GLOBAL NEWS
China
Starting Up in Shanghai: In Spring 2012, 70 people in Shanghai, China joined together on the second night of Pesach to take part in the city’s first-ever liberal seder. Led by Cantor Diego Edelberg of the United Jewish Congregation in Hong Kong and assisted by Hebrew Union College Student Rabbi Megan Brudney, the seder brought together and inspired Progressive Jews in Shanghai— who have since gone on to form a Liberal Jewish community.
Germany
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Synagogue to Storage Facility to Synagogue: For decades, a farmer in the German village of Bodenfelde stored his equipment in a small, half-timbered building hardly recognizable for what it was—a 175-year-old synagogue JÜDISCHE GEMEINDE GÖTTINGEN SYNAGOGUE built in 1825. In 1937 the congregation had sold the synagogue to the farmer, and a year later, on Kristallnacht, the farmer defended his purchase against Nazi hooligans who wanted to torch it. Thus the building was spared the fate that befell hundreds of synagogues that night across Germany and Austria. In 1990, a few hundred Jews from the Former Soviet Union settled in Göttingen, Germany. Its Jewish mayor, Artur Levi, a Holocaust survivor, and local educator Detlev Herbst, an expert on local Jewish history, supported the idea of moving the historic Bodenfelde synagogue to Gottingen, whose large synagogue had been destroyed 70 years earlier. continued on p.42
above individual liberties. As one UHC member explained to me upon my first visit, the difference in the attitude toward law-breaking between Singapore and the U.S. is simply this: “In the U.S., crime is against the law; in Singapore, it is simply not permitted.” What synagogue options are there?
Right now there are four or five congregations. Two (Maghein Aboth and Chesed El) are led by Chabad rabbis and populated mostly by the descendants of the Baghdadi Jews who developed Jewish communities from Mumbai to Shanghai in the 19th century. The third is an Ashkenazic Orthodox minyan. The fourth is a primarily French Ashkenazic Orthodox minyan, which began this year; it is too early to tell whether it will be sustainable. Fifth—and most important to the Reform community—is the congregation I’ve long served as visiting rabbi: the United Hebrew Congregation of Singapore. What is synagogue life like at UHC?
The minhag is best captured by the oft-repeated refrain by the incumbent president each erev Rosh Hashanah: “As our first president once said, ‘Welcome to the Reform-Conservative-Reconstructionist-Liberal-Progressive congregation of Singapore.’” Our customs are primarily Reform, but Conservative, Reconstructionist, and other non-Orthodox Jews feel very comfortable here, in part because the Jewish communal experience is similar to what they’re used to in North America. As the congregation overwhelmingly consists of expats from all over the world— especially from the U.S. and Canada— and since everyone speaks English— although for some it is their second, third, or, at least in one case, fourth language—we use Gates of Repentance on the High Holy Days and Mishkan T’filah for Shabbat and other holidays. For the High Holy Days, American Conference of Cantors President Susan Caro serves as cantor, combining traditional nusach and contemporary melodies (Debbie Friedman, Jeff Klepper, etc.). Participating with likeminded folk on these holidays is particularly meaningful to the vast majority of congregants—bankers, management consulreform judaism
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tants, hedge fund analysts, lawyers, etc.—who are 10–12 time zones away from the place they consider “home.” By the way, the one piece of liturgy that is a bit unsettling for this community is “the prayer for our nation,” as some members are “permanent residents” of Singapore, but the vast majority are not.
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How ethnically diverse is UHC?
Very. Of the 140 affiliated households, 15–20 members are ethnically Asian. One longstanding practice at our two communal seder celebrations is to ask the “Four Questions” in as many languages as are native to the various participants. This typically includes Mandarin, Cantonese, Indonesian, Thai, Korean, Japanese, Javanese, as well as Portuguese, Serbian, Russian, Swedish, Afrikaans, and Yiddish—great fun! The community is also more stable than in years past. Whereas expats generally used to stay in Singapore for three to five years, nowadays many stay on longer, and three families to whom we had bid farewell have since returned. Life is pretty easy here—in addition to the economic opportunities, there are good educational options and quality healthcare. As an active lay leader commented to me, “I’m leaving in two years, and I’ve been saying that for the last 15.” Can life also be difficult for the Progressive community, given the government’s strong hand?
Twenty years ago, when five founding families created a non-Orthodox alternative for themselves, a big challenge was Singaporean law, which does not include freedom of assembly in the way U.S. law does. The founders had to “fly below the radar screen” (essentially utilizing “word of mouth”) until 1995, when the government formally recognized UHC as a “society.” Since then the community has been able to advertise in various expat periodicals and other venues. Are there any security concerns?
For a few years, because of security reasons, the American government placed Gurkhas (highly trained Nepalese soldiers who served in the British or Indian army)—sporting daggers on their continued on page 44
spring 2013
1/23/13 5:30 AM