Montevideo, Uruaguay

Yesterday rain, now a cold wind blows.  Montevideo is a poor country lacking natural resources.  Tourism is a main industry, as is the exporting of meat.  The streets seem to tilt with the many apartments stacked atop and next to each other, many of these stand vacant..

Our last stop on the cruise was a history lesson about the Jews of this area.  Of the 3,400,000 population, about 10,000 are Jewish.  Starting with the Spanish Inquisition, continuing through the Sultanate of the late 1800s and Tzarist Russia, and culminating with the Holocaust, Jews have migrated to South America.  The community here is close, but shrinking with many of the families migrating to Israel.  This population is down from 40,000 after WWII.

Our first stop on the tour was at the Holocaust Memorial with its respectful array of stone monuments.

Monuments include an inclining wall, a stark chimney, railroad tracks, and quotations from renowned writers.

Uruguay’s politics have wavered as far as Jews are concerned.  A dictator said the children could not go to school.  The current president, non-religious, says school is required for all and must be free, though there are several Jewish schools which are fee based (children who cannot afford them are on scholarship).

We visited two synagogues.  The first has a small orthodox congregation with a Moroccan torah. 

The men and women sit separately.  Weddings are performed at another venue.  Sadly, the building is deteriorating.

Next, we went to Yavne, a synagogue and school.  We arrived at recess and the outside filled with children of all ages, some boys wore kippot and tallisim and others bareheaded.

 According to the rebitzen who spoke to us, “The congregation is orthodox, but not so orthodox.”  They welcome Jews of any level of observance.  Women sit separately, but with a moveable glass wall so they can participate.  Halacha, such as wearing, kippot are not mandatory.  She described it as “a place to go when you want to observe.”   There is a strong sense of community including our guide whose grandchildren attend there.   

For those of you who remember ORT, there is an ORT school and our guide taught business English there.

Phase four of our trip is ending.  We have enjoyed the cruise, both places we have seen and people we have met.  Now on to further adventures.