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CALL YOUR TRAVEL AGENT OR HAMILTON, MILLER, HUDSON &.FAYNE (313) 827-4070 52 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1992 Photo by Ruth Rovn e r • Complete line of cosmetics, hair products & accessories • Over 1000 designer frangrances SKIERS Compare our prices... They can't be beat! All top quality ski equipment ON SALE NOW Great savings & selection! Don gkomas cSrortkaus) Bloomfield Plaza • Telegraph at Maple Birmingham, Mich. • 626-9500 Luis de Torres Synagogue. Freeport, Bahamas: Island Congregation RUTH ROVNER Special to The Jewish News W henever he wel- comes visitors to the Luis de Torres Synagogue on the island of Freeport, congregation presi- dent Jack Turner always asks if they know how the synagogue got its name. "And they usually guess it's named for some wealthy Sephardic Jew who donated money to us," he says. But it's not. So he tells them about Luis de Torres, who was Christo- pher Columbus' interpreter and a Marrano, one of those Spanish Jews who pretended to convert after the Jews were expelled, but practiced Judaism in secr^f De Torres was probably the first Jew to set foot on land in the New World, and it hap- pened not far from Freeport. In 1492, when Columbus first spotted land, he landed first on the Bahamian island of San Salvador. "And we assume that his interpreter set foot on the land even before Columbus did," says Mr. Turner, who has a number of articles documen- ting the activity of Mr. de Torres. So, when the Jews of Free- port built their new syna- gogue in 1974, they named it in honor of a Jew who was in the Bahamas long before they were. Now this year, as the 500th anniversary of Colum- bus' discovery of America is celebrated, they feel especial- ly proud of their connection to Luis de Torres. "We remember him every week in synagogue by reciting a brief poem;' says Mr. Turner, who then laun- ches into a recitation of the rhyme: "In the year 1492/ Columbus sailed the ocean blue/And in his crew, there was a Jew?' Members of the small but loyal Freeport Hebrew Con- gregation also are proud that theirs is the newest syna- gogue built on any of the island resorts in the Atlantic or Caribbean. It's also one of the few Reform congregations on any of the islands. It's a synagogue that's especially well suited to the resort environment of Free- port. Capital of Grand Relations between Jews and non- Jews on the island are excellent. Bahama Islands, Freeport is an island of powdery white beaches, palm trees, and lavish-looking hotels and casinos. It looks like the idyllic island resort it is. The synagogue located on East Sunrise Highway, just one-quarter mile from the center of town, looks quite ap- propiiate to this lush setting. It's a modern white stucco building surrounded by palm trees, thick pine trees, even an orchid tree. This is the on- ly Jewish house of worship in the 700-islands — not all of them inhabited — that make up the Bahamas. "The members raised all the money and also helped supervise the design;' says Jack Turner, who leads the way into the modern 120-seat sanctuary, where services are held every Friday evening during the tourist season, from November through the end of Passover. Built by architect Cory De Vries — who was not Jewish but was guided in the design by congregants — the syna- gogue was dedicated in 1974. It was a big event on the