After 2 ½ years and what feels like a lifetime, I returned to Bali on Monday afternoon. Much feels the same: the island is still utterly soaked in its own, unique Hindu culture. The land is still lush, and the rains still fall nearly daily. But a second look reveals that much has changed here. Many stores are shuttered, and there is a note of desperation as hawkers approach at sacred sites to promote their wares. I had the joy of spending Tuesday as a tourist in the company of my beloved friends Rabbi David and Shelley Kunin and their guide Karma. We visited a serene, beautiful temple with a magnificent banyan tree at its heart. As we left, women surrounded us and tugged on our sleeves, begging us to visit their little shops. Prices for food and especially for alcoholic drinks have fallen, with many establishments offering two drinks for the price of one. Bali only re-opened to tourism in April, and while the hotels are full, there is still a sense of precariousness in this place which has placed so many of its eggs in one basket. I found accommodation on a laneway in Ubud for the lofty cost of AU$17 per night. Rusma House consists of three spacious guestrooms with a shrine to the god Ganesha in the middle. I was a bit concerned to find out that the booking.com promise of air conditioning was not true. But a powerful ceiling fan assured that I slept peacefully for my two nights there. On the long drive through traffic jams from the airport, my host shared with me how in the two years without tourists, his family had grown its own rice in a field not too far from his home. They almost exclusively ate what they could grow themselves, because they simply didn’t have the money to buy food. He was kind and attentive, but it was hard to miss the disappointment when he discovered that I was not going to need his services as a tour guide. I’m very happy to provide contact details for anyone who wishes to stay in this gracious home. The quality of Jewish life has changed in Indonesia as well since the arrival of Covid. I anticipate we will be interviewing close to twenty people who wish to convert to Judaism while we are here. Most are located close to the established Jewish communities we’ll be visiting in Ambon and Jakarta, but not all. Two men will brave the arduous bus trip from the eastern end of Java to Jakarta so that they can fulfill their dream to become Jewish. There is a small remnant of the Iraqi Jewish community in Surabaya, but their primary connection to community has been via the internet. Just as for those of us in Australia, Covid has both reminded us of our distance from one another and encouraged us to cross the miles using available technology. It has also begun to change our understanding of what it means to be a part of community, as we have seen that it is possible to remain connected even when we cannot pray together in the same space.
On Wednesday, we met with our first candidate for conversion, a lovely young pharmacist whose home is in Bali. He grew up in the charismatic Christian tradition, but was already interested in Judaism as a boy. For the last two years, he has joined Shabbat services each week with Jews from across Indonesia who gather in a virtual synagogue to pray together. On Wednesday evening, we went to dinner with him and his parents, as well as two others here in Bali who chose to become Jewish a number of years ago. We urged him to join physically with other Jews in Jakarta for the High Holy Days and for Pesach. Hopefully he will not be too lonely as he continues to reach across the miles to be a part of the Indonesian Jewish community. At the end of our interview with him, he asked for permission to hold the Torah scroll that has traveled with David and Shelley from Syracuse and that will ultimately end up in Ambon. The joy on his face was clear for all of us to see. I was deeply touched to see his parents, who remain dedicated to their Christian faith, celebrating with their son. What a privilege to be here!
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Rabbi Shoshana KaminskyI've been the rabbi of Beit Shalom Progressive Synagogue in Adelaide since 2006. As part of the Council of Progressive Rabbis of Australia, New Zealand and Asia, I'm now on my fifth trip to Indonesia to teach, pray and celebrate with the communities here. Archives
July 2022
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