t's the 1820's. You're a Jewish trader living in a
province of the Ottoman Empire which is today Iraq. You're a bit adventurous .
What do you do? A few such Jews emigrated into the growing European colonies in
Asia to take advantage of the opportunities in trade. In the nineteenth century
small numbers of Iraqi Jewish traders settled in entrepots all over Asia:
Bombay (Mumbai), Culcutta, Rangoon (Yangoon), Penang, Surabaya, Hong Kong,
Shanghai, Kobe, and Singapore.Thus began Jewish history in Singapore. In 1830 historical records show that there were nine Jewish traders living in Singapore. Over the next century more arrived and a small but thriving Jewish community was established.
Almost all the Jews were Sephardim from Baghdad or nearby. A few were Sephardim from Persia, a few were Ashkenazim from Eastern Europe, and all were Orthodox. The community was very tight knit, reinforced by their common origin, isolation, and decades of marriages that made many in the community distant relatives.
These Jews established the basics of a Jewish community: a central body (Jewish Welfare Board), a synagogue (Maghain Aboth), a rabbi, a school, a community hall, an old age home, a cemetery and burial society, and trust funds to provide for the future. Singapore's wealthiest Jew, Menasseh Meyer, even built a second synagogue, Chesed El, emblazoned with his initial, M. Just prior to World War II there were over 1,500 Jews living in Singapore.
Turn now to the 1990's. From its peak, the permanent Jewish community has shruck to around 200, with demographics weighted towards older adults and relatively few young families. World War II, post-war turmoil and independence have prompted large-scale emigration of Jews from Singapore.
Most have left for Australia, the United States, England, and Israel. What remains of the 'local' Jewish community perserveres as before, just fewer in number. However, after independence in 1965 Singapore's economy has become transformed, almost miraculously. Singapore is now a major force in international business. Hundreds of multinational corporations have established offices and operations in Singapore, bringing with them employees from the West, some of them Jewish.
Like the trading boom in the nineteenth century, the economic miracle at the end of the twentieth century has created new Jewish communities throughout Asia, including Singapore. These new 'corporate' Jewish communities are unique in Jewish history, comprised mostly of Jews from diverse origins who are brought there by foreign multinationals on a temporary basis and who maintain some form of ties with 'home' throughout their sojourn. A few academics, diplomats, self-employed and students round out the mix. Most of these Jewish sojourners come from the major Western countries or from Israel.
This is the origin of our Progressive congregation in Singapore, the United Hebrew Congregation (Singapore). In 1991 some expatriate Jews living in Singapore began to get together. They were mostly English-speaking, from the United States, Canada, Australia and UK. Most were Ashkenazim. And most came from congregations that were labelled Reform, Progressive, Liberal or Conservative. In social terms they sought contact with others who were of similar background and who were also far from home and family. In religious terms they didn't feel comfortable with the Orthodox Sephardic services and practices at Maghain Aboth.
Our group got its start when two women, Natalie Barkan and Sany Lessig, began to organise a few simple functions for those expatriate Jews in Singapore: first a Shabbat dinner, then a Yom Kippur break-fast where 60 people appeared out of the woodwork, and then more Shabbat dinners and occasional services, holiday celebrations, children's activities and then religious classes, High Holiday services, adult education sessions, Passover Seders.
In 1992 we ran our first High Holiday services, conducting them on our own. The following year we contacted the URJ (Union of Reform Judaism, formerly the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the American version of the AANZUPJ). We asked if they could find a rabbi who would be willing to come to Singapore for the High Holidays for just expenses. This turned out to be one of the most important events in the formation of our congregation.
Rabbi Lennard Thal, then the Regional Director of the Pacific Southwest Council of the URJ, agreed to come with his wife Linda. Lenny and Linda's superb developmental and educational skills and warm personalities fit perfectly with our needs. Although Lenny is now the Vice President of the URJ, we consider him to be 'our' rabbi. Since 1993 he has come every year to Singapore to lead our High Holiday services, and will return again in 1997. For the first three years Linda, a nationally recognised expert in Jewish education in her own right, accompanied him to Singapore.
Over the years we have had only a handful of Jewish professionals visit us in Singapore. One visitor in our early years who also helped spur our group's development was Temple Beth Israel's Rabbi, John Levi. In his new 'retirement' Rabbi Levi will be helping to develop Progressive congregations in the Pacific Rim, and we look forward to continuing to receive his assistance.
After attempting unsuccessfully to work under the aegis of existing organisation in Singapore, we decided to form our own official society. The United Hebrew Congregation (Singapore) received government approval between Rosh Ha'Shanah and Yom Kippur in 1995. We became the third Progressive congregation to be formed in Asia, after Rodef Shalom in Bombay and the United Jewish Congregation of Hong Kong. A fledgling congregation in Jakarta may be the next.
Today, although we have no rabbi or synagogue, we have many of the accoutrements and activities of a Progressive congregation. Most importantly, we have a Torah on permanent loan thanks to a programme of the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ). We have High Holiday and Shabbat prayer books, haggadot, tallitot and our own inscribed kippot. We work with the local Orthodox community to run a joint religious school. We publish a monthly newsletter, the Singapore Shofar.
We also have special events, including the first ever Netzer weekend in Asia. On their way back from Israel to Australia last March, two leaders of Netzer Australia, Joe Azoulay and Adam Carpenter, spent a wonderful weekend in Singapore leading our adults and children in serivces and other events.
What we sorely lack is what most small congregations lack - enough willing and capable leaders, and enough funds. Since most of our members are expatriate employees of multinationals, we have unique demographics that put a different spin on these common problems.
Most of our members are talented people, or their companies would not have selected them for posting to Singapore. However, few are strongly commited to Judaism or to the congregation. Many view their stay in Singapore as temporary and give their loyalty to a congregation 'back home'. In addition, most are very busy with a heavy travel schedule for work and adjusting the family to life in Singapore. On the financial side we have no poor or elderly to support. However, we have no wealthy entrepreneurs, retirees or wills to make substantial gifts. Despite it all, we continue forward with a small, core group of committed lay leaders and just enough funds from dues and donations to cover basic programming. Our congregation is formally affiliated with the WUPJ and informally with the AANZUPJ. My wife and I attended the WUPJ international congerence for the first time last May in South Africa, and we also attended the AANZUPJ annual conference for the first time last year in Terrigal. We were thrilled by the warm reception by everyone in Terrigal, including the delegates from Temple Emmanuel North Shore. We hope to be able to fashion more cooperative events with the Australian Progressive community in the future. We invite visitors from Down Under to contact us when in Singapore, particularly around holidays. Looking forward, the next century may well turn out to be the Asian century. If so, then we expect Jews - including Progressive Jews - will be there participating, and our congregation will grow from strength to strength.
