Rabbi Greenberg to
Hazofe:
This Is How the
Chabad Was Set Up in China.
(Hazofe Oct/Nov 2009)
Translated from Hebrew
by Tiberiu Weisz
[Hazofe]Seven
years had passed since Rabbi Greenberg and his team opened a Chabad House in
the capital of China, and they are still active there. They are needed in every
place. The Jewish community in
China is waking up. Businessmen who have settled down look for a Jewish corner,
and take active part in the community life. It looks that nice things happen
nowadays to the Jews in China.
[Interview with the
Hazofe correspondent]
“We arrived to Shanghai and started the preparations for the
opening of the Chabad house”. Not any
different from other places here.
We also publicized our presence to the Jewish business people and also
established contact with the Israeli Consulate. One evening, almost as a surprise, several Chinese came to
the new house and identified themselves as senior officers of the Chinese
security forces. “You have two possibilities” they said in a threatening way to
our face “you either leave the country within 24 hours or you will be put
before a Chinese court.” On what
charges?, we ask dumb folded . “You will be charged with disturbing the public
order and with missionary work”, they said.
Rabbi Shalom Greenberg, Chabad representative in China
reminiscences on the first days of the local Chabad house and smilingly:
“Those days the Chinese did not know what is Judaism and they thought that we
want to convert them. Today they understand that it is not like that”.
Initially, as beginnings go, it was not easy. After the
government people threatened Rabbi Greenberg, one of the Chasids said that they
[Chabad] had no intention to leave and they are ready to stand trial. “They
[the Chinese] were sure that we will pack up and leave”, he said. They asked me if I knew what a trial was
in China and if I understood the severity of the charges. I was not impressed,
and told them that this trial would turn into an international media event. The
first Jewish Rabbi in 50 years to come to China since WWII and he was arrested
and stood for trial”.
The answer made the Chinese see a determined person in front
of them who might cause them troubles. They probably went to consult their
superiors in the Party, and after a while they came back and said that from
their point of view, I do not exist as long as no Chinese was involved; and
that we were not to build an official synagogue; and not to operate from an
official site, only from a private lodging. They added that “any Chinese who shall
be in contact with us will have serious problems.”
What brought you to
China?
“The opening up to the West and the rapid economic development.
Today there are not only businessmen but also Jewish families and students who
come to study and there are also Jews who married to Chinese, they are Chinese
citizens.”
What are the Chinese
afraid of? Why did they limit your involvements?
“The government wants industrial peace and they are not
ready to allow other ideas to endanger this quintessence. I will give you an
example of the Chinese legal
system. In the Western legal system in general, and in Judaism in particular,
the search for the truth is the height of the legal system. ‘What really
happened’ – they call witnesses, investigate and bring evidence. In China it is not relevant of what
really happened. When a dispute between two sides arises about property or
finance, the judges will automatically lean towards the stronger side and rule
in that favor. Lack of justice? Perhaps. The
Chinese do not seek justice, they look for industrial peace, and in their eyes
that is justice. This peace is the religion of the Chinese government. I remember, once I told the people living
here that they did not discover anything new, and I was talking about the
ancient world, even in Sodom and Gemora the judges ruled in the favor of the
powerful. My words fell on deaf ears.”
So you claim that the
Chinese are not attuned to the same morals, as we understand them?
“The term ethics/morals as we use them has no meaning in
China. And not just ethics, but also their attitude to religion shows the big
cultural gap. We are talking about a huge empire, 1.25 billion people and 80%
have no religious affiliations while the 20% who have some beliefs only because
of language and [social] pressure.”
This characterizes
the Communist regimes
“They are not necessarily connected. Beijing recognizes five
religions that are legitimate in [the Chinese] eyes one of them is Buddhism.
But none of these religions have significant followers. One of the strictest prohibitions
in Buddhism, for example, is forbidden to take the life of a live animal, even
killing a fly. This restriction is
enforced in India, so you will find many restaurants where Jews can eat because
they are vegetarian. In China there are millions of Buddhists, but there are no
vegetarian restaurants. When I
asked Chinese Buddhists how can they explain this, the answer was elusive, or
they said that ‘only the extreme fanatics do not eat meat.’”
Another example. It does not bother a Chinese family that
the father is Christian, the mother is Buddhist and the children are pagans.
This does not create conflict. I have met such families. When you ask them how
do they get along, they do not understand you. From their point of view, faith
is like being soccer fan, one is a fan of one tem the other of another team,
and they live peacefully. In China faith does not harm and it does not
oblige. The only thing that people
adhere here is to Confucianism- but that is not religion, it is a way of life.”
There are never to
blame.
The Chinese Jews have to cope with difficult problems that
derive from the fact that they are Jews. The laws of Kashrut, for example. “Two
weeks before Rosh Hashana [Jewish New Year] we tried to bring in a shipment of
kosher meat to the port of Shanghai.
The intent was to host the Jewish people in the city for the holidays as
is the custom of the Chabad in the
world. The shipment was delayed in
the port. I turned to the authorities with the request to release the meat in
time. After three days we got an answer telling that the shipment is ready to
be picked up. Obviously I was glad and we sent out invitations to the guests.
Then we went and opened the containers and our eyes saw black, the meat had
spoiled.
It turned out that after the container was unloaded from the
ship, no one though of putting it in the freezer. It was left on the wharf
despite the fact that there were signs saying that it had to be refrigerated.
This is one of the situations when you do not know whether to laugh or cry. My
wife and I stood by the container and started to laugh. Tears would not help,
then at least we laughed, otherwise it is impossible to stay sane in China.”
Did you cancel the
Rosh Hashana feast?
“Obviously not. The Hong Kong rabbi came to our rescue and
we also moved our Jewish hinds. Thanks God, that Rosh Hashana we hosted seventy
people.”
After the holidays, Rabbi Greenberg wanted to clarify as to
who was responsible for the misunderstanding and he revealed again the Chinese
culture is completely different from any Western cultures that he knows. “ The
harbor manager admitted to me that whatever happened was not right, but when I
asked who was to be blamed, it turned out that nobody was to blame. Everybody
agreed that we were right, but they also said that what happened has nothing to
do with them. We were stuck with a lot of excuses and nobody at fault. First I
thought that is because I was new and in a few years I would understand what
happened here. And here we are ten years later in 2008 and I still do not
understand the Chinese dynamics. Between us, I gave up hope to understand.
There is anti-Semitic
material even in China
Shalom Greenberg and his wife started their Shanghai
adventure one year after they he got married. He is an Israeli citizen while
his wife is an American. They have four children, two sons and two daughters,
the oldest son is nine and the youngest daughter is three. This is how it works
in Chabad: you get married and then they send you on a mission. Yet, they had prepared
and taught us about China, and we thought that we know quite a lot about China.
Only after we arrived we realized that if one does not know China from inside,
one cannot know how different is from the Israeli or American views.
Why is there a need
for a Jewish community in China?
“There is a large community here that needs a lot of
services, and we are supplying them. The community has increased in the last
few years and I brought my brother here to help me. He opened another Chabad
house in another part of the city.
How do you explain this
success?
The Chinese appreciate teachers because in their eyes they
teach to be successful in life and I am here as a teacher. The Chinese also
appreciate the Jews because they are convinced that our people control the
world finances, and they like money and its influence. Therefore, every Israeli businessman is
appreciated here, even more appreciated are Israeli teachers. When I presented
myself, the first reaction from the Chinese was great respect. I was supposed
to be some sort of monetary guru. And then they found out that I do not teach
how to make money, instead I teach spirituality, and that confused them. They
do not have respect for spirituality. At this stage most would leave me alone,
only a small minority understood that there was something more important than
money.”
In a world that that is antagonist against the Jews in
general and against the Israelis in particular, China is sort of oasis. When I [the Hazofe writer] asked Shalom
Greenberg what was the reaction of the Chinese to Western stereotypes to the
likes the Elders of Zion, he said: “China also has translated anti-Semitic literature
that portrayed the Jews as dangerous to the world, but instead of causing them
to hate the Jews, it caused them to admire us. The say ‘if you have so much
success to influence the world, it is a sign that you have some knowledge that
is worth learning.’ This is the way of life in China, this is how they see the
world. There are Chinese who want to study Judaism and some want to convert, but
we direct them Hong Kong or
Australia. It is forbidden to talk to these people in Shanghai and obviously it
is forbidden to convert them.”
Despite all the fascination with the Jews, Judaism is not
one of the recognized religions in Beijing. The Chabad turned to the local
Chinese authorities about six years ago to recognize Judaism as a religion with
the assurance that we have no intention of converting any Chinese. “ We also
promised to obey all the limitation imposed by them. The officials listened to
the request and they were very polite. They said that they do not doubt that
Judaism is an important religion and it is worth being recognized. We heard this answer for six years. At
the time I became to understand that despite the politeness there is no
intention of recognizing the religion of Israel, perhaps because of political
considerations. Officials will not admit this, they will continue to smile and
will do nothing”
What kind of
political considerations?
“The Chinese government looks at request for religious recognition
globally. If they allow Judaism to operate in China, then
other religions, including Islam and Christianity, will claim religious discrimination,.
After all, every one wants to work with 400 million Chinese. So it is better
not to even address this problem, and they just ignore us. They are quite
polite about this but we know that for all practical purposes, nothing will
change. Every one who comes to China must know that the government is very
protective of its order and they do not want new ideas to capture the
imagination of the Chinese people.”
China is coming
closer to the West.
As a result of the increasing number of Jews and Israelis in
China in the last few years, Rabbi Greenberg had to intervene for those who got
in trouble with local authorities. “People come here, they do not understand
China and make stupid mistakes” he said sadly. “In order to help a stupid you need a good lawyer and provide
him with a lot of money to bribe the right people. Even then one needs to know
who is hurt and who is behind the complaint. Once, I was accompanied by the
Deputy Foreign Minister, a person with high status, to save an Israeli. Lately,
I have been in contact with local officials who know me. Sometimes they can
solve the problem before it gets out of hand. I advise those who come to China
to accept the differences between China and the West and be aware of the
sensitivity of the authorities, and simply do not make stupid mistakes”.
But it is said that
China is coming closer to the West?
“That is true. Ten years ago, when I arrived to Shanghai,
people used to do their things in the street, and I am taking about a city that
in the past was under the control of the West and a history with foreigners. A
lot had changed since then, and vey fast. Today heavy fine are imposed on indecent behavior in the
streets. There is more enforcement
of the traffic laws, something that in the past was just a suggestion. There
are other indicators that show that China is adopting more Western
standards. But all is relative.
There are still many strange things for a Westerner who live here, and are not
just touring. “
What is the most
difficult for you?
“Loneliness. You feel like you are in a different planet. This feeling
causes young Jews and Israelis who are walking here to come to us for some
homeliness. A foreigner in China does not have contact with local Chinese and
even if they did, they would not understand anything. This is an exciting
phenomenon that is at the expense of privacy. Young people start to look anew
into their Jewish identity and they get to us. By the way, despite the
estrangement that is characteristic to the locals, we encourage Israelis to take
part in humanitarian activities. For example when there was an earthquake in
Sichuan, the Chabad encouraged people to go and help the victims. “
Do you expect that
China will become the next place of Jewish -Israeli immigration?
“Despite the fact that Jews are attracted to places with
opportunities, the huge hiatus between the two cultures will prevent mass settlement
in China. In addition, the government is not interested in such a move and it limits
the foreigners to several isolated cities. But gradually the dripping of
migrating Jews will turn into a stream and the Jews will migrate to the east,
this time to the Far East.”
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