The Jewish community of Puerto Rico: history, synagogues and visitor tips

A short history

Conversos and crypto-Jews in the Spanish colony (1500s–1800s)

For almost four centuries, Spanish law kept openly practicing Jews out of Puerto Rico.^{[4, 2]} Community histories say that some conversos, Jews who had been forced to convert to Catholicism or descended from converts, came with the early colonists. They also say some kept parts of their faith in secret, often away from San Juan in the mountainous interior.^{[1, 3]} Puerto Rico had no Inquisition tribunal of its own, so suspected cases were sent to tribunals elsewhere in the Americas or in Spain.^[3]

How strong is the evidence? Thin, and worth reading with care. The accounts we found come from community organizations and personal memoirs, not from archival studies of named people. Today, some Puerto Rican families, especially in the west, describe a family memory of Jewish roots, and some have taken part in services at Temple Beth Shalom.^{[3, 2]} That is real as lived experience, but it isn't the same as documented descent, and we don't give numbers or names for this period.

After 1898, and refugees from Nazi Europe

Spain gave up Puerto Rico to the United States in 1898. Jews could then live and worship openly, but few came at first. Some Jewish American soldiers stayed on and went into government work.^[1] The first sizable group arrived in the 1930s and 1940s: Jews escaping Nazi-ruled Europe. Strict U.S. quotas made the mainland hard to reach, and many who meant to move on stayed. Most settled in San Juan, where they founded the island's first Jewish Community Center in 1942.^{[1, 2]} Jewish service members were also stationed at the island's military bases during the war.^[1]

The 1950s: the first synagogue

Postwar tax and investment incentives drew mainland businesses to Puerto Rico, and many of them were run by American Jews who settled in San Juan.^[1] In the early 1950s a small group founded Shaare Zedeck, the island's first synagogue, in a former family mansion. It hired its first rabbi in 1954 and opened a Hebrew school in 1959.^{[2, 4]}

Cuban Jewish arrivals after 1959

After the 1959 revolution, most of Cuba's Jews left the country. Many went to Miami, and a large group made new lives in Puerto Rico.^{[2, 1]} The change shaped the community: in 2004, the Jewish Journal reported that about 90% of Shaare Zedeck's 255 member families had Cuban roots.^[4]

Later arrivals and the community today

Later decades brought more newcomers. The World Jewish Congress lists Israelis who came in the 1970s to work on farming and irrigation projects, Argentine Jews leaving the 1976 military dictatorship and, more recently, Venezuelan Jews.^[1] In 2005 the Puerto Rico Senate passed a resolution recognizing the Jewish community's contributions to the island.^[1]

Puerto Rico is the only Caribbean island where Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Judaism are all active.^{[1, 4]} The Jewish Community of Puerto Rico is the island's affiliate of the World Jewish Congress, and groups such as Hadassah and B'nai B'rith are also active.^[1] By 2017, entrepreneurs drawn by the island's tax rates had helped the community grow, and Chabad reports that growth has continued.^{[20, 11]}

Synagogues and community institutions

Shaare Zedeck and the Jewish Community Center

The oldest congregation on the island shares its building with the Jewish Community Center, on Ponce de León Avenue in Miramar. It follows the Conservative movement and has a Hebrew school.^{[6, 2, 1]} The center also houses the Jewish Community of Puerto Rico, the island's representative body to the World Jewish Congress.^[1]

Temple Beth Shalom

Families looking for a smaller, more intimate congregation founded Temple Beth Shalom in 1967 as the island's Reform synagogue. It sits on Calle San Jorge in Santurce.^{[7, 4]} Its Shabbat services use English, Spanish and Hebrew, and they're streamed on YouTube. The temple also holds holiday services, adult classes and life-cycle events, and the Union for Reform Judaism lists 87 member families.^{[7, 8, 9]}

Chabad of Puerto Rico

Rabbi Mendel Zarchi and his wife, Rachel, founded Chabad of Puerto Rico in 1999. It was the first permanent Chabad center in the Caribbean.^{[11, 10]} It started in a rented apartment. Since 2016 it has been based in a 12,000-square-foot center on Calle Rosa in Isla Verde, which holds daily prayer services and runs a kosher kitchen.^[11] Chabad says Friday-night Shabbat dinners usually draw 50 to 80 people, and sometimes more than 120. It also runs a satellite in Dorado with weekly Shabbat services, a Hebrew school in two locations and a preschool that opened in 2024.^[11] The Puerto Rico center has helped start Chabad houses around the Caribbean, which now number more than 17.^[11] It also runs an eruv in Isla Verde and lists a mikvah among its services.^{[12, 10]}

Hurricane María relief (2017)

Hurricane María hit on the eve of Rosh Hashanah in September 2017. Two weeks earlier, Chabad of Puerto Rico had been the main channel of support for Jewish communities on St. Thomas and St. Martin after Hurricane Irma.^{[18, 20]} Here is what news coverage and Chabad's own reports confirm about the María response:

• Holiday services went ahead. Despite flooded roads, the center held Rosh Hashanah services with a minyan on both days. It stayed open for meals and for people who needed a place to rest.^{[18, 20]}
• The building became a shelter. The new center had a generator and was built to withstand hurricanes. People came in to shower, use the restrooms, charge their phones and eat. Staff also looked after pets and helped arrange emergency housing.^[20]
• Two relief flights in one week. Chabad arranged private planes from the mainland. The first carried pallets of food, water and medical equipment, sponsored by Ralph Nakash and his family, plus volunteers. The second, sponsored by the Falic family of Duty Free Americas, brought several thousand pounds of tinned goods, plus medical kits for emergencies, flashlights and batteries.^{[17, 19]}
• Officials met the second plane. San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz and Rabbi Zarchi welcomed Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine, Israel's honorary consul in Puerto Rico, David Efron, and Jewish leaders from Miami.^[17]
• Aid for people of every background. Chabad worked with PR4PR, a local service group, to bring water, food and supplies to some of San Juan's hardest-hit neighborhoods. Eight weeks after the storm, staff and volunteers were still making daily deliveries.^{[17, 21]}
• It came at a cost to Chabad. The storm tore off part of the synagogue roof. The damage was assessed at $120,000, with a $50,000 insurance deductible, and two months of generator power cost about $35,000.^[21]

In its appeal at the time, Chabad listed what it needed: water trucks, fuel for its generator, security and repairs.^[18] We don't give a total for the aid delivered, because none of the sources publishes one.

People and contributions

The World Jewish Congress describes Puerto Rico's Jews as active in business, commerce, education and entertainment on the island.^[1] Below are only people whose role we could confirm with a reliable source:

• Law: A. Cecil Snyder. In 1942, President Roosevelt named this Jewish lawyer an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. He served as Chief Justice from 1953 to 1957.^{[1, 5]}
• Business: Israel Zaidspiner. He left Havana in 1960, settled in San Juan and opened a chain of retail stores with his brother-in-law. He later volunteered as administrator of Shaare Zedeck.^[4]
• Diplomacy and law: David Efron. A San Juan lawyer and Israel's honorary consul in Puerto Rico. He helped welcome the 2017 relief flights.^{[1, 17]}
• Philanthropy: Philippe and Hilary Heilberg. Since moving to Puerto Rico, they have funded Chabad projects on the island and around the Caribbean, among them the Preschool of the Arts program.^[11]
• Community leadership: Rabbi Mendel and Rachel Zarchi (Chabad, since 1999) and Diego Mandelbaum, executive director of the Jewish Community of Puerto Rico.^{[11, 1]}

We haven't listed anyone in medicine or the arts, because we couldn't find a reliable source naming a Jewish Puerto Rico resident in those fields. We'll add names as we confirm them.

Visiting: services, kosher food and Shabbat

Service times (confirm before you go)

Kosher food (checked Oct 2026)

• Kosher in Paradise at Chabad (18 Calle Rosa, Isla Verde): takeout and delivery, plus Shabbat and holiday meals. Open Monday–Thursday 10 a.m.–6:45 p.m. and Friday until a 4 p.m. last pickup; closed Saturday, Sunday and Jewish holidays. Place Shabbat and Sunday orders by Thursday at 6 p.m.^[14]
• OMRKT Kosher Restaurant (Miramar Plaza, 954 Av. Ponce de León, Suite 101): a certified kosher café-restaurant serving healthy, local food. Open Monday–Thursday 11 a.m.–8 p.m. and Friday 11 a.m.–3 p.m.; closed weekends. Only the Miramar branch is listed as kosher certified.^{[15, 16]}
• Holidays: Chabad sells seder and holiday meal reservations for visitors, and in 2026 they had a firm deadline.^[13]

Shabbat and holiday tips

• Stay close. If you plan to walk to services, book near the synagogue you'll attend: Isla Verde for Chabad, Condado or Miramar for Shaare Zedeck and Temple Beth Shalom. See our Isla Verde and Condado guides.
• Eruv: Chabad keeps an eruv in Isla Verde and posts its status every week. On Aug 21, 2026 it said not to rely on it while repairs were made. Check the status page before every Shabbat.^[12]
• Order ahead: Chabad's Shabbat meals and takeout have to be ordered before the Thursday deadline.^[14]
• Old San Juan has no synagogue, but it's an easy taxi ride from all three. Plan your visit with our Old San Juan guide.

Frequently asked questions

Originally published on PuertoRico.com (2026-10-11). Reviewed and updated October 2026: facts were checked against the sources above.