My childhood friend and the other principal subject of A Shtetl in the
Caribbean, Tsale Kirzner, has provided the following background about
the Jewish cemetery in Curacao I referred to in my previous message to
the list. Since he is not a list member I forward it here (in plain
text!) for your further information and with a link to a photo of the
Temple Emanual, which now houses government offices.
I would like to add the following: The 50th anniversary of the merger
of congregations of Mikve Israel and Emanuel took place this past
November. According to my mother who arrived in 1930, before the
Ashkenazi Jews had their own synagogue they attended services at Mikve
Israel, the oldest synagogue building still standing and in continuous
use in the Western Hemisphere. The building has a sand covered floor,
and hosts a large organ and brass chandeliers from the Netherlands.
Bet Haim is a 17th century cemetery, on what was once a plantation;
the stone markers there are severely damaged as it is downwind from
the former Shell oil refinery, is where my maternal grandfather Max
Hirschberg Montevenado (he added the latter Spanish translation to his
name when he moved to South America) was one of the last people to be
buried. Tsale addresses me a "Butchie," as that was my nickname; it
is a popular appellation on the island that legend dates back to the
strongest African slave broken by the loss of his beloved wife, and is
still often given to a native first son.
Begin text:
Hello Butchie,
I have always found the sculptures on the Berg Altena cemetery out of place
and "un-Jewish". Recently I found out about the background.
Around the mid-1880s there was a rift in the Sephardic Mikveh-Israel
community. About half separated themselves to become reform, modelled after
the German Reform Movement. On Hendrikplein they built a new churchlike
synagogue, Temple Emanuel, complete with a spire.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/28663229_at_N04/17112466680/
To emphasize the separation Emanuel obtained permission for a cemetery on
Berg Altena and started to put up rather ostentatious graves there.
When the Beth Haim cemetery became overcrowded Mikveh-Israel started to use
Berg Altena, but only the right side. Mark may remember that there used to
be a wall dividing the cemetery into a left part and a right part, hence the
two separate entrances.
When the two communities in the 1960s under Rabbi Maslin found a middle
ground and merged into Mikveh Israel-Emanuel (reconstructionist) the
separating wall was taken down. I remember my father being involved.
The Ashkenazi Jews use the back part of the right entrance.
Regards, Tsale
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mark Wiznitzer"
> <markwiznitzer_at_gmail.com>
> To: "Miriam Taylor" <mirtaylo_at_indiana.edu>; "CZERNOWITZ-L"
> <Czernowitz-L_at_cornell.edu>; "Christian Herrmann" <cyberorange_at_gmx.de>;
> "Hardy Breier" <HARDY3_at_bezeqint.net>
> Sent: Monday, April 27, 2015 3:40 PM
> Subject: Re: [Cz-L] Ghostlike Appearences
>
>
>> Here are some screenshots from A Shtetl in the Caribbean of the "new"
>> Jewish cemetery of Curacao. I am not certain if the many sculptures
>> that adorn the older graves of descendents of the Portuguese Jewish
>> community constitute "graven" images. But they do demonstrate that
>> there are broad differences of interpretation from place to place and
>> time to time of what is permitted and what is forbidden. As far as I
>> am aware, none of the Ashkenazi Jews, many of whom like my father came
>> from Bukovina and whose own stones lack any imagery, registered a
>> serious objection while alive or, for that matter, since taking up
>> residence there.
>> [Mark Wiznitzer]
>>
>>
>> https://www.flickr.com/photos/28663229_at_N04/17290530692/
>>
>> https://www.flickr.com/photos/28663229_at_N04/17084908527/in/photostream/
>>
>> https://www.flickr.com/photos/28663229_at_N04/17291856751/in/photostream/
>>
>> https://www.flickr.com/photos/28663229_at_N04/17292123831/in/photostream/
>>
>> https://www.flickr.com/photos/28663229_at_N04/17292123951/in/photostream/
>>
>> https://www.flickr.com/photos/28663229_at_N04/16670156174/in/photostream/
>>
-snip-
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Received on 2015-04-28 08:14:21