The Magen Abeith Synagogue located at Waterloo Street
Singapore's Jews Experience Cultural Rebirth
By Tamar Runyan - Mar 6, 2008
The Jews of the tiny Asian nation of Singapore have been eating more kosher chicken lately, thanks to the opening last June of a restaurant located on the premises of their community's newly built Jacob Ballas Centre.
Under the supervision of Singapore's Jewish Welfare Board, the community has as its spiritual leader Rabbi Mordechai Abergel, a Chabad-Lubavitch emissary who arrived in 1994. A trained ritual slaughterer, one of Abergel's many responsibilities is to ensure that the hundreds who patronize the Awafi kosher restaurant have plenty of fowl.
"Since we opened the restaurant, kosher food consumption has experienced quite a sharp increase," says the rabbi. "I am slaughtering a lot more chicken than I used to."
His wife, Simcha Abergel, explains that the establishment - which serves Middle Eastern, Italian, Chinese and Indian cuisine and caters to locals and tourists alike - is just another sign of a revival in the densely populated city's 1,000-strong Jewish community.
"Both the new and old generations are becoming more observant of their heritage," she says.
The Maghain Aboth Synagogue operates under the auspices of the state-recognized Jewish Welfare Board. It was founded in 1878 and draws between 50 and 100 people for its weekly Shabbat services.
The city's Ganenu Learning Centre, which was founded by the Abergels in 1996, is another of the many aspects fueling the revival. Two ritual baths, an old aged home, an established rabbinical program, a fully booked social community calendar, a Hebrew school, adult learning program, and Jewish burial society, round out the community's offerings.
Chabad-Lubavitch rabbinical student Mendy Kotlarsky gives a Torah class to Jewish businessmen in Singapore.
The Abergels - who are assisted by Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Netanel and Odelia Rivni - are especially proud of the preschool. When it opened, only four students attended; today, its roster boasts 77 pupils.
"Ganenu helps young ones get their initial Jewish introduction," says Simcha Abergel. "This education becomes the first step towards a fulfilling Jewish life."
And with all the government permits in place, work is now on to open a primary school in August.
"We're going to start with one class, and then add a grade each year for the first few years" says Abergel, a member of the committee overseeing the preschool and the community's other educational activities.
For the adults, Mordechai Abergel and the Jewish Welfare Board run the Gesher Program, which brings in speakers from all over the world, including Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of Great Britain; Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, a noted Talmudist and scholar from Jerusalem; and Rabbi Manis Friedman, founder of the Bais Chana network of programs for women.
"We're in the midst of a tremendous revival," proclaims Abergel. "And with the continuous support of the Jewish Welfare Board and the commitment of our community members, I am sure that each year will bring something new and make us grow from strength to strength."
_____________________________________________________________________________________
SINGAPORE, republic; major entrepôt of S.E. Asia, formerly a British crown colony. The first Jews to settle there were of Baghdadi origin, mainly from India, who migrated to Singapore in 1840 when the*Sassoon family established business interests. Prayers were first held in a house in the street still known as "Synagogue Street." The Maghain Aboth synagogue was opened in 1878; it possessed a number of Torah scrolls in beaten silver cases brought from Baghdad. Another synagogue, Chased El, was built in 1904 by Sir Manasseh Meyer, reputed to be the richest Jew in the Far East. He also endowed a talmud torah. Local custom sanctioned conveyance to synagogue by rickshaw on Sabbath. The community remained largely Sephardi, but Ashkenazi immigrants from England, the Netherlands, China, Russia, and Germany also settled there. Most engaged in business and the professions. The community continued to be highly prosperous and important out of all proportion to its size. The 1931 census records that the 832 Jews and larger number of Arab residents were the largest house property owners in the city. There were over 1,500 Jewish inhabitants by 1939. Many were interned by the Japanese during World War II, and a number subsequently immigrated to Australia, England, the United States, and Israel. Apart from their contribution to commerce, Jews have taken a considerable part in political life and in 1955David S. *Marshall became the first chief minister of the republic. The community is represented by the Jewish Welfare Board which publishes a monthly bulletin. There exist two synagogues with one officiating rabbi; social activities center in the Menorah Club. The community numbered approximately 450 in 1968. In the early 21st century the community numbered 300, many of them expatriate Israelis and American and British Jews. There was a rabbi and Sabbath services were held at the Waterloo Road and Maghain Aboth synagogues (Sephardi). The expatriates founded the United Hebrew Congregation. Sunday school classes were held for children and the community had a quarterly publication, Shalom. The community center was a focus of Jewish life and there was also an old age home.
[Percy S. Gourgey /Tudor Parfitt (2nd ed.)]
Relations with Israel
From the beginning of the 1960s, trade relations began to develop between Singapore and Israel. Israeli experts extended technical aid to Singapore, while a number of mutual visits were made by ministers, public figures, and senior officials. In 1968 a trade agreement was signed by the two countries and an Israeli trade mission opened in Singapore. In May 1969 diplomatic relations were established, and in July the Israeli ambassador presented his credentials. Technical cooperation included the dispatch of Israeli advisers to the Singapore army. In 1970 the two countries signed an aviation agreement. The Singapore-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation (SIIRD) was established in 1997 to promote, facilitate, and support joint industrial R&D projects between Singaporean and Israeli hightech companies. The Economic Development Board (EDB) of Singapore and the Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS), of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Israel are the two cooperating government agencies responsible for the research and development support fund.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Last update - 16:42 01/04/2008
Where the Jews speak Singlish
By Simon Clement Seroussi and Tal Trachtman
This experience begins with an attempt by the Interdisciplinary Center, Herziliya, to offer its international students a chance to have the same trite semester abroad opportunity as all the other American universities it presumes to compete with. After a short-lived debate, we decided to give this Far East-business a shot.
Flight itinerary is as follows: Tel Aviv, Paris, Hong Kong and finally after 72 hours of traveling, Flight 2812 lands in the small island of Singapore, nestled between two of the largest Muslim countries in the world, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Demographically the South East Asian Island is made up of indigenous Malays with a large Chinese majority, including both Indians and Arabs. Singapore is your average "advanced economy," flaunting bars, restaurants, skyscrapers and leading universities, and while it is no U.S.of A, its got it all. And to our surprise, a vibrant, affluent and budding Jewish community.
Keeping Jewish tradition is an understatement
The first Shabbat in Singapore revealed a large and beautiful synagogue, a brand-new Jewish center, offering Talmud Torah classes and even a "Gan" (kindergarten) for the youngest generation. Surprisingly, this close-knit Jewish community is made up of Ashkenazi American-expatriates, Israeli military experts and their families, constituting a significant Jewish community in the heart of an Asian country. So yes, Jews are, in fact, everywhere.
While this matter created some food-for-thought, even more astonishing was the community's "vatikim" (the so-called seniors of the community, or those families who have been on the island the longest). They are, by any definition, Singaporean Jews.
They hold a Singaporean passport, their kids go to public schools with ethnic Chinese and Malay children, they serve in the army and they even speak singlish with a perfect accent (singlish is not the name of an Adam Sandler movie, but a mix of English and different Chinese dialect widely used in Singapore).
They are neither the sons of the lost tribe or Chinese converts rather, Iraqi Jews who emigrated to Singapore more than 150 years ago. They first settled in Singapore as merchants when the city became a trading post in Southeast Asia in 1819. Since then, the community has expanded from just a couple of families before the First World War to more than 150 families to date.
Upholding Stereotypes
While the rest of the Jewish community arrived from the US, Australia and Israel, the once-Iraqi, now-Singaporean Jews are an integral part of Singapore?s society. These Jews are known to head the South East Asian branch of world-renown corporations, like Gap, for example, or own local chains of banks, coffee shops and night clubs.
In this region, Jewish lawyers are viewed as unbeatable and are amongst the most successful on the island. Additionally, they have amiable relations with the country's political leaders.
"Bring more Jews to Singapore, they are beneficial to this island," exclaims the president of Singapore as he pays respect to the rabbis and heads of the most important families in his yearly visit to the synagogue.
Among these families, the Benjamin family is one that remarkably stands out. The family's generosity has greatly contributed to the building of the synagogue, as well as the Jewish center and is involved in organizing community events. While they are one of the wealthier families, they pride themselves not on this fact, but rather on their ability to have retained their culture and language throughout the years.
Why eat Chili crab when you can go to Baghdad?
Burekas, tebeet, cuba furbul, Arisa, Kutchre - one Iraqi dish after the other - the Benjamin family epitomizes hospitality. Even in the extreme East, thousands of kilometers away from any other important Jewish community, the Singaporean Jews manage to keep their spicy Judaism alive, literally.
Beyond indulging in the food, the great company and the close-to-home feeling guaranteed by each meal, we witnessed how incredible this community really was. They speak Hebrew and Arabic, they have not intermarried, the Benjamins and other families like them, do Judaism by the book.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
IN LIGHTER VEIN -
Chinese Jews (Dialect humor)
NB: this reads best out loud.
Two old Jewish gentlemen were having lunch in a Chinese restaurant, and the conversation turned to the status of Jewish communities around the world.
They discussed the plight of Soviet Jewry, and how the break-up of the USSR was making emigration to Israel easier for those Jews. They chatted about Ethiopian Jews, and whether they were "really" Jewish, considering the differences in their religious practices from that of the Orthodox sect.
They even discussed the problem of intermarriage in American Jews.
Eventually, since they were in a Chinese establishment, the conversation turned to the status of Jews in Asia. One of the gentlemen was certain that there had been a thriving community of Jews in Beijing - and probably still was; but, the other was equally certain that Jews had intermarried in China to the point where they had completely assimilated. Their discussion became quite heated.
Hearing the raised voices, their waiter hurried over. "Food OK?" he asked.
"The meal is fine," replied one of the Jews, "but we were arguing about Chinese Jews. Do you have any?"
The waiter thought for a moment. "Don't know," he admitted. "Ask cook." And he vanished into the kitchen.
After a few minutes, he reappeared, frowning. "So sorry," he began. "Cook say no Chinese Jews."
Before either Jew could say anything, the waiter smiled and continued: "Cook say we have apple juice and tomato juice."
No comments:
Post a Comment