The indomitable spirit of the Cuban Jewish community is evident to all American visitors. Despite years of suppression, the community has maintained a vibrant yearning for free expression. Participants can witness Ahavat Yisrael—the love of each member of the House of Israel—and gain a thorough understanding of Cuban Jewish history, interact with the community, and partake in unique local ceremonies. The overarching goal is to unify participants under their common ancestral bonds. Under our HAVANAGILA brand, Cuban Heritage Experiences offers a variety of activities that fall within the permitted licenses that you can mix and match for your trip, such as:

1. Meeting with Synagogue Leaders and Board Members
2. Presentations about the Community History
   • Learn about the origins of Patronato Synagogue and the Jewish community’s efforts to break away from the Ghetto of old Havana.
   • Mr. Gonte, son of the community’s charity exemplar, will explain the communal charity system pre-Revolution.
3. Charity
   • American participants may perform acts of charity (“Tzedakah”) such as delivering over the counter medicine, kosher food, books and religious articles.
4. Meeting with Ritual Director
   • Meet Mr. Yacob Berezniak, Ritual Director of Cuba’s only kosher slaughtering facility and Director of Adath Israel Synagogue
   • Discussion topics include government awards for kosher slaughtering, meat distribution, and sale of non-kosher parts.
   • Mr. Berezniak also sponsors programs for the elderly, including feeding, arts and crafts, and a sewing circle whose creations are sold to tourists.
   • He has created a museum and special library with books and periodicals from the 1920s to the 1950s.
5. Oral History Exercises
   • Participants will practice taking oral histories from community members and leaders, learning how this method preserves customs and information.
6. Participation in Social and Religious Services
   • Engage in social and religious services at synagogue centers.
7. Educational Center Meetings
   • One-on-one meetings with teachers and students at Jewish community educational centers.
8. Lectures by Community Educators
   • Hear lectures by Dr. Manahem Meshulam, who established learning activities and the Hebraic curriculum at Patronato.
9. Lectures by Historians and Leaders
   • Lectures by local and American Jewish historians and leaders, including Dr. Rabbi Elie Abadie and Dr. Fernando Remirez de Estenoz, descendant of 16th-century Spanish conversos.
10. Visit to Jewish Cemeteries
    • Participants can visit the Jewish Cemeteries and pay respects the Holocaust memorial where the Cuban Jewish Community buried bars of soap that had been made from human remains during the war.
11. Interfaith Meetings
    • Meet with clergy and members of other faiths to learn about the climate for religious activities in present-day Cuba.