I Guess 'Shalom' Means Goodbye Too

I'm the first to admit I haven't really given Judaism much attention recently. But with Chanukah approaching, and volunteering to do a couple of two-hour talks on the festival, I decided to go to the Synagogue/Jewish community centre in Japan to buy some realia (dreidels etc) for the talks. I also wanted to find out whether they were lighting the candles at the Synagogue on any of the nights as it might be, yes I'm going to say it, nice to participate.

Keiko and I went early-ish, to avoid any problems with Friday night closing times. The security was heavy, as most of you can imagine. There was no reply to the bell, but luckily a woman also wanted to go in so she pressed the bell several times. A man with a deep Brooklyn-type accent opened the door, asked what we wanted, and let us in, explaining that they were in a meeting. He pointed at a table with some dreidels, menorahs etc laid out and sat down with four other foreigners, each of whom ignored us. (The woman at the door sat with them.) Trying to buy some dreidels, I got the man's attention; much to his annoyance. I gave him some money and he went to find change.

At that point I noticed Chanukah gelt - and gefilte fish, never mind - and decided it would be a nice treat for my students. To this, the man apologised to the group for being distracted, who were in the midst of discussing how important it is for the community to have a Chanukah party. I asked him whether they were lighting candles in the Synagogue:

"The Rabbi's not here. I'm doing it at my house".

And he nodded towards the door.

We showed ourselves out.

Now, a little-known fact on this blog. There are officially 1000 Jewish people in the whole of Japan, according to the last census. You would think that someone who is interested in the religion would be welcomed with arms wide open. You would also think that a group of people who I'm guessing are the 'committee' and are planning a party would perhaps reply a little more politely to my question or at least acknowledge me.

Of course, this was in Hiroo, which if you remember, is the only place I haven't liked in Japan.

It's sad that the first people to disregard me in Japan were not even Japanese.

This is just my opinion today and I hope you can appreciate it. It's not an attack on Judaism, it was just an unfortunate experience. Due to this, I have decided to moderate comments for this entry. If you feel the urge to have your say, please feel free to e-mail me directly.