Rites of Passage: In Cuba, a Revival in Judaism Leads Some to Israel

[question everything]

JANUARY 14, 2009

Rites of Passage: In Cuba, a Revival in Judaism Leads Some to Israel
Relaxed Rules on Practicing Religion Draw Converts; a Rise in Bar Mitzvahs
By JOEL MILLMAN
WSJ

(snip)

While any Cuban, technically, is allowed to emigrate, very few get the required paperwork from the Cuban government or can raise the thousands of dollars required for documents and transportation off the island. Jews bound for the Holy Land, however, can expect to have those fees paid by Israel. The prospect of emigration is helping fuel a revival of sorts in Judaism in Cuba after a half-century of Communism. With as many as 30,000 Jews in the period just before World War II, Cuba's "Hebreo" enclave withered to around 1,000 individuals by the late 1980s. It's up to almost 1,500 today -- with hundreds of other recently departed Cuban Jews now living in Israel or Florida. For this community, that's a population explosion.

(snip)

The journey from Havana to Jerusalem, however, isn't easy. The process of converting to Judaism takes years and includes being approved by a council of elders at the synagogue and then an ordained rabbi. Since Cuba has none, usually converts have to wait for a visiting rabbi from Israel, Argentina or Chile. Last but not least, male converts have to submit to a ritual circumcision. In 2007, dozens of adult Cuban men underwent circumcision as part of their conversion process. Not anyone can just walk into a synagogue and get a ticket out of Cuba. Usually, one needs a Jewish mother to be allowed into the fold. But the rules seem somewhat flexible: Mr. Castro, for instance, is becoming Jewish because his mother, 41, married a Jew -- the former head of the Sefaradí synagogue, José Levy, who is in his 70s.

Mr. Zagovalov, the current religious director of the synagogue, considers the rising interest in Judaism a good thing, no matter how it comes about. For the first time in decades, more Jewish babies are being born in Cuba than elderly members are dying, he says. Bar mitzvahs also are on the rise -- there were eight in 2008, after years in which one, or none, was the norm. According to the Canadian Jewish Congress, which delivers Passover supplies each spring for dispersal across Cuba, requests for matzo now come not only from Havana's three synagogues, but also from other congregations in Cuba, including ones in Santiago, Cienfuegos, Camaguëy and Guantanamo.

(snip)

The revival in Jewish life here began in the early 1990s, when the Communist Party lifted the ban on members practicing religion... The numbers of people interested in rediscovering their Jewish roots picked up in the mid-1990s, when "Operation Cigar" moved 400 elderly Havana Jews to Israel.
Although barely known at the time, Operation Cigar was a three-sided arrangement between Cuba, Israel and Canada. Since Israel and Cuba cut diplomatic relations during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Canada processed the émigrés' paperwork and provided a landing spot for the Cubans unable to reach Israel directly. Israel's Jewish Agency picked up the tab. Traditionally, Israel or private Jewish philanthropies have paid immigration costs for Jews from isolated places, such as Ethiopia, to demonstrate that Israel is a haven for Jews from every corner of the world, no matter how poor.

The "Cigar" exodus was followed by Fidel Castro's surprise attendance at a Hanukkah Party at Havana's Temple Bet Shalom in 1998, another sign his regime was encouraging Jews to return to temple. In the decade since, another 1,000 Cuban Jews emigrated to Israel, says William Miller, a dual Israeli-Cuban citizen who works at Bet Shalom. Religious classes at Bet Shalom are packed most weekends, with students often coming from distant provinces to cram Hebrew lessons and prepare for bar mitzvahs... Since 1992, Bet Shalom has had a rotating troupe of mentors from Argentina, often rabbinical students, who usually commit to a two-year stint, instructing younger members of the congregation as well as conversos. The latest mentor, Fernando Lapiduz, hails from Rosario, in Argentina's grain belt.

(snip)



http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123189390011979489.html (subscription)