The Kharkiv Synagogue

I forgot to mention that we stopped at the Synagogue on the way to the metro station for our trip to the tractor factory. Betsy had asked me earlier, after I posted the pictures of the view from our apartment window, why there was still a synagogue in Kharkiv. During the Soviet regime, of course, it was not used as a synagogue. But after the breakup of the Soviet Union and the independence of Ukraine, the synagogue was rebuilt (it's actually quite an unattractive brick building on the outside, but not too bad inside) - in 1995 I think - and when we went in there were about 10 or 15 men who were talking, having tea and biscuits, on their cell phones and/or praying in full regalia with the tallis and the other things that I forget the names of (the little boxes they tie on to themselves). This was a Monday so it was not official services time. I'll have to check it out on a Friday night or Saturday. I'm not even sure they let women in - I may have to go the upper level, although these guys didn't look like they were Hassid, but they did seem pretty orthodox.