yah ta, ta ta ta, yah ta, ta tatata; Florence Chabad

So every restaurant has the same food-panini, pizza. Oily food, and my stomach is acting up. I ate at Kasher Ruth, and loved it. Then I saw a picture of Rebbi Schneerson in a storefront, and someone said the Lubavitchers have singing and dancing. I walked by the storefront on a Friday night, and there the Rebbe was, and he invited us to dinner, or lunch on Saturday. I remembered the yummy Kosher at Ruth, but thought lunch was less of a moral commitment than dinner, and so we showed up for a lunch on a Saturday. It was beautiful. Prayers, an amusing and not too stressful homily, and a wonderful lunch of salmon, salad, and turkey stew! Then, the tables were thrown aside (literally), I was yanked off Bills rib as a screen was thrown up, and the service (on the men side of the room) took 20 minutes.
The following Friday I bit the bullet and went to Synagogue. You can watch the light change through the stained glass windows of a synagogue that looks just like a church in many ways. The Chabad dinner included singing and clapping, routine prayers at the table and another lecture, but no service after. There must have been 30 of us, all tourists, most Americans. I know there were several orthodox visitors, for whom the kosher meal was a must. All in all, it was a lot of fun, and when I get home, I will send donations both the the Synagogue via the Florence Jewish Community, and to the Chabad.