The Hong Kong <strong>Jewish</strong> Historical Societyis planning a tour <strong>of</strong> Harbin, China.This tour will take placeon September 8-11, 2011.The trip will include an English speaking tour guidewith a background in <strong>Jewish</strong> history.Keynote lecture on Shabbat evening byPr<strong>of</strong>essor Dan Ben-Canaan,Chairperson <strong>of</strong> the Sino-Israeli Researchand Study Center <strong>of</strong> Heilongjiang University.Mark your diaries nowand save the dates!More details will be available shortly.If you are interested to join, please email the JHS at hshkg@yahoo.com
Travel Diaryby Mark S. BloomUncovering theMysteries <strong>of</strong> KaifengShi Lei with Rabbi BloomFor many people, includingmost Jews, even lesserknown than the <strong>Jewish</strong>refugee story in Shanghaiduring World War II, is thestory <strong>of</strong> the Jews <strong>of</strong> Kaifeng, China.While both stories have been somewhatrecently ‘rediscovered’, the Kaifeng storystill carries a certain air <strong>of</strong> mystery to it.Today, there are not a lot <strong>of</strong> Westerntravelers in Kaifeng, as, by Chinesestandards, it is a relatively “sm<strong>all</strong>” city <strong>of</strong>800,000 people (with a metropolitan area<strong>of</strong> 4 million), but at one time, it was thelargest city in the world. This height <strong>of</strong>Kaifeng’s glory was during the time <strong>of</strong> theSong Dynasty, which lasted from the late10th Century to the late 13th Century.For my family this was just one stop ona journey, during my sabbatical, thathas taken us to Fiji, Australia, China,Dubai and then ultimately onto Israel forfour months.We enjoyed our time in Kaifengeven beyond the <strong>Jewish</strong> part <strong>of</strong> thetour, because it felt somehow moreauthentic<strong>all</strong>y “Chinese” to us afterShanghai, since the residents therehave very little contact with Westerners.We were introduced to this communityby Shi Lei, who is a descendant <strong>of</strong>these Jews and who spoke in Oakland,California just before we left forsabbatical. He also served as our tourguide in Kaifeng, and it was like drinkingwater directly from the spring instead<strong>of</strong> from bottles. (Of course, in China,as in many parts <strong>of</strong> the region, you canonly drink water from bottles, but that’sanother story entirely.)The Kaifeng <strong>Jewish</strong> community is trulyshrouded in mystery today, but mostscholars believe that Jews first settledthere during the Song dynasty fromPersia. There they were welcomed bythe Emperor and were c<strong>all</strong>ed, liter<strong>all</strong>y,the “people who remove the sinew fromthe cow.” This appellation is based onthe idea that those who keep Kosherdo not eat any part <strong>of</strong> the animal thattouches the sciatic nerve, derived fromthe scene in the Torah where Jacobwrestles with the angel.The <strong>Jewish</strong> community remainedintact for centuries, though they <strong>of</strong>tenintermarried with the local population sothat they eventu<strong>all</strong>y became physic<strong>all</strong>yindistinguishable from other Chinese.For centuries, they maintained theirtraditions, more or less. We learnedthat in the end though they <strong>all</strong> almostcompletely assimilated. Then, <strong>of</strong> course,there was the Cultural Revolution <strong>of</strong> thefifties and sixties under Mao Tse-Tung.As a result, there are only about 50members <strong>of</strong> the community that caneven trace their roots back.In Kaifeng there is now a three roomexhibit in the very large MilleniumCity Park detailing the history <strong>of</strong> thecommunity and telling their storythrough painting, writing, and photos.There is a wonderful model <strong>of</strong> the oldsynagogue and its courtyard, whichlooks just like any other Chinese holyplace and courtyard rather than like aEuropean synagogue.Shi Lei also took us to his own familymuseum, which is also where thecommunity gathers on some Shabbatot.There he has more photos as wellASIAN JEWISH LIFE ISSUE 639
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