Finding Culture When You're A Huge Minority

Every once in a while, someone sends us something and asks us to post it. We always try to accomodate when feasible, especially when it raises an intersting thought or perspective. Here is something sent to me by Nancy Hoffman, who many know from various adoption related activities. Admittedly, my family used her travel services numerous times during our trips, including our first and a translator when we met our children's birthmother.

This article she sent me deals with Guatemalan adoption from a very different scenario than most - a US ex-patriot living in Guatemala with her Guatemalan son and attempting to teach him her form of Judaism and its culture.

It's a good read and if anyone ever cares to celebrate Shabbat in Antigua, now they'll know where to go. So click on "more" to read it....

Posted on behalf on Nancy:
My nine-year old son Michael lives in three cultures, one of which is creating the greatest challenge for our family. I am his North American Jewish mother. He is my adopted Guatemalan son, and we live in Antigua Guatemala, close to my Guatemalan ex-husband and his family. Like many adoptive families, my ex-husband and I have made a series of decisions about how to raise our son in multiple cultures. Before adopting him, I knew I would raise him as a Jew, even while acknowledging that this would be a challenge in a predominantly Catholic country (whose closest organized Jewish community was over an hour away from our home).

Like many children adopted internationally, my son has grown up to be bi-cultural and bi-lingual. We visit relatives in the States once a year and he attends a bi-lingual school in Guatemala. If you were to ask, he would tell you he is “North American” and a Red Sox fan. It’s easy to bring North American culture into our home. We celebrate Halloween with candy, Thanksgiving with a turkey, July 4th with fireworks, and follow sports and popular culture through the magic of cable television. We don’t need a North American / “Western” community to learn about and practice that culture – it is pushed in advertising and every other aspect of daily life.

But our third culture – the Jewish culture – requires more of an organized community to be fully realized. Obviously, there are home-based holidays and rituals that we can celebrate ourselves, and we do! We light candles and sing on Friday nights to welcome the Sabbath. Every night before bed, we recite the Sh’ma prayer. Mezzuzot are affixed to every doorway, inside each a sacred scroll. When the time arrives for the Passover Seder (ritual meal) each Spring, I seek out the one or two other North American Jews living in my town, plus a variety of old and new friends to celebrate. But to my chagrin… my son is the only child at the table. As he is getting older the need of enrolling him in Hebrew / Religious school to learn about Jewish history, holidays and traditions; and to formally prepare him for his Bar Mitzvah - the ceremony / rite of passage that welcomes a thirteen-year old into the adult Jewish community keep growing and weighing heavily upon me. If we were living in North America, I would seek out a synagogue where we could attend family services and holiday events with other Jewish families. I’ve considered Jewish summer camp in the States, but the Guatemalan school year extends from January through October so that is not an option.

So, here we are in Guatemala. Yes, an organized Jewish community exists about an hour away in the capital city, but I am not comfortable in that primarily Spanish-speaking community whose Judaism is far more conservative (in ritual and political terms) than I would want for my son. Nine years ago while holding Michael in my arms on his first day of life, I called the synagogue in Guatemala City to arrange for his bris (ritual circumcision). I was told that since his biological mother was not Jewish, they would not have their Rabbi perform the ceremony. Needless to say, I was aghast and ever so disappointed. I wanted him to be lovingly received into a Jewish community. I wanted to share with him the songs and traditions I am familiar with. For me, being Jewish is part of my identity, my values and morals, my spirituality, my being. One synagogue is not interchangeable with another – I want to share with Michael the experiences I grew up with. I have yet to find that in Guatemala and he keeps getting older without a Jewish community.

My quandary is how can I create a meaningful Jewish experience, and ultimately a meaningful Bar Mitzvah experience for my son. I can go to the USA as I did for his conversion ceremony and his naming ceremony, but that is not the community where we live. I am from the USA, but we live in Guatemala. To travel just to have some basic needs met is not congruent with our life style. Also, his Bar Mitzvah is a family celebration and his / our family is here.

So … I frequently “Google” to see what I can find in the way of Jewish resources in Guatemala. Recently through internet research I found a relatively new Jewish community (again in Guatemala City) “CASA HILLEL” as well as their North American rabbi / sponsor - Rabbi Jacques Cukierkorn. Through Rabbi Cukierkorn, I was able to meet the half dozen Guatemalan families who have created the Casa Hillel community. They have extended their hospitality to me and Michael to join them for Sabbath evening dinners and holidays. Our specific rituals and methods of Jewish expression have not (yet) meshed, but I look forward to the contact and what we can develop together.
Rabbi Cukierkorn serves a Kansas City Reform Jewish congregation that generously supports his travels internationally to serve families who want to re-cover their lost Jewish heritage or explore a Jewish path. This extraordinary Rabbi speaks 8 different languages - Spanish, Hebrew, English, etc. His wife is Honduran, so he has a special connection to Central American Jewry. He has performed weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, namings, conversions, etc. in a variety of countries in numerous native languages. I was impressed by his multi-cultural and welcoming approach to Judaism and modes of worship.

I had the recent opportunity to meet with the rabbi here in Antigua. I shared my experiences and voiced my concerns and wishes for a more organized Jewish Community here in Antigua. We talked of many possibilities and in time, I hope to develop something more structured to meet the needs of locals and travelers with a liberal North American or “Western” orientation to Judaism.

I am excitedly in conversation with Rabbi Cukierkorn about how we will together begin Michael’s formal Jewish education and plan for his Bar Mitzvah here in Antigua, Guatemala.

With Rabbi Cukierkorn’s support, I am exploring how to create bilingual Jewish learning events and activities in Antigua, Guatemala, to attract both Guatemalans and travelers interested in Jewish activities. I see him as my bridge builder as a way to honor and integrate Michael’s full cultural heritage.
Being able to celebrate this important religious experience in the place where I live with the community in which we live is an answer to my prayers. I would hope that our world-wide adoptive community can also find bridges to have the ability to celebrate our integration of cultures and beliefs.

I encourage anyone who wants to share their experiences to contact me via email Nancy@Guatemalainfo.com

Thanks !