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34 | OHCC LIVING | JANUARY 2025 | Yiddish Club The Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue in Willemstad, Curacao, is the oldest surviving synagogue in the Americas. It dates from the 1650s, comprised of Spanish and Portuguese Jews from the Netherlands and Brazil. The Dutch Jews, in 1659, brought a 14th century Torah scroll from the Amsterdam synagogue, which is still used today. In 1864, the Jewish community underwent a schism. A feud began over the use of an organ during services, an act forbidden by the Orthodox movement at the time. The organ was eventually installed in 1866, but it was too late, and about a third of the community left to form a new congregation, based on the Reform Jewish movement and Temple Emanuel-El was founded. The organ was used for 100 years before falling into disrepair. In 2002, funded by the government of Holland, the organ was restored, after the merger of both congregations in 1964. This community is now affiliated with Reconstructionist Judaism. The first synagogue building was purchased in 1674; the present edifice dates from 1730. Entering through a gate, a Hebrew inscription reads "May you be blessed upon entering" and on the other side "May you be blessed upon leaving." A quiet courtyard leads into the sanctuary, adorned with blue stained-glass windows and a f loor covered with sand to represent the custom of Spanish conversos to spread sand on the f loors of their meeting places so the Inquisition would not hear the footsteps of the clandestine worshipers. With its high vaulted ceilings, carved mahogany Holy Ark and the pulpit, the galleries, the benches and the chandeliers, the interior of the synagogue is reminiscent of the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam. Nearby is the Jewish Historical Cultural Museum, whose collection includes replicas of tombstones from the Beit Chaim Bleinheim in Curacao, the oldest Jewish cemetery still in use in the Western hemisphere. Today, the Curacao Jewish community is facing an existential crisis. Young Jews are leaving the island, seeking higher education and economic opportunities elsewhere; few seldom return. As a result, the number of Jews on the island has dwindled to fewer than 350, many of them older. However, not everyone believes that hope is lost for the Jews of Curacao. The Chabad movement established a presence in 2017, hoping to restore and grow the island's Jewish population. There is also the hope that increasing tourism to the island will provide the Jewish community the economic lifeline needed to persevere. The Yiddish Club wishes everyone a very Happy & Healthy Chanukah & New Years! Please Save the date of our first General Meeting for 2025 on Monday evening Feb. 24. More information will be sent very soon! Submitted by Dorothy Ganz, Records Administrator

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