You will never ever guess where this synagogue is: Bridgetown, Barbados

Due to the Portuguese inquisition in Brazil, the Jews fled from Brazil to the British colony of Barbados and built the synagogue in Barbados in 1654.

I don’t know why, but I felt more connected to my Jewish heritage, when i was standing in that temple, than I do in modern day temples.

There was a wonderful, small Jewish museum next to the Barbados synagogue. The displays chronicled the history of those Barbadian Jews. They felt that had arrived in the promised land. Coconut milk and sugar cane had become the milk and honey of this promised land. The first floors of the temple were sand, as if they were still wandering in the desert.

One of the museum displays posted this: when facing discrimination, it was common for Jews in Barbados to adopt Christian names. Over generations, many Jewish males with christianized names married black women. Today it is believed that nearly all the people of Iberian descent in Barbados were of Sephardic Jewish ancestry.

I walked from the museum to the Mikvah, which was buried under a parking lot and uncovered by archaeological students in 2008. It was in perfect condition.

In 1980, the government of Barbados wanted to tear down the synagogue to build a new government building. One man, Henry Altman, led a campaign to save the synagogue and he succeeded.

Before I left, I felt like a proud Jew. I wanted to invite some of those brave Barbadian Jews from the 1600s to my home for Passover this month.