The story of Barbados is hardly ever told without mention being made of the contribution of sugar to the country’s economic development. Rarely, however, is credit given to the Jews who were instrumental in the establishment and development of the sugar industry.
Having fled the Portuguese inquisition and settled in Dutch-run Recife, in northeastern Brazil, the Jews were again forced to leave when the Portuguese gained control of this area.
Several Jews received permission to settle in Barbados and brought with them the knowledge of the sugar cane industry which they gained in Brazil.From as early as 1628, Sephardic Jews (those of Portuguese or Spanish descent) settled in Barbados and by the mid-1700s, Jews represented ten per cent of the population.
Local Jewish businessman Paul Altman, who was instrumental in the restoration of the Nidhe Israel Synagogue in Bridgetown, estimated that there are 16 Jewish families here totalling about 60 people.
The majority of these are of European origin and are known as Ashkenazi Jews.
Altman explained that the decline in the Sephardic Jew population was due to several factors. Among them were the devastating hurricanes in the 1830s and 1890s which destroyed the sugar crop.
Secondly, many gravitated towards North America as prospects there increased. Also, many of the Jewish families gradually became assimilated.
“That assimilation was mainly through inter-marriage. [It] was even more interesting because it was inter-racial in lot of cases which in those days was not nearly as common.
“Today in Barbados, you have all of their names slightly Anglicized – Bynoe, who were the Spanish Buenos, [and] Baruch, which is now Barrow,” he said in an interview with the SUNDAY SUN.
Altman added that Daniel, Messiah, Dacosta and Brandon were also among original Jewish surnames.
“Barbados is one of the islands [with] a very long and deep Jewish history. That long history is what makes everything interesting,” he said.
The Jewish settlers also made their mark on the names of local places.
“In Barbados, you had Jerusalem Plantation, you have Brandons, Mount Tabor, Bathsheba . . . . Those are all Biblical Jewish names.
“In Bridgetown, you have the Montefiore Fountain [opposite the Coleridge Street Library]. [The Montefiores] were a very philanthropic family,” Altman added. He explained that, given the small number of Jews in Barbados now, there were not many young people within the faith but for the most part they stuck to tradition.
“When there are few, in order to have a religious service you need to have a higher percentage responding. “In the Jewish religion, the requirement is that to have a service, they normally say you need to have ten [people]. In the more conservative part of the religion, the old style is you had to have ten men over the age of 13 years old, but in a small community you can’t be picking and choosing,” he said.
The realtor noted that the Jewish religion has three different levels of commitment.
“The highest degree of commitment is the Orthodox. The Orthodox are the ones that are ultra-religious. Then you have Conservatives who maintain a tradition . . . like we just finished our Passover holiday which is about the exodus from Egypt.”
More popular
The third degree is referred to as Reform, and Altman said this was becoming more popular because it was more in keeping with the times. A
ltman recalled that when he was a schoolboy, he was often told by his classmates that he “can’t be a Jew” since he’s Barbadian.
“Many people interpret Judaism as a nationality as opposed to a religion.”
He added that people liked to “create mystique about different things”.
“There’s always a mysticism about being something different,” he said, noting that part of the reason for the restoration of the synagogue in Bridgetown and the building of the Jewish museum was “to let people come and see”.
“Everybody can come to synagogue. You don’t have to be a Jew to come to synagogue.”
He said Jews believed in one God who inspired Moses to give the Ten Commandments.
“Of course, we have the five books of Moses which are the Old Testament,” he added.
“We are an observant people generally, observant, meaning that we are attached to this religion. You’re attached to the traditions, so for the Passover service, we used the unleavened bread.
“It’s not because you have to do anything. You do it as a means of remembering your ancestors and the important thing is continuity.
Sense of connectivity
“I don’t believe that if I eat the unleavened bread I’m better than the fellow that doesn’t, but I do it because it gives me that sense of connectivity to the past. The connectivity from one generation to the next through this tradition is what it’s all about.”
Altman noted that it was also important to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.
“Nobody teaches you that when you go into the synagogue but the religion is all about understanding your fellow human beings,” he said.
In keeping with tradition, he noted that Jews continued to observe Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement which is most religious day and main day of worship.
“That’s the day when we fast. My interpretation of what that one day of fasting is all about [is that] you don’t satisfy your needs. You become more in touch with the world around you, with the sense of a God, a sense of what life is all about. Not focusing on your pleasures but spending a day in the synagogue thinking about religion and reciting all the different prayers that are traditional prayers for that one holiday.”
Altman added that Jews celebrated Hanukah, the festival of lights, instead of Christmas, along with the feast of the harvest.
“The Christian religion and the Jewish religion . . . there isn’t much difference. Christ was a Jew. I think that is the main thing that we have to be conscious of in a society like this. We are not far apart. We’re not apart at all.
“My father used to say we all came here on different boats but we’re all in the same boat now,” Altman said.
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