20 Points East Education, Henan University. mous Region… near the Chinese border, issary who arrived in Birobidzhan in 11.Wong Yang, On the Jewish culture in the 1930s… 2002, just before the new synagogue was during the Holocaust. College of Arts, completed six years ago, said that the Henan University. The town of 80,000 is developing quickly community is going through hard times. 12.Duan Hetian, On the development of by Russian standards, and there is a newer Chabad suffered a funding crisis last year Jewish education from 6th century BC to synagogue and Jewish community center when its main donor lost a significant 2nd century AD. Arts and Science Experi- off the main square… portion of his wealth. Roman Leder, the mental Class, Henan University. head of the community that runs the new The town receives a cultural budget from synagogue and community center, said Prof. Zhang Ligang is Director of the In- the government in Moscow each year to Chabad’s funding to the city was cut in Vol. 25 No. 2 A Publication of the Sino-Judaic Institute stitute of Jewish Studies at Henan Univer- sustain Jewish activities like an Interna- half. July 2010 sity. tional Jewish Cultural Festival the week before the anniversary. In mid-September, The biggest benefactor of the Jewish com- SINIC & SEMITIC ESOTERICA: THE HONG KONG the Jewish educational organization munity there, the American Jewish Joint EXPLORING THE BRIDGE BETWEEN HERITAGE PROJECT Chinese Jewish New Limmud held a conference here. Distribution Committee, warned of im- pending cuts but they never came. The DAOISM AND KABBALAH by Amelia Allsop Year’s Cards Available Nearly 4,000 miles from Moscow, the nine community groups supported by the by Cody Bahir Jewish Autonomous Region is unique center continued unscathed, he said… The Kadoorie Family are Sephardi Jews who originally emigrated Wendy Abraham has designed a set among the patchwork of entities that Though certain affinities and similarities between both the cul- from Baghdad in 1880 to settle in the Far East. The family for- of beautiful Rosh HaShannah cards makes up the Russian Federation. All other Daniel Turk, the president of the Jewish tures of the Chinese and Jewish peoples have been documented, tunes were founded by Elly and Ellis Kadoorie, who were piv- with a Sino-Judaic motif. autonomous regions were declared inde- Community of Japan, said his group pro- only recently have there been serious studies conducted that otal players in the development of business giants such as the pendent republics with the dissolution of vided a Torah to the elderly Orthodox compare their religious and philosophical traditions. One such Hongkong & Shanghai Hotel Co. and China Light and Power, New and Renewing Members: Con- the Soviet Union. Jews in Birobidzhan out of a sense of char- area that contains unexplored parallels between the spiritual Hong Kong’s largest electricity company. With the enduring tribute at the $100 level or above by ity and, in part, to provide the commu- traditions of Judaism and those of China are the forms of mys- philosophy that dictated “wealth is a sacred trust to be adminis- September and get 10 cards as our Mikhail Chlenov, the secretary general nity with a source of religious support ticism each produced. This article takes a critical look at the tered for the good of society”, the Kadoories were keen and thank-you gift. of the Eurasian Jewish Congress, said other than Chabad. similarities as well as differences between Jewish and Chinese notable philanthropists throughout the twentieth century, with that Birobidzhan and its environs are mysticism as embodied in the two traditions of Kabbalah and Horace and Lawrence Kadoorie, Elly’s sons, taking up the chari- Everyone: Contribute $36 (plus $2 not strong enough to be a republic. Despite the obvious challenges, the Daoism. table mantle once their father had passed away. The Kadoorie shipping) to SJI and get 18 cards and Fearful of stepping on Israel’s toes with Jews of Birobidzhan have kept Judaism Family continues this philanthropic tradition today. envelopes. the creation of another Jewish state, alive in this remote corner of the earth. Jewish mysticism is most prominently represented by Kabbalah, Chlenov called the region’s status “a a title that literally means ‘that which is received’ referring to In May 2007, Sir Michael Kadoorie founded the Hong Kong Donate on-line at www.sino- delicate matter.” the belief that it consists of an esoteric doctrine received dur- Heritage Project. The Project is the first of its kind in Hong Kong judaic.org or mail your check to Prof. ing the revelation at Sinai as depicted in the Hebrew Bible. - supported and driven by business in order to preserve com- munity history. The Project does this by promoting new av- Steve Hochstadt, 1252 West College “It was not easy to start and it will be more Join The Sino-Judaic Though there have been numerous strains of Jewish mysticism Ave., Jacksonville, IL 62650. difficult to eliminate,” Chlenov said as his throughout time, Kabbalah, since it gained popularity in the enues of research, adding to Hong Kong’s existing archival col- car sped past the remnants of collective Institute middle ages, has remained the dominant school. Kabbalah lection, acting to encourage young people to participate in the farms where Yiddish-speaking settlers at- Membership in the Institute is became the dominant form of Jewish mysticism after the propa- collection of their community history and capturing unrepre- Birobidzhan’s 75th Birthday tempted to tame the mosquito-plagued gation of the Sefer haZohar, literally ‘The Book of Radiance’, sented voices in Hong Kong’s historical narrative. The Project By Grant Slater swamps 75 years before… open and we cordially invite you most often referred to simply as ‘The Zohar’. is housed in an archive facility which holds the Kadoorie family Excerpted from the JTA, September 25, to join in supporting our en- and business records and the largest oral history repository in Hong Kong, with 374 filmed interviews so far collected by the 2009 Today, however, the region is on the deavor. China has produced its own varying forms of mysticism, from cusp of an economic boom. By 2014 or ancient shamanic practices to certain schools of esoteric Bud- Project locally and abroad, all of which relate to Hong Kong or BIROBIDZHAN, Russia (JTA) — The di- before, a rail bridge across the Amur dhism. The particular form of Chinese mysticism that this study Shanghai’s history. As one of only two business archives in Hong minutive leader of the handful of Or- River will carry granular iron and other Benefactor $1,000+ compares is that of Daoism, arguably the most popular and Kong, the Project is uniquely placed to be intimately involved thodox Jews in this nominally Jewish metals from Russia into China, with its dominant form of Chinese mysticism as well as the only indig- in Hong Kong’s history and archival community. The archive district of Russia, 90-year-old Dov booming economy. The bridge is the first *Patron $ 500 - 999 enous form of organized mysticism in China. The belief in a was officially opened to the public in March 2009, and since Kofman, e-mailed his friend and bene- border crossing constructed together by Corporate Sponsor $ 250- 499 supreme, eternal, ineffable and incomprehensible force that is then, we have welcomed visitors from Shanghai, Israel, the U.K., factor in Tokyo to say he could go on the Russian and Chinese governments, the source of all existence referred to as the Dao is where Australia and within Hong Kong’s academic community. *Sponsor $ 100 - 499 no longer. and only the third bridge to be built Daoism gets its name. across the border. Regular membership $ 50 - 99 Arguably the most precious and unique collection in the archive Kofman was planning to return to Israel Before proceeding, a disclaimer of sorts is in order. Daoism as a are the records relating to the Jewish Community in Hong Kong Libraries $ 50 and would pass on to his protegé, It’s not clear, however, whether this will religion is extremely diverse, has never been monolithic and has and Shanghai. The collection is given added value and poi- Alexander Kleinerman, control of the bolster the region’s Jewish spirit… Academic $ 30 - 49 never had a central authority that laid claim to what Daoism truly gnancy by the fact that nearly all of the community’s records Torah scroll that the Jewish community is. The Daozang, Daoist canon, is composed of over 1400 vol- were either lost or destroyed during the War years. However, “All this is beautiful, but people have Senior citizens in Japan had provided, as well as the umes, many with entirely different teachings, methods of personal due to the Kadoorie Family’s position within the community, started to live worse,” said Igor keys to the paint-slathered lean-to where & students $ 25 cultivation and religious motifs. Kabbalah is quite similar in this records relating to the activities of the Synagogue in the early Magadenko, a retired lawyer, who relaxed his congregation worships. regard. Ever since Kabbalah became a literary genre, (i.e. it be- twentieth century were created, kept and preserved in the Fam- recently with visiting friends from Israel gan to be written down rather than simply passed along orally), it ily office in St George’s Building, miraculously surviving the on a new riverwalk built for the 75th an- Contact: The Sino-Judaic Institute, has been extremely multivocal. In order to both respect and em- Japanese Occupation. Recently rediscovered, this collection has “I am confident that the community Beit niversary.