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the others, middle-aged. And they're praying, and as we come to the door, I say to the Syrian embassy guy, “Just tell them that I'm Jewish, we're two American Congressmen and Mr. Early is Roman Catholic, and I'm here to pray. Early is here as my friend.”

So we go inside and they didn't take much note of us. The synagogue is eastern -- whatever that means. It means that there are no chairs; you sit along the wall on a sort of a wooden plank that's covered with pillows and rugs, very oriental. Even some of them are sitting cross-legged on this plank against the wall. One of the members of the Congregation brings over Teffilim, which are the philactories you put on your left hand and over your heart -- it contains prayers in two little boxes, an ancient tradition mentioned in the Bible. You don't put it on your heart; you put it on your arm and your arm touches your heart. The other one you put on top of your forehead over your brow. I hadn't done this since my Bar Mitzvuh, and I didn't know how to do it -- there's a special technique. So I said, “I don't know how to do it,” and I didn't take them. Then I pointed to a tallis, which is a prayer shawl, and they brought one over to me, and I put it on around my neck.

Then at that moment the guy sitting next to me says in English, “Well, what do you think?” I was shocked. I said to