Brazilian Jews spin the faith

sao paulo | All wearing white T-shirts, some 200 volunteers from Sao Paulo's 60,000-strong Jewish community gathered on a sunny Sunday morning in late August to form human chains spelling out the words "Judaism feels good and does good."

The event grabbed the attention of the media, and an aerial photo of the slogan, taken from a helicopter, was published in several newspapers. Mission accomplished.

The photo opened what was called Tzedakah Day, or social-justice day. Featuring Jewish and Israeli music, family entertainment, workshops and Israeli folk dance, the daylong initiative continued at the Hebraica club, the main meeting point for Sao Paulo's Jews.

The initiative also aims to publicize Jewish-run projects that serve non-Jews.

Psychologist Uri Lam, 33, who also is a bar mitzvah teacher and cantor, said the campaign will help improve the public image of the Jewish community, which is sometimes seen in Brazil as closed and elitist.

"It's important because it will emphasize the concern of the Jewish community in the struggle against misery and hunger," he said, helping to combat common Brazilian stereotypes of Jews as rich and uncaring.

Five different advertisements in major newspapers and magazines and over 30 billboards are the major means to be used in the campaign, which targets the 36 million inhabitants of Sao Paulo state, Brazil's wealthiest and most populous region.

The ads and billboards picture five local personalities photographed with Jewish symbols. None of the people shown is known to be Jewish by the vast majority of Brazilians.

Businessman Luciano Huck, who runs the most-watched Saturday afternoon youth television program, is shown blowing a shofar. Tufi Duek, a fashion stylist who owns the refined clothing brands Triton and Forum, is pictured wearing a tallit.

Joyce Pascowitch, a columnist in the weekly news magazine Epoca, is shown reading a prayer book. Didi Wagner, a DJ on MTV Brazil, is pictured holding a Star of David, and Mary Nigri, a businesswoman who owns four fancy restaurants, is shown holding a seder plate.

Beside each picture is a short text about projects run by the Jewish federation. The projects, several of them promoted by Jewish welfare institutions, serve not only Jews but some 100,000 people in Sao Paulo state.

Some 15,000 Jewish homes are receiving leaflets about the campaign, with contribution requests enclosed. A telemarketing system was implemented to receive donations.

In addition, Jewish institutions have received some 10,000 leaflets explaining the meaning of tzedakah, or charity, entitled "Tzedakah — A Guide for You to Better Understand this Mitzvah."