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CARIBBEAN -
  THE JEWS OF THE BAHAMAS
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HISTORY
Jewish Virtual Library

The small Jewish community in the Bahamas has origins dating to the 17th century. The British first settled the Bahamas in 1620; however, few Jews came to the live on the islands. Luis De Torres, who was the official interpreter for Christopher Columbus, is thought to be have been the first Jew and European to set foot in the New World when the Santa Maria landed at San Salvador in 1492. Torres was a Marrano, a “secret Jew,” who officially practiced Catholicism but was escaping the dangers of Europe during the Inquisition. He was fluent in Arabic, Hebrew, Chaldean, Spanish, Portuguese, French and Latin. Another Jew, Moses Franks, served as attorney general and chief justice of the islands in the 18th century. After World War I, a few Jewish families from Poland, Russia, and Britain settled in Nassau. Later Jews came to Freeport on Grand Bahama Island.

Today there are about 300 Jewish people living in the Bahamas. There is a synagogue in Freeport that was built in 1972. On New Providence Island in Nassau there is a special section of a cemetery that is walled-off for Jewish graves at the corner of Shirley St. and Lover's Lane.

The Community in Nassau is named The Nassau Jewish Congregation, and is affiliated to the Union of Jewish Congregations of Latin America and the Caribbean. At the corner of Shirley St. and Lover's Lane, in Nassau on New Providence Island, there is a special section of a cemetery that is walled-off for Jewish graves.

The Community in Freeport, on Grand Bahama Island, the Freeport Hebrew Congregation, has fewer Jews than Nassau, and is affiliated to the Union for Reform Judaism. Its Synagogue, named the Luis De Torres Synagogue, has Erev Shabbat Services from Rosh Hashana until the following May, and for the major Festivals. A Member of this Community is the designated Jewish Marriage Officer for the Bahamas.

Freeport Hebrew Congregation, P.O. Box F-41761, Freeport, Grand Bahama Island

Tel. (242)373-2008 or (630)929-3061, Email: [email protected]

BAHAMAS JEWISH COMMUNITY
Jewish Bahamas

The Bahamas has a long and rich Jewish History with Jews settling on the islands for many years.

With the burst of development over the past few years, the Nassau community is growing rapidly.  Our community is mostly comprised of people who have relocated here from around the world.  Our holiday programs & communal events create the perfect setting to make friends, celebrate Jewish occasions and honor personal milestones.

The special combination of cherished traditional values and contemporary ideas, successfully meet the needs of the modern day Jewish family. Our unique approach and unconditional acceptance of every Jew, regardless of affiliation or background, has created a dynamic and flourishing Jewish community.

 

MISSION STATEMENT

To promote and strengthen Jewish awareness, pride and identity by providing educational, cultural and social activities and services to all Jewish individuals and families regardless of affiliation or background.

Chabad of the Bahamas is a branch of worldwide Chabad Lubavitch, the world’s largest network of Jewish educational and outreach organizations. It is a vibrant and dynamic force in Jewish life, and its programs touch the lives of millions of people in thousands of communities throughout the world. Treasuring the infinite value of every individual, Chabad of the Bahamas is committed to enriching the lives of every single Jew here through its multiple programs and educational, social and religious services.

A JEWISH COMMUNITY IS MAKING A BIG DIFFERENCE IN HURRICANE-RAVAGED BAHAMAS. HERE’S HOW.

Miami Herald, Carrli Teproff, Septemberr 29 2019

Rabbi Sholom Bluming, of Chabad of the Bahamas, delivers toys to children in Freeport in the days after Hurricane Dorian hit the island nation on Sept. 1.

In the days after Hurricane Dorian ravaged the islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco in the Bahamas, many focused on sending food, water and hygiene products to those affected by the storm.

But for Sholom Bluming, the island nation’s only rabbi — who had been leading a small congregation of Jews in the country long before the devastation — there was one need that he saw being overlooked: addressing the mental health of the children.

“I found myself walking around the shelters and I saw these children were lonely; they were scared and they had nothing left,” he said.

Bluming, 32, the spiritual leader of the only Jewish center in the Bahamas, Chabad of the Bahamas, quickly mobilized, reaching out to business owners and organizations, securing warehouses in Freeport and ordering water and other supplies for the thousands in need. Within three days, Bluming boarded a plane from Nassau to Freeport and spoke to community leaders to get a better sense of what was needed. With his connections, he set up 17 distributions sites where people could get meals, water, generators and other supplies.

And while meeting the most immediate needs of those affected by storm was his first priority, the idea quickly came to him that there had to be safe spaces for children, so they could play, read and talk to counselors after the trauma of the Category 5 storm, whose nearly 200 mph winds and rain deluge decimated Freeport and the Abaco islands.

“Children needed to feel like children again,” he said. “Their whole world as they knew it was gone.”

According to the Bahamas government, 53 people have been confirmed dead from Dorian. Many in the Abacos and Grand Bahama lost everything and remain traumatized. There was no question, Bluming said, that he needed to be there for the victims, especially the tiniest of them.

As he walked the streets of Freeport in the days after the storm, the message became very clear to him. When he gave a little girl a doll, she held it tight and cried.

“She said it reminded her of the doll she had on her bed when the storm hit,” he said.

Then he encountered two school-aged boys sitting outside their destroyed home, looking sad and lonely. He gave them a board game and their faces lit up. There was another boy who had a simple request — a hug. Bluming obliged.

DSC_7667 (Medium).JPG

Rabbi Sholom Bluming delivers water and the board game Chutes and Ladders to families in Freeport in the days after Hurricane Dorian hit the island nation on Sept. 1, 2019. CHABAD OF THE BAHAMAS

Those encounters gave Bluming the idea of doing more by creating a physical space — in most cases a tent — where they can be separated from their reality for a while. With no school in session, the children wanted to be able to play and create. Bluming reached out to local organizations and started getting volunteers, including therapists and counselors, to man the centers.

Jewel Major, of Grace Missions in New Providence, said organizations on the ground have come together to create safe spaces for children and are training volunteers to recognize their needs and how to help them. At one of the largest shelters where about 1,000 people are being housed, they created the Love Tent.

Inside the tent, children are invited to color, participate in group games, pray and tell stories. On a recent day, a large group of kids were being taken to a pool to learn how to swim. Another group of kids made picture frames and a professional photographer came to snap a photo of them.

“We are finding that a lot of children want to share their stories,” Major said. “Life as they knew it is no longer the same. They are looking for some normalcy.”

Rabbi Sholom Bluming delivers a toy to a child in Freeport in the days after Hurricane Dorian hit the island nation on Sept. 1. CHABAD OF THE BAHAMAS

Henry Cooper, a volunteer who lives in Grand Bahama, is grateful for Bluming’s foresight.

“It is a blessing for them to be here in the country,” said Cooper. “They know the need and have made it clear they are not going anywhere. We are very grateful for that.”

The Jewish community in the Bahamas — unlike many other island nations — is fairly young, Bluming said. About 40 to 50 years ago, Jews started settling in Nassau and other parts of the island, but no brick and mortar synagogue was built. Today, they meet in a storefront.

Several years ago, Bluming, who is originally from New York and was ordained in the Rabbinical Seminary of Los Angeles in 2007, visited Nassau and realized quickly “there was a thirst” for a Jewish community. He said he found “a very welcoming place in the Bahamas,” which is a largely Christian community. He and his wife, Sheera, moved there.

Bluming adheres to the Chabad Lubavitch philosophy, a movement that focuses on inclusion and community outreach. He began reaching out and learned there were a lot of Jews, but no one was bringing them together.

The congregation Bluming created mainly comprises people who have relocated from other places around the world. Because it is the only option for Jews in the Bahamas, the community is made up people from every branch of Judaism including Reform, Conservative and Orthodox.

Every weekend there are about 50 worshipers for Shabbat, which begins at sundown Friday and runs through sundown Saturday. For Jewish holidays, the group gets bigger with tourists joining in.

When Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, begins at sundown Sunday, Bluming is expecting more than 100 people to gather in a hotel ballroom, to pray together and reflect on the year.

Bluming said the holiday is especially meaningful this year because Rosh Hashana is a time for self awareness and accountability.

“On Rosh Hashana we are called upon to answer to ourselves and are challenged to find where we can make the world around us better,” he said.

As Bluming gets ready for his sermon, he will talk about renewal and growth. He will likely speak about his experiences over the last several weeks and share stories of resilience and strength.

“There is no doubt in my mind that every Jew around the world will be praying for the people of the Bahamas for comfort and healing and the strength to rebuild,” he said. “Rosh Hashana is a time we pray not just for ourselves but for all of humanity. It is time where we are given a chance to start anew.”

Before the storm even left the islands, Bluming began working on logistics of getting help to those in need. He said people from South Florida and nationwide began reaching out to him to offer money and supplies. Since the storm, thousands of dollars have poured in from donations around the world, he said.

Rabbi Sholom Bluming organizes food and other supplies to deliver to Freeport in the Bahamas in the days after Hurricane Dorian hit the island nation on Sept. 1, 2019. CHABAD OF THE BAHAMAS

Among the organizations that reached out: The Greater Miami Jewish Federation, which has organized its own effort and has allocated $20,000 to the Chabad’s relief fund. The Chabad is one of several groups the Federation has supported for Hurricane Dorian relief.

“We knew they were on the ground doing good work and we wanted to support their efforts,” said Michelle Labgold, the chief planning officer for the Greater Miami Jewish Federation.

B’nai Torah Congregation in Boca Raton, working with the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County, has also been working with Bluming.

“We found out that even though the Bahamas has a small Jewish population, the Chabad has a presence, and an extraordinary rabbi,” said Ron Gallatin, who leads the TLC social outreach program at B’nai Torah.

“We have decided to partner with Rabbi Bluming because our due diligence with several Bahamian ministers and a former U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas made it clear he had the ear of the government, was of impeccable character, and would work tirelessly to help all in need.”

Bluming, meanwhile, continues to visit Freeport.

“One of my missions was not just to send relief in containers,” Bluming said. “I wanted to be on the ground. I felt something in me as a rabbi and as a Jew that it’s my calling to do whatever I could to help my neighbors.”

THE

INCREDIBLE

STORY OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE

Rabbi Sholom Bluming, of Chabad of the Bahamas, hugs a Bahamian in Freeport as he delivers food, toys and other supplies to those hardest hit by Hurricane Dorian, which struck the island nation on Sept. 1, 2019.
CHABAD OF THE BAHAMAS