CEIE Presents Student Reflection on “The Chinese Jews of Kaifeng"

CEIE Student Affiliate Zachary Dar has composed a reflection on the article “The Chinese Jews of Kaifeng (and what I’ve learned from them),” written by Rabbi Anson Laytner, and published as part of the Interfaith Observer’s Winter Issue on “Religious Literacy.”

As the world’s oldest religions, Judaism has spread to every populace of the globe; however, there is none as exotic as the Jews of Kaifeng, China: a culture that has survived a millennium. While the first Chinese Synagogue and largest synagogue complex in the world had been built in 1163, (two centuries after the arrival of Judaism), flooding from the Yellow River and fire had destroyed it four times over, with the last synagogue standing for 200 years until its fall in 1860. It wasn’t until 1420, (and the exposure of a royal family members treasonable plot, by a Jewish soldier), that Kaifeng Jews were allowed to assimilate into ordinary Chinese culture. 

In the 17th century, Matteo Ricci was the first Jesuit missionary to meet a Kaifeng Jew. This discovery inspired Europe to embrace the reassimilation of Jews into society. Being Jewish, myself, and having a home in the Matteo Ricci Institute of Seattle University, (the new office space for CEIE), I feel a deep connection to this awe-inspiring journey of interreligious culture that is clinging to life in a modern society where Judaism is not an authorized religion to practice. In a profound statement, Rabbi Laytner notes, in the section titled “In Modern Times”, “Despite a profound lack of Jewish knowledge, members of this community have maintained a strong sense of identity in modern times, when awareness of their Jewish identity was all they had to transmit to the next generation.” 

Read “The Chinese Jews of Kaifeng.”

To learn more about the center, its core team of students, staff and faculty, and to view current projects, visit CEIE.