The Quiet Voice of Anshei

������When no one's in the building Congregation Anshei Israel can be eerie.     �The large glass doors by the chapel and Breger Hall start howling with the wind, like some disembodied entity trying to entice someone to let it in.  �The sound of someone dumping a bucket of ice echoes through the hallway as the ice machine suddenly comes to life.  �A soft continual moaning resonates through the kitchen, like the anguished wail of a tortured wraith, as the large metal coffee maker labors at its task. The sudden "Slam" of a door is the cooling system "shutting-off" reverberating through large metal vents. ����� Then there are things that defy explanations: Pots and pans in the kitchen suddenly "Clash" when there's nothing there to cause them to move; or the sure solid voice of someone in a soft conversation just within earshot - and there is nobody in the building; or having someone call your name as if to ask you a question, and no one is there. ����� As a writer, I can see all these sounds enbodied in some dark and foreboding house in the desolate hills that lay hidden in a misty and newly-formed landscape somewhere in my mind - a story edging its way into the here and now, like a ghost who wants to bring to light that which keeps it earthbound. ����� I started listening to the quiet voice of Anshei, and then things changed. �Anshei became a living entity, a dear friend eager to tell story after story of all the things that are important to it. ����� The howling of the large glass doors by the chapel became songs of prayers still singing in the heart of God. �The ice machine related stories of parties and festivities. �And there are the voices and sounds which were stolen from the pockets of time, kept tucked-away like treasures hidden in its halls, quietly re-echoing like memories relived. �The sound of the cooling system is really the breath of a living place. ����� The quiet voice of Anshei is a mystery, reminding us that life is full of mysteries. �A mystery teases us, intrigues us, encouraging us to investigate the unknown, and fills us with awe. �Mysteries keep us creative, sharpening our wits and our observations, keeping us in touch with what's around us, what's inside us and what's important to us. ����� Mysteries fill our lives each day - for life itself is a mystery. �Anshei helped me to remember that. ������A lesson learned by listening to a quiet voice - The quiet voice of Anshei. ��������������������