Purim in Busan, South Korea

   I'm in Busan, South Korea and volunteering at the ISRAEL HOUSE. Yesterday I was invited to the monthly members meeting to share a bit of the Jewish holiday of Purim. In fact the meeting fell on the date of Shushan Purim. Please follow the links to learn more about Purim and about the Israel House in Busan. 

   Shushan Purim: In cities that were protected by a surrounding wall at the time of Joshua, Purim is celebrated on the 15th of the month of Adar on what is known as Shushan Purim, since fighting in the walled city of Shushan continued through the 14th day of Adar.

   There are hardly any Jews in Busan. Just a few travelers on occasion. There may be some others working in the area but so far I have not found them. 

   Mr. Park, the Director of the Israel House, invited me to attend the meeting so that the committee members and I could meet and get to know each other. Our hope is that I will soon be able to help with programming and other activities including teaching Hebrew. 

   The meeting was a great success. Mr. Park introduced himself and spoke about the Purim holiday. He also mentioned the eerie connection between Purim and the Holocaust. I highly recommend you follow this LINK to learn about this very interesting fact about Purim.  

   Following Director Park's introduction each member (a total of about 10 people) were invited to introduce him or herself and to share a personal story about his/her connection to Israel and the Israel House in Busan. Many shared stories of how they became aware and knowledgeable about the ancient and modern State of Israel. For example one person explained hearing Israel mentioned often in their prayer services and became curious. The more they heard the name the more curious they became about this place called Israel. 

    One member, a visual artist and Director at a museum in Busan, has a dream and vision to create a model similar to the Mini-Israel model in Latrun near Jerusalem. I will be meeting with her next week! Another woman, a preschool teacher, was inspired to teach young children because here in Korea they teach pages from the Talmud in the younger grades. 

   Many of the committee members are devoted Christians, two were actually Pastors, so their first encounters were spiritual. However we know that one thing always leads to another. Learning more and more about Israel in today's modern world has helped each member become more pro-Israel. Today Israel plays an important role in their lives and personal mission. Their support of the ISRAEL HOUSE in Busan is how they show it. Our hope is to raise awareness and encourage and establish friendly cooperation between Korea and Israel. 

   I am quite excited to be able to be part of this effort. I feel that I have already started to bridge the gap between a spiritual concept and the reality of the existence of the Jewish State of Israel. This is where the spiritual and the physical will be defined and merged. 

   It was my turn now to teach a few Purim songs that we would all sing together. The members caught on quickly to the Hebrew lyric and sang happily along. They had no qualms about playing a simple children's Purim game which was so much fun. There was much laughter as a few members did their very best to clown around. 

   Please visit this LINK to see more photos and video clips. 

   I shared a story about one of my first experiences in Israel in 1976. This committee meeting reminded me of when I had first arrived in Israel and my mother sent me to Professor Dov Noy's (z"l) weekly Monday night open house. The evening began with each guest giving a 3-minute "elevator pitch" about themselves which included a brief introduction about why they were in Israel. For example; one woman was planning to build a new wing at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem to house her unique art collection.That night there were musicians, students, educators, researchers etc each with their own personal story. 

   I was fortunate to have been involved in many new beginnings during my time in Israel. I was involved with the Train Theater and watched it grow from a few individual puppeteers to a cooperative of puppeteers who made it what it is today, including an Annual International Puppet Festival. 

   I was a regular performer at the Jacob's Ladder Folk Festival and watched it grow from a mere monthly folk night at a Northern Kibbutz to today's Annual International Folk Festival. 

   I was instrumental in bringing Barbara Cass-Beggs' Listen Like Learn music program for babies and young children to Israel. Today Israeli children in public and private day-care settings are enjoying music from infancy!

   I am a founding member of "Tofa'ah", Israel's leading all-woman rock band. These women inspired the opening of school for the arts for women in Jerusalem when there were none as well as leading the way for more female artists to step forward in the world of more observant Judaism. 

   Over the years I saw the new wing in the Israel museum finally built. I witnessed how Julian Chagrin, a British comedian slowly integrated into Israeli life and shared his talents in Israel following an announcement at a final performance as guest artist that he was staying in Israel! 

   I came to realize that Israel is a place for dreamers and where, in fact, dreams come true! Israel is indeed the land of innovation where even the desert blooms and thrives. 

   Here in Busan this seedling group of members, this small gathering of avid Israel supporters reminded me of all those wonderful people I encountered at Professor Dov Noy's Open House. 

   As noted above many in the group are Christians who share a love of learning Bible or Tanach. They are eager to learn more and to be able to read the Scripture in Hebrew. Many members could already say a few words in Hebrew such as, "Shalom" and "Todah Rabbah" and were not shy to speak up. It brought a smile to my face. 

   Director Park read a little bit of the Megillah in Korean. We all had a grogger so we had a lot of fun blotting out Haman's name! Yes, it was the one word that I could recognize in the mix!!! Lol. 

   Director Park's wife had made some Hamantaschen to add to what the director had already brought back from his recent trip to Israel. She did a pretty good job of it too!!

   The entire meeting was very inspiring. Being very likely the only Jew in town in a country where Jews and Israel are respected and admired is a very good feeling. Especially as we witness the rise of antisemitism around the world. 

   Next month I will attend the monthly meeting again and we will learn about Passover!