The city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, is an active metropolis as well as a industrial, commercial, and financial powerhouse. It is also one of the largest cities in the world with a population right around 17 million people.

This massive population is made up of a wonderfully diverse group of people which includes immigrants from Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Korea. Additionally, there exists one of the largest Japanese communities in the world outside of Japan.

Sao Paulo is home to about 76,000 Jews, meaning that the majority of Brazil’s 150,000 Jews live within the city. This makes Sao Paulo a very significant cultural center for Jewish life within Brazil.

Additionally, the Jewish population of the city has an extremely well-established system of organizations and services due to the Sao Paulo Jewish Federation. This federation is affiliated with over 65 different businesses in the areas of religion, education, welfare, culture, politics, fundraising, youth, media, sports, medical services, senior care, and funeral/cemetery services.

The Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Sao Paulo is an important hub for learning within Latin America, and offers academic courses, conferences, and lectures of Jewish interest.

On the Rua Antonio Carlos, a busy street filled with restaurants, apartments, and plenty of traffic, you will also find the Congragacio Israelita Paulista. This Ashkenazi synagogue is the largest on the continent. It has a whopping 2,000 members, and an average Friday night service will see 600-700 people. You can learn more about the synagogue by visiting the website at http://www.cip.org.br/index.jsp. (Although unfortunately it is not available in English. Just Portuguese, which is the main language spoken within Brazil.)

The primary Sephardic synagogues are Ohel Yaakov and Beit Yaakov. And in an old Jewish neighborhood called Bom Retiro, meaning Good Retreat, you can still find a tiny functioning Hasidic synagogue. (Most of the Jewish inhabitants have, however, moved to other cities.)

At the center of Jewish social life within Sao Paulo is A Habracia, an awesome 28,000 member club. The building itself resembles a self-contained city, complete with swimming pools, movie theaters, a ballroom, a synagogue, a bank, several restaurants, art galleries, a library and more. It is really quite an amazing facility.

In addition, A Habracia has a social and cultural department that aims to feature artists, authors, lecturers and musicians from the community. They serve as an important connection between Israel and Brazil.

The club even has a special department for children, known as “Happy Age,” which offers an array of artistic activities, such as gymnastics to playful games such as bingo, all with the intent of transmitting important stories, traditions, and customs to the younger generation.