Dear Shaare Family,
I am excited for an action-packed Shabbat and weekend at Shaare Tefilla! I know some of you have actually spent Shabbat in China, but for those who have never had the privilege, this weekend will give you a taste of the unexpectedly rich Jewish history there. Early Shabbat allows us to take advantage and I will be delivering my talk titled Safe Haven: The Amazing Story of The Mir Yeshiva’s Escape to Shanghai after davening, before dinner. This is a fascinating and riveting episode in Jewish history- I highly recommend attending, even if you are familiar with the story or some aspects of it. The riveting story will whet your appetite for our congregational Chinese dinner, and for author Waina Dai Randel’s talk on Shabbat morning about Jewish life in China. After serving a Chinese dinner on Friday night, find out on Shabbat afternoon between Mincha and Maariv what Jewish law says about Chinese food as Rabbinic Intern Yehuda Rosenberg delivers a shiur titled Chinese Food (On December 25th): Jewish Tradition or Halachic Problem?
Rabbi’s Recommendation
In preparation for this Shabbat, I’ve been reading Jonathan Kaufman’s book The Last Kings of Shanghai, about the two Jewish families, the Kadoories and the Sassoons, that controlled commercial life in Shanghai and helped save the lives of tens of thousands of Jews, as well as hundreds of thousands of Chinese. No doubt, Waina Dai Randel will speak more about these families on Shabbat morning. I thank David Radunsky for making me aware of (and lending me a copy of) this fascinating book.
Hakarat HaTov Corner
I am grateful to HKB”H that my most recent bout with COVID last week was a comparatively mild one, and that He brought Jessica into my life. Among her many other amazing qualities and wonderful things she does, she shouldered the immense task of running a busy household with, B”H, high spirited kids entirely by herself while I was in isolation. I am also grateful to HKB”H that this illness visited me on a week that wasn’t either the Shabbat of Song or Ariel Davis’s Bar Mitzvah!
MSOTW
This synagogue is the flagship synagogue of a robust and significant community of immigrants. Its Aron Kodesh is a replica of that of another well-known synagogue nearly 6,000 miles away. Name the synagogue, the city, the community of immigrants and, for extra points, the synagogue whose Aron Kodesh this one replicates.
MSOTW from Two Weeks Ago
Congratulations to Perrin White, who correctly identified this as the “Soldiers’ Synagogue” in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. It was constructed by Jews who had been conscripted into the Czar’s Army, and is the only synagogue left there after Rostov dozens of synagogues in its prime. In 1916, the rebbe of the Lubavitch Hasidic movement, Sholom Dov Ber Shneerson- the Rebbe Rashab- settled there with his family; in 1920, his son, Yosef Yitsḥak Shneerson, moved the Tomchei Temimim Yeshiva from Lubavitch to Rostov. The town remained a center of Lubavitch activity until 1924.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Ariel Rackovsky
