Amazon Jewry

Shavei Israel communities from different parts of the world shared photos with us of them at services and in mourning for the destruction of the Temples and remembering other tragedies in Jewish history that happened on Tisha B’Av, the annual fast day on the 9th...

It is customary to read the Book of Ruth on Shavuot. In that book, Ruth says to Naomi (1:16): “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” On Shavuot...

We wrote about the Bissato family, Yehoshua, 45, Chana, 36, and their daughter Leah, 10, when they arrived in Israel from Caxias do Sul, Brazil. The former pastors' unusual path actually led them away from the teachings they grew up on and onto a path towards...

Shavei Israel reaches out to Lost and Hidden Jews, and helps emerging Jewish communities around the world. One such emerging Jewish community is a very special community in Honduras known as Derech HaChaim (“Way of Life” in Hebrew). For the past five years, Shavei Israel has...

We wrote about the Bissato family, Yehoshua, 45, Chana, 36, and their daughter Leah, 10, when they arrived in Israel from Caxias do Sul, Brazil. The former pastors' unusual path actually led them away from the teachings they grew up on and onto a path towards...

Shavei Israel communities, along with the rest of the Jewish world, just celebrated Lag B’Omer – a meaningful and beautiful holiday related to the personality of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, one of the most eminent disciples of Rabbi Akiva and the author of the mystical...

As part of our efforts to assist and strengthen emerging Jewish communities in Latin America and Spain, Shavei Israel has organized a very special series of Jewish leadership seminars in Spanish, focused around Torah, Judaism and the holidays. The program is especially for the rabbis...

The Jewish holiday of Tu B’Shevat, or, literally, the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat, is also called Rosh HaShanah La'Ilanot, which means 'New Year for the Trees'. Tree planting, fruit eating, special ‘seders’ for the holiday and other celebrations of nature and...

We're thrilled to work with the Jews of Tarapoto, Peru, whose origin is the Amazon. In particular, we have just celebrated the bar mitzvah of Baruch Ben-Shachar Pérez, who turned thirteen and is now considered, according to halacha (Jewish law), responsible for his actions. And...

When Efrat and Chaim Menjivar came to Israel two years ago from their native San Salvador, they couldn't imagine the joy they would be experiencing a mere two years later. Efrat and Chaim, students at our Machon Miriam, shared their exciting news with us: the...