Hello all,i hope it is the right place to have my thread here,if not,please delete it.My question is how to be a Jew in China?I am really interested in the nation(religion),the culture and i am looking for more info about it,i hope some day i can be a Jew.I am exactly a Chinese and i am living in China now.So is there any way to be a Jew in China?Please give me some suggeations if you know something. Thanks.
There is a Jewish center in Shanghai http://www.chinajewish.org/ and in Beijing. http://www.chabadbeijing.com/ http://www.sinogogue.org/ You can also find the Jewish community in Hong Kong.
You should have at least one Jewish parent. Since you said you are a Chinese, your chances of being accepted into the Jewish community are very small.
Yes, you could convert, however you will benefit very little from that. Jewish blood is needed if you are serious about your future in the Jewish community.
depending on how orthodox you want to be it could take years try asking at http://askmoses.com there is always Scholar Online that you can talk to
I've known many non-ethnic jews, and to my knowledge, none of them felt a kind of second class citizenship in the Jewish community. I do know that the standards for conversion are more rigorous in orthodoxy, but, hell, judaism is rigorous, which I think is the point - conversion isn't seen to be a fad. I think the same holds for Islam, and other faiths with a codified rule of life and law - the law or code is seen as fundamental, and conversion isn't to be taken lightly.
People who are born Jewish tend to look down on converts to Judaism, it isn't a very nice community and a rather discriminative one.
I have posted that I have contrary experience. Folks making these statements - what are you basing your statement on?
My own experience with Jews and my time in Israel, Born blooded Jews think they are some sort of a master race.
@ NPT - You got that right. My experience around Muslims is that they really embrace "new muslims" regardless were they are from. I know converted white, vietnamese and black muslims. They interact in the culture just like everyone else. Of course, Islam/Muslims are not so much a race as a belief system.
Jews are as much of a race as Muslims are (they both aren't) - though the one thing Islam has been praised for constantly is it's absence of racism. Quite the opposite in Judaism though.
Again, making a statement without basing it in experience. As I said, I have known many non-ethnic converts to judaism, and have not known of any issue regarding their ethnicity. I may be wrong. But this has been my experience, and that is all I can speak from. Any of us can conjecture to the end of the world, but without backing it up with experience, all such conjecture is merely opinion.
I apologize, I missed it. My experience is utterly different, and I must admit it's difficult for me to believe my experience is some sort of wild anomaly.
All the major religions that have been around for 1,000+ years have their ethnic followers and the non-ethnic followers. From my experience, the religions I have been involved with at one point or another are very welcoming to non-ethnic converts. I've found Jewish people to be less aggressive in their recruitment of outsiders, which might make them seem like they are more closed to non-ethnic Jews. That's just the way some religions are. Some will go door-to-door trying to get people to join, while others seem to only be open to those who come to them.
Isn't being God's chosen people a part of Judaism, or is it a radical point? If it is, one choosing to be a God's chosen person at a later point sounds a bit awkward. I mean, if you were chosen, you should have been chosen since birth, you shouldn't be choosing it on free will, what would be the point of chosenness in that case? I'm sure there's an answer to this, but i don't know.
That's a fair point, Leo. "Chosen," not as in the only to be "saved," but to be the recipients of the law. But in this, really, Judaism is no different from many of the world's religions - Shintoism, in Japan, for instance, ascribing the Japanese people to be of divine birth (Amaterasu), or certain native American beliefs ("the people") or native Hawaiian ethos. In other words, a traditional belief buried in antiquity. To today: to be truthful, I think all religions, or at least those that espouse "one way" to paradise, are making the same point - some kind of club that says we're cool, and you're not - don't you think? That anyone can join the "Jewish" club seems to me to be in line with the others in this respect.
Completely untrue as are most of the comments here. If you're sincere you'll be fine. If you're looking at "Orthodox" conversion it may take a little longer but if that's what you want, you won't care. Many people admire those with the courage to do things that are important to them but many wouldn't find the strength.