"Authentic Jerusalemite": The Gabayim are preparing for Yom Kippur Israel today

"I disconnect from home and work as much as possible and invest my time in organizing the synagogue," says Moshe Mizrahi, Gabay of the "Remember Abraham" synagogue in Givat Masua in Jerusalem, about the work these days, between Kasa and the decade.

Yom Kippur is approaching and with it the final preparations in the synagogues for the arrival of thousands of worshipers in the synagogues in the city for prayers and vows.

Because of the corona the synagogues open seats outside the synagogues to allow everyone to come and not take a risk because of the long hours of prayer.

Mizrahi talks about the heavy responsibility and preoccupation from the month of Elul until the evening of Simchat Torah when Yom Kippur is the culmination of the synagogue: "I am very excited at this time. " .

The Synagogue Remember Abraham, Photo: Courtesy of the photographer

"On Yom Kippur, most of the neighborhood comes to us and I am constantly preparing for the reception of the people," says Mizrahi.

And on Yom Kippur we are crowding the rows because of the quantities, and this year because of the corona we are opening outdoor seating so that people can feel the prayer and the power and belonging to this day.

The rush is mainly in the evening and towards the closing prayer.

The rabbi of the synagogue, Rabbi Yitzchak Elisaf, prays all the prayers on holy days and our version is authentic Jerusalemite. "

The Kyom Synagogue (Moroccan Community) in Kiryat Moshe is also in the final preparations for Yom Kippur. .

Gabi Azriel, Gabay of the synagogue for 30 years, says that "our cantors and bards are regular and every year they come to the synagogue and they conduct the prayers in an orderly manner according to the Moroccan melodies. For prayers and of course for the days of forgiveness. "

Moshe Mizrahi, Photo: Courtesy of the person photographed

"On Yom Kippur, between 10 and 15 percent of the worshipers are not from our community and come especially to us. They come to hotels in the area to pray with us," says Azriel excitedly.

"As a Gabay I get help from the whole community and on Yom Kippur we pray in a bigger shrine because we have more worshipers so we need a lot of chairs, tables and arranging the place. The atmosphere is so special that tourists from abroad also come to us, Modifications.

The audience that comes warms the heart and gives us strength for the whole year. "

For the holidays, the Jerusalem municipality distributed about 530 sunshades, in order to allow the masses to pray outside the synagogues and defend themselves against the corona virus without fear of weather damage. Over the past month, the municipality has collected information from community administrators and through records made on the municipal website about gaps in shading equipment among worshipers in synagogue communities and minyan worshipers in open spaces, and after a few days, lists were collected and all shading requests approved, including allocations to communities. Holy work, especially at this time of year, "says the mayor of Jerusalem, Moshe Leon. "Yom Kippur gives us strength for the whole year and we are very happy that the Gabayim and the communities open their gates to the general public who are interested in coming to the synagogues to hear all the vows and locks."