Jews number about 700 in Ecuador – comprising .004%  of the population of almost 16 million. Most of them arrived from Europe during and after Holocaust, and at its peak, the Jewish population was about 4000.  Ecuador is unique in not having the problem of anti-semitism seen in other South American countries, and the people we met echoed this as well.

We knew that being  away from home for this length of time would be difficult. Missed weddings, bar mitzvahs, birthdays, anniversaries and holidays with family and friends were unavoidable. Being away from our family and our synagogue for the high holidays has been tough, but with plenty of advance notice, we contacted the Jewish communities in Quito.  

For erev Rosh Hashanah services, we were invited to join the Chabad congregation of Quito. While we thought we were heading to a bonfide synagogue, we instead found ourselves in the warm apartment of the Rabbi and his wife, welcomed to a festive multi course dinner. We met other travelers from Israel, Argentina, the U.S. and Mexico, and the conversation around the table morphed from Hebrew to Spanish to English.  Vodka toasts to a sweet, healthy and happy year full of peace are easily understood in any tongue. Especially by the second and third time around the table.

The Rebetzin and I bonded over the challenges of homeschooling our children, and I couldn’t help but wonder what this lovely couple from Israel had done to get the Quito posting – not easy to have an Orthodox community here.

For Rosh Hashanah day services, we joined the Conservative congregation of Quito.  In a building that appears to be straight from Jerusalem, with its sandstone walls and domed roofs, we celebrated the holiday in style, facing a beautiful stained glass wall of windows with the Andean sunlight streaming in. The sermon (in Spanish, of course) was inspiring, and the fact that it was in Spanish made us listen and concentrate that much harder. The Rabbi spoke of the long chain of our ancestors that is linked, arm in arm, from the time of Moses to today.  He reminded us of the bond between the generations – a bond I most poignantly feel, particularly this year, so far from our family. 

I was thrilled when the kids asked me to prepare some traditional Rosh Hashanah dishes, and I didn’t disappoint with a honey and apple cake (the honey here has the taste and fragrance of roses, since Ecuador is a huge exporter of roses and rose plantations dot the landscape here) and homemade challah. We celebrated with a nice holiday dinner and a delicious Argentinian Malbec (after the Eagles game). 

The only real negative to the holiday was the separation of the women and men in both congregations we attended. We are lucky, in Annapolis, to be part of a vibrant, progressive, reform congregation at Temple Beth Shalom. We have a special friendship with our Rabbi, and I know he will be proud to hear that our daughters railed against the sex segregation in the congregations here. I grew up visiting my grandparent’s shul which had separate women’s seating, but my children (happily) know nothing of this practice. They believe deeply that women should read from the Torah, be rabbis and cantors, and be treated equally in Jewish life.   Thank you, Rabbis Ari and Hanna, for influencing our daughters so strongly and positively. But it didn’t make getting them to services this year very easy.