Tag: jewish

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The Dao of Being Jewish and Other Stories Released

cover of Irene Shaland book the Dao of Being Jewish and Other Stories

New book of stories from Irene Shaland is now available in paperback. In The Dao of Being Jewish and Other Stories Irene Shaland presents a collective Jewish narrative from various parts of the globe. She takes the reader on a fascinating journey, both familiar and unknown, from Europe to Asia and Africa, from Vienna to Delhi and Nairobi. The fate of the brilliant Jewish community of Vienna annihilated during the Holocaust shines a disturbing light on the stories of the current rise of Antisemitism in Scandinavia and throughout Europe.

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Judaica Research and Education Center in St. Petersburg, Russia

I recently attended an Educators meeting at the Jewish Federation building in Beachwood.  The meeting centered on a fascinating exhibit of old photographs from shtetls or Jewish Villages before World War I.   Titled “The Way We Looked,” the Beachwood exhibit marks the first time these photographs have been shown in North America.  The collection was loaned to Cleveland by the Center for Judaica Studies from St. Petersburg, Russia.  The co-curators of this exhibit, two scholars from the Center, Drs. Alexander Ivanov and Valery Dymshitz, presented an exciting lecture/slide show based on their in-depth research.

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Finding Home away from Home – in Africa

Nairobi Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, Kenya

We were travelling all day: through the exotic strangeness of the Zanzibar Stone Town to the Nairobi airport’s thick mess of people and suitcases, sickening smells and deafening noises. Then again, through the traffic and dust and darkness of Nairobi streets, until all of sudden, like a mirage in the wilderness, we saw a brilliantly lit Jewish star. “Are you meeting with Barbara?” a voice asked. We were.

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What does it take to preserve Jewish identity if you are a Chinese Jew?

Irene Shaland and Mr. Jin at Jewish Cemetery in Kaifeng, China

October 2012, Again – Kaifeng, China. We are at the oldest Jewish burial place in China – with Mr. Jin in front of his life-long project, his family memorial. Our new friend dedicated his life savings and his entire life to create this marble memorial book which presents – engraved in English on one side and in Chinese on another – the 900-year story of Mr. Jin’s family within the context of Chinese history.

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History of Confucian Synagogue in Kaifeng, China

Irene Shaland in Kayfeng, China

We visited this synagogue in Kaifeng in October 2012. On the photo you can see how  Irene hurriedly writes, Esther, a Founder and Director of the Kaifeng Jewish History Memorial Center, tells the story of her forebears. On the wall, is the 18th- century rendering of Kaifeng synagogue.  For anyone who visited the Forbidden City in Beijing and at least a temple or two elsewhere in China, the synagogue rendering reminds of the country’s typical residential or religious compounds.

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