The Etz Hayyim is the small Synagogue in the heart of Chania where I, Finn Nagel, am currently volunteering. It is a quiet oasis in the middle of streets filled to the brim with tourists. But often also this little place gets a lot of tourists who seek to know more about Jewish life on Crete. One of my jobs is giving tours in which I tell visitors about the history of Jewish people on Crete and how the community is now. Especially in the summer this activity takes up most of my time here. In the Winter that is different, because there are significantly less tourists. That is why every volunteer at Etz Hayyim gets the opportunity to do a winter project, which they choose themselves. My winter project for example was to do research about the Jewish people that lived outside of the Jewish town in Chania and then compose a walking tour out of that. But a winter project can go into many different directions. Another thing I did over the winter was to compose a cookbook since another task we take turns on is cooking for the Synagogue’s staff every day.
Another task is to help with projects organized by Etz Hayyim. Currently that includes an art exhibition about the pre-war community. I helped with the assemblage and preparation as well as with taking shifts and answering questions from visitors there.
There are also Sabbath services every Friday night, which is organized by the congregation itself. The service is held in Hebrew. However, the English translation is also printed in the booklet from which the service is read, so that everyone has the chance to understand what is being said. There are also often visitors from different places, who are usually on holiday here. Not all of them speak Hebrew, so the service is often enlivened by prayers in different languages. In addition, the other volunteer and I were also taught the Hebrew letters so that we could at least read something along.
Sending organisation: ASF (Aktion Sühnezeichen Friedensdienste e.V.)
Hosting organisation: Filoxenia, Intercultural-Environmental Organisation
Co-funded by the European Union