The Jewish Chronicle shares “San Miguel de Allende plays host to CHESMA, a group catering to expat Jews and conversos”, where they explain to this community, functions, experiences, and its impact on SMA society.
It’s a warm Friday evening in San Miguel de Allende, a historic colonial town about four hours north of Mexico City that’s become a popular destination for American and Canadian ex-pats and tourists.
Former doctor Dan Lessner has been the driving force behind the growth of the CHESMA organization. Read more: The Jewish Chronicle – San Miguel de Allende plays host to CHESMA a group catering to expat Jews and conversos (Photo: thejewishchronicle.net)
As the weekend gears up, most of the town’s 1,000 or so resident Jewish foreigners are headed out to a restaurant, a concert or one of the town’s ubiquitous art openings.
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But a dozen of these Jewish residents have trekked up a steep road to attend Shabbat services in a nondescript two-story building that is the official home of the “Comunidad Hebrea en San Miguel de Allende” CHESMA, (Hebrew Community of San Miguel de Allende).
With prayer books on their laps, they sit in a semicircle on black folding chairs in a whitewashed community room where an art historian will deliver a lecture on Marc Chagall the following day.
The Shabbat candles sparkle in a brightly painted Mexican candelabra. The Torahs rest in a locked wooden cabinet nearby.
Source: http://thejewishchronicle.net/