Trading in "black gold" (rubber) and other jungle products, Jewish pioneers prospered, building some of Brazil's finest synagogues. The towering, domed Shaar Hashamaim synagogue in Belem, the capital of the Brazilian state of Pará, houses the country’s oldest Jewish congregation, dating from 1824. The synagogue building pictured dates from 1946. Belem still has 400 Jewish families and three active, Orthodox synagogues.

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