Our daughter, Shoshana, attended some beautiful Bat Mitzvah parties this past year. When we learned the cost to host a party to celebrate her own bat mitzvah, we decided to give her options: 1. a party with friends, 2. visit Israel, or 3. visit El Salvador for her bat mitzvah.

Although Israel was initially her first choice, due to uncertainty with the ongoing war, she decided it was not the right time to travel there.

She enjoys parties and has close friends to celebrate with, but she told us that a party just lasts a few hours, and then the time and money are quickly gone.

My husband was born in El Salvador, and although he moved to the U.S. when he was 4 years old, he has often told our kids stories and memories he had as a little boy. She chose El Salvador, and it proved to be a meaningful decision.

When we told our friends that we were going to El Salvador to celebrate her bat mitzvah with the Jewish community there, many of them did not know that there were any Jews at all in the country.

There are 4 Jewish communities in El Salvador: An Orthodox shul named Beit Israel in San Salvador, a congregation in the small remote town of Armenia, a Chabad house in the beach town of El Tunco, and a conservative synagogue in San Salvador.

Our time in San Salvador

My husband had already been in communication with Diego, the president of Beit Israel, over the past few years, and we booked a nearby Airbnb to spend the last days of Sukkot & Simchat Torah and Shabbat there. Beit Israel has a little over 30 families and is comprised of people from all over El Salvador. Due to the high cost of living in the area of the shul, most members do not live nearby and have to travel 1-2 hours by bus to the shul.

When we arrived for the last day of Sukkot and Simchat Torah, we realized that the shul is set up like a big Shabbaton! Everyone arrives there on Friday afternoon and they spend the entire Shabbat (and holiday if there is one) together—sleeping, eating, praying and singing as a big family. The shul had an option to order food that would be prepared there, including local dishes like pupusas and fried plantains, which we were all very excited to try! The children spent hours playing indoors and outside— soccer, jump rope, tag, etc., and they were all eager to learn Torah and Hebrew from a class given by a member of the community.

Although they do not have the option of going to a Jewish day school (there are currently none in the entire country), the children are highly educated in Judaism because of the commitment their parents have to teaching them at home. Each child goes up in front of the congregation and gives their own speech about the Torah portion of the week.

The praying and singing (in Spanish and Hebrew) are beautiful. The entire community sings loudly to welcome in Shabbat, and the men have a special tradition of standing up together (while their wives remain seated) and singing the prayer Eshet Chayil to honor them.

Most of the community members only speak Spanish, but there were some who knew English and were able to translate for the rest. Everyone had stories of persistence, positivity, and a genuine love for Israel and for being Jewish. The community has a diverse spectrum of people— many are extended family members. We spoke with public school teachers, the kosher baker, an electrical engineer, a housekeeper, a lawyer, a businessman, and a student starting her first year at medical school.

One of Shoshana’s favorite memories from the trip was helping to prepare the vegetables and serving meals to everyone. Each meal also consisted of fresh juice that they had made at the shul in bulk including: cantaloupe, hibiscus, watermelon and pineapple. Shoshana also had the idea to bring candy from Israel and make goody bags to hand out for all of the kids during Simchat Torah.

There is a small kosher market in the shul and most of the kosher cheese and meats are brought infrom Guatemala. Once a month there is someone who comes in from the community of Armenia and does the shechita, or Kosher slaughter of chickens. They then sell the chickens at the shul.

Sunday after Simchat Torah and Shabbat the shul surprised our daughter with a piñata party to honor her bat mitzvah, a memory that will last her a lifetime. They played games with the kids, danced to Hebrew and Spanish music, served cheese and bean pupusas, had a beautiful tres leches cake (baked by the community baker) and put up a huge pinata in the sukkah.

The Beit Israel congregation has had some recent setbacks, including losing their mikvah and dealing with an outdated building lacking hot water. The members are friendly, open, and committed to Judaism, but families with young children do struggle with having no Jewish school to send them to. Their kids attend public schools and sometimes face challenges being the only Jewish students in their classes.

Visiting the Shul in Armenia

Beit Shemaya & Avtalion community is a small shul in the town of Armenia, about 45 minutes northwest of San Salvador. We found the name of the town to be interesting and asked our driver about it. He told us that the first families that settled in this area were from Armenia and that’s how the name was given.

Visiting this community seemed like how I imagined living in a shtetl. We bought our kids some sodas and snacks from a small market steps away from the modest shul. The women’s section was a covered area outside and themen’s section had bookshelves with siddurs, basic furniture, and two Torahs that stood proudly in the ark. Next to the shul was a small kitchen, which was adjacent to an area where chickens would be kosher slaughtered. Finally, close by was a stunning mikvah. In the center was some open space where children could play. We were told that everyone in the community lives within walking distance to the shul. Even though children attend their local public school, they spend time after school and on Shabbats altogether.

 We were greeted by the president, Asher, an administrative assistant, and a volunteer Rabbi from New York (born in Spain) who periodically spends time in the community. They told us all about how the community began and the future aspirations of the members.

First Chabad in El Salvador

There is a Chabad house in the beach town of El Tunco, that has many Israeli visitors. It is run by a husband andwife, who live there with their young baby. They have a menu (in Hebrew) of basic food items and offer take-out. We were hoping to meet the family and order food from them, but they had a family emergency, so we didn’t get the opportunity.

Conservative Synagogue

Comunidad Israelita de El Salvador is the only conservative synagogue in El Salvador and has been around for over 80 years. Some of its members have families involved in the major hotel and airline business sectors of the country. Although we did not have an opportunity to visit, my husband spoke with the rabbi, Juan Pablo Ossadon, who has been there since 2020.

End of our trip

Our family formed a special connection with the Beit Israel Community. Shoshana loved helping them prepare and serve meals, and interacting with the children. There was a warmth and genuine friendship that we all felt during our stay. We are committed to helping their community prosper by improving their shul’s condition over time. We hope that of the lessons Shoshana may have learned on our trip (and in her life so far), she remembers that happiness and fulfillment come from caring for others and finding her way to make the world a little better— tikkun olam.

Tova is in the field of education and resides in Los Angeles with her husband and 4 young kids.