Cultural Trip to the Bay Area.

On Saturday, Michael had the opportunity to travel with some other students to Temple Emanu-el in San Francisco as well as the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California in Oakland.  Along the way, they also stopped and at lunch at Marrakech Restaurant, serving authentic Moroccan cuisine.  Here's his report:
The morning started off slow, our bus was late picking us up, but it did arrive and off we went.

Our first stop was Temple Emanu-el in San Francisco.  This is a reform temple first established in the 1850s for the Jews that came to California during the Gold Rush.  One of its founders was future Jean Magnate, Levi Strauss.  The current temple replace the original after the 1904 earthquake.  Most of the structure dates from the 1920s.

The rabbis that we met were very friendly and even allowed me take some pictures with The Crew.
 The Ark on the altar is solid steel and was forged in England.  It was so heavy that it could not be transported overland, but had to be floated down the Thames to be loaded aboard ship.


 The artwork in the Temple was amazing.  Behind the lattice work is a pipe organ with over 10,000 pipes.  The Ark is beautifully decorated and engraved with the symbols of the Twelve Tribes.

We were able to observe parts of two Bat Mitzvahs, a traditional service and a contemporary.  It was very interesting.  It is easy to see the Jewish roots of the Mass.










After this, we went to lunch at Marrakech.  Getting off the bus, I chanced to look up, and there on a balcony in the middle of San Francisco, was a little bit of home, a Texas Aggie flag.

The food at Marrakech was delicious, and so was the tea, slightly sweet and flavored with mint.

After lunch, we boarded the bus for the trip across the Bay to Oakland.  From the bridge, we were able to see the infamous Alcatraz, as well as a foggy glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge.

In Oakland, we visited the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California.  The ICCNC was founded by Iranian Americans, and is predominantly Shia, though services are attended by Sunni and Sufi Muslims as well.  This is located in a building built by the Scottish Rite Masons. Many of the Masonic symbols have been covered, but are still visible.

All in all, it was an extremely educational day, and I am very glad that I was able to be a part of this experience.