Exploring Jewish life in Panama

Contemporary Panama’s “reason d’existance” derives from the famous canal which created an aquatic passageway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, thus shortening travel routes for much of the world’s shipping routes.  Considered to be one of the greatest engineering feats of its time, its story combines a fascinating perspective on American history and the history of technology.  Anyone really interested in the fascinating history of the construction of the Panama Canal should read David McCullough’s, The Path Between the Seas.

 

Panama has become a focal point of vacation traffic. Kosherica’scruise to Mexico and Panama is scheduled to depart from San Diego on Friday December 21. While the canal generally overshadows any other points of interest, we thought our readers might like to know a little about Panama’s Jewish character.

Here are a number of facts you may have never known about the Jewish community in Panama:

1.  That there is such a thing;
2. It’s the only country outside of Israel that elected two Jewish presidents in the 20^th century;
3. With an estimated Jewish population of 7,000, it has 8 kosher restaurants;
4. A record 85% of its Jewish population maintain kosher households;
5. It boasts a large and very well stocked kosher supermarket which has over 10,000 food items from Israel, Europe and Panama;
6. It has 5 Jewish schools for elementary through high school students.

Like much of South and Central America, Panama’s earliest Jewish settlers were Spanish and Portuguese Marranos- Jews who during the Spanish inquisition in the middle ages - had officially converted to Christianity while clandestinely maintaining their Jewish faith and rituals.  

Panama and other destinations in the southern hemisphere were a haven because they could finally end the double lives they were living and resume their identities as Jews.   The end of Spanish colonial rule in 1821 resulted in Panama becoming part of Columbia which heralded the arrival of Sephardic Jewish settlers from Jamaica and Ashkenazim from Central Europe.  The lack of a large community served as a catalyst for many of them to either intermarry or integrate within the general population.  

Again in the middle of the 19^th century the Jewish population base was replenished by immigrants from the nearby Caribbean region and the Netherlands.  The first synagogue, Kol Shearith Israel (Voice of the dispersed of Israel)- a most appropriate name, was established in 1876. Today, this community has about 160 families.

In 1911, around the time that the canal was being completed, there were over 50 Jews living there. In 1933, unrelated to events in Europe, a small contingent of Jews from Syria and (what was to become) Israel established a second congregation, Shevet Achim – (Brotherly unity), which is modeled on Orthodox tradition and is today the largest congregation.  But the pressures of intermarriage negated the influx of newcomers which occurred after the end of the First World War.   By 1936, the two synagogues had a combined population of 600.  A third synagogue – Beth El- (The house of the Lord), also Orthodox was founded by Jews who arrived escaping from Nazi dominated Europe.

By the mid 1990’s the Jewish population had risen to over 7,000. The the three synagogues joined by several international Jewish organizations like Bnai Brith and WIZO, are united under the Consejo Central Comunitario Hebreo de Panama -  Central Jewish Community of Panama which supports a vibrant and independent Jewish life.

If you are interested in taking a Glatt kosher cruise to Panama with Kosherica this winter, you can find out more info about that cruise and others on Kosherica's website. It will most certainly be an experience of a lifetime!

Have you been to Panama before? Let us know in the comments below, on Facebook, Twitter or Google+. Also, if you want to see some amazing pictures from previous Kosherica cruises, check out our Pinterest.

Jewish Prayer in St. Thomas

St. Thomas, one of the most beautiful and best traveled of the Caribbean Islands, is a favored port of call on Kosherica cruises to this part of the world. The island boasts a bustling nightlife, breathtaking mountain top scenery and delightful souvenir shopping.  It’s also a great place to enjoy water sports offering snorkeling, scuba diving, windsurfing, as well as fishing, kayaking and parasailing. 

In addition to the Island’s exquisite amenities, St. Thomas offers the Jewish travel a rare opportunity to see history come alive in a most unusual synagogue.

The one thing that strikes visitors to the synagogue in St. Thomas is the sand that is spread evenly on the sanctuary floor.  At first sight it looks almost comical, given the fact that it is located on this traveler’s paradise which boasts some of the world’s most beautiful and exquisite beaches.  But the sand on the floor of the Beracha Veshalom Vegmiluth Hasidim Synagogue is no laughing matter.

There is a difference of opinion as to the origin of this custom.  Some posit that the sand recreates the Israelite journey through the desert when they left Egypt on their way to the Promised Land.  The more commonly accepted explanation ascribes this custom to the Marranos – Jews in medieval Spain who were forced to outwardly convert to Catholicism.  Those who continued to practice Judaism met underground and used sand to muffle their prayers.  That would certainly fit in with the national origins of the local Jewish population.

The first Jews in St. Thomas arrived in 1655 when it was ruled by Denmark.  The community was founded in 1796 by Sephardic Jews who came to the Island in order to bankroll trade between the New World and Europe.    Built in 1883, it is the second oldest synagogue in North America (the oldest is the Touro Synagogue in New Port RI built in 1759). The congregation reached its high point in the mid- 1800’s when its population peaked at 400 members and declined in the later part of the 19^th and early 20^th centuries.  The island boasts two famous Jews: Camille Pissarro, the French Impressionist painter and David Levy Yulee, Florida’s first senator.

In addition to its sand covered floor, the synagogue has magnificent benches, and ark and center podium (Bimah) made from mahogany, and a candelabrum (Menorah) which dates back to 11^th century Spain.  The sanctuary is graced with decorative chandeliers from Holland and four pillars representing the matriarchs of Jewish tradition: Sarah, Rachel, Rebecca and Leah.  The architecture of the building is consistent with the accepted Sephardic style which has congregants facing each other as opposed to western style row seating. Shabbat services have been maintained weekly since 1833, the only lapse occurring in 1995 during Hurricane Marilyn.

Interested in exploring St. Thomas for yourself? Check out all five Kosherica’s 2013 luxurious cruises to the Caribbean Islands and the Bahamas featuring five star cruise accommodations combined with outstanding Jewish entertainers and scholars.  For more history, take a look at last week’s blog post to find out about Jewish history in the Bahamas.

Have you seen the synagogue in St. Thomas? Are you planning on taking a Kosherica cruise this winter? Let us know in the comments below, on Facebook, Twitter or Google+. Also, if you want to see some amazing pictures from previous cruises, check out our Pinterest.

Photo credit: asparagir

The Bahamas – A Jewish Perspective

What are you doing this winter? Well, if you haven’t heard yet, Kosherica Cruises is offering its Bahamas cruise for only $599! Yes, you can cruise the beautiful Bahamas on a five star, totally kosher cruise aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines Norwegian Sky.

Now, just in case you are looking for a little something beyond relaxing at sea, amazing scenery and the incredible kosher food that Kosherica promises, you’ll also find a lot of history in the Bahamas. As a matter of fact, there is a lot of Jewish history too.

The Luis De Torres Synagogue in Freeport in the Bahamas is named after the first Jew who was alleged to have set foot in the new world.  While his neighbors knew him to be a practicing Catholic, he was actually a Marrano (a crypto-Jew) who was forced to abandon his ancestral religion in favor of Catholicism out of fear of the Spanish Inquisition.  That probably explains his enthusiasm in joining Christopher Columbus’ voyage where he served as an interpreter given his fluency in Hebrew, Chaldean, Spanish Portuguese, French, Latin and his native Spanish.  As a member of the Santa Maria crew he arrived in San Salvador which was eventually included in the over 700 islands that comprise the Bahamas.

While he arrived there in 1492, the Bahamas were actually settled in 1620 by British soldiers.  During the 1700’s the islands were occupied by a small number of Jews who did not yet constitute an indigenous community.  Those that did settle there were in the main prosperous. Moses Frank, who achieved prominence, served as attorney General and Chief Justice of the Islands in the 18^th century.     

A somewhat larger group of Jews from Poland, Russia and the British Isles arrived after the First World War and settled either in Nassau or in Freeport. These original immigrants were the ancestors of the 300 or so Jewish residents of the Bahamas today.

While there are a number of Jewish congregations on the islands, the Luis De Torres, built in 1972 is the primary functioning synagogue.  The synagogue has a website: www.grandbahamasynagogue.org, email: jberlind@coralwave.com and a telephone number: 1-242-373-9457.  Services are held during the High Holy Days and extend through May.   

There is another community in Nassau, called The Bahamas Jewish Congregation.  Nassau also has a corner of the general cemetery sectioned off for Jewish graves.

This winter’s kosher cruise to the Bahamas is going to be a trip you will not want to miss! To find out about other Kosherica cruises this winter, check out our website: http://www.kosherica.com/.  To see some amazing photos from previous Kosherica cruises, check out these albums on Pinterest.

If you have any questions, please let us know in the comments below, on Facebook, Twitter or Google+.