Thinking Too Much

There are so many signs that make me realize that this visit to Guatemala will not be our last.  This weekend we spent our third Shabbat with our Jewish community at Casa Hillel.  The interactions have become easier and richer and our relationships here have become deeper. We’ve been staying with our friends Yaakov and Raudith and their children, Lorena and Joseph. The family speaks almost exclusively in Spanish, which gives us a good opportunity to practise the Spanish that we are learning. I am getting really close to this family, especially to Raudith. There are so many things we have in common. She’s a cosmetician, and, go figure, she paints her fingernails with navy blue polish. 

Raudith and I are growing to love each other and exchange deeper, more meaningful experiences of our lives. I was able to offer massage to Raudith, which she accepted with openness and love. She lay on the bed with the children around and Yaakov watching with admiration and envy because undoubtedly all of them wanted to have a massage. I love to be able to offer massage to people I care about. It’s just another way to reinforce the depth of our familiarity.

Paul and I work with the entire community at Casa Hillel. We sing lots! They so appreciate Paul’s music and they even think they I have a good voice! Sometimes (I chuckle here) I get the feeling that they think that Paul and I are a duo.

I work a lot with the kids and I’m recognizing the development of the relationships with the various young people. There were five. Ginna is in Canada now, living in Toronto with Rabbi Elyse and Baruch for the winter, developing leadership skills, learning English and Hebrew and practising being Jewish with the Siennas and the Darchei Noam community.

There’s Rifka too, 15 years old, with whom I am really getting close.  We have some fantastic intimate conversations (her English is excellent!). Rifka is an artistic, deep thinking, young woman who is experiencing the complete throes of puberty and, although she has a very close relationship with her own parents, I think she welcomes and embraces the relationship that we have been able to establish. I am able to offer her a perspective different from the one she receives from her Latin American community. Our connections, based on womanhood and friendship, provide a different look at the world as shared by two women.

Learning, learning!

Ardany, 12 years old is in the process of preparing for a Bar Mitzvah for next November. With him, I am more of a teacher, helping him to become comfortable with Hebrew and understanding Torah at least specific to his particular portion of Torah. He is incredibly enthusiastic and eager and appreciates my help. He works hard, and I feel a deep responsibility to set him up to a point where he will continue to study even when I am no longer in Guatemala. Reading Hebrew and understanding the profundity of Torah are two objectives that help define our work together. Ardany is amazingly enthusiastic and loves doing the work required to make him better prepared for his ‘big day’.

Lorena and Yoseph, the youngest offspring of Raudith and Yaakov, are two of the most helpful, pleasant, appreciative and enthusiastic kids I have ever met. They are just such a joy! Our time spent with them in their house is eventful and fun.

Residents at Casa Misericordia

Chaim insists on bringing us to his work place which also happens to be where he lives. A humble building, with many rooms, each with 3 beds and a closet, Chaim offers a home to elderly people who would have no home if they weren’t staying there. The home, called Casa Misericordia (House of Mercy) was established by an Evangelical Christian group, and is supported by donations from the church and others. Chaim is the director and very proud of the work he does.  As he says in Spanish: “These people have no money, no family and would be on the streets if they weren’t able to live here.” The simplicity of the place astounds me, and the smiles and appreciation in the people we meet there fills me with joy. I think of my own mother and share stories about her with some of the residents. We talk to Chaim about our friend Jordan who runs a nursing home in Toronto. Chaim has to be available 24/7. How does he have the time to practise being Jewish?

Alvaro and Jeannette are the founders of the group, Casa Hillel. I’ve written about them in my blog before. Their passion fuels the community and their energies keep the momentum in motion.

The adults are sometimes like children.  Raising a hand to kiss the mezuzah as they enter the humble home of Casa Hillel, they are immediately ready to engage. Singing, studying, engaging in conversation, eating community-cooked meals together, are all a part of how people share time together. When Paul and I come, people gather for Friday night dinners, and then again for morning service on Saturday. We stay at the Casa all day avoiding back and forth travel, and embrace the opportunity to be together. After Shabbat morning services, where our input is encouraged, we share a full lunch. The afternoon we spend studying and singing and playing. A walk to the local tienda to eat ice cream has become ritual, and hanging out in the local park gives us time for informal, social interactions. Dinner, followed by musical and affectionate Havdalah services takes us until 9:00-10:00 at night.

The kids gather at Raudith’s house for Sunday morning breakfast and more study with me. Enthusiasm, laughter, and friendship abounds.  And then late morning we head to the shuttle back to Panajachel, and the lancha (boat) to Pasaj-Cap. Paul and I love getting back to the lake, and, we treasure our time In Guatemala City with these amazing people!

Fun!

I am still in awe of the situation! How is it possible that these Latin American ‘Christians’ have each decided to convert? What is it about their history, and about Judaism that draws them? Their plight is not an easy one. They are self-taught about Judaism and thus, they enthusiastically embrace the chance of learning from outside their own realm.  I just can’t believe we have become a part of them!

The relationships I am developing here with these people make it really difficult to leave this country. Paul and I have begun to discuss the possibility of returning, ideally to participate in Ardany’s Bar Mitzvah in November. This seems to happen to us more and more. We come to places with an innocence… almost ignorance, learning about the culture and the environment and so deeply that, we too, become a part of it. Guatemala has definitely become a part of my soul!