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