In The First Person: On Vacation in Beijing, Micah Members Attend Shabbat Services, Sample Kosher Restaurant

Shabbat services at Kehillat Beijing began with members of the congregation introducing themselves and saying where they were from. There was a group from Canada, a couple from New Jersey in town to see their newborn grandchild, tourists from the Midwest and three members of Temple Micah.

None of the Jews in the room was Chinese. Judaism in China caters to the needs of westerners, people who are there for business or academic opportunities, as well as tourists, many of them interested to learn what it's like to be a Jew in China.

There is more Jewish history in China than most people realize and more than we could absorb during a crowded two-week visit to that vast and fascinating country.

It was the garment trade that brought many Jews over the Silk Road to China. A business letter in Hebrew, dated 718, was found in Xinjiang Province, according to anthropologist Melvin Konner in his book, Unsettled: An Anthropology of the Jews. He notes that Marco Polo encountered Jews in China in the 1200s.

In the 10th century, Jews bringing cotton goods were allowed to settle in Kaifeng, a city several hundred miles southwest of Beijing. According to Konner, the Jews gradually intermarried, adopted Chinese names, and became largely indistinguishable from the native population. But they maintained a synagogue and, to this day, a small number of residents of the city cite their Jewish ancestry.

When we planned our trip to China, my wife, Lynn, and I knew of the Jews who fled Europe in the 1930s and settled in Shanghai. But what of Beijing? The answer was easy to find: Google "Synagogues Beijing" and up pops the Kehillat Beijing Web site.

"While most members of the community are liberal Jews, we try hard to make all feel welcome," read the Web site. It sounded appealingly like Micah. For the less liberal, there are Lubavich Chabads in Beijing and Shanghai.

Kehillat Beijing congregation has no rabbi or cantor, no music director or building of its own. It offers Shabbat services only on Friday nights, followed by a buffet dinner. The Web site provides directions to the Capital Club Athletic Center, helpfully including the address in Chinese for those who need to communicate with a cab driver.

Roberta Lipson, a businesswoman who has lived in China for 28 years, led the service. The president and CEO of Chindex, the medical supply and health-care company she founded in 1981, she also was one of the founders of Kehillat Beijing 26 years ago.

Rather than deliver a sermon, Lipson led the congregation in a discussion of the Torah portion, the story of Noah and the flood.

For Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, a rabbi is brought in from Israel to lead services.

Kehillat Beijing has a Hebrew school, Ahavat Yitzhak, that offers Sunday morning classes for children as young as four. After their b'nai mitzvah, students can become teaching assistants.

And now there is Dini's, Beijing's kosher restaurant, offering an extensive menu ranging from Moroccan dishes to hot pastrami sandwiches. For those with a fondness for Chinese take-out, travel to Beijing and Dini's offers kosher take-out.

Finally, there is the story of the third Micah member at Shabbat services.

We were in a lovely park behind the Forbidden City, once the walled home of Chinese emperors. We were climbing a steep hill that looks down on the 178-acre imperial complex. About halfway up, we stopped to catch our breath and a voice called out: "Lynn."

We turned and there was Skip Halpern. He was in Beijing on business, but somehow we managed to connect in this city of 15 million. We mentioned our plan to attend services and he joined us.
[By Don Rothberg; from January 2008 Vine]