This article is reprinted with permission from
The American Jewish
Joint Distribution Committee, Inc.
The Torah Finds its Cuban Voice JDC-trained
Cuban Baal Kore is Welcomed by his Community
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Havana, Cuba -- When Alberto Behar,
Cuba's first native Baal Kore in nearly forty years,
reads aloud from the Torah this Rosh Hashanah, members
of the congregation will listen carefully. For the
first time in two generations, each word and every
note will give the Torah a Cuban voice.
For Alberto, reading the Torah
is less a matter of making local history than of
ensuring Jewish continuity. "While following the
text with my eyes, I can see in the scrolls, the
reflection of my father's and grandfather's faces.
They are happy that I am maintaining the Jewish
tradition."
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Alberto Behar,
Cuba's first native Baal Kore in nearly forty years,
represents the breathtaking revival of Cuban Jewish
life. After years of supporting the survival of Cuba's
Jews, JDC has spent the last several years supporting
Jewish renewal on a community level.
Photo: Larry Port |
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The introduction
of a native Baal Kore is only the latest step in a
breathtaking revival of Cuban Jewish life. After years
of ensuring basic needs and supporting the survival
of Cuba's Jews, the American Jewish Joint Distribution
Committee (JDC) has spent the last several years supporting
Jewish renewal on a community level. The Cuban Jewish
community now has the infrastructure necessary to
provide health services, social and community development
and Jewish education.
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At the
Tikun Olam Sunday school, JDC-trained teachers help
students make good use of Spanish and Hebrew books
on Jewish topics, a video library and Internet-capable
computers. Cuba is now also host to two international
summer camps, where Jewish children from throughout
Latin America come to spend the summer having fun,
forming friendships and deepening their ties to Judaism.
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Alberto's journey to becoming a Baal Kore began
with an idea by Diego Mandelbaum, JDC's representative
in Cuba. "In so many ways, Cuba has become its own
Jewish resource. This seemed like a logical step.
It helps that Alberto is a true scholar," says Mandelbaum.
"When we started he could scarcely read Hebrew.
But he had the desire. We decided on a two-month
course of study. In the process, he learned much
more than the musical symbols he would need. He
studied commentaries and reflections on the Torah.
He moved beyond the technique of reading the Torah
and investigated the spiritual and emotional meaning
contained in each portion. When you hear him read,
you can sense his fufillment."
Alberto's elation is multiplied
in the responses of those who come to hear him read.
"When he reads the Torah in a Cuban voice, I know
that this is our Torah, too -- not something from
the outside," smiled an older woman in the congregation.
"Here in Cuba," she continues, "We have a strong
community. Now we are enjoying some fruit from our
strength. If Menorah, (Cuba's national Jewish newspaper)
is the eyes of our people, Alberto is our voice."
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Copyright © 2000 by The American
Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Inc.
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