"Attention passengers, the next stop – Beit Yehoshua. The next Minyan is at 6:27. Please make sure not to leave baggage unattended."
If such an announcement sounds fictitious, you probably haven't taken the early morning train in Israel lately. Makeshift Minyans are being held in the crowded wagons every morning. Now the Union of Synagogues want to institutionalize the custom.
The Union approached Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, asking that the first wagon of every train be designated as a synagogue. Simultaneously, the Union's members are searching for a donor who'll sponsor the Torah Scrolls and Holy Arks needed.
The Union's chairman Eliezer Shefer explained that there is nothing dramatic about the concept as "every experienced train passenger knows that every morning a prayer is held in the same wagon at the same time.
"Since I know no one will 'waste' an entire wagon for this purpose," Shefer said, "I suggested seats in that wagon will be allocated to religious passengers who are interested in participating in the prayer. All that is needed now is a small corner where we can place the Holy Ark."
In the meantime, the Union advertises a schedule for prayers held on the Beit Shemesh and Nahariya trains. In the near future, they will do the same for the trains to Modi'in.
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