DAYS AT ETZ HAYYIM...a Photographic Diary Project manager: Vassiliki Yakoumaki Photo's by Christos Varvantakis and text by Nicholas Stavroulakis

The library of Etz Hayyim and Jean Vettraino a young French research student. The library has over 1700 books and is divided into several components - History - Ancient, Medieval and Modern. It has specialized works on Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Especially well represented are primary sources in 'mystical life' - Kabbalah, Monasticism

and Sufism. There is are very good sections on Philosophy, Psychology, the Shoah and Crete. Jason Klocek worked most of the summer cataloguing and entering the material into the computer. This winter Jean Vettraino will be working in it on the first draft of his research project.

The Jewish character of Etz Hayyim is made stable by the obervance of Shabbat, the Haggim and daily prayers. Morning begins early with Shahrith. Minha and Arvith prayers are said according to the season. As we only on very rare occasions have a minyan it means that the liturgy is said privately though we have recently begun to accomodate ourselves to saying almost all of the prayers aloud and in Hebrew.

Ben Nahson preparing for morning Shahrith. Ben is an Israeli but is descended on his mother's side from Haniote Jews. He spent several weeks with us this summer.

Due to circumstances and sensitive to the religious needs of a complicated affiliation Etz Hayyim accomodates itself to the needs of its very complicated transient 'community'. Of the many Jews who visit and participate in services some are Orthodox, others Conservative, Liberal, and Reform. There are also a few Christians and Muslims who find no difficulty in praying through our siddur. The spirit of Etz Hayyim is that it embraces all of the Children of Abraham while at the same insuring that the distinctly Sephardic Jewish tradition of worship and tolerance is maintained. We have experimented with several siddurim and have found that we are most comfortable with the traditional siddur according to the Minhag Mizrahi.