Hello from Singapore - November 18, 2023

Hello from Singapore.

It is 4:00 a.m. I am wide awake, so it's a good time to write about my first full day in Singapore. I arrived quite late to my destination after spending an eternity in the Singapore Changi Airport which is beyond vast. After entering the terminal, I followed the sign to the right which seemed to indicate the direction of baggage. Sadly it was the direction to Terminal 2's baggage carousel. Suffice to say, I walked, I went through passport control, and then rode the train back to Terminal 1 where I was supposed to have been in the first place had I chosen to go to the left after entering the terminal.

It took me some time to explain to the officials that I already went through a passport control albeit the wrong passport control in Terminal 2. It took the officer a little time to locate the information and corroborate my story; only then was I allowed to pass through the control system toward baggage. My suitcase was no longer on the carrousel but nearby on the floor waiting to be claimed. I was finally off to the taxi stand and on my way to my friend's house. I was a long way from home in Montreal, with a stopover in Dubai, but I did arrive and adventures would be awaiting!!!

Unlike autumn temperatures back home, it is hot and humid here. I will spend the next few days with Pat Sharma and her family. Pat is one of the storytellers that I met and hiked with along the Lycian Way, on the FEAST Turkey trip in May of 2022. For breakfast Pat presented me with all kinds of sweets and savoury treats to taste. Everything was delicious but very different from the bagels I brought them from Montreal. Christofe, Pat's husband, was delighted with my well travelled bagels!!

Our first stop, after a walk along the canal pathway that runs behind her home and a quick jaunt on the subway, we made our way toward Waterloo Street where the Jacob Ballas Jewish Museum is located. Next door to the Museum is the Maghain Aboth Synagogue built in 1878 (Shield of our Fathers - in Hebrew). Before we got there we passed by Chijmes Hall, an old white church, dating back to 1903, which was part of the cloisters where the nuns once lived in 1854. Story has it that unwed mothers would bring their newborn babies, that they were unable to care for, and leave them at the church door to be raised by the nuns. The entire complex housed Singapore's oldest Catholic Girls' School until the 1980's. Today the church is mostly used as a wedding venue.

As we rounded the street on route to the Synagogue I immediately realized that lucky for me it was Saturday morning and behind a well guarded gate we could see families gathering to pray. Outside the gate there is a security centre where we asked if we would be able to visit the synagogue. Admittedly, we were not dressed in the appropriate attire but I figured it was worth the ask.

The guard asked me if I had a passport and sadly I had forgotten to take it with me, but I offered up my Nexus card for US/Canada travel. The guard approved the card and then proceeded to ask me if I know how to speak Hebrew. After assuring him that I could speak the language, he went to find a young religious man who would come and ask me questions. It was a mild interrogation all in Hebrew. Thanks to my elementary schooling at Hillel Academy in Ottawa, I passed the test with flying colours and we were welcomed inside.

We entered the gate and were told that the women's prayer section was on the second floor, indicating that the synagogue is home to an orthodox community. The Synagogue is Sephardic in practice, but I believe that the Rabbi is a Chabadnic because on the outside of the building there is a Menorah that is a recognizable world wide symbol of Chabad.

Pat and I went upstairs and were warmly greeted by a lovely young woman with a child in a stroller and a handful of candies in her palm. This signified that a Bar Mitzvah celebration when a boy turns thirteen was taking place. I quickly understood that this was the mother of the Bar Mitzvah boy and that she was also the wife of the Rabbi. Her son was down below us in the main sanctuary where he was chanting his special portion from the Torah.

In Sephardic tradition the Torah scroll is kept inside a beautiful silver casing which is opened when in it is time to read from the Torah. This beautiful silver casing stands upright and the scrolls remain inside ready in the appropriate spot where the boy will read from. This is unlike the Ashkenazi tradition, where the boy will chant from an open torah that lays flat on a table. When closed the Ashkenazi Torah is wrapped in a small cloth band to hold the two scrolls together and then the torah is dressed in beautiful cloth cloak with two round holes at the top to slip easily over the wooden dowels that the parchment is attached to. Then two silver crowns are placed on each of the wooden dowels and a silver breast plate hung from a chain that hangs on top of the front of the cloak.

In both traditions the parchment may not be touched by human hands and each time a portion is completed the scrolls are rolled so that they open up to the next weekly portion. Those that are called up to either read from or bless the open torah, will use the corners of their prayer shawl or Talit to touch the spot where the chanting will begin. A blessing is said, reading follows, and they repeat the process with their prayer shawl after the chanted portion is sung and a closing blessing is said. The Bar Mitzvah boy will use a silver instrument called a 'Yad' or hand with a pointer finger at the end as a guide that he will place while chanting the Hebrew words.

The Rebetzin (Rabbi's wife) gave us a handful of candies so that we could partake in the celebration of throwing sweets down to the boy upon completion of his Torah reading. She hugged me, and invited us to join them for lunch, but we politely declined and wished her and her family a hearty Mazel Tov.

Pat had never visited the inside of the Synagogue so it gave me an opportunity to share bits of my culture and knowledge of the service with her. We went upstairs to the museum roof top as Pat thought that we would have a great view of her city, but I think that the roof top doubles as the Synagogue Sukkah (temporary hut used during the Sukkot Festival), and thus the view was unfortunately blocked with a temporary wall, as the holiday had recently passed.

Our journey continued along Waterloo Street. It is rumoured that this street is coined "Miracle on Waterloo Street" or "Harmony Street" because there is a Synagogue, the Roman-Catholic Church of Saints Peter and Paul, a Hindu Temple, and a Buddhist temple all within close proximity. After visiting the synagogue we arrived at Sri Krishnan Temple built in 1870. It is one of Singapore's oldest temples and is the only South Indian temple in Singapore dedicated to Krishna and his consort Rukmini.

Down the street is Kwan Im Thong Hood Temple which is a traditional Chinese Temple built in 1884. This temple is of significance to the Buddhist community among Chinese Singaporeans, and is believed to bring worshippers good luck after praying to Kuan Yin or Avalokitesvara, the Goddess of Mercy.

A practice known as "cross-worshipping" has evolved where many devotees of either temple also worship at the other. This practice is commonly seen as a microcosm of Singapore's multi-religious society. Further down the road is a Muslim place of prayer all within the same block. All are open and welcoming as if you were walking into a storefront. There was incense and candle burning and Pat told me that people tend to move between the temples as they may be in search of prayer that might require more than one type of g-d or belief. I found that fascinating. I understand that the Hindu and Buddhist Temples are a stone's throw away from the Bugis district where the Sultan Mosque, an iconic landmark for the Muslim Community is located.

We were about to visit another place of worship where it was required for us to remove our shoes. As I was unbuckling my sandals I quickly discovered that I was no longer carrying my yellow purse across my shoulder. I immediately put my sandals back on and we raced over to the synagogue which seemed like the likely last known spot where I might have removed it from my shoulder. Once again I had to explain in Hebrew why we were returning and then made a mild dash for the bathroom. My purse was hanging on the back of the door exactly where it had been hung in the first place. I wasn't really worried, after all it was the Sabbath!! The contents were all there and we were able to resume our journey.

Pat took me to a Vegetarian Indian Restaurant. She did the ordering and let's just say, everything was delicious and we left sated. We walked through the market stalls in little India, passed the goldsmith stores which are now owned and run by the Chinese, and we marvelled over the old architecture. Decorations were strung across the street intersections in celebration of Diwali Festival of Light. Many families were out celebrating and greeting one another.

Something to note about the old architecture is that owners used to live above their stores. The second floor dwelling always hung over the store below, thus creating a covering that extended over the sidewalk. This architectural creation was ingeniously designed to protect the customers from the rain.

According to Pat, Singapore has grown over the years through the purchase of sand from Indonesia and Malaysia. Each time the sand was used to push the harbour front and beaches further out into the water to allow the developers of Singapore to expand the land mass. We visited the waterfront area which is now very beautiful thanks to the visionaries that cleaned up the canal system which had become overcome with sewage and other smells that became quite undesirable.

Later that afternoon, I swam laps in the outdoor pool that runs the length of Pat's house while she went to evening mass with her mom. When they returned we enjoyed a lovely home cooked supper together with her mom, Martin (one of her sons) and her husband Christophe. It has certainly been a busy first day with lots of images dancing around in my head along with Hanuman the Monkey G-d, the female lioness and lion that stand on either side of the opening to the Chinese Temple, the Hornbill, and all of the lush vegetation and new tastes and smells along the way.

Pat designed this welcome card representing my unpublished story
"A Girl With A Calabash"

Breakfast treats

More tasty delights

Chijmes Hall - former convent of the Holy Infant Jesus Chapel and Caldwell House
Neo-Gothic Building, dating back to 1903.

Jacob Ballas Jewish Museum on the left and behind the security centre you can see the Menorah and the top of the yellow building with the orange roof which is the Maghain Aboth Synagogue behind.