wkp@lanl.ARPA (11/08/84)
Regarding the discussion about Chinese Jews, most of them lived in Kai-Feng in Northern China. Their customs were thought simi- lar in some respects to the Muslims living in this region (they did not eat pork, prayed westward, etc.), and were often confused by their Chinese hosts. Eventually, they were almost completely assimilated into Chinese culture, celebrating Moon Festival holi- days, Chinese New Year festivities, etc., etc. But for a few who eventually left China, they can no longer be called a Jewish com- munity. Most Chinese Jews that one sees nowadays in Israel, New York, or in Hong Kong are not descendents of these Jews, but are ethnic Chinese who converted to Judaism (or whose parents did so). The ones that I am most familiar with (the Jews in Hong Kong) tend to have Sephardic traditions. Their Bet Knesset is what American Jews would call orthodox, with the women sitting in a balcony separated from the men below, the bimah in the center, and the Torah encased in the Sephardic manner. The last time I was there they had an Israeli rabbi who appeared to speak no English; this probably causes no problems because if they are all like my wife they are more religious and Hebrew-speaking than most North Amer- ican Jews. (This does not apply to the Jews of Mexico and South America who have more knowledge of Hebrew and Jewish literature than any Diaspora community I know.) Finally the Jewish experience in China may offer ammunition to those on the net who have warned of the dangers in celebrating such unsophisticated holidays as Halloween and New Years Eve. The Jews who settled in China probably saw no harm in celebrating Tomb-Sweeping Day (to honor ancestors' graves) or any of the oth- er local holidays. bill peter los alamos