Yom Kippur

I have never been a particularly spiritual person. I was raised to be a conservative Jew, and after some time at a semi-WASPy boarding school, I was happy to be at UPenn, and get involved in the Jewish community (on a social level). It was fun that we were all in the same boat, and had religion, and the culture that comes with it, in common (yes the SDT chef cooks K for P meals). Throughout my time in high school and college I have started to gravitate more toward my religion, finding comfort and sometimes even a haven within it. But Yom Kippur in Alexandria took my personal spirituality to a whole new level.
I have spent the past three weeks in a Muslim country. The athan (call to prayer) can be heard from any point in the city, as mosques are ubiquitous and there are always people ready to pray. The cultural aspects of this religion, like the prohibition of alcohol and the veiling (and sometimes total covering) of women are also prevalent.
A group of Jewish students in my program decided to check out the old synagogue of Alexandria because one of them heard there was a make shift service there for Yom Kippur. I had very little faith in this, but was willing to go see. We arrived at the gates, only to be asked several times if we were Jewish. The guards were shocked, and kept asking if we were ALL Jewish or just some of us. When we finally convinced them we were all Jewish they showed us around to a back entrance past armored vehicles and guards. We were then searched and asked for multiple forms of identification. Finally we were admitted into the courtyard.
To say it was beautiful would be an understatement. The courtyard was something out of a storybook, with the synagogue facing a once affluent street. The synagogue itself was palatial, and when we went inside we were in awe. There were vaulted ceilings and limestone pillars. I don’t really understand why modern synagogues don’t mimic this architecturally, and instead favor the strange art deco minimalism. The pews were massive and wooden, and there was an enormous balcony on the periphery where the women formerly sat. I say formerly because there are no regularly functioning services in this synagogue. There were all of fifteen congregants for Yom Kippur (including the six of us) despite the fact that the building seats five hundred.
The other congregants welcomed us warmly. They couldn’t believe that we were Jewish students from America studying in Alexandria. They also looked like long lost members of our extended family (the Sassoon side). It was so moving to talk to them about their lives, and the service and Judaism in general. Most of them live in Israel part time and Alexandria for the rest, and make it a habit to be here for Yom Kippur as their families were before the diaspora. However they have not had a minyan (ten Jewish male adults are required for certain religious obligations) on Yom Kippur for over ten years. They couldn’t contain their excitement when we told them we would bring a few other Jewish guys from the group for the services the next day. At some point during the service, maybe it was when they had one of the guys from our group do hagbah (lift the torah for everyone to see) or maybe it was when the ardently thanked us for coming, I felt both saddened about the lack of Jewish presence in Egypt but also proud to be a member of such a long history.