Despite what many of you may think, there actually are Jews in Singapore. Granted, there are only about 1000 of us out of a total population of 4.5 million, but the community is loud and proud. I’ve been to Chabad a few times now since coming to Singapore, including last night for Rosh Hashanah Services and a great, home-style, Asian-Jewish fusion meal. Blair, Stacy, and I discovered Chabad from a combination of Stacy’s dad emailing the Rabbi, and meeting a few Israeli students who had already been once we had heard about it. It is incredibly convenient because it is literally across the street from campus, and they are extremely welcoming and friendly, especially towards exchange students. Out of the over 300 exchange students, we have met almost all of the other Jewish ones–there aren’t too many of us–and many of them are frequent Chabad attenders. Most of them go to university in Israel, but a good chunk of them are actually from France.
Our first Chabad experience was a goodbye dinner for the old Chabad boys (there are new ones now that recently arrived). During the year, there are a group of boys (usually American and European) that come to live in Singapore and help out with the community by putting together events and doing community service. They are the Chabad boys. We walked into the dining room and were immediately greeted by other Americans willing to show us the ropes because they knew (somehow) that we were first-timers. The majority of the Jewish people here are American, with Europeans and Asians showing a slight presence (and few Israelis as well). Everyone was interested in meeting us, and excited about seeing new faces. Everyone is in Singapore for different reasons; some are working here, either for a few months or a few years, or permanently with their families, and there are a decent amount of students here for the semester. It was the first time where we were not the minority in a group of people all gathered together in Singapore, and it was a strange feeling to suddenly be in a room again with all Americans.
After that night, I was hooked, and when we got invited to ‘Singles and Shwarma’ night, there was no hesitation in deciding to attend. We were all excited for some good ole Shwarma, and Stacy was finally able to get her protein because the meat was kosher. A few days later there was a small event at a coffee house, organized by one of the Chabad boys. Because of the time, location, and size of the venue, only about 15 students showed up. We all got free lattes (or your drink of choice), a free meal, and a variety of free chocolate deserts. I was in heaven. It was a much more intimate setting than the louder, more crowded Chabad events, and we all sat around the table discussing our different experiences in Singapore. We stayed for about 3 hours laughing and talking and drinking (coffee that is), and I had such a great time that I couldn’t wait for the next get together.
But Chabad is not just for socializing (well, it sort of is). Last night we attended 1 of the 2 synagogues in Singapore for Rosh Hashanah, which is next door to Chabad. The services were an hour and a half, with the men downstairs, and the women upstairs. It was laid back and relaxed, and you could individually decide how much praying you wanted to do. There was a combination of orthodox Jews with their top hats, beards, and tzi-tzit, all the way down to some reform Jews dressed in jeans. Because it is such a small community, everybody knows everybody, and there is a good amount of catching up happening, especially upstairs with the women. When the service ended, everyone filed into the dining room for dinner. Dinner started with a variety of prayers obviously for the wine, challah, and apples and honey, and then many others that I had never heard of like pumpkin, green beans, fish, and pomegranate. There were 120 people gathered at tables conversing and eating and meeting others in the community. We ended up staying until 11 p.m. and we were the last people in the room talking with a few of the new Chabad boys, who are from Chicago and California. It was a great meal, and a great service, (and I met the lead singer of the reggae band The Wailers), and we’re going back tonight to do it all over again. Except this time when dinner is served, we’re getting in line immediately so the food doesn’t run out.
This is my last post for 2 weeks because next week is my recess week, so I’m heading to Thailand for about 13 days. After that look for multiple posts because only one is not going to be sufficient for the amount of information that I’m going to want to share. Start preparing your eyes for the long posts now!
Sam in Singapore! 