Can a Jewish community of 140 families survive the forces of assimilation and perpetuate itself in a city of three million non-Jews? This nagging question surfaced in many conversations during a recent visit to Guadalajara, capital of the State of Jalisco in Mexico. Despite the formidable numerical and sociological odds, leaders of the Guadalajara Jewish community have committed themselves to Jewish survival.
The first Jews arrived in Guadalajara in the 1920’s from Europe with the intention of staying there only a short period of time. They intended to settle in the United States, but to their surprise and disappointment they were denied entry because of immigration quotas. Having been turned away in California, they cast about for a temporary place of refuge until their names would rise to the top of the immigration waiting list. Guadalajara, then as now Mexico’s second largest city, seemed to be the closest place with significant cultural and business opportunities.
The experience of Roberto Buchwald, one of the earliest Jewish settlers is typical. Arriving in Guadalajara in 1928 to await his opportunity to enter the United States, he began earning his livelihood by peddling. Soon after arrival, he met Nechoma, who also intended to settle in the United States. They married in 1936 and had three children.
When in 1936 the U.S. authorities notified him that he was eligible for entrance to the United States he decided to remain in Guadalajara. Today, his sons, Jose and Jaime, operate a mattress factory which their father founded and also engage in other business enterprises.
AVOIDED ASHKENAZIC, SEPHARDIC DISTINCTIONS
Jews of Guadalajara have avoided the distinctions between Ashkenazim and Sephardim which divide many Jewish communities in Latin America along sharp sociological lines. The mutual accomodation between the two groups goes back to 1928, when a cemetery was established as the first act of the community, a joint effort of the Ashkenazim and the Sephardim.
Some years later, when Sephardim objected to the inclusion of Yiddish in the curriculum of the Jewish day school, which had been established by the Ashkenazim, Yiddish instruction was eliminated so that all students might attend and Hebrew instruction was begun. Today, the Jewish day school has about 160 students in grades kindergarten through nine.
Ten years ago, the Conservative synagogue and the Sports Center moved into an ultra-modern complex on several acres of land, where the peaked roof of the synagogue soars above the eight-foot high walls which customarily surround property in Mexico. The architecturally dramatic sanctuary, whose seating capacity may be greater than the total number of Jews in Quadalajara, is the home of congregation Bet Shalom.
For the past three years, the leader of the congregation has been a 34-year-old Argentine social worker who studied for several years at the Latin American Rabbinical Seminary in Buenos Aires. Although he carries out all of the rabbinic functions for the congregation, he makes it quite clear that he is not an ordained rabbi. On the bulletin board, he is identified as Prof. Shmuel Szteinhendler, Community Leader.
About a third of the community attends Friday night services, presenting a cross section of old and young. When a family celebrates a Bar Mitzvah, most of the community is present for the early morning service and the brunch which follows the service; lunch is generally eaten between 1:30 and 3:00 p.m.
The Club Deportivo Macabi operates the athletic facilities, which include tennis courts, swimming pool, basketball court and football (soccer) field. During my visit, an elderly couple from the United States and several women whose husbands are studying at the nearby medical school of the Universitad. Autonoma were at poolside.
THE FATE OF THE COMMUNITY
The fate of the community will ultimately be determined by the younger generations. High school age youth generally participate in community activities; about forty attended my lecture at the Center on Saturday afternoon. When they reach college age, many enroll at the university in Mexico City and some of them do not return, preferring to become part of the larger community in the capital. Another variable is the intermarriage factor. Until now there have been few intermarriages and in all cases, the non-Jewish partner has converted to Judaism. However, the prospect of a higher rate of intermarriage is troubling.
Some Jews doubt that this small community can maintain itself, but there is a basic mood of optimism which is best exemplified by the President of the community, Simon Cohen. Outgoing and charming, and the father of three children, Cohen at 40 years is philosophic about the future of Guadalajara Jewry and determined that the community will perpetuate itself.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
