בן שבעים לשיבה
Seventy represents fullness of years
-Pirkei Avot/Ethics of our Ancestors 5:21
The Jewish Community of Japan celebrates our 70th anniversary this Shabbat. The JCC is a communal institution unique in many ways within the larger Jewish world. For one, you will never hear a member complain at a board meeting “When my grandfather laid the cornerstone that still sits at the entrance today…” A precious few can even name the founders. What began primarily as a social club with an outdoor pool, deck and restaurant has reinvented and redefined itself many times over to serve the needs of Japan’s Jews whether they are resident for 20 years or need a minyan to say Kaddish during a 20-hour layover.
The JCC’s continued flourishing represents a miracle sui generis in the region. Our center started its life as an idea, dreamed up 70 years by a contingent of Jewish émigrés who wanted a place in Tokyo where, as the legend goes, they could speak Russian, drink vodka and play poker. Through multiple iterations, we have persevered as one of Asia Pacific’s few independent synagogues not located in a former British colony.
Our Yahrzeit/Memorial Wall demonstrates the JCC’s diversity since our founding in 1953. You can read names like Eisenberg, Kogan, Ponevejsky, Shriro. Russian-Ashkenazi. But look harder and you will find branches of each Baghdadi family known as the Rothschilds of the East, the Sassoons and Kadooris next to classical Sephardi names like Nahmias, Sutton and Morris.
And lest we forget that we are not the Jewish Community in Japan but the Jewish Community of Japan, there are at least two names connecting us to the archipelago we call home. The first commemorates Professor Abraham Kotsuji, a ‘Jew-by-Choice’ turned Hebraist whose 1973 obituary graced the pages of the New York Times. The other, Mutsuyo Yamamoto, Miriam bat Gittel, was born in 1930 to a Russian-Jewish mother and Japanese father in Manchuria. One of our community historians shared that Mutsuyo’s family was brought back into the fold by a proto-Kiddush in the form of doughnuts the US Army Chaplain served to all who attended his service in famished postwar Japan.
70 years later, the same JCC built by the Eisenbergs, Sassoons, Yamamotos and everyone who has contributed to our mission is stronger than ever. We are the grandchildren who inherited their legacy. Thankfully, we also inherited the land in Hiroo. May we merit the sacrifices made by an incalculable number of people to preserve our beloved JCC so that in just a few decades, one of our current Hebrew School students will sit on a planning committee for the 100th anniversary in 2053/5813.
Services
Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, November 10th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner by reservation: 7:00pm
Shabbat Chayei Sarah
JCJ 70th Anniversary Kiddush Lunch sponsored by the JCC Board of Directors
Saturday, November 11th
Services: 10:00am
Kiddush: 12:00pm
Storytelling program: 1:30pm
Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, November 17th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner by reservation: 7:00pm
Kabbalat Shabbat
High Likelihood of Turkey. Stuffing questionable. Kabocha tastes better than canned pumpkin.
Friday, November 24th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner by reservation: 7:00pm
Events
JCJ 70th Anniversary Kiddush Lunch
Our Story: A Community 70 Years Strong
Saturday, November 11th
Services: 10:00am
Kiddush: 12:00pm
Storytelling program: 1:30pm
If you have an idea for an event or a topic you would like to share with others, please visit our website.
Announcements
We express our deepest gratitude to the members of the 70th Anniversary Planning Committee for your many, many Zoom calls, strategy sessions and hours upon hours of work towards ensuring a fitting tribute. The committee has gone above and beyond, first planning a more celebratory evening affair and then in just one month’s time starting from scratch to design an event more suited to the current mood.
We continue to pray for the release of all hostages so that families can be reunited speedily in our days.
Yiddish Club with Jack Halpern: Please contact Jack at jack@cjki.org if you are interested to join. All levels are welcome, from beginner to advanced. Much more than just language, the club’s monthly meetings explore Yiddish culture as well.
Shabbat Chayei Sarah
Candle Lighting: 4:20pm
Havdala: 5:17pm