Courthouse Synagogue
Music and lyrics by Elisa Korenne
I remember the sound most of all (eeefgagfe)
A wide warm well of song
Hebrew prayers in the jury box
Lawyers table in a white tablecloth
The rabbi spoke from the Judge’s bench
The Torah stood on the witness stand
The sound of Hebrew prayers
Rang over the Courthouse chairs
From house of justice to house of worship
Secular to Jewish, civic to sacred
The community of Devil’s Lake
Gave up their Courthouse for our High Holidays
The county wouldn’t set fall trial dates
Till they spoke to Maurice, Herman or Jake
On Rosh Hashana we’d move our portable ark
From the Goldberg’s house to the courtroom bar
A faraway rabbi would travel in
We always hoped for a man who could sing
When the courthouse was a synagogue
The only judge in the room was G-d
From house of justice to house of worship
Secular to Jewish, civic to sacred
The community of Devil’s Lake
Gave up their Courthouse for our High Holidays
The Jews would come from miles around
Leaving their farms to come and worship in town
We never knew how many would come
There had to be accommodation for everyone
So the ladies planned while the service went on
They’d count all the guests, and divvy them up
Each family knew which guests were theirs
They’d invite them over for dinner after the prayers
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