the jewish community of cuba: between continuity and extinction

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132 Margalit Bejaranoregularlytwice a day.The modest breakfast served after the morningprayer is an important part of the participants' dailynourishment. Achat around the dining table, followed bya game of dominos, convertsthe daily prayer into a center of social activity, a poor version of agolden age club.Adath Israel is responsiblefor kosher slaughtering,authorizedbythe Cuban government and carried out in the municipal slaughterhouse.Since meat and fowl are strictly rationed, Jews are entitled to buy theirmeat quotain the community'sCarniceria (butcher shop),which opensthree consecutive Mondays each month; 431 personsare subscribed as itsregular clients.59Unfortunately,Adath Israel lacks spiritual leadershipand cannotsupplysome of the most basicreligiousservices. Without a residentrabbi in Cuba there are no Jewish weddingsor conversions; bar mitzvahceremonies havetotally disappeared,and there has been no mohel tocircumcize newborns for over ten years.Adath Israel, serving also as Chevra Kadisha, devotes much effortto provide Jewish burial for Ashkenazi Jews. Since many of the Jewsleft in Cuba are intermarried, the families are not always cooperativein fulfillingthe deceased's wish to be buriedaccordingto ancestraltradition, andthey sometimes have to cope with delicate situations.Abraham Berezniak, managing director of Adath Israel, who acts alsoas ritual slaughterer, confessed that it is a particularly difficult taskto wash and dress the dead, but, like his colleaguesin the Sephardicommunity, the few remaining activists must fulfill this sacred obligation.60While Adath Israel focuses on supplyingbasic religious necessities,the Patronato stresses cultural activities and the representation of thecommunityto the outside world. The Patronato has preservedits former synagogue, famous for its rich metal door covered with Jewish insignia. While the outside aspect of the building has been well-preserved, the hall of the once-magnificent synagogue presentsa sad sightto Jewish tourists visiting Havana; the ceilingis broken, the oncebeautifulparochet ? covering an empty ark ? is torn, and the Seat ofEliahu is covered with dove-droppings. This, however, is onlya partial view: the next room houses a small synagogue, well-preserved,withregular Sabbath services conducted in accordance with theAshkenazi rite by peoplewho still remember the tradition.On the ground floor, the part of the buildingstill in possession ofthe Jewish communityconsists of a small office, a largehall with anadjoining kitchen, and a library.In the 1960s and 1970s the communityhad its own restaurant which served kosher food; now the placeis usedto prepare lunch for participantsin the Sabbath services and as thecentral gathering place during Jewish festivals. Here the PatronatoThis content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.72.230 on Sun, 2 Dec 2012 04:14:50 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
The Jewish Community of Cuba 133holds a community Seder and partieson Hannukahand Purim, open tothe entire Jewish public.The library, directed byAdela Dworin, houses a large collection ofbooks in different languages, and is the only place where one can find aJewish printed word. Unfortunately, duringthe last thirty years onlysporadic periodicals and books have found their way into that collection. Cuban intellectuals interested in information about Israel or theJewish people, or young Cuban Jews curious to learn about their ancestral tradition, find a meager selection. The rich collection of Yiddishclassics ? once the best sellers on the Jewish street ? accumulate duston the shelves.The Patronato houses the community's SundaySchool where asmall group of children learns Hebrew, the meaningof Jewish festivals, and some Jewish history. The school was first organized by Moises Baldas, then head of the Coordinating Committee, to substitute forthe Albert Einstein school after it was closed in 1975. The decline in thenumber of children and the death or emigrationof the teachers hadbrought about its closure, and in the early1980s there was no formalJewish education in Cuba. Followinga visit bymembers of the Habadmovement, the Sunday School wasreorganizedin 1985 byMoises Asis.Aidedby another volunteer teacher, Dr. Mechulam, Asis has to copewith many difficulties: to locate Jewish children, to convince theirparentsto send them to the little school, and to draw their attention toa languageand tradition that is completely foreignto their dailyexperience.Almost all the students in the Sunday School, like the rest of theyounger generation of the Jewish community,are children of mixedmarriages;in fact, it is hard to define "who is a Jew" in Cuba. An unknown number of those who had been born to Jewish families have chosen the pathof militant communism, and keepaloof from everythingconnected with Judaism. On the other hand, Cuban women, married toJewish men, often defend the traditional inheritance of their husbandsmorezealouslythan Jewish-born mothers. Many of those identifyingthemselves as Jews mightnot understand their denialby halakhicconceptions; they possess a strong sense of belongingto Judaism but veryvague knowledge.Jewish youth do not possessa formal organization,but both the Patronato and Adath Israel serve as gathering placesfor young peopleyearningto learn somethingabout their tradition. Having been educated in atheist Cuba, most of these youngsters have little interest inreligion and little mutual understandingwith the elderly Jews whoparticipatein synagogue services. Theyrather wish to understand themeaningof their Jewish identity,and lack, more than anything else,adequatespiritual guidance.This content downloaded by the authorized user from 192.168.72.230 on Sun, 2 Dec 2012 04:14:50 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
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