Bringing in Shabbos in Bulgaria

When we journeyed to Plovdiv Bulgaria last year we conducted a Shabbaton in one of the only two functioning shuls in the entire country. It was the first time in recent memory that the Jews of Plovdiv had a community Shabbos with meals davening and shiurim. Afterward we stopped in a small town called Pazhardik. There smack in the center of town stood a polished looking building that on the inside was gathering dust. Constructed in 1850 this had been the local shul for decades a reminder that at times this town’s population was over 30 percent Jewish.