This tiny, charming synagogue in the Cayman Islands was built by a man as a present for his Jewish wife. The Jewish population of Cayman Brac is comprised of just a few members, including the couple who built this synagogue with their own hands. Lynne met George Walton in college. She was an Ashkenazi Jew from Brooklyn and he was a native of Cayman Brac, descended from one of the early families with Sephardic roots.

The two married and traveled the world. After George retired from 20 years of Air Force service, the couple returned to Cayman Brac and opened a bed and breakfast. As there was no place for Jewish worship on Cayman Brac. George wanted his wife to have a spiritual home, so in 2002 he built her a synagogue in the garden.

Temple Beth Shalom is humble, but not shabby in the slightest. The round white building stands out against the blue Caribbean sky. George laid pearl granite floors and Italian marble beams. Lynne carved the heavy mahogany doors, which read, “HOUSE OF WELCOME, MAY ALL WHO ENTER HERE FIND PEACE.” The domed ceiling is painted like a starry sky, with 12 lanterns representing the 12 tribes of Israel.

Over the years the couple has collected important Jewish artifacts, including a Byzantine oil lamp given to them by the British Commonwealth Jewish Council for their work in promoting Judaism in the Caymans. Services are held most every Friday, with Lynne often acting as lay rabbi unless someone more learned is present.

Mr. Walton traces his own Jewish roots to his grandmother, who arrived in the Brac from Portugal via Jamaica and Grand Cayman at the start of the last century. He believes many early settlers in the Cayman Islands were originally Jewish but stopped practicing or converted to Protestantism.

The small community on the Cayman Islands has grown in recent years. In addition to the permanent Jewish residents, there are also Jews from abroad who spend part of the year there.  Today, only 15 Jews live in the Cayman Islands, predominately in George Town on Grand Cayman Island. Nevertheless, several dozen more Jews spend part of the year living on the islands.