Ravaged By Irma, Virgin Islands Synagogue Holds Shabbat Service To Extend 200-Year Tradition
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Nathan Guttman September 11, 2017
The island of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands was among the worst hit by hurricane Irma. But even wind gusts of near 200 miles per hour and torrential rain could not prevent the local synagogue from holding Shabbat services.
And Irma failed to damage the synagogue’s treasured Torah scrolls.
The Hebrew Congregation of St. Thomas, a Reform synagogue serving the island’s small Jewish population and a fair amount of destination bar mitzvahs and weddings, has been around since the 1790s and has never closed its doors to a weekend prayer service.
“I was very nervous. It looked like that chain might break,” said Rabbi Michael Feshbach, who moved from his Washington-area congregation to lead the island’s synagogue several months ago.
Irma had just hit, power was cut off and curfew was imposed. But Feshbach and his wife and daughter, who is also the cantor, came to the synagogue and starting calling congregants. Eight others showed up. One family watched on Facetime.
“The centuries-old tradition was intact,” Feshbach said.
And so were the torah scrolls. Wrapped in a double layer of plastic and placed back in the ark, which was repaired a couple of years ago to prevent leaks, the scrolls remained dry.
Now the synagogue is hoping for a generator and a steady supply of propane to get through the High Holidays.
Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter @nathanguttman
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
