I hope that you had a restful first weekend of our quarantine.
This weekend, I walked outside for the first time in 8 days. I was so happy to feel that fresh air and sun. It was so heartwarming to feel the kindness and smiles of everyone as we walked by each other – at a 6 foot distance.
As I prepare for Passover, I think about the Exodus story. The Hebrews fled from slavery in Egypt, wandered in the desert wilderness, and reached Freedom in the Promise Land.
These three stages can be viewed as Past, Present, and Future.
The Past – Slavery — to an ideal or habit
The Present – Wandering — and discovering new possibilities
The Future – Hope and faith in freedom — and a seeking new beginning
Applying this framework to Corona, we can reflect on the three stages:
The Past – Pre Corona
What is a familiar daily object or habit (pre-corona) that you may have been enslaved to that you no longer miss?
The Present – During Corona
In our desert wandering, what is something new that you have discovered or learned during this corona circumstance?
The Future – Freedom Post Corona
What is something you are looking forward to when we forge our freedom from corona?
For me, I will share my experiences.
The Past – Pre Corona
What is a familiar daily object or habit that you may have been enslaved to that you no longer miss?
I have been enslaved to my daily travel bag –an LL Bean Photo Butler Bag which contains my travel essentials. It has been within my eyesight at all times for the past two years as I have been traveling constantly. During this corona period, it is in my upstairs storage room…I do not miss it.
The Present – During Corona
In our wandering, what is something new that you have discovered or learned during this corona circumstance?
I have learned the possibilities of video calls.
With my first ZOOM conference call last week, I was so excited by the possibility of genuine human intimacy despite geographic distance.
I discovered “Virtual High Fives” on the screen to give a handshake which needs to be reinvented in this context.
I have discovered Nightly facetime calls with my daughters Lucy and Caroline. It is so much fun to see our faces together on the small screen and create such a big feeling of love and togetherness.
The Future – Post Corona
What is something you are looking forward to when we forge our freedom from corona?
A hug.
Now I simply hope and pray for the day when I can hug my loved ones, who are now not with me, in person.
I now realize that freedom with loved one can be found in a simple embrace.
I wanted to share the inspiring email that my older brother Laurence shared with his company on Friday. Laurence is my best friend and is so practical and grounded. I found his advice so sweet, simple, sage, safe, and sincere. My fervent hope is that just one of you finds one piece of advice to connect with. If more than one of you is helped in any small way, I will be more than elated.
I wish you a salubrious Sunday in the midst of the storm.
We will persevere – we can, we will – together – with unity and equanimity.
Regards,
Andy
P.S. Here is my brother’s email in its entirety.
Subject: Reflections
Good morning.
I know that this week was a tough week between working remotely and hearing so many different stories about what is going on in the world with the Coronavirus. I would like to ask that everyone take the weekend to relax, recharge, and catch up from a busy work-week. We will get through this, but our minds need some time to be distracted from the situation, and find a way to find some peace and calm.
A few tips from my experience:
*Anxiety & Stress Reduction – please do not stress over rumors that various people share – frequently they are not true, and the only thing that these do is create more stress in our lives. If you hear anything, ask if this a fact or just a rumor. Please focus on the things that are still important for you like family, friends, and pets, if any.
*Sleep – get plenty of sleep – our bodies need a full night’s rest and the weekend is the perfect time to catch up. Go to bed early if you can and let your body replenish itself. We need the extra energy in these times.
*Exercise and Diet – although it is tempting to treat ourselves when you are working from home, please try to eat as healthy as possible and take some time to do some exercise, even if it is just walking outside for a bit of fresh air. Try to keep fruits and vegetables around since we need as many vitamins in our body as possible.
*Meditation – it is good to take deep breathes, and perhaps look for some good meditation podcasts, videos, or apps to find ways to find inner peace even if you just take a few minutes a day for this.
*News – try not to watch too much news. The world will go on whether you watch the news or not, but from an expert news-watcher, I can tell you watching the tv news with 100% Coronavirus coverage is very unsettling. I recommend catching up on movies, old tv shows, and other non-news shows. Personally, I have been watching Love Boat, Columbo, and Mary Tyler Moore, among other old shows. If you want to reach farther back, Netflix has Leave it to Beaver, which is still a great show.
*Hobbies – if you have any hobbies that you can focus on, try to spend some time on these. If you don’t have hobbies, perhaps grab a good book and be transported to another world of an author’s creation.
Good luck this weekend and I hope that everyone can recharge themselves so they will be fresh for Monday.
As we approach the end of our first week of corona at home quarantine, I want to express my pride for everyone working for the three companies I lead. I am appreciative and amazed at how hard everyone has worked and connected during this time of disconnection. During my various interactions with everyone, I sensed energy and positivity. It is a tribute to our human spirit to persevere and to imagine.
Each day try to:
Be positive
Help someone feel happiness
Shine the light in the darkness
Express daily gratitude for something – even something very small
Meditate to create the feeling of safety, security, and freedom
I wanted to share some of my favorite books which I read during my 40-day bed rest isolation in 2017. You can find the list here.
Maybe one of these books will be meaningful for you.
I pray that this weekend brings you some reflective time to look inside and listen to your heart. It is the most important organ to sustain our entire body. The fuel for our body is oxygen — the purpose of the heart to pump oxygen to the body. The fuel for the heart is love – one purpose of each of us is to love others and most importantly, learn to love ourselves.
Here are my Life in the Pause reflection for today.
I am often inspired by quotes from Vladimir Horowitz, the great pianist, who did not leave his house for twelve years (he was complicated). Later a guest at his home, James Burnham, said “Is it really true you didn’t leave this house for 12 years?” Horowitz, looking around, said, “You don’t like my house?”
Another Vladimir Horowitz story I enjoy is when a reporter asked him “Vladimir, how do you play the piano notes so much more beautifully than anyone else?” Vladimir responded, “It is not the notes that I play more beautifully, …it is the pauses”
What is a handshake in the age of corona?
In many cultures, a handshake is a simple greeting – but actually not so simple. It is truly an intuitive expression of human connection. When do you start the handshake? How long and how vigorously do you shake? When do you end? Most handshakes occur without incident – they just do. However, there are typical examples of potential awkwardness – a hand extended but not requited, a grab that is too strong or too weak, and sometimes the shake is too short or too long.
There is no manual for how to shake hands. In this age of social isolation, how do we reinvent the “handshake” – to decline human contact but seek human connection.
Yesterday, I participated in a ZOOM video meeting for the first time. I instinctively gave a High Five on the screen. It seems to be to be the new Corona style “hand shake”. Although there is not the human touch of skin on the skin, I truly felt the human heart. In addition, the novelty seemed to make everyone smile; I humbly hope it did.
In that spirit, I am going to always virtually “high five” when using ZOOM. During a company meeting I held on ZOOM yesterday, everyone gave a virtual “high five” at the same time. It was a touching and memorable moment.
Although we are remote, I do not want anyone to feel removed. Separate space does not need to preclude synchronicity of spirit.
How can we find stillness during a storm? How can we find calm in the middle of chaos?
During these challenging times, I reflected on how to find stillness during a storm. I looked to the Torah for inspiration in Jonah 1 – the story of Jonah fleeing from God, boarding a ship to Tarnish and then being swallowed by a whale.
Jonah 1:
“The Lord cast a might wind upon the sea, and such a great tempest came upon the sea that the ship was in danger of breaking up. In their fright, the sailors cried out, each to his own god; and they flung the ship’s cargo overboard to make it lighter for them. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the vessel where he lay down and fell asleep. The captain went over to him and cried out, “How can you be sleeping so soundly! Up, call upon your god! Perhaps the god will be kind to us and we will not perish”
The sailors panicked. They were so overcome with anxiety and fear that they threw over cargo from the ship which made the ship lighter and even more precarious. During a storm, a ship needs the cargo as ballast to keep the weight on the keel and help it navigate smoothly during a storm.
In addition, instead of working together, each sailor cried to his own god.
In challenging times, we need to work together as a community.
Leaders are those who notice that something (meaning Jonah’s sleeping) is amiss and call it to the attention of the community.
Only through calm action and unity of a community can we face challenging times and persevere.
Appendix: These are photos of folk art that my mom gave to me (October 6, 2015) during a difficult period in my life. They are all carvings of Jonah being swallowed by the whale.
Mom, thank you for the lesson of finding stillness in the middle of a storm.
Here are my “Life in the Pause” thoughts for today. I hope you find them helpful.
I find daily mediation to be an incredibly calming experience that helps put things in perspective. I recommend using Meditation Studio (https://meditationstudioapp.com/) an App that I use every day. I hope that each of you will try to incorporate daily meditation into your lives for just 7 days. If you like it continue, if not, then stop. It only takes 4-10 minutes per day. It has changed my life (can you imagine me if I did not meditate daily!!!).
I recently found myself reexamining the logo for my company, Photo Butler. Last Friday, I wrote up what the logo meant and symbolized for the first time. Saturday, I had a new insight. Sometimes we can stare at the same thing over and over and never really connect with its meaning. Then one moment, an inspiration comes.
Is there any common object in your life that you can look at today and see from a new perspective?
Many people enjoy the feeling of sand between their toes, but not many have enjoyed the feeling of sand between their toes inside of a synagogue. Sand in a synagogue? Until recently I’d never heard of such a thing. That all changed when I visited Mikve Israel Emanuel Synagogue on the island of Curaçao, a Lesser Antilles island north of the Venezuelan coast. Not only did I get to visit this incredible temple, but I also learned about the long history of the Jewish people on this small island.
The oldest Jewish community in the Western Hemisphere is in Curacao. Jews have been living on this island since the 1600s. While their numbers are dwindling, there is still an active Jewish community on the island today. It is also the site of the Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue, the oldest continually active synagogue in the Americas.
The Island of Curaçao
The first Jew to step foot on Curaçao was Samuel Cohen, a translator on a ship for the Dutch West India company. He came to the island in 1634 as part of a mission to claim it from the Spanish. The island served as a strategically valuable base from which to attack Spanish ships. After the Peace of Westphalia a series of peace treaties ending the various European wars of religion in 1648, the Dutch East India Company tried to entice Dutch citizens to settle on the island. There were few takers until 1651 when Joao d’Ylan brought 10 to 12 Jewish families from the Netherlands to Curaçao.
They were Sephardic Jews who fled Spain in the late 1400s due to the inquisitions and the Edict of Expulsion. They moved to Portugal, but the inquisitions and their pressure to convert eventually followed them there. They then moved to Amsterdam, becoming Dutch but still speaking Portuguese. Upon their arrival on Curaçao they established congregation Mikve Israel and built their first synagogue.
In 1659, a second wave of Jewish settlers moved to the island, drawn by the religious liberties and tax incentives the Dutch offered to settlers. They brought a gift for the pre-existing Jewish community; a 14th century Torah scroll from the Amsterdam synagogue. This Torah is still used in services at Mikve Israel-Emanuel synagogue today.
The Jewish population centered itself in the city of Willemstad. In 1703, they established a new synagogue in the city. It was later demolished in 1730 to make room for an even bigger one. In 1732, temple Mikve Israel was completed and it remains the oldest continuously operating synagogue in the Americas. It is also called the Snao, the word for synagogue in Papiamentu (a language spoken throughout the Dutch West Indies). The Jewish population grew until the late 1700s when it peaked at around 2,000. During this time Jews made up half of all European residents of Curaçao.
Mikve Israel Emanuel Synagogue
A placard outside the synagogue showing its date of completion.
Initially, Jewish settlers tried their hand at agriculture but Curaçao’s soil was not well suited for it. They turned to trade, shipping and banking. They were able to open trade routes between Curaçao and both Northern Europe and South America, enabling the Jews of Curaçao to become the largest and wealthiest Jewish settlement in the new world. The Jews of Curaçao used their wealth to make contributions to other Jewish communities abroad. They helped fund Manhattan’s Shearith Israel congregation and to this day the Upper West Side synagogue holds a special prayer of gratitude to them each Yom Kippur. They also provided support for the construction of America’s oldest synagogue, the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island.
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, about a third of the community left to form a new congregation. This new congregation was based on the Reform Jewish movement and they founded Temple Emanuel-El as their synagogue. As for the organ that started it all, it was used for 100 years before falling into disrepair. In 2002, with funding from the government of Holland the organ was restored.
In the 1890s, the Jewish Community backed Simon Bolivar in the fight for Venezuela’s independence. Some joined his army, others provided material support. The Jews of Curaçao were active in supporting many local uprisings, particularly those against the Spanish whom they still resented for the inquisitions. In the 1900s, the first Ashkenazi Jews moved to the island. More followed in the 1940s, when Curaçao began taking in Jewish refugees during World War II.
In 1964, the two separate congregations of Curaçao decided to reunite. Together they formed congregation Mikve Israel-Emanuel. This newly reunified congregation decided to follow the Reconstructionist Jewish rituals. The Mikve Israel synagogue was renamed Mikve Israel-Emanuel synagogue and became the newly unified congregation’s temple.
Today, the Jewish community in Curaçao is facing an existential crisis. Young Jews are leaving the island, seeking higher education and economic opportunities elsewhere. Those that do leave seldom return. As a result, the number of Jews on the island has dwindled to fewer than 350, many of them older. In addition, the Jewish community has had trouble attracting a rabbi and there is no kosher meat available on the island. However, not everyone believes that hope is lost for the Jews of Curaçao. The Chabad movement established a presence there 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.
I was blessed with the opportunity to visit Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue. The synagogue is emblematic not only of the rich Jewish history on Curaçao, but also of the unique traditions developed over the centuries. On Yom Kippur, all the temple’s board members wear top hats and tailed tuxedos. They also light hundreds of candles placed atop four massive chandeliers. The synagogue’s most interesting tradition isn’t a ritual, but a feature of the building. Its floors are covered in sand.
The interior of Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue
No one is entirely certain why the floors are covered with sand but there are three popular explanations. The first is that it symbolizes how the Jews wandered the desert for 40 years after the exodus. The second is that it represents God’s promise to Abraham “I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore.” (Genesis 22:17). The third explanation is that it is a reminder of the deadly Inquisitions the congregants’ ancestors faced in Spain and Portugal. The sand muffled the footsteps and noises made by those praying within to help hide them from persecutors. Regardless of the sand’s origins, it has endured, a lasting monument to the history and unique character of this magnificent synagogue.
As I stood in the Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue, the cool sand between my toes, I realized this place was truly magical, meaningful, and memorable. It is the oldest synagogue in the Western hemisphere, a memorable landmark and testament to the Jewish people’s will to endure. The fact that it is a building that has sand covering the floor makes it unique in a magical way. The sand is what makes it meaningful too. As you walk around your footprints are visible, imprinted into the sand. They linger, showing you where you have been and where others have come before you. In doing so, the sand creates an even deeper spiritual connection. It reminds us that we leave a legacy, that everything we do ripples out and can be seen by and affect others. Much like the footprints in the sand, we do not last forever, but we still leave an impact as we move through life.
The sand covered floors of Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue
The next time you find yourself standing in the sand try to think about how your actions affect others. Then remember the small but determined Jewish community of Curaçao and their incredible sand-filled synagogue.
Fun Fact: The official language of Curaçao is Papiamentu. It is a hybrid language that blends elements of African, Spanish, Dutch, French, Portuguese, English, and Arawak Indian. The influence of Jews on Curaçao’s culture as a whole can be seen by the large number of Hebrew words and phrases that have been integrated into the Papiamentu dialect.
Fun Fact: Blue Curacao, the famed azure colored orange liquor in many a tiki drink, margarita and electric lemonade originates from the Island of Curaçao. When the Spanish arrived on Curaçao they brought oranges with them. These normally juicy fruits could not handle Curaçao’s climate. They became desiccated, bitter, and inedible. They were dubbed the laraha and were largely forgotten for many years. Eventually, an unknown individual realized that drying the peels created a pleasant aroma. From there people began to mix it with alcohol and sugar to create a delightful liqueur. It is similarly unknown where the practice of dying the drink blue originated. What is known is that in 1896 Jewish businessmen Haim Mendes Chumaceiro and Edgar Senior founded Senior & Co. They began producing curacao liqueur for pharmaceutical purposes, but it soon proved popular as an aperitif and digestif. Since then their product has been in demand. While the company incorporated, the founders’ families are still major stakeholders. They still operate today and are the only company to only use larahas from Curaçao in their liqueur, plus it’s kosher.
Senior & Co. Curacao Liquer
Fun Fact: There are three other sand covered synagogues remaining in the world. They were once a more common occurrence amongst Dutch-Portuguese Jews. The other remaining synagogues are located in Jamaica, Surinam, and Saint Thomas.
Further Reading:
Here is a link to the official website for the Mikve Israel Emanuel Synagogue
A fascinating firsthand look at Curaçao’s Jewish community can be read here.
The synagogue made it into the Atlas Obsucra! You can read its entry here.
Smithsonian Magazine wrote an article about the challenges facing Curaçao’s Jewish community. You can find it here.
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency’s archive has an article about the Jews of Curaçao originally published in the 1930s. You can read it here.
Andy disembarking from the Divina
I would like to give a special acknowledgement to the MSC Divina. September 2019, I disembarked from the Divina to go to the Great Synagogue of Rome. In March 2020, I went from the ship to see the Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue in Curaçao. Truly the ship lives up to its divine namesake, helping me to see some of the most historic, spiritual, and moving synagogues in the world all while providing unmatched hospitality. I can’t wait to see what wonders the MSC Divina will take me to next!
Happy Purim! There’s nothing quite like some sweet tunes to really brighten up a Purim party!
This playlist is full of songs that are sure to get your feet moving and groggers spinning. So put on your mask, pull up this list, grab a hamantaschen or six and have yourself a kicking Purim. Chag Purim Sameach!
Happy Purim! There’s nothing like some fun music to take a Purim celebration to that next level of fun. This playlist is perfect for listening with the whole family. Chag Purim Sameach!
The Island of Curaçao
Mikve Israel Emanuel Synagogue
A placard outside the synagogue showing its date of completion.
The interior of Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue
