American View
Storied Caribbean Synagogue Welcomes Its First Female Rabbi
![](https://cdn.hadassahmagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/1-6.png)
A Caribbean synagogue with a storied Jewish past continues to make history as it welcomes its first female rabbi.
Julia Margolis, whose mother, Elena Rubinstein, became Israel’s first Russian-speaking female rabbi in 2002, moved to the United States Virgin Islands in February to lead the Hebrew Congregation of St. Thomas, which is affiliated with the Reform movement. The synagogue, constructed in 1833 in Charlotte Amalie, is one of only five synagogues worldwide with sand floors, a relic of its Sephardi past in which Jews fleeing the Inquisition sought to muffle the sounds of their prayers.
Born in Moscow, Margolis made aliyah at age 12 with her family. Based in South Africa since 2009, she received ordination from Abraham Geiger College in Berlin before founding Beit Luria, a Reform synagogue in Johannesburg, in 2016. She continues to lead that congregation via monthly Zoom services while she lives in St. Thomas with her two daughters, Emily and Victoria. Her husband, Greg, passed away in 2021.
What brought her to St. Thomas? “My heart and my soul,” she said. The synagogue “just takes your breath away. It was very, very meaningful to feel the presence of history and God in one unique place.”
![](https://cdn.hadassahmagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2-6.png)
Among the rabbi’s goals is “to engage with different interfaith groups,” Margolis said, and she wants intermarried families to “feel that they are welcome at the synagogue.”
Determining the number of Jews in St. Thomas is difficult since many spend part of the year elsewhere. Margolis said there are 70 member families on the island. While there is no formal religious school, b’nei mitzvah of both local and visiting children are celebrated regularly, as are destination weddings for tourists. For adults, the congregation offers Bible studies, weekly Torah portion discussions and oneg Shabbats, communal dinners and seders.
Margolis remains optimistic about the future. “This place is going to thrive,” she said, because of people who “see the importance of this historical synagogue. They see the importance of teaching our next generation.”
Lori Silberman Brauner is a communications associate at SINAI Schools and former deputy managing editor at the New Jersey Jewish News. She is currently working on a book about Diaspora Jewish communities.
Joan Grossman says
My granddaughter, Emily Meyer, had her bat mitzvah there with a great many family members attending. She is now 20 years old.
Cathy Olswing says
We will be in St. Thomas on a cruise in December. Would love to meet her.
Rabbi Julia Margolis says
Hi Cathy ! Welcome ! Would be great to meet you . Please email us .
Dorothy Isaacs says
Our St. Thomas Synagogue is the oldest Synagogue in continuous use in the USA and the second oldest in the Western Hemisphere. Our Mother congregation in Curacao is the oldest! We welcome everyone to our Synagogue every Friday night and on holidays. We love celebrating visitors life cycle events such as Bar/Bat Mitzvahs.
Dara Brenner says
Hey Rabbi Margolis! We’re so happy to have you as the spiritual leader of our favorite synagogue.
Boy our boys became Bar Mitzvah (2015 & 2017) there in the footsteps of their great grandfather Moses Sasso and great great great grandfather David Cardoze.
We hope to meet you on our next trip to the island!
Robert Kunkel says
Welcome everyone
… we have zoom services with Chai membership. We spare no expense to make a Soundsystem that you can appreciate. We have Chase, our chief sound & vision operator, most every weekend at 6:30 on Fridays …. except Kid’s monthly service starting at 6:00PM. Call 340-774-4312 weekdays to confirm starting time or other questions. Thanks Robert.