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November 29, 2002
Illuminating discovery
Victoria traveller encounters Jewishness in China.
RONALD GROVER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
Last spring, as the weather was changing from the deep, dry cold
of Qingdao's winter, to the balmy breezes of open-windows comfort,
I was taken to lunch by my students, with whom I had been spending
five hours each day. As this was one of the first days when the
sun shone and the air was still somewhat clear, I asked if they
could think of a place where we might go, somewhere that we might
run into some other foreigners to whom they could pose the question,
"Where are you from?"
Qingdao is situated on the eastern coast of mainland China, Shandong
province, sort of halfway between the North Korean border and Shanghai.
In some ways, this befits both the geographic and spiritual nature
of the town, as it is a melding of the highly traditional, conservative
and rigid Chinese culture and the new, Deng Xiao Ping-inspired,
free-wheeling, capitalistic culture. The students told me of a Buddhist
temple not far away that was of great interest to locals and foreigners
alike and it was agreed that we would hop on a bus and visit this
"jewel," as it was described to me.
I notified the school office of our plans and after a seven-minute
bus ride and a 15-minute walk up a long hill, we arrived at the
gates of the temple. We toured the buildings, missing none, for
each building afforded these young people the chance to explain
all of the pertinent facts in English. Since we ran into no other
foreigners, it was up to me to be the recipient of all this information.
As we completed the traditional Buddhist clockwise encircling of
the interior of a very large, ornate temple building and again neared
the entrance, my eyes fell upon a large but very simple form that
made me swoon. Two-thirds of a metre wide and almost as tall, what
had no significance to any of the temple residents, nor to the students,
almost brought me to tears. It was a menorah.
It was explained to me (via a whole lot of translated dialogue)
that, upon leaving this once-German colonial port, one of the erstwhile
resident families dropped off this chanukiyah at the temple, knowing
it would be in good hands. Qingdao had been a German colony from
1897 until 1914, when the Japanese replaced them as a more dictatorial
regime.
A short time later, after a long search for a heard-of, but unfound,
Jewish community, I was contacted by a Rav Shimon, a Chabadnik in
Beijing, and told that a package of Pesach wine and matzot would
be left with a family here, for me. Better than that, this family
of Haim, Noa, Gil-Ad and Iddo Schwartz invited my (then soon-to-be)
new wife, FuRong, and I to join them for the seder, and we eagerly
accepted.
Busy as we all were through the intervening months, we did not get
to see each other until Rosh Hashanah, when, again, FuRong and I
were invited to their home. And, again, I told the story of this
springtime discovery and it was arranged that we would all visit
the temple.
Though it took a while to find the chanukiyah again, we eventually
reclaimed it and inserted a plaque in it, noting that this artifact
shall provide, "A measure of permanency for the ever-changing
Jewish community of Qingdao."
As for all of the years of my travelling out of Victoria, it has
been my wont to acquire books and photos of Judaic interest and
to donate them to the Victoria Jewish Community Centre library.
The intention for this lovely chanukiyah is that it will be kept
in the care of a resident family in Qingdao, and passed on to another,
if that family should leave. The first of these families is the
Schwartz mishpachah and, in recognition of this, we have engraved
their name.
Sadly, FuRong and I will no longer be in China by the time this
(5763) Chanukah is celebrated, but we wish the current and all future
"Qingdao Jews" a wonderful, satisfying and enriching stay
in Qingdao, China.
FuRong and I have embarked on what will be a travelling honeymoon
for the next half-year or more. And so, from our first stop, we
wish peace be with us all.
Ronald Grover is an educator, inveterate traveller, exhibited
photographer and freelance writer. This article is adapted from
a piece appearing in Shalom, the monthly publication of the Jewish
Community Centre of Victoria.
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