The Emperor's Bar Mitsva from Petropolis to San Francisco 1/18/26 Day 15

 Literally a breath of fresh air as we took a day tour from hot and humid  Rio to the lush and cool mountains 800 meters above sea level to visit Petropolis, the only European capital of an empire outside of Europe, the summertime home and capital of Portuguese emperor Dom Pedro II who reigned form 1831 to 1889.  While visiting his former palace, now the Imperial Museum, we saw his calligraphy in various languages including Hebrew.  On his world travels, he loved to visit synagogues, just like we do (see below at the Sinagoga Israelita Brasileira 1949) to have an aliya and read Torah.  According to the San Francisco Chronicle April 29, 1876,  Dom Pedro read selections from Genesis perfectly to the congregation on his American visit in 1876.  He was truly an example of a righteous gentile and inspiration for me to continue to welcome both Jews and non Jews into our Synagogue at Sea, Judaic excursions in Latin America with Turismo Judaico, and my well attended Jewish Geography series lectures.  Truly we need magnanimous leaders in this challenging times today!

Rock of Israel Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue Recife, Brazil 1/15/26 Day 12

1654.  The date etched into my American Jewish History pantheon as the year when 23 souls fled the Portuguese Inquisition retaking of Recife Brazil as the Dutch surrendered and ended up in New Amsterdam.  I awaited our Jewish tour with baited breath to see where these Jews came from and was not disappointed by visiting the oldest first synagogue in the Americas.  I learned that Recife earned its name from the rock hard coral reef that embraces the harbor.  The synagogue's name is Zur Israel the Rock of Israel, a reference form our faith that God is always with us (cf Psalm 19:15 and the prelude to the Amida prayer).  Rock hard perseverance of bnai anusim (conversos/New Christians) continues to inspire me three and a half centuries after its founding.

Indigenous genocide: Climate change is no COP30 out Belem, Brazil 1/12/26 Day 9

 After watching movie filmed in decaying colonial Belem, "Where the River Runs Black" (1986) about an orphaned boy who was raised in the Amazon jungle is brought back to civilization by a priest who knows his late father, I had tears welling up.  Belem our first port of call in Brazil just past the equator straddles the brown waters of the mighty Amazon empties into the Atlantic where two hours of flow meets the annual water needs of NYC.  Gritty but real.  The Opera house, Teatro da Paz, built by the rubber barons in 1874.  The oldest and largest market in the Americas, Mercado Ver-O-Peso, and he tranquil Mangal Das Garcas with its giant lily leaves.  The majestic Belem Cathedral complete with a lily white nativity scene gushing colonial racism.  And the chai light: the Amazon Museum by the Estacio das Docas of the revitalized waterfront with huge pictures, searing sounds and powerful stories from indigenous leaders and shamans lamenting genocide brought on by illegal logging and soy farmers destroying their parched forest where climate change is forsaking the regular rains that nourish the forest and their communities.

Angel Blessings at Harrison's Cave 1/8/26 Day 4

According to our guide Harrison's Cave is the 8th wonder of the world; now I'm not certain if that is true, but it is certainly one of the seven natural wonders of Barbados!  When we donned our cave Kippot AKA hard hats and entered the tram tunnel we felt cool drops of cave condensation that we learned were "Angel Blessings"  Millions of years of tiny calcium drops eat away at the limestone to form a gorgeous cave cathedral complete with waterfalls.  For the rest of our journey through the Amazon and beyond, I'll call the tropical rains, a term they richly deserve, Angel Blessings!

HAL World Cruise 2026 Holy Ship! BLog Prelude

 

I'm about to embark on a 133 day World Cruise on Holland America's Volendam as the Cruise Rabbi that will take me to 51 ports in 23 countries across five continents from January 3 - May 17, 2026 to and from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  I'm excited and a bit nervous.  This will be my 50th cruise, but I've never been at sea for so long.

The Jewish philosopher, Martin Buber, opined that "All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware."  I can't wait to discover these secret destinations!

Invocation for Colorado State Senate on MLKJan 19th, 2023

 

Invocation for Colorado State Senate on MLK

 Jan 19th, 2023 by Rabbi Eliot J Baskin

 

As we meet this week of celebrating Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr's birthday, grant, O Source of justice, that you Senators and staff be imbued with a spirit of mission, purpose and vision as you exercise power. 

 

May we heed King’s admonition that

“Power without love is reckless and abusive,

and love without power is sentimental and anemic.

Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.”

 

May we together bring bold and transformative ideas to fulfill his dream for the betterment of all, regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion, creed and color for as he said, "We may have come on different ships but we're all in the same boat now."

 

Let us heed King's words that "It's always the right time to do the right thing."

 

May that which bends the moral arc of the universe towards justice, guide you in legislating with love for all of us here in Colorado. 

 

Amen.

Holy Sugar, Jews of the Jungle: Four Centuries of Suriname Jewry HHD 5783 2022

 

Suriname Synagogue in Israel Museum in Jerusalem