The Jews of Rio: Part II

This is the second of a three part series on the Jews of Rio de Janeiro.

I visited ARI, one of Rio's only reform synagogues, and asked about the origins of Reform Judaism in the city.

In the 1930s, a large number of German Jews, many from the conservative sect, arrived in Rio. At first, they held religious services in their homes, and alternated spaces for the services. Then an Orthodox rabbi managed to get a large room that they began using on a regular basis. He wrote to the liberal Jewish movement in England, and Lily Montagu sent a German rabbi to be the new community leader and to implant a more liberal form of Judaism in Rio.

Dr. Heinrich Lemle arrived in 1941, and was somewhat of a knight in shining armor, inspiring his congregants and an entire movement in Rio. In 1942, the Klabin family helped purchase a house to serve as a synagogue. The rabbi introduced "a totally new way of being Jewish," since the other Jews in Brazil were mostly Orthodox.

At first, the rabbi only gave services in German, since most of the congregants were immigrants fresh off the boat from Europe. Soon, groups of Polish Jews arrived and joined the synagogue, so the rabbi learned Yiddish and began giving services in a second language. He eventually learned Portuguese, and made services trilingual.

In 1961, the congregation banded together to build a synagogue, where ARI is housed today, in a beautiful modern construction in Botafogo. They continued to attract newcomers, and by the 1980s and 90s had around 1200 families. (They now are about half the size.)

In the 1960s, it was the only non-Orthodox congregation in the city, so members represented a wide range of levels of religiosity, who had few options in terms of synagogues. As a result, the temple had to please everyone, and take change very slowly. Even today, the synagogue is "more reform in thinking, rather than practice."  At first, men and women sat on opposite sides of the room during services; they are now mixed. Families often have their children and converted spouses "baptized" (tevilah), which is a traditionally Orthodox and Conservative practice. It was only in 1991 that women were able to go up to the bima to pray. 

Ultimately, though, the reform movement in Rio came down to doing things "because they were meaningful," rather than doing them because God had ordered them to do so.

Today, Rio has two synagogues: ARI, which would be conservative in American terms, and a reform synagogue (in Barra). The rest are strictly Orthodox, though some members are not. There are several reform and conservative temples in Sao Paulo, home to Brazil's largest Jewish population, as well as reform temples in Porto Alegre and Belo Horizonte.

Comments

[Robyn]

Hey Rachel,
Did you get a chance to see "O Ano em Que Meus Pais Saírem de Férias"? A totally sweet movie about a boy in 1970 whose activist parents are fleeing the police and leave him in a Jewish community in Bom Retiro. It's a simple movie, a little slow, but the first time I've seen a Jewish community portrayed in a Brazilian film.
Hope all is well and Eli is settling in!!
bjos.

[Rio Gringa]

Nope, but I saw parts of it on TV once. There are still a bunch of movies I have on my list that I have yet to see. Eli's not here yet, but it looks like he will be here pretty soon!

[Björn Siegel]

Hello There,
I am a researcher at the Centre for German Jewish Studies at the University of Sussex and working on a new project on German Rabbis and their influence on Jewish life in Brasil. Heinrich Lemle is always popping up and I would like to focus on him a little bit. I already found material in Germany and in the USA, but I was wondering if you came across any further materials, I should incorporate.
Best Bjoern Brighton/UK