In one of the most isolated cities in the world, in the heart of the Amazon in Peru, there are businesses with names like Cohen’s and Levy’s, weekly Shabbat services and a Jewish cemetery that goes back more than a century. It is well cared for, as people understand that the surrounding jungle will overtake it if it is not tended. Rabbi Marcelo Bronstein of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun was one of four rabbis to travel recently to Iquitos, Peru, to complete the process of conversion for 280 local people. Many people in Iquitos are the descendents of Jewish traders who came to the Amazon in the late 19th century as part of the rubber boom. Most were from Morocco, although some also came from European
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cities, and some came to South America even earlier, fleeing the Inquisition. Many of the traders married local Indian women and had children; some of the men stayed in Iquitos while others returned to their homes, leaving their new families behind.This was the second trip to Iquitos for Rabbi Bronstein, who visited the city — accessible only by plane or riverboat — two years ago to teach Jewish subjects. He said he encountered people with dark skin and Indian facial features, who had names like Benzaquen, Abramovitz and Bensimon, a strong interest in their Jewish backgrounds and a commitment to Judaism. Since according to halacha, Judaism is transmitted through one’s mother, these people were not halachically Jewish.“Jewish names are like identity cards,” Rabbi Bronstein told The Jewish Week, noting that these people clung to their Jewishness over the years, remembering their family histories. In a video he took of his latest trip, several people tell stories of grandfathers and great-grandfathers who came from Morocco, France, Germany and Poland, citing more details than many New Yorkers who are the grandchildren of immigrants can recall. Rabbi Bronstein got involved with the Iquitos community through his brother, Rabbi Guillermo Bronstein, a Conservative rabbi in Lima. Rabbi Guillermo Bronstein first got to know the Iquitos community in 1991, and has been traveling there since then, helping with community building and Jewish education and advising about the laws and rituals of conversion. An earlier group of 150 people was converted, in conservative tradition, in June 2002, and most have moved to Israel. While many of these people had kept the tradition of lighting Sabbath candles, their intermarriages with people of Indian and Catholic descent resulted in a mix of traditions. In order to convert, they had to renounce the practice of other traditions, committing themselves to the Jewish faith and a Jewish life. The men of the community had to undergo circumcision, and all of the people immersed in a mikveh, a ritual bath, in a lake — the men on one side, the women on another. Many families converted together, and they were interviewed in family groups or as individuals by the bet din, which included Rabbi Ruben Saferstein of Argentina and Rabbi Roberto Feldman of Chile. (Since they are brothers, the two Bronstein rabbis could not serve on the Bet Din together, so the group alternated. Rabbi Saferstein, who is from the rabbinical seminary in Buenos Aires, led the panel.)“It was one of the most powerful experiences of my life,” Rabbi Marcelo Bronstein said. “For me it was the mystery of the survival of the Jewish people. There were sparks, buried in the middle of nowhere, and the sparks were transformed into a fire that cannot be stopped.”His daughter, Dana Bronstein, an eighth-grader at the Abraham Joshua Heschel School, accompanied him. Earlier this year, she became a bat mitzvah, and this was a mitzvah trip for her: Dana served as mikveh lady, instructing the women in how to properly immerse themselves in the lake, and she helped them to say the blessing — they repeated the words after her.“I was not only taking part in an incredible part in ‘history’ but I was taking part in an incredible part of all of these peoples’ lives,” Dana said. “I remember thinking to myself after we finished the mikveh, I just helped change all of their lives forever.”A Spanish speaker, Dana was able to mix with the young people of Iquitos and hear their stories directly. In the video, the teenagers treat her with gratitude and affection. She reported back to her father that many of the people were terrified of him. He explains that it was not fear of him, but of the moment. “Many waited four years to do this, some traveled huge distances, they have a lot of expectations.”He recounts apologizing to one man, dressed formally in a suit and tie, for his own informal dress because of the intense heat, and the man replied, “You’re fine, really. But for me this is the most important day in my life.”One woman, who sensed his hesitancy about her level of Jewish knowledge, grabbed his hand, closed her eyes and chanted the Shema. She said, “Rabbi, I traveled six days by boat to see you. Please keep talking to me.”Most families plan to go to Israel. Rabbi Guillermo Bronstein has worked with Israeli aliyah officials in Lima, who have been cooperative. While the government of Israel will accept their conversions, they are not officially recognized by the Orthodox rabbinate. “Recognition by the State means that this chevra will have all the ease to make aliyah,” Rabbi Guillermo Bronstein explains. “The lack of recognition by the Orthodox establishment means that they can face hard times — for those who want to marry in Israel, among other things. We were very clear to them about these aspects.”When asked how this group of Peruvians — including doctors and people in many professions — compares to his congregants at B’nai Jeshurun, Rabbi Marcelo Bronstein said that at BJ, like in Iquitos, there are many people who are seekers. At the same time, he says, in New York, there are so many resources: bookstores, libraries, the Internet, while in Iquitos the recourses are scant. People had to share books in order to study. “The jungle of New York offers so many options,” he stated. “How rich we are, how much we take for granted and they don’t.”The community has been portrayed in a 1999 book, “Jews of the Amazon: Self-Exile in Paradise” by Ariel Segal.Reflecting on the future of the Iquitos community, Rabbi Marcelo Bronstein says, “I hope that the majority of them go to Israel. I hope that those who don’t go will re-create Jewish life in Iquitos.” He points out that there are many others with Jewish roots living in the jungle who may come back to their Judaism.“The only real Jewish structure they had is the cemetery. But there’s not only the past and death to consider, I hope that there’s a future, with institutions that celebrate life.” n
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