Sofia Jewish Tour
I took a Jewish Tour, a free walking tour of Sofia. To our surprise the tour did not stop at the synagogue. But you can visit it on your own. We found it with the aid of Google maps on our mobile phones, aided by Tripadvisor.

Synagogue Museums in Europe
Other synagogues to visit in Europe include those made into museums in Amsterdam in The Netherlands and in Prague in the Czech Republic.

About the author
Angela Lansbury, author and speaker. Author of Jewish Travel Guide.

Harrow Baptist Church - how to see it for free

Harrovian speakers club meets the first and third and fifth mondays each month (except bank holidays) at Harrow Baptist church, not in a meeting room but the actual church hall, modern yet very atmospheric, with the high ceiling and stained glass window.

I must have passed the church many times and not noticed it. The building is set back from the busy shopping street behind a railing.

I like the entrance yard with greenery at the sides. The street outside should be edged with plants, not just the occasional tree.

Inside, turn right into the church. Just beyond the entrance doors to the church is the baptismal area, a rectangular deep sunkern area, so even a six foot person can be immersed. I picked up a leaflet about it in the hallway.

It reminded me of a Jewish mikvah, also designed for total immersion, same principle, cleanse yourself physically and mentally. The Muslims and hindus wash their feet eery time they enter a place of worship.

If you have a chance to attend a meeting, or church service, or just to peer through the gates, do so.

Go to a free Harrovian Toastmasters Speakers Club meeting on the first, third and fifth Mondays each month, except bank holidays. Enjoy the Toastmasters meeting and the bonus is you get to see the church, without any commitment to Toastmasters or the church, just an entertaining evening hearing speakers practise their speeches and seeing the beautiful church.

For more details aabout Toastmaster meetings, go to the website Toaastmasters International Find a club

About the author
Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.