Wierd Shul?

Jewishtimes: In a chic Rio de Janeiro suburb, a Jewish congregation occasionally holds services in mountainous tropical forest surrounding the city, at beaches that ring the city and at old colonial fortresses. Welcome to the Jewish Congregation of Brazil, where Rabbi Nilton Bonder has melded Conservative and Jewish renewal movement ideas to create a 550-member congregation that is perhaps the most politically and socially liberal Jewish religious group in the country.....But as is common in the renewal movement, Bonder's services feature a lively musical accompaniment, in this case a guitarist, flutist and keyboard player. Some congregants occasionally join hands and spontaneously break into a circle dance around seated or standing prayers. The rabbi's sermon, which ends the service, often embraces mystical, kabbalistic teachings. Women also read from the Torah, and men and women sit together, unlike the seating arrangements at the 20 Orthodox synagogues in Rio....Many of the Jews in Bonder's congregation are politically left-wing: pro-gay rights, pro-women's rights, concerned with environmental issues and willing to be critical of Israel....On Rosh Hashanah, the congregation goes to the beach at sunrise to pray and throw bread crumbs, representing the old, into the sea.....Claudio Rehfeld, a 43-year-old engineer, whose family has been part of Bonder's congregation since 1994, agreed. "Bonder offers a strong link to Jewish tradition, but, by incorporating music and dance, does so in a spiritually joyful way, similar to Chasidic Judaism," said Rehfeld........ Ah Freilichen Purim!