Suriname

In Suriname, people walk on sand when they pray in the synagogue.

In the capital, the synagogue floor is covered with sand instead of wood or stone. It’s one of only four synagogues in the Caribbean that still keep the custom.

The sand carries two memories. One is the forty years the Bible says the Jews wandered in the desert. The other is ancestors in Portugal who fled the Inquisition. While secretly holding on to their faith, they used sand to muffle the sound of their prayers and songs, so that no one would hear.