Category Archives: Resources

New Jews of Cote d’Ivoire

(JTA) — Avraham Yago, a married father of five who works as a linguistics professor at the University of Abidjan in the West African nation of Cote d’Ivoire, has visited Israel four times to learn about Judaism and practice his Hebrew.

Yago, 64, grew up without any religious affiliation. As a teenager, however, he embarked on a religious journey that led him, by way of Christianity as well as studies at the Kabbalah Center in Abidjan, to Judaism.

“For me, the Torah is the truth,” he told JTA from Abidjan, the country’s largest city.

https://www.jta.org/2018/01/26/news-opinion/world/in-this-west-african-country-a-jewish-community-is-forming

Suriname Jewish Community

Man in front of Holocaust memorial in Suriname

Several rivers come together in Suriname. It is also a place of cultural convergence. Though it is the smallest country in South America, bordered by French Guiana, Guyana, and Brazil, its population is one of the continent’s most diverse. Among its many peoples is a small community of Jews.

Jewish history in Suriname began in the 1630s. In Portugal, the Inquisition left Jews no choice but to convert to Christianity, unlike the Spanish Inquisition which gave Jews the option to leave Spain. Those Portuguese Jews who could do so went into exile. Many escaped to Holland in 1600 where freedom of religion was introduced. From there, in 1639 and 1652, two groups of Jews made their way to Recife in northern Brazil, and on to what is now Suriname. The groups settled in Thorarica and Cassipora Creek, on the banks of the Suriname River. The Jews established sugar plantations which became the backbone of the country’s economy.

In 1652, Sir Francis Willoughby, the British Governor-General for the West Indies  claimed the country for England and recognizing  the Jews’ importance to the colony, the British colonial government granted them special privileges: freedom of religion, permission to build synagogues and Jewish schools, the right to their own court of justice, and a private civic guard. These special privileges made Jews of Suriname the only Diaspora community ever to have complete political autonomy before the founding of the State of Israel.

In 1664, after the French occupied Cayenne (French Guyana), a third group of 200 Jews followed the Amsterdam-born colonizer David Nassy to Suriname. In 1667, Holland and England signed the Second Breda Treaty. As part of the agreement, Suriname was given to Holland in exchange for New Amsterdam (today’s New York City) that went to England. The Dutch retained the special Jewish  privileges. In addition, David Nassy was granted by the Dutch the right to establish a colony he called Jodensavanne, (Jewish Savannah), also known as “The Portuguese Jewish Nation” or “Jerusalem on the River”. The Jews from Thorarica and Cassipora moved to Jodensavanne.

For over 100 years the Jews enjoyed freedom and prosperity. By 1737, Jews owned 115 of Suriname’s 400 plantations, and hundreds of slaves. The success didn’t last forever. Between 1765 and 1795, social, political, and financial changes caused the collapse of the plantation economy.  Most Jews left the Jodensavanne and moved to the new Capital city Paramaribo, where they traded their agricultural past for new lives as professionals, merchants , artisans, and peddlers. In 1832 on Sept. 10, a fire raged through Jodensavanne, destroying everything, including the 147-year-old synagogue. The jungle has reclaimed what little was left.

Today’s Jewish community is a remnant of the past, but is determined to survive. In 1999, the Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jewish communities merged, and changed from Orthodox to Liberal. There is no longer a rabbi; the cantor directs the services at the magnificent Neve Shalom Synagogue, built in 1835. In 2008, the community completed the renovation of the 148-year-old Mikvah with the help of donations. Currently, the community is made up of about 100 members. Recently, the community completed the renovation of the former Rabbi’s apartment, and it is now rented to tourists and guests, a tempting spot for a fascinating visit.

Kulanu Canada is helping this historic community in many ways. In 2016, Canadian funds helped to create a Holocaust Memorial Monument commemorating the 105 Surinamese Jews who died at the hands of the Nazis, and we’ve provided financial help to support the importing of matzoh and kosher wine for Passover.

Celebrating the High Holidays in Suriname

By Jacob Steinberg

Our Torah readers Moriyah and Yehudah Webster and our Hazan (Cantor) Jules (Shul) Donk.

We were delighted to have the Websters as our Torah readers during the High Holidays at the Neve Shalom Synagogue in Suriname. Moriyah and Yehudah, a father and son team, conducted one of the most memorable Rosh Hashanah services I have ever attended. This year we had a “full house”: more than 70 members and some international guests attended the services.

The afternoon Tashlich along the Suriname river was also attended by more than 20 participants.

Tashlich is the ritual performed at a large, natural body of flowing water such as river, lake, sea, or ocean, on the afternoon of Rosh Hashanah. The ritual is performed with small pieces of bread which are thrown into the water to symbolically cast off our sins. The ceremony includes reading the source passage for the practice, the last verses from the prophet Micah (7:19), “He will take us back in love; He will cover up our iniquities. You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”

Continue reading Celebrating the High Holidays in Suriname

Starting at the Wrong End — A Review of Rabbi Stephen Leon’s New Book

Rabbi Stephen Leon
PHOTO BY MARK LAMBIE / EL PASO TIMES

By Viviane Spiegelman

My journey into a world of whispers and shadows started 30 years ago in San Antonio. I had just visited the iconic Alamo where the Texan forces were slaughtered by the armies of Mexico’s Santa Ana.  I felt their ghosts.

To say the least, it was an intense experience, so my friend and I took a head-clearing walk along the Paseo del Rio.  We came across a tiny structure that was billed as The Spanish Governor’s Mansion. Curious, we went inside, where almost immediately, an ornately carved  Baroque secretary desk caught my eye.  I went over to it to examine it in more detail.

When I pushed back the panel covering a collection of tiny drawers, my heart skipped a beat.    There, in the centre of the bank of drawers was a mogen dovid!

What on earth was it doing there in this city of seven Spanish missions and polychromed virgins? Continue reading Starting at the Wrong End — A Review of Rabbi Stephen Leon’s New Book