Joined a temple

As you may know, I am Jewish.  When I was a boy of 6 years old, my parents enrolled me in the City Terrace Folk School [Los Angeles] in order for me to learn Hebrew. I needed to be able to read Hebrew in preparation for my Bar Mitzvah when I reached 13 years. My Bar Mitzvah was held in the Fairmont Street Shul in Boyle Heights [East Los Angeles].

I never joined a synagogue [Jewish temple] before. However, lately with all of the Jew hatred that is spewing out all over the world from the Palestinian propaganda machine, I have come to feel a need to be closer to my Jewish people.

Shabbat service
Close to my apartment is Temple Emanu-El, a reform Jewish synagogue. This evening I attended the shabbat [sabbath] service. First time in all my adult years that I actually went to temple! Wow!

I arrived at Temple Emanu-El about an hour before the 6am Shabbat service was to begin. The temple is gorgeous. Inside the choir was practicing for their performance this evening.

Just to the side of the platform from which the rabbi speaks, there was a table setup to commemorate the 49 people slain in Orlando. The first thing that the rabbi did at the beginning of Shabbat service, was to hand out to the congregation 49 circular paper bands on which each of the slain person's names was printed.

I was one of the congregation to receive a band. My band read: "Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35." Then, each one of us with a paper band, went up to the table, read the name of the slain person on the band, lit a tiny candle on the table and placed the band to encircle the candle.

This was such a beautiful ceremony! The rabbi, a woman named Devorah Marcus, must be a remarkable person!

I decided then and there, that I wanted to be part of Temple Emanu-El.

Tribute to the 49 slain in Orlando

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