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A synagogue (from Greek: συναγωγή transliterated synagogē, meaning "assembly") is a Jewish or Samaritan house of prayer.^[1] This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, קהל kahal. In modern Hebrew a synagogue is called either a בית כנסת beyt knesset, meaning "house of assembly"; בית תפילה or beyt t'fila, meaning "house of prayer", in Yiddish שול shul, from the German for "school," and in Ladino אסנוגה esnoga.

Synagogues have a large hall for prayer (the main sanctuary), and can also have smaller rooms for study and sometimes a social hall and offices. Some have a separate room for Torah study, called the beit midrash (Sfard) "beis midrash (Ashkenaz)—בית מדרש ("House of Study").

Synagogues are consecrated spaces that can be used only for the purpose of prayer^{[citation needed]}; however, a synagogue is not necessary for worship. Communal Jewish worship can be carried out wherever ten Jews (a minyan) assemble. Worship can also be carried out alone or with fewer than ten people assembled together. However, there are certain prayers that are communal prayers and therefore can be recited only by a minyan. Except in Reform Judaism, a synagogue is not viewed as replacing the long-since destroyed Temple in Jerusalem.

Israelis use the Hebrew term bet knesset (assembly house). Jews of Ashkenazi descent have traditionally used the Yiddish term "shul" (cognate with the German Schule, school) in everyday speech. Spanish and Portuguese Jews call the synagogue an esnoga. Persian Jews and Karaite Jews use the term kenesa, which is derived from Aramaic, and some Arabic-speaking Jews use knis. Some Reform and Conservative Jews use temple. ^{[2] [3]} The Greek word synagogue is a good all-around term, used in English (and German and French), to cover the preceding possibilities.^[4]

Synagogues often take on a broader role in modern Jewish communities and may include additional facilities such as a catering hall, kosher kitchen, religious school, library, day care center and a smaller chapel for daily services.

Origins[link]

Mosaic in the Tzippori Synagogue

Ruins of the ancient synagogue of Kfar Bar'am

Although synagogues existed a long time before the destruction of the 2nd Temple in 70 CE, communal worship in the time while the Temple still stood centered around the korbanot ("sacrificial offerings") brought by the kohanim ("priests") in the Holy Temple. The all-day Yom Kippur service, in fact, was an event in which the congregation both observed the movements of the kohen gadol ("the high priest") as he offered the day's sacrifices and prayed for his success.

During the Babylonian captivity (586–537 BCE) the Men of the Great Assembly formalized and standardized the language of the Jewish prayers. Prior to that people prayed as they saw fit, with each individual praying in their own way, and there were no standard prayers that were recited. Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai, one of the leaders at the end of the Second Temple era, promulgated the idea of creating individual houses of worship in whatever locale Jews found themselves. This contributed to the continuity of the Jewish people by maintaining a unique identity and a portable way of worship despite the destruction of the Temple, according to many historians.

Synagogues in the sense of purpose-built spaces for worship, or rooms originally constructed for some other purpose but reserved for formal, communal prayer, however, existed long before the destruction of the Second Temple.^[5] The earliest archaeological evidence for the existence of very early synagogues comes from the Palestinian synagogues, which date from the 1st-century CE. A synagogue dating from between 75 and 50 BCE has been uncovered at a Hasmonean-era winter palace near Jericho.^[6][7] More than a dozen Second Temple era synagogues have been identified by archaeologists.^[5]

Architectural design[link]

Although there are some standard laws which govern the layout of a synagogue, there is no set architectural design and therefore exteriors and interiors of synagogues vary greatly. Historically, synagogues were built in the prevailing architectural style of their time and place. Thus, the synagogue in Kaifeng, China looked very like Chinese temples of that region and era, with its outer wall and open garden in which several buildings were arranged. The styles of the earliest synagogues resembled the temples of other sects of the eastern Roman Empire. The surviving synagogues of medieval Spain are embellished with mudéjar plasterwork. The surviving medieval synagogues in Budapest and Prague are typical Gothic structures.

The emancipation of Jews in European countries not only enabled Jews to enter fields of enterprise from which they were formerly barred, but gave them the right to build synagogues without needing special permissions, so synagogue architecture blossomed. Large Jewish communities wished to show not only their wealth but also their newly acquired status as citizens by constructing magnificent synagogues. These were built across Europe and in the United States in all of the historicist or revival styles then in fashion. Thus there were Neoclassical, Neo-Byzantine, Romanesque Revival Moorish Revival, Gothic Revival, and Greek Revival. There are Egyptian Revival synagogues and even one Mayan Revival synagogue. In the 19th century and early 20th century heyday of historicist architecture, however, most historicist synagogues, even the most magnificent ones, did not attempt a pure style, or even any particular style, and are best described as eclectic. In the post World War II era, synagogue architecture abandoned historicist styles for modernism.

Interior elements[link]

Bimah at the Bialystoker Synagogue with Torah Ark in background.

Bimah of the Łańcut Synagogue

All synagogues contain a bimah, a table from which the Torah is read, and a desk for the prayer leader.

The Torah ark, (Hebrew: Aron Kodesh—ארון קודש) (called the heikhal—היכל [temple] by Sephardim) is a cabinet in which the Torah scrolls are kept.

The ark in a synagogue is positioned in almost always such a way that those who face it, face towards Jerusalem. Thus, sanctuary seating plans in the Western world generally face east, while those east of Israel face west. Sanctuaries in Israel face towards Jerusalem. Occasionally synagogues face other directions for structural reasons; in such cases, some individuals might turn to face Jerusalem when standing for prayers, but the congregation as a whole does not.

The ark is reminiscent of the Ark of the Covenant which contained the tablets with Ten Commandments. This is the holiest spot in a synagogue, equivalent to the Holy of Holies. The ark is often closed with an ornate curtain, the parochet פרוכת, which hangs outside or inside the ark doors.

A large, raised, reader's platform called the bimah (בימה) by Ashkenazim and tebah by Sephardim, where the Torah scroll is placed to be read. Is a feature of all synagogues. In Sephardi synagogues it is also used as the prayer leader's reading desk.

Other traditional features include a continually lit lamp or lantern, usually electric in contemporary synagogues, called the ner tamid (נר תמיד), the "Eternal Light", used as a reminder of the western lamp of the menorah of the Temple in Jerusalem, which remained miraculously lit always. Many have an elaborate chair named for the prophet Elijah and only sat upon during the ceremony of Brit milah. Many synagogues have a large seven-branched candelabrum commemorating the full Menorah. Most contemporary synagogues also feature a lectern for the rabbi.

A synagogue may be decorated with artwork, but in the Rabbinic and Orthodox tradition, three-dimensional sculptures and depictions of the human body are not allowed, as these are considered akin to idolatry.

Until the 19th century, an Ashkenazi synagogue, all seats most often faced the 'Torah Ark. In a Sephardi synagogue, seats were usually arranged around the perimeter of the sanctuary, but when the worshippers stood up to pray, everyone faced the Ark. In Ashkenazi synagogues The Torah was read on a reader's table located in the center of the room, while the leader of the prayer service, the Hazzan, stood at his own lectern or table, facing the Ark. In Sephardic synagogues, the table for reading the Torah was commonly placed at the opposite side of the room from the Torah Ark, leaving the center of the floor empty for the use of a ceremonial procession carrying the Torah between the Ark and the reading table.

Denominational differences[link]

New York's Reform Temple Emanu-El

Orthodox synagogues feature a partition (mechitzah) dividing the men's and women's seating areas, or a separate women's section located on a balcony.

The German Reform movement which arose in the early 19th century made many changes to the traditional look of the synagogue, keeping with its desire to simultaneously stay Jewish yet be accepted by the host culture.

The first Reform synagogue, which opened in Hamburg in 1811, introduced changes that made the synagogue look more like a church. These included an organ to accompany the prayers (even on Shabbat, when musical instruments are proscribed by halakha), a choir to accompany the Hazzan, and vestments for the synagogue rabbi to wear.^[8]

In following decades, the central reader's table, the bimah, was moved to the front of the Reform sanctuary—previously unheard-of^{[citation needed]} in Orthodox synagogues. The rabbi now delivered his sermon from the front, much as the Christian ministers delivered their sermons in a church. The synagogue was renamed a "temple", to emphasize that the movement no longer looked forward to the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem.^{[citation needed]}

Synagogue offshoots[link]

Since Orthodox Jews prefer to collect a minyan (a quorum of ten) rather than pray alone, they commonly assemble at pre-arranged times in offices, living rooms, or other spaces when these are more convenient than formal synagogue buildings. A room or building that is used this way can become a dedicated small synagogue or prayer room. Among Ashkenazi Jews they are traditionally called shtiebel (שטיבל, pl. shtiebelekh or shtiebels, Yiddish for "little house"), and are found in Orthodox communities worldwide.

Another type of communal prayer group, favored by some contemporary Jews, is the Chavurah (חבורה, pl. chavurot, חבורות), or prayer fellowship. These groups meet at a regular place and time, usually in a private home. In antiquity, the Pharisees lived near each other in chavurot and dined together to ensure that none of the food was unfit for consumption.^[9]

Great synagogues[link]

Interior view of the New Synagogue (Berlin)

During the 19th and early 20th century, it was fairly common for Jewish communities, particularly in Europe, to construct very large, showpiece synagogues. These edifices were intended not simply to accommodate worshipers, but to serve as emblems of Jewish participation in modern society. For this purpose, they were built to be not merely large, but architecturally impressive. Even small cities had elaborate synagogues of this type, albeit smaller than the synagogues of Vienna and New York. They are often designated as The Great Synagogue of..., or, in Russia, The Choral Synagogue. These notable synagogues include; the Portuguese Synagogue (Amsterdam), the Great Synagogue of Rome, the New Synagogue (Berlin), the Leopoldstädter Tempel, the Grand Choral Synagogue (St. Petersburg), the Great Synagogue (Sydney), the Moscow Choral Synagogue, the Great Synagogue of Florence, the Great Synagogue, Plzeň, the Great Synagogue (Warsaw), the Košice Orthodox Synagogue, the Novi Sad Synagogue, the Szeged Synagogue,^[10] the Sofia Synagogue and the Great Synagogue of Oran.

World's largest synagogues[link]

Interior of the Belz Great Synagogue in Jerusalem.

• The largest synagogue in the world is probably the Belz Great Synagogue, in Jerusalem, Israel, whose main Sanctuary seats 6,000. Construction on the edifice lasted for over 15 years.
• The next largest may be the Satmar synagogue in Kiryas Joel, New York, which is said to seat "several thousand".^[11]
• The largest synagogue in Europe is the newly constructed Bratzlav Center at the graveside of Rabbi Nahman of Bratzlav in Uman, Ukraine, which seats up to 6,000.^[12]
• The Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary, seats 3,000, and has an area of 1200 m² and height of 26 m (apart from the towers which are 43 m).^{[citation needed]}
• Kehilas Yetev Lev D'Satmar (Williamsburg, Brooklyn) seats between 2,000 to 4,000 congregants.
• Temple Emanu-El of New York, a Reform Temple is located in New York City, with an area of 3,523 m², seating 2,500.
• Great Synagogue in Plzeň, Czech Republic is the second biggest synagogue in Europe, can seat more than 2000, area of 1680 m² and height of 45 m (apart from the towers which are 65 m).
• Temple Emanu-El (Miami Beach, Florida) located in Miami Beach, Florida seats approximately 1,400 people.
• Szeged Synagogue is located in Szeged, Hungary, seats 1,340 and has height of 48.5 m.
• The Sofia Synagogue is located in Sofia, Bulgaria, seating about 1,200.
• Congregation Shaare Zion, an Orthodox Sephardic synagogue located in Brooklyn, New York is the largest Syrian Jewish congregation in New York City. It is attended by over 1,000 worshipers on weekends.

World's oldest synagogues[link]

The Sardis Synagogue in Manisa, Turkey. The synagogue was a section of a large bath-gymnasium complex, which was in use for 450–500 years.

Fresco at the Dura-Europos synagogue, illustrating a scene from the Book of Esther, 244 CE.

• The oldest Samaritan synagogue, the Delos Synagogue dates from between 150 and 128 BCE, or earlier and is located on the island of Delos.^[13]
• The Jericho Synagogue, the oldest, securely dated, mainstream Jewish synagogue in the world was built between 70 and 50 BCE at a royal winter palace near Jericho.^[14]
• The oldest synagogue fragments are stone synagogue dedication inscriptions stones found in middle and lower Egypt and dating from the 3rd century BCE.^[15]
• The 2nd and 3rd century CE Dura-Europos synagogue in Syria is better preserved than other, older synagogues that have emerged from archaeological digs.
• The Paradesi Synagogue is the oldest synagogue in the Commonwealth of Nations, located in Kochi, Kerala, in India. It was built in 1568 by the Malabar Yehudan people or Cochin Jewish community in the Kingdom of Cochin. Paradesi is a word used in several Indian languages, and the literal meaning of the term is "foreigners", applied to the synagogue because it was historically used by "White Jews", a mixture of Jews from Cranganore, the Middle East, and European exiles. It is also referred to as the Cochin Jewish Synagogue or the Mattancherry Synagogue. The synagogue is located in the quarter of Old Cochin known as Jew Town and is the only one of the seven synagogues in the area still in use.
• Old New Synagogue in Prague is the world's oldest active synagogue and therefore also the oldest synagogue still in use in Europe.
• Jew's Court, Steep Hill, Lincoln, England is arguably the second oldest synagogue in Europe in current use.
• Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue, Recife, Brazil is the oldest synagogue in the Americas.

Oldest synagogues in the United States[link]

1636 - The Kahal Zur Israel Synagogue, located in Recife on the site of the oldest synagogue in the Americas.

Touro Synagogue, the oldest surviving synagogue building in the U.S.

• Congregation Shearith Israel, 1655, is the oldest congregation in the United States, its present building dates from 1897.
• The Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, is the oldest Jewish house of worship in North America that is still standing. It was built in 1759 for the Jeshuat Israel congregation, which was established in 1658.

Other famous synagogues[link]

• The Rashi Shul, built in 1175 and razed on Kristallnacht in 1938, was painstakingly reconstructed using many of the original stones. It is still in use as a synagogue.
• The Synagogue of El Transito of Toledo, Spain, was built in 1356 by Samuel ha-Levi, treasurer of King Pedro I of Castile. This is one of the best examples of Mudéjar architecture in Spain. The design of the synagogue recalls the Nasrid style of architecture that was employed during the same period in the decorations of the Alhambra palace in Granada as well as the Great Mosque of Córdoba. Since 1964, this site has hosted a Sephardi museum.
• The Hurva Synagogue, located in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, was Jerusalem's main Ashkenazi synagogue from the 16th century until 1948, when it was destroyed by the Arab Legion several days after the conquest of the city. After the Six-Day War, an arch was built to mark the spot where the synagogue stood. A complete reconstruction, to plans drawn up by architect Nahum Meltzer, opened in March 2010.
• The Great Synagogue of Oran, Algeria, built in 1880, but converted into a mosque after Algerian independence when all Algerian Jews were driven into exile.
• The Barbados Nidhe Israel Synagogue ("Bridgetown Synagogue"), located in the capital city of Bridgetown, was first built in 1654. It was destroyed in the hurricane of 1831 and reconstructed in 1833.^[16]
• The Snoa in Willemstad, Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles was built by Sephardic Portuguese Jews from Amsterdam and Recife, Brazil. It is modeled after the Esnoga in Amsterdam. Congregation Mikvé Israel built this synagogue in 1692; it was reconstructed in 1732.
• The Bialystoker Synagogue on New York's Lower East Side, is located in a landmark building dating from 1826 that was originally a Methodist Episcopal Church. The building is made of quarry stone mined locally on Pitt Street, Manhattan. It is an example of Federalist architecture. The ceilings and walls are hand-painted with zodiac frescos, and the sanctuary is illuminated by 40-foot (12 m) stained glass windows. The bimah and floor-to-ceiling ark are handcarved.
• The Great Synagogue of Florence, Tempio Maggiore, Florence, 1874–82, is an example of the magnificent, cathedral-like synagogues built in almost every major European city in the 19th century and early 20th century.
• Boston MA's 1920 Vilna Shul is a rare surviving intact Immigrant Era synagogue.^[17]
• The Cymbalista Synagogue is an example of modern architecture and new thinking in synagogue design - designed by Mario Botta, it accommodates Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform congregations in one structure and promotes dialogue and interaction^[18]

Gallery[link]

• 

  The New Synagogue in Berlin, Germany.

• 

  The Choral Synagogue in Moscow, Russia.

• 

  The Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

• 

  The Great Synagogue of Plzeň, Czech Republic.

• 

  The main synagogue of the city of Frankfurt am Main (Germany) before the Kristallnacht.

• 

  The Roonstrasse Synagogue in Cologne, Germany.

• 

  The Lesko Synagogue in Lesko, Poland.

• 

  The Baal Shem Tov's shul in Medzhybizh, Ukraine (c. 1915). The original was destroyed, but has now been rebuilt.

• 

  The Belzer synagogue of Belz, Ukraine. The synagogue no longer exists.

• 

  The Cymbalista Synagogue and Jewish Heritage Center at Tel Aviv University.

• 

  The synagogue of Kherson, Ukraine.

• 

  The Ashkenazi Synagogue of Istanbul, Turkey. The synagogue was founded in the year 1900.

• 

  The Central Synagogue on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan, New York City, United States of America.

• 

  The Grand Choral Synagogue of St. Petersburg, Russia

• 

  The Paradesi Synagogue in Kochi , Kerala , India

• 

  The Synagogue in Podol district, Kiev, Ukraine

• 

  Great Synagogue of Rome, Italy

• 

  Abuhav synagogue, Israel

• 

  Sofia Synagogue, Bulgaria

• 

  The Erfurt Synagogue is the oldest synagogue in Europe

• 

  Knesset Eliyahoo, a 150 year old Jewish Synagogue in Fort, Mumbai, India

See also[link]

	Judaism portal
	Architecture portal

• Beth midrash
• Jewish services
• Shtiebel
• Siddur
• Synagogue architecture

References[link]

• Levine, Lee (October 24n 2005) [2000]. The Ancient Synagogue: The First Thousand Years (2nd. ed.). New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-10628-9. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Synagogue

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Synagogue.

• Guide to synagogues and other Jewish heritage sites in Slovakia
• B'Nai Israel Synagogue on GuidepostUSA
• Joseph Tabory, A list of articles on Synagogues (in various languages), in Daat.col.il
• Eldridge Street Synagogue
• picture of Aron Kodesh in Rav Pealim Beit Knesset
• Webs.com
• MSN.com, Synagogue doubles as mosque during Ramadan

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There are many people in history who are commonly appended with the phrase "the Great", or who were called that or an equivalent phrase in their own language. Other languages have their own suffixes such as e Bozorg and e azam in Persian and Urdu respectively.

In Persia, the title "the Great" at first seems to be a colloquial version of the Old Persian title "Great King". This title was first used by the conqueror Cyrus II of Persia.^[1]

The Persian title was inherited by Alexander III of Macedon (336–323 BC) when he conquered the Persian Empire, and the epithet "Great" eventually became personally associated with him. The first reference (in a comedy by Plautus)^[2] assumes that everyone knew who "Alexander the Great" was; however, there is no earlier evidence that Alexander III of Macedon was called "the Great".

The early Seleucid kings, who succeeded Alexander in Persia, used "Great King" in local documents, but the title was most notably used for Antiochus the Great (223–187 BC).

Later rulers and commanders began to use the epithet "the Great" as a personal name, like the Roman general Pompey. Others received the surname retrospectively, like the Carthaginian Hanno and the Indian emperor Ashoka the Great. Once the surname gained currency, it was also used as an honorific surname for people without political careers, like the philosopher Albert the Great.

As there are no objective criteria for "greatness", the persistence of later generations in using the designation greatly varies. For example, Louis XIV of France was often referred to as "The Great" in his lifetime but is rarely called such nowadays, while Frederick II of Prussia is still called "The Great". A later Hohenzollern - Wilhelm I - was often called "The Great" in the time of his grandson Wilhelm II, but rarely later.

Rulers[link]

• Abbas I of Persia (1571–1629), Shah of Iran
• Akbar (1542–1605), ruler of the Mughal Empire of South Asia, mainly India
• Alain I of Albret (1440–1522), French aristocrat
• Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), King of Macedonia, Persia, Greece, Egypt, and all of Mesopotamia
• Alexander I of Georgia (1386–1446), King of Georgia
• Alfonso III of León (c. 848-910), King of León, Galicia and Asturias
• Alfred the Great (848/849-899), King of Wessex
• Antiochus III the Great (c. 241–187 BC), ruler of the Seleucid Empire
• Ashoka the Great (c. 304–232 BC), Indian emperor of the Maurya dynasty
• Ashot I of Iberia “the Great”(died 826/830), presiding prince of Iberia (modern Georgia),
• Askia Mohammad I (c. 1442–1538), ruler of the Songhai Empire
• Bhumibol Adulyadej (born 1927), King of Thailand
• Bolesław I Chrobry (967-1025), sometimes called "the Great", first King of Poland
• Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the following section)
• Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (1736–1809), founder and ruler of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (in what is now Thailand)
• Cnut the Great (c. 985 or 995-1035), King of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden
• Casimir III the Great (1310–1370), King of Poland
• Catherine the Great (1729–1796), Empress of Russia
• Chandragupta II (reigned 375-413/415), also known as Vikramaditya, ruler of the Gupta empire in India
• Charlemagne (died 814), King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans
• Chulalongkorn (1853–1910), King of Siam (now Thailand)
• Chlothar II (584-629), King of Neustria and King of the Franks
• Conrad, Margrave of Meissen (c. 1097-1157), Margrave of Meissen
• Constantine I (c. 272-337), Roman emperor
• Cyaxares the Great (c. 625-585 BC), third king of Media
• Cyrus the Great (c. 600 BC or 576 BC–530 BC), founder and ruler of the Persian or Achaemenid Empire
• Darius the Great (550 – 486 BC), third ruler of the Persian Empire
• Devapala (died 850), ruler of the Pala Empire in the Indian subcontinent
• Dionysius I, Greek tyrant of Syracuse^[3]
• Ferdinand I of León and Castile (c. 1015–1065), King of León and Count of Castile
• Frederick the Great (1712–1786), King of Prussia
• Genghis Khan (1162?-1227), founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire
• Gero (c. 900–965), ruler of Marca Geronis, a very large march in Europe
• Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (1594–1632), King of Sweden, founder of the Swedish Empire, and noted military leader
• Gwanggaeto the Great, King of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea^[4][5]
• Hanno the Great, the name of three leaders of Carthage, in the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd centuries BC
• Henry I, Duke of Burgundy (946–1002)
• Henry IV of France (1553–1610), King of France and King of Navarre
• Herod the Great (73/74 BC-4 BC), King of Judea
• Hugh the Great (898-956), Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris
• Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France
• Hugh I, Count of Vermandois (1057–1101)
• Humphrey I de Bohun (died c. 1123), Anglo-Norman aristocrat
• Ivan III of Russia (1440–1505), Tsar of Russia
• John I of Portugal (1358–1433), King of Portugal and the Algarve
• John II of Aragon (1398–1479), King of Aragon and, through his wife, King of Navarre
• Justinian I (483-565), Byzantine Emperor
• Kamehameha I (c. 1758-1819), first King of Hawai'i
• Kanishka (died c. 127), ruler of the Kushan Empire in Central Asia and parts of India
• Kvirike III of Kakheti (1010–1029), King of Kakheti in eastern Georgia
• Kublai Khan (1215–1294), Mongol ruler in the 13th century and Emperor of China; founder of the Yuan Dynasty
• Llywelyn the Great (c. 1172–1240), Prince of Gwynedd and de facto ruler of most of Wales
• Louis I of Hungary (1326–1382), King of Hungary, Croatia and Poland
• Mangrai the Great (1238–1317), Lanna, northern Thailand
• Emperor Meiji (1852–1912), Emperor of Japan
• Mircea I of Wallachia (1355–1418)
• Mithridates II of Parthia (died 88 BC), ruler of the Parthian Empire (in present day Iran)
• Mithridates VI of Pontus (134 BC–63 BC), ruler of Pontus and the Bosporan Kingdom
• Mstislav I of Kiev (1076–1132), Grand Prince of Kievan Rus
• Naresuan (1555–1605), King of Ayutthaya
• Narai (1633–1688), King of Ayutthaya (in what is now modern Thailand)
• Odo the Great (died c. 735), Duke of Aquitaine
• Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (912-973)
• K'inich Janaab' Pakal (603-683), ruler of the Mayan city-state of Palenque
• Parakramabahu I of Polonnaruwa (1123–1186), King of Sri Lanka
• Peter Krešimir IV of Croatia (died 1075), King of Croatia
• Peter the Great (1672–1725), Tsar of Russia
• Peter III of Aragon (1239–1285), King of Aragon and King of Sicily
• Pompey (106 BC-48 BC), military and political leader of the late Roman Republic, rival of Julius Caesar
• Radama I (1793–1828), first king of greater Madagascar
• Raja Raja Chola I (c. 947-1014), Indian emperor of the Cholas.^[6][7][8]
• Rajendra Chola I (reigned 1014–1044), Tamil King of India
• Ramesses II (reigned 1279 BC – 1213 BC), considered the greatest pharaoh of Ancient Egypt
• Ram Khamhaeng (around 1237 to 1247-1298), King of Sukhothai (in present day Thailand)
• Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona (1082–1131), also Count of Provence and various other counties
• Rhodri the Great (c. 820–878), King of Gwynedd (in present day Wales)
• Roman the Great (after 1160-1205), Grand Prince of Kiev
• Saladin (c. 1138-1193), Kurdish Sultan of Egypt and Syria, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, and victor over the Crusaders
• Samudragupta (c. 335–375), ruler of the Gupta empire in the Indian subcontinent
• Sancho III of Navarre (c. 992-1035), King of Kingdom of Navarre
• Sargon of Akkad (died c. 2215 BC), ruler of the Akkadian Empire
• Sejong the Great (1397–1450), Korean king^[9]
• Shapur II (309-379), king of the Sassanid Empire, Persia
• Simeon I of Bulgaria (864/865-927), ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire
• Stephen III of Moldavia (1433–1504), Prince of Moldavia (Romania)
• Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia (c. 1308-1355), King of Serbia and Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks
• Taksin (1734–1782), King of the Thonburi Kingdom (Thailand)
• Tamar (1160-1123), Queen of the Georgian Empire
• Timur (1336–1405), better known as Tamerlane, founder of the Timurid Dynasty
• Theobald II, Count of Champagne (1090–1151), Count of Blois and of Chartres as Theobald IV, Count of Champagne and of Brie
• Theodoric the Great (454-526), King of the Ostrogoths, regent of the Visigoths and a viceroy of the Byzantine Empire
• Theodosius I (347-395), Roman emperor
• Tigranes the Great (140-55 BC), Emperor of Armenia
• Tiridates III of Armenia (285-339), King of Armenia
• Umar (c. 586 to 590–644), second caliph of the Muslim Empire
• Valdemar I of Denmark (1131–1182), King of Denmark
• Valentinian I (364-375), Roman Emperor
• Vladimir I of Kiev (c. 958-1015), ruler of Kievan Rus
• Vytautas (c. 1350-1430), archduke of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy
• William I, Count of Burgundy (1020–1087), Count of Burgandy and Mâcon
• William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969-1030), also Count of Poitou
• Xerxes I (519-465 BC), King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire (Persia)
• Yu the Great (c. 2200-2100 BC), legendary ruler in ancient China

Religious figures[link]

• Abraham the Great of Kashkar (ca. 492-586), monk and saint of the Assyrian Church of the East
• Abraham Kidunaia (died c. 366, hermit, priest, and Christian saint of Mesopotamia
• Albertus Magnus (1193/1206–1280), medieval German philosopher and theologian
• Anthony the Great (c. 251–356), early Christian saint of Egypt
• Babai the Great (c. 551–628), Assyrian church leader
• Basil of Caesarea (330-379), Greek bishop and theologian
• Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the previous section)
• Euthymius the Great (377-473), abbot and Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint
• Gertrude the Great (1256-c. 1302), German Benedictine, mystic, theologian and Roman Catholic saint
• Pope Gregory I (c. 540-604)
• Hiyya the Great, 3rd-century rabbi, Palestine
• Pope John Paul II (1920–2005)
• Pope Leo I (c. 391 or 400-461)
• Macarius of Egypt (c. 300-391), Egyptian hermit
• Pope Nicholas I (c. 800-867)
• Photius I of Constantinople (c. 810–c. 893), Eastern Orthodox saint and Patriarch of Constantinople
• William of Maleval (died 1157), founder of the Catholic congregation of Williamites

Other[link]

• Beli Mawr, a figure in medieval Welsh literature and genealogies
• Emmy the Great, folk singer
• Matteo Rosso the Great, Roman politician and father of Pope Nicholas III
• Prokop the Great, Hussite general in Bohemia

See also[link]

• Epithet
• List of monarchs by nickname
• List of nicknames of European Royalty and Nobility: G-I
• James, son of Zebedee, also known as James the Greater, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus
• Ajax (mythology), called Ajax the Greater
• Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, whose common honorific "Mahatma" means "Great Soul"

Notes[link]

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Tagged since February 2012. Its references may not meet Wikipedia's guidelines for reliable sources. Tagged since February 2012. It may have been edited by a contributor who has a close connection with its subject. Tagged since February 2012. It may contain improper references to self-published sources. Tagged since February 2012.

T. B. Joshua
Born	Temitope Balogun (1963-06-12) June 12, 1963 (age 49) Arigidi, Nigeria
Residence	Ikotun-Egbe, Lagos
Nationality	Nigeria
Occupation	Prophet, Minister, televangelist
Spouse	Evelyn Joshua
Website
The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations, Emmanuel TV

Temitope Balogun Joshua (born June 12, 1963 in Arigidi, Nigeria), commonly referred to as T. B. Joshua, is a Christian, minister, televangelist and faith healer. He is leader and founder of the ministry organisation The Synagogue, Church of All Nations (SCOAN) which runs a Christian television station called Emmanuel TV, available on satellite and on the Internet via the Streaming Faith broadcast portal. He is also a notable humanitarian, providing aid to minorities and the underprivileged on national and international scales via Another Ministry. For his consistent humanitarian work he has been awarded various accolades, notably receiving the National Honour of OFR by the Nigerian government in 2008.^[1]

Joshua, and pastors from SCOAN, have attracted controversy for their claims to heal incurable illnesses such as HIV/AIDs^[2][3][4] and cancer^[5][6] and recommending that "healed" individuals stop taking potentially life-saving antiviral medications.^[6]

Biography[link]

Joshua attended St. Stephen's Anglican Primary School in Arigidi-Akoko, Nigeria between 1971 and 1977,^[7] but failed to complete one year of secondary school education.^[7] In school, he was known as 'small pastor' because of his love for the Bible. He worked in various casual employments after his schooling had ended, including carrying chicken waste at a poultry farm.^[8] He organised Bible studies for local children and attended evening school during this period.^[9] Joshua attempted to join the Nigerian military but was thwarted due to a train breakdown that left him stranded en route to the military academy.^[10]

The Synagogue, Church of All Nations (SCOAN)[link]

In 1989, T. B. Joshua allegedly fasted and prayed for 40 days and 40 nights.^[11] He wrote that in a heavenly vision, he had received divine anointing and a covenant from God to start his ministry.^[12] Following this, Joshua founded the ministry organisation The Synagogue, Church of All Nations (SCOAN) initially with only a handful of members.^{[13][self-published source]} According to the organisation, more than 15,000 members now attend its weekly Sunday service; visitors from outside Nigeria are accommodated free of cost in the accommodation blocks constructed at the church.^[14][15][16]

Controversy over claims of miracles and healing[link]

SCOAN remains controversial both in Nigeria and abroad, claiming regular occurrences of divine miracles. Several hundred Nigerians and international visitors come to the SCOAN each week to register for the prayer lines where the visitors are prayed over by T.B. Joshua and the "Wise Men". SCOAN has published numerous videos claiming to document the healing of incurable disabilities and illnesses such as spinal cord injuries, HIV/AIDs^[2][3][4] and cancer.^[5] Notable sportspersons who claim to have been healed of sporting injuries at the SCOAN include South African rugby players Jaco van der Westhuizen^[17] and Jaco du Preeze, and Nigerian footballer Joseph Yobo.^[18] In November 2011, Pastors from the church were caught on camera claiming to have healed people with HIV/AIDS and recommending that they stop taking life-saving antiretroviral medications.^[6] Following the publication of this report, T.B. Joshua stated shortly thereafter that he fully supports medical science and the standard treatment of HIV/AIDS.^{[citation needed]}

Spiritual healing at The SCOAN has been mentioned by Time magazine.^[19] Since June 2010, five "Wise Men" have joined in ministering to people at The SCOAN, purportedly able to prophesy, heal and deliver in the same vein as T.B. Joshua.^[20] The church has branches in Ghana,^[21][22][23] the United Kingdom,^[24] South Africa,^{[25][self-published source]} and Greece.^[26]

Humanitarian Work[link]

Another Ministry is the humanitarian arm of SCOAN, with the stated aim of undertaking projects catering to the needs of widows,^[27][28] dwarfs,^[29] the elderly,^[30] physically challenged,^[31] orphans and the destitute.^[32] The church provides scholarships to orphans and children of the underprivileged, with educational support given from primary to tertiary levels. There is also a rehabilitation programme for armed robbers,^[33][34] prostitutes and militants from Nigeria’s volatile Niger Delta region.^[35] He is also well known in Nigeria for reconciling broken families and marriages.^[36][37][38] SCOAN has established various NGOs in other countries, including the Passion For Needy in Ghana.^[39] After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Joshua sent a team of medical personnel and humanitarian workers to the affected area, establishing a field hospital called 'Clinique Emmanuel'.^[40] A Forbes blogger estimated Joshua has spent $20m on humanitarian activities in the last three years.^[35] In recognition of his humanitarian activities, he was awarded a National Honour by the Nigerian government in 2008.^[1]

In 2009 T.B. Joshua started a football club, My People FC as part of efforts to help the youth. Two members of the team played for Nigeria's Golden Eaglets in the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Sani Emmanuel, who apparently lived in The SCOAN for several years,^[41] was Nigeria's top-scorer and the tournament's MVP. Emmanuel and his colleague Ogenyi Onazi have now signed professional contracts with SS Lazio and are representing Nigeria in the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup.^[42] Following the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India, T.B. Joshua rewarded the efforts of the Nigerian Team, presenting the physically challenged medallists with cash gifts and cars.^[43]

Claims of prophecy[link]

SCOAN claims that Joshua has successfully predicted events in the lives of individuals who attend his church services as well as worldwide events, including a prophecy of Michael Jackson's death^[44] and the outcome of various football matches, including the recent African Cup of Nations (AFCON) final match, which was won by the Zambia national football team.^[45]

Notable visitors[link]

Notable visitors, especially within the African political sphere, have visited SCOAN. These include Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangarai,^[46] Ghanaian President John Evans Atta Mills (who testified that T.B. Joshua prophesied his ascent to presidency),^[47] South Africa’s Winnie Mandela, Malawian Vice President Joyce Banda^[48] and the Zulu King, Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu.^[49]The former and late Zambian president

Emmanuel TV[link]

Emmanuel TV is the television station of the SCOAN and broadcasts 24/7. Their Sunday and Monday services, which include the prayer lines, are broadcast live. T. B. Joshua's programmes also air 5 days a week on TBN Africa, as well as weekly on a number of local television stations across Africa. T.B. Joshua has donated televisions to prisons and hospitals so that they will be able to watch the Emmanuel TV broadcasts.^[50][51]

Books authored by T.B. Joshua[link]

• The Mirror ISBN 0-620-37453-5
• The Step Between You And The Cure ISBN 0-620-33247-6
• Daily Time With God ISBN 0-620-37575-2
• What The Future Holds ISBN 0-620-42843-9

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website of the SCOAN
• Official website of Emmanuel TV
• Official Emmanuel TV Blog
• Official T.B. Joshua Facebook Page

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: T. B. Joshua

Kaifeng Jews
(יהדות מזרח Yahadut Mizrah)

Jews of Kaifeng, late nineteenth or early twentieth century.
Regions with significant populations
China
Languages
Mandarin Chinese and some Hebrew (modern) Judeo-Persian (historic)
Religion
Judaism and Native religions of China
Related ethnic groups
Han Chinese, Ashkenazi Jews, Sephardi Jews, other Jewish ethnic divisions.

The Kaifeng Jews are members of a small Jewish community in Kaifeng, in the Henan province of China who have assimilated into Chinese society while preserving some Jewish traditions and customs. Their origin and time of arrival in Kaifeng are a matter of debate among experts.

History[link]

Most scholars agree that a Jewish community existed in Kaifeng since the Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127), some date their arrival to the Tang Dynasty (618-907) or earlier.^[1] Kaifeng, then the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, was a cosmopolitan city on a branch of the Silk Road. It is surmised that a small community of Jews, most likely from Persia or India, arrived either overland or by a sea route, and settled in the city.^[2] In 1163 they reportedly built a synagogue surrounded by a study hall, a ritual bath, a communal kitchen, a kosher butchering facility, and a sukkah.^[3]

During the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), a Ming emperor conferred seven surnames upon the Jews, by which they are identifiable today: Ai, Shi, Gao, Jin, Li, Zhang, and Zhao. By the beginning of the 20th c. one of these Kaifeng clans, the Zhang, had largely converted to Islam.^[4] Interestingly, two of these: Jin and Shi are the equivalent of common Jewish names in the west: Gold and Stone.^[5][6]

The Jews who managed the Kaifeng synagogue were called "Mullahs". Floods and Fire repeatedly destroyed the books of the Kaifeng synagogue, they obtained some from Ningxia and Ningbo to replace them, another Hebrew roll of law was bought from a Muslim in Ning-keang-chow in Shen-se (Shanxi), who acquired it from a dying Jew at Canton.^[7]

A model of the Kaifeng synagogue at the Diaspora Museum, Tel Aviv

The Chinese called Muslims, Jews, and Christians in ancient times by the same name, "Hui Hui" (Hwuy-hwuy). Christians were called "Hwuy who abstain from animals without the cloven foot", Muslims were called "Hwuy who abstain from pork", Jews were called "Hwuy who extract the sinews". Hwuy-tsze (Hui zi) or Hwuy-hwuy (Hui Hui) is presently used almost exclusively for Muslims, but Jews were still called Lan Maou Hwuy tsze (Lan mao Hui zi) which means "Blue cap Hui zi". At Kaifeng, Jews were called "Teaou kin keaou "extract sinew religion". Jews and Muslims in China shared the same name for synagogue and mosque, which were both called "Tsing-chin sze" (Qingzhen si) "Temple of Purity and Truth", the name dated to the thirteenth century. The synagogue and mosquers were also known as Le-pae sze (Libai si). A tablet indicated that Judaism was once known as "Yih-tsze-lo-nee-keaou" (israelitish religion) and synagogues known as "Yih-tsze lo nee leen" (Israelitish Temple), but it faded out of use.^[8]

The existence of Jews in China was unknown to Europeans until 1605, when Matteo Ricci, then established in Beijing, was visited by a Jew from Kaifeng, who had come to Beijing to take examinations for his jinshi degree. According to his account in De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas,^[9] his visitor, named Ai Tian (Ai T'ien) (艾田) explained that he worshipped one God. It is recorded that when he saw a Christian image of Mary with Jesus, he believed it to be a picture of Rebecca with Esau or Jacob. Ai said that many other Jews resided in Kaifeng; they had a splendid synagogue (礼拜寺 libai si) and possessed a great number of written materials and books.

About three years after Ai's visit, Ricci sent a Chinese Jesuit Lay Brother to visit Kaifeng; he copied the beginnings and ends of the holy books kept in the synagogue, which allowed Ricci to verify that they indeed were the same texts as the Pentateuch known to Europeans, except that they did not use Hebrew diacritics (which were a comparatively late invention).^[10]

When Ricci wrote to the "ruler of the synagogue" in Kaifeng, telling him that the Messiah the Jews were waiting for had come already, the "Archsynagogus" wrote back, saying that the Messiah would not come for another ten thousand years. Nonetheless, apparently concerned with the lack of a trained successor, the old rabbi offered Ricci his position, if the Jesuit would join their faith and abstain from eating pork. Later, another three Jews from Kaifeng, including Ai's nephew, stopped by the Jesuits' house while visiting Beijing on business, and got themselves baptized. They told Ricci that the old rabbi had died, and (since Ricci had not taken up on his earlier offer), his position was inherited by his son, "quite unlearned in matters pertaining to his faith". Ricci's overall impression of the situation of China's Jewish community was that "they were well on the way to becoming Saracens [i.e., Muslims] or heathens."^[10]

Later, a number of European Jesuits visited the Kaifeng community as well.

The Taiping Rebellion of the 1850s led to the dispersal of the community, but it later returned to Kaifeng. Three stelae with inscriptions were found at Kaifeng. The oldest, dating from 1489, commemorates the construction of a synagogue in 1163 (bearing the name 清真寺, Qīngzhēn Sì, a term often used for mosques in Chinese). The inscription states that the Jews came to China from India during the Han Dynasty period (2nd century BCE-2nd century CE). It cites the names of 70 Jews with Chinese surnames, describes their audience with an unnamed Song Dynasty emperor, and lists the transmission of their religion from Abraham down to the prophet Ezra. The second tablet, dating from 1512 (found in the synagogue Xuanzhang Daojing Si) details their Jewish religious practices. The third, dated 1663, commemorates the rebuilding of the Qingzhen si synagogue and repeats information that appears in the other two steles.^[11]

Two of the stelae refer to a famous tattoo written on the back of Song Dynasty General Yue Fei. The tattoo, which reads "Boundless loyalty to the country" (simplified Chinese: 尽忠报国; traditional Chinese: 盡忠報國; pinyin: jìn zhōng bào guó), first appeared in a section of the 1489 stele talking about the Jews’ “Boundless loyalty to the country and Prince”. The second appeared in a section of the 1512 stele talking about how Jewish soldiers and officers in the Chinese armies were “Boundlessly loyal to the country.”

Father Joseph Brucker, a Roman Catholic researcher of the early twentieth century, notes that Ricci's account of Chinese Jews indicates that there were only in the range of ten or twelve Jewish families in Kaifeng in the late sixteenth to early seventeenth centuries,^[12] and that they had reportedly resided there for five or six hundred years. It was also stated in the manuscripts that there was a greater number of Jews in Hangzhou.^[12] This could be taken to suggest that loyal Jews fled south along with the soon-to-be crowned Emperor Gaozong to Hangzhou. In fact, the 1489 stele mentions how the Jews "abandoned Bianliang" (Kaifeng) after the Jingkang Incident.

Despite their isolation from the rest of the Jewish diaspora, the Jews of Kaifeng preserved Jewish traditions and customs for many centuries. In the seventeenth century, assimilation began to erode these traditions. The rate of intermarriage between Jews and other ethnic groups, such as the Han Chinese, and the Hui and Manchu minorities in China, increased. The destruction of the synagogue in the 1860s led to the community's demise.^[13] However, J.L. Liebermann, the first Western Jew to visit Kaifeng in 1867, noted that "they still had a burial ground of their own". In 1868 it was reported that their liturgy consisted only of pieces from the Bible.^[14] S.M. Perlmann, the Shanghai businessman and scholar, wrote in 1912 that "they bury their dead in coffins, but of a different shape than those of the Chinese are made, and do not attire the dead in secular clothes as the Chinese do, but in linen".^[15]

Kaifeng Jews today[link]

Since their "rediscovery" in the 19th century, overseas Jewish communities generally have been indifferent toward the descendants of the Kaifeng Jews. In China, due to the political situation, research on the Kaifeng Jews and Judaism in China came to a standstill until the beginning of the 1980s, when political and economic reforms were implemented. In the 1980s, the Sino-Judaic Institute was founded by an international group of scholars to further research the history of the Jewish communities in China, promote educational projects related to the history of the Jews in China and assist the extant Jews of Kaifeng.^[16] The establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Israel in 1992 rekindled interest in Judaism and the Jewish experience, especially in light of the fact that 25,000 Jewish refugees fled to Shanghai during the Nazi period.^[17]

It is difficult to estimate the number of Jews in China. Numbers may change simply because of a change in official attitudes. The last census revealed about 400 official Jews in Kaifeng, now estimated at some 100 families totalling approximately 500 people.^[18] Up to 1,000 residents have ties to Jewish ancestry,^[13] though only 40 to 50 individuals partake in Jewish activities.^[19]

Some descendants of Kaifeng's Jewish community say their parents and grandparents told them that they were Jewish and would one day "return to their land",^[13] others are only vaguely aware of their ancestry.^[20]

The Kaifeng Jews intermarried with local Chinese, and are thus indistinguishable in appearance from their non-Jewish neighbors.^[21] The one trait that differentiated them from their neighbors was not eating pork.^[13] Within the framework of contemporary rabbinical Judaism, matrilineal transmission of Jewishness is predominant, while Chinese Jews based their Jewishness on patrilineal descent. As a result, in Israel they are required to undergo conversion in order to receive Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return.

After contact with Jewish tourists, the Jews of Kaifeng have reconnected to mainstream Jewry.^[22] Recently a family of Kaifeng Jewish descendants formally converted to Judaism and accepted Israeli citizenship.^[23] Their experiences are described in the documentary film, Kaifeng, Jerusalem.^[24] On October 20, 2009, the first group of Kaifeng Jews arrived in Israel, in an aliyah operation coordinated by Shavei Israel.^[25][26][27]

Kaifeng manuscripts[link]

Little of the written works of the Kaifeng have survived. A significant portion, however, are kept in the library of the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio.^[28] Among the works in that collection are a siddur (a Jewish prayer book) in Chinese characters and a Hebrew codex of the bible. The codex is fascinating in that, while it ostensibly contains vowels, it was clearly copied by someone who did not understand them. While the symbols are accurate portrayals of Hebrew vowels, they appear to be placed randomly, thereby rendering the voweled text as gibberish. Since Hebrew is generally written without vowels, a literate Hebrew speaker can disregard these markings, as the consonants are written correctly, with few scribal errors. The British Library also has a Torah Scroll from the Kaifeng Synagogue.^[29]

Controversy[link]

The Kaifeng Stone Inscriptions[link]

In The Kaifeng Stone Inscriptions: The Legacy of the Jewish Community in Ancient China, Tiberiu Weisz, a teacher of Hebrew history and Chinese religion, presents his own translations of the 1489, 1512, and 1663 stone stelae left by the descendants of the Kaifeng Jews. Based on the new information gleaned from this translation, Weisz theorizes after the Babylonian exile of the sixth century BCE, disenchanted Levites and Kohanim parted with the Prophet Ezra and settled in Northwestern India. Sometime prior to 108 BCE, these Jews had migrated to Gansu province, China and were spotted by the Chinese general Li Guangli, who was sent to expand the borders of Han Dynasty China. Centuries later, the Jews were expelled from China proper during the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution (845-46), where they lived in the region of Ningxia. Weisz believes they later returned to China during the Song Dynasty when its second emperor, Song Taizong, sent out a decree seeking the wisdom of foreign scholars.^[11]

In a review of the book, Irwin M. Berg, a lawyer and friend of the Kaifeng Jewish community, claims Weisz never figured the many religious documents—Torah, Haggadah, prayer books, etc.—into his thesis and only relied on the stelae themselves. Such documents can be roughly dated from their physical and scribal characteristics. Even though he refers to Persian words utilized in the stelae, Weisz did not include a study on when the Judeo-Persian language of the liturgical documents first came into use in his thesis. Judeo-Persian first developed in Central Asia during the eighth century,^[30] well after the author supposes the Jews first entered China. Berg questions the historical reliability of the three stone inscriptions themselves. He gives one anachronistic example where the Jews claim it was an emperor of the Ming Dynasty who bequeathed the land used to build their first synagogue in 1163 during the Song Dynasty.^[31]

Books and Films[link]

Kaifeng Jews, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, 1907

Literary references to Chinese Jews[link]

Pulitzer-prize-winning American novelist Pearl S. Buck, raised in China and fluent in Chinese, set one of her historical novels (Peony) in a Chinese Jewish community. The novel deals with the cultural forces gradually eroding the separate identity of the Jews, including intermarriage. The title character, the Chinese bondmaid Peony, loves her master's son, David ben Ezra, but cannot marry him due to her lowly station. He eventually marries a high-class Chinese woman, to some consternation of his mother, who is proud of her unmixed heritage. Descriptions of remnant names, such as a "Street of the Plucked Sinew", and of customs such as refraining from the eating of pork, are prevalent throughout the novel.

The Broadway musical Chu Chem is a fictional tale that revolves around the Kaifeng Jewish community. In the show, a group of European actors join a troupe of Chinese performers to present the story of Chu Chem. He is a scholar who, with his wife Rose and daughter Lotte, journeys to Kaifeng to learn about his ancestors and find a husband for the girl.

Documentary films[link]

In his 1992 documentary series Legacy, historian Michael Wood walked down a small lane in Kaifeng that he said is known as the "alley of the sect who teach the Scriptures", that is, of the Jews. He mentioned that there are still Jews in Kaifeng today, but that they are reluctant to reveal themselves "in the current political climate." The documentary's companion book further states that one can still see a "mezuzah on the door frame, and the candelabrum in the living room." Similarly, in the documentary Quest for the Lost Tribes, by Canadian filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici, the film crew visits the home of an elderly Kaifeng Jew who explains the recent history of the Kaifeng Jews, shows some old photographs, and his identity papers that identify him as a member of the Jewish ethnic group. A recent documentary, Minyan in Kaifeng, documents and covers the present-day Kaifeng Jewish community in China during a trip to Kaifeng that was taken by some Jewish tourists.^[32]

See also[link]

• History of the Jews in China
• Zhao Yingcheng
• History of the Jews in Japan

References[link]

•  This article incorporates text from Chinese and Japanese repository of facts and events in science, history and art, relating to Eastern Asia, Volume 1, a publication from 1863 now in the public domain in the United States.

Further reading[link]

• Patricia M. Needle (ed.), East Gate of Kaifeng: a Jewish world inside China, China Center, U. of Minnesota, 1992, ISBN 978-0-9631087-0-8.
• Michael Pollak, Mandarins, Jews, and Missionaries: the Jewish experience in the Chinese Empire, (New York: Weatherhill, 1998), ISBN 978-0-8348-0419-7.
• Shlomy Raiskin, "A Bibliography on Chinese Jewry", Moreshet Israel (Journal of Judaism, Zionism and Eretz-Israel), No. 3 (September 2006), pp. 60–85.
• Sidney Shapiro, Jews in Old China, Studies by Chinese Scholars, (New York: Hippocrene Books, 1984), 2001 ISBN 978-0-7818-0833-0.
• William Charles White, Chinese Jews, 2nd edition (New York: Paragon, 1966).
• Xu Xin, The Jews of Kaifeng, China, (Jersey City: KTAV, 2003), ISBN 978-0-88125-791-5 Google books.
• Xu Xin, Legends of the Chinese Jews of Kaifeng, (Hoboken: KTAV, 1995), ISBN Google books.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Judaism in Kaifeng

• Jewish Kaifeng
• Sino-Judaic Institute
• Website of Guo Yan, A Kaifeng Jew