Another cycle of annual Torah readings has concluded at the Kadoorie Synagogue in Porto. It was the 11th consecutive year of minyan on Shabbat and Yom Tov. The 12th year has now begun, with the goal of completing it in the same manner.
The fact marked another blow to the Soviet-style socialist agenda, which in 2022 was hell-bent on bringing down the community. They failed. As the community has documented in books published on Amazon, the Soviets did everything in their power to orchestrate a Portuguese "Dreyfus Affair"; not only did they fail completely, but they also managed to entangle the State in a scandal involving corruption and the trading of favors among political, judicial, and media powers—a scandal that will go down in history.
A private organization defeated a state that employed every possible tactic: illegal acts, illicit dealings, anonymous letters, and twisted interpretations. Even the psychiatric system was weaponized to insult and destroy. It was a collective frenzy. There was no separation of powers. Religious freedom was treated with utter contempt. Recognition of merit was out of the question. The propaganda standed out, "it was all bad—thoroughly bad".
Yet, in the 21st century it is difficult to overthrow a Jewish community. Instead of being destroyed, the community continued to prosper. If there are no severe punishments for offenders, it will be strange.
The community emerged as a global leader in cultural promotion, prepared future generations for Jewish leadership in the city, and forged decades-long partnerships with the Jewish Agency (Sochnut) and Chabad.
The community achieved what Captain Barros Basto was prevented from doing: a Jewish community that exists not merely on paper, but as a real, tangible community.
The month of Tishrei drew hundreds of congregants to the city's two synagogues, where they experienced the energy of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah.
The final portion of Devarim was read, and the Bereshit portion for the new Jewish year of 5787 began. It is expected that, a year from now, the PJN will be reporting the completion of an uninterrupted 12th year of maintaining a minyan in Porto—a trend likely to continue in the decades ahead, thereby ending five centuries without a thriving Jewish life in the city.
In Porto, the congregation does not rely on tourists to hold unrestricted prayer services—unlike the situation in most European synagogues today.
