In Recife, Brazil: The First Synagogue in the New World

In honor of the Rio Olympics, I thought I would re-post this essay, written seven years ago, in the year I launched this blog. I’m glad to report that both of my children, in the intervening years, grew in their appreciation of museums. Inspired by our 2009 visit, both of them also went on to study Portuguese in college, and we are all suffering from “saudades” and yearning to visit again soon.–SKM

My kids hate museums, or so they claim. My daughter, 15, says she doesn’t like the way the...