Comments on: More doors close in Israel’s face

By: SADIE

SADIE — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 00:38:48 +0000

Ohhhhhhhh, in that case – in a word, click below and have a good giggle.

By: suek

suek — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 00:13:02 +0000

Oooo….I didn’t mean that a _Jewess_ did that – it was a Chinese woman of Chinese extraction in a traditional Chinese marriage.

Jewish Dim Sum??

Jewish cooks are no end original. I have no doubt they can do it. Somehow.

By: SADIE

SADIE — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 23:37:52 +0000

Finished fishing for the moment and I found this….

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/judaism/FAQ/04-Observance/section-55.html

..which begs the questions 1) exactly how did the Chinese Jews identify themselves and 2) did they just take a little from here and little from there.

Jewish Dim Sum?

By: SADIE

SADIE — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 23:23:54 +0000

Sins and submissions:

Nah…the sins are in the prayer book called a siddur (pages and pages of them). These sins are read aloud and covers every conceivable trespass against G-d. They are read aloud in the plural ..Forgive us (fill in the blank here) It’s a very collective prayer.
Those other sins, the personal ones between one human and another are handled in a more personal way.
Example and prior to Yom Kippur:
I would ask for your forgiveness for any and all hurt, pain, offenses I have committed against you. This can also be done in a written note and hung in a common door, let’s say in an office, so that all who work there and pass through that door will be able to read it. The note thing, I have only observed in an ultra-Orthodox office.
Nothing we would ever see in D.C. (not enough door space).

I can’t remember what the Dalai Lama took away from his meetings with the spectrum of Jewish people. I think each one offered something different. He met with them looking to find a way to keep them as ‘one’ even in exile. I’d have to go back reread the book. I did check and saw it on Amazon (used) for $6.00. Link below:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=jew+in+the+lotu&x=0&y=0

I’ll have to do a little fishing to find out about wife #2. If I find anything, I’ll post it here.

By: suek

suek — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:45:34 +0000

>>Maybe it was a local custom combined with something I know nothing about, except the menopause.>>

It _was_ interesting – guess that’s why it stuck in my mind. As I recall, she took the obligation very seriously – making a list of candidates, then interviewing each one, all with the needs of her husband as the primary concern, although she also wanted a second wife that she could get along with as well. I don’t remember how it went from there…I don’t think it was a matter of presenting him with his second wife though…more like she then arranged invitations in such a way that they would meet, and eventually, he announced to her that he was taking her choice as his second wife. Part of the novelty of it was the initiation of action by the first wife in a culture that typically gives no power to the wife.
Guess I should take some books out of the library and delve into them again. Think politics will go on hold for a while????

The site looks interesting, by the way, although they don’t give any clue as to what the Jews were able to offer in the way of advice. If persecution is the only answer, I can’t say I’d recommend it!

By: suek

suek — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:36:41 +0000

>>The sins are listed and read aloud in the congregation and in unity are repeated.>>

As in “here is the list of Sadie’s sins” or as in a list of sins submitted in anonymity and compiled?

By: suek

suek — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:28:01 +0000

I don’t know how actually factual the details were – it was a novel after all. I believe Pearl Buck did spend a lot of time the Orient, but I really don’t know how knowledgeable she was…
Now I do.. Checked her biography on Wikipedia. Very interesting. Her knowledge about China should be reliable, based on her having lived most of her life there, and having a good educational base from which to view the lives of people during very tumultuous times. Her life there was missionary centered, so it’s probable that she would have been very aware of the fact that some westerners were Jewish, and what that entailed.
Very long list of books that she authored. I tried to get a feel of which book I read, but none rang a bell. My guess is that it was a book my mother bought to read, and I just picked it up in a moment of boredom. If that’s the case, I probably didn’t even pay attention to the title. I remember that it was a good enjoyable book, but not much else.

By: SADIE

SADIE — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 22:04:44 +0000

I am not surprised that the Jews in China no longer observed dietary laws..when in Rome ….
The one and only book I read on the topic was called – The Jews of Kai Feng, discovered by Christian Missionaries. After looking at some of the photos of obviously very assimilated looking Jews…I found myself muttering what I’ve heard (cringing) You don’t look Jewish. Of course, many years after and while I was living in Israel, I came across complete families of Chinese Jews, who like myself were trying to find a common language. For all my inborn American ways, ears and visuals..I can’t begin to tell you what it was like to hear a mix of Hebrew, Chinese and a smattering of English thrown into one sentence. My younger son, had come to visit me at one point and I took him to the restaurant (yes, of course, a Chinese Kosher one) for lunch to introduce him to my ‘new’ friend. Poor thing, he left the restaurant with me and half way down the block, looked at me and said, Please, don’t ever do this to me again, my brain is exploding – we had quite a good giggle together.

Many moons ago, I used to teach idiomatic English to visiting post doctoral students (the Cultural Revolution had prevented them from continuing their studies). Anyway, the more interesting part of the story is that when we shared stories and once they knew I was Jewish, they were quite excited and started going on about how this friend or that cousin was also Jewish – a badge of courage and pride, so to speak. I was quite astounded to be honest and had I not read about the community in Kai Feng, I would have been just plain ol’ shocked.

Menopause, hmmm, they literally took it to mean men-on-pause.
That’s a new one for me. Maybe it was a local custom combined with something I know nothing about, except the menopause.

By: suek

suek — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:57:14 +0000

I read a Pearl Buck years and years ago, and although I have totally forgotten the name and virtually everything else about it, two things stick in my mind. First, the Jews in the story ate pork. When asked about it, they said that there had been no persecution or prejudice against Jews in China, and as a result Jews had completely assimilated and no longer observed Jewish dietary restrictions. The comment was also made that it took persecution to cement the Jewish identity and practices.
The second thing was that when a woman reached menopause, it was her duty to find a new (second) wife for her husband. I could live with that.

By: SADIE

SADIE — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:33:46 +0000

Your comment, “Jews don’t really have a single religious leader” is quite right. Over time the choice of affiliation whether with the Conservative, Reform or Orthodox forms of Judaism created differing views in much the same way that the Reformation in Europe did with Christianity. Coptic Christians, Armenian Christians, Greek Christians, Protestants, Catholics, Baptists, the list is endless.

The glue that binds the Jewish Community is sharing a common language (Hebrew) which is used for prayers (excluding Israel, which of course, where it is the spoken language) and all that is expressed, contained and shared and handed down either by the Torah or in the ‘telling’ as in the HaGaddah, which is used during Passover, which literally translated means, The Telling of the story of Exodus. Added to this mix, is the belief in G-d as one entity.

“but it requires the individual to do something to belong to the group”

It certainly does, but these somethings are clear to those that observe the faith.
The requirement of asking for forgiveness is clear during the days between the New Year and Yom Kippur, one asks for forgiveness from those we have offended and ask G-d for forgiveness for the sins we have committed against him. The sins are listed and read aloud in the congregation and in unity are repeated.

Your comments reminded me of the Dalai Lama who was wondering how he could hold the Tibetan people together in exile. I recommend reading Jew in the Lotus.

http://www.itvs.org/jewinthelotus/