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December 3, 2004
Maintaining a Jewish heritage
A legacy is being lost in Myanmar as a once-thriving community
fades.
BAILA LAZARUS
Yangon, Myanmar
Turning a corner onto 26th Street in downtown Yangon, one hardly
notices the high white wall amid the clutter of street vendors,
wooden shops, old buildings and rivers of people making their way
through the narrow road. But look up and you'll see the unmistakable
sign of a Jewish synagogue – a seven-branched menorah. The
Musmeah Yeshua Synagogue, an anachronism in a Buddhist country.
Standing at the front gate to meet visitors is Moses Samuels, the
synagogue's trustee for the last 18 years. A soft-spoken man, speaking
broken English, Samuels is dressed in a traditional Burmese "longyi"
and wears a kippah. He is always happy to show the synagogue to
travellers, who have read about it in guide books, heard about it
from friends or, less frequently, stumbled across it on their walk
to visit one pagoda or another.
The modest exterior of Musmeah Yeshua belies a stunning, high-vaulted
interior of wood and glass. The ark hides beautiful Torah scrolls
in silver cases. Other Judaica adorns the walls and office. The
whitewashed building was built in 1893, replacing an earlier wooden
structure from the middle of the 19th century, and it has been in
continuous use ever since – a surprising fact, given Myanmar's
turbulent history. But despite that Jews have been able to practise
freely here, the community is dying out. And Samuels fears that
there will be no one left to care for the synagogue.
Myanmar (formerly Burma) was right at the centre of a commerce route
that joined Europe, the Middle East and the Indian sub-continent
with Southeast Asia. Jewish traders dealing in such goods as rice,
cotton and teak, passed through the area and, learning of Burma's
religious tolerance, many of them settled here. Jews enjoyed religious
freedom along with Buddhist, Islamic and Baha'i neighbors. Myanmar,
in fact, was the first Asian nation to set up diplomatic ties with
the new Israeli state.
At one point, prior to the Second World War, the Jewish community
in Yangon numbered in the thousands, said Samuels. But many of the
Jews left during the war, when the country was occupied by the Japanese.
Most went to the United States, India and Australia, he said. Later,
when the Israeli state was established, many Burmese Jews made aliyah.
Now, the community has dwindled to barely a couple of dozen, with
the oldest being 75 years old and the youngest 23. Eight families
are all that remain. Sometimes, there aren't enough men for a minyan,
but the synagogue is still open every Friday for services. The synagogue
hasn't had a rabbi for more than 30 years, so Samuels, or another
member of the community leads the prayers.
Samuels himself is a Sephardi Jew who took over as the caretaker
of the synagogue from his father. His son, Sammy, now in his early
20s, is studying at Yeshivah University in New York. He returns
to Yangon every year and perhaps will be the next in the line of
Samuels to take over the care of the synagogue and the Jewish community
that is left.
Connected to the synagogue is a cemetery of several hundred graves,
overgrown with grass and left in disrepair. The cemetery is full,
but Samuels still has to maintain it and the synagogue has to raise
money for the start and upkeep of a new cemetery on the outskirts
of town. Without a Jewish community to support it, however, it's
been difficult.
"It's good luck for me that nobody has died," Samuels
said. "We have a field but no water [to wash the bodies] and
no buildings."
Currently, the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee offers some monetary
support that goes to the small community, for items such as clothing,
education and health. Shops that stand on synagogue land contribute
small amounts of rent that help pay for the electricity and land
tax, as well as a salary for the night and day watchmen. But the
synagogue relies on private donations to keep its doors open. Several
generous sponsors have contributed to the upkeep for things such
as electrical and structural work and painting, but there is a constant
need for money.
If the current military dictatorship in Myanmar were seen to change
its human rights policies, making Myanmar a more acceptable destination
for tourism and business, the Jewish community could rebound and
grow, parallelling its neighbor, Thailand. In Bangkok, a new Jewish
centre, elementary school and kosher restaurant exist where none
were a mere decade ago. But for now, that hope seems faint.
For further information, contact Samuels at Musmeah Yeshua Synagogue,
No. 85, 26th St., Yangon, Myanmar. For donations, however, Samuels
suggests sending money to their embassies in Myanmar, if they have
one, or to the Israeli embassy in Yangon.
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