***If you have photos/video from the Purim party especially of the spontaneous dancing circle, please reply to this e-mail***
12 years ago this Shabbat, a devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster rocked Tōhoku and Japan in an event whose fear and destruction became so deeply ingrained in the culture that its commemoration is marked simply by the date 3.11. These tragedies led to an incalculable loss of life, property and culture especially in the coastal villages most affected. Closer to the JCC in Tokyo, reverberations, metaphorical aftershocks, continue to resonate via a combination of Jewish families who left Japan never to return and a reduced inflow of new families that led to declining membership and Hebrew School enrollment.
With so much dark, there was of course a tremendous amount of light that emerged from Japan’s Jewish Community. The JCC’s go-to Torah lifter, US Ambassador John Roos declared Operation Tomodachi a mere one hour after the earthquake. President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, and the JCC’s then backup Torah lifter, Mike Alfant, firmly instructed the chamber that nobody was leaving. Japan had given so much and was now in need itself, he informed the fair-weather-flyjin. CEOs called their secretaries to cancel coveted flights out of a still very precarious situation.
The Israel Defense Forces, in partnership with JDC, were the first to set up a field hospital on the ground. A ZAKA search-and-rescue team that specializes in identifying remains arrived shortly thereafter. AJC partnered with IsraAID to send post-trauma experts who stayed into the summer. One Chabad put these Israeli visitors up and provided them with kosher food while another Chabad drove the long distances to Tōhoku to deliver goods in partnership with National Azabu. The JCC partnered with Japan Emergency NGO’s (JEN) to bring much needed aid to the affected region.
These combined efforts took place with one month to go until Passover keeping in mind the additional logistical hurdles caused by ships refusing to dock in Japanese ports. Tokyo’s seders in 2011 reflected a renewed sense of determination. A little thinner than prior years for sure but with a feeling of gratitude for the opportunity to share the story of the Exodus among those who had not joined in on the exodus themselves to Narita or Haneda.
May the families whose lives were shattered and who lost loved ones find comfort amount the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem on this Yahrzeit Shabbat of 3.11
Services
Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, March 10th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner with reservation: 7:00pm
Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, March 17th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner with reservation: 7:00pm
Shabbat Parshat Vayakhel-Pekudei
Kiddush Sponsored by the Bleiweis-Fischer Family in honor of Dr. Nathan Fischer’s first visit to Japan
Saturday, March 18th
Services: 10:00am
Kiddush: 12:00pm
Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, March 24th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner with reservation: 7:00pm
Shabbat Parshat Vayikra
Kiddush Sponsored by the Greenfield-Ichikawa Family in honor of Rina’s Tokyo Bat Mitzvah
Saturday, March 25th
Services: 10:00am
Kiddush: 12:00pm
Events
Lots in the works. Stay tuned!
If you have an idea for an event or a topic you would like to share with others, please visit our website.
Announcements
Sunday morning and Monday night’s Purim parties were epic. Sunday’s carnival atmosphere, spearheaded by Marsha Rosenberg, Jamie Gerber and Emily Chen with our amazing teachers and B’nai Mitzvah was only enhanced by a BBYO Bake Sale. On Monday night, David Tropp and Todd Walzer kicked us off with a rousing Megillah Reading, CICALA-MVTA kept the party going all night with klezmer beats that brought people out of their seats, Ozawa-san and Izaki-san stocked the tables with delicious falafel, hummus and hamantashen, Tal and Ayako-san in the JCC office managed the logistics and Sherry Greenfield and her Events Committee provided the vision.
Thank you to our sponsors, the Bleiweis-Fischer, Nadler, Sitbon, Tseinyev, Alfond and Anonymous Families. It is hard to say exactly how many people attended since at a certain point in the night, most started seeing double but our best estimates are 120-150 including representation from the Israeli, Greek, Swiss and German embassies. Check the JCC Instagram post for a recap. If you have photos/video you took, please reply to this e-mail so we can figure out how to show future generations the incredible night that was Purim 5783.
Wishing a meaningful 3.11 commemoration to our member who was on the ground that day, Yoko Cisinski, and a happy 72nd birthday to her dad.
Condolences to the Topol Family and the Jewish people on the loss of an institution, Chaim Topol z”l who was best known by Americans and Ashkenazim as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof and by Israelis, Sephardim and Mizrachim as Sallah Shabati in the eponymous and hilarious 1964 film.
With our shipment arriving last week, Passover plans are nearly finalized. A community-wide e-mail should be going out next week with details.
Yiddish Club with Jack Halpern: Monthly meetings have been taking place for quite some time in-person at the JCJ. Please contact Jack at jack@cjki.org if you are interested. All levels are welcome, from beginner to advanced. Much more than just language, the club enjoys exploring Yiddish culture as well.
Shabbat Parshat Ki Tisa
Candle Lighting: 5:25pm
Havdala: 6:22pm