world
Far From Oak Park
Lubavitch Yeshiva grad makes a life
for his family in Pudong, China.
Rabbi Avrohom Greenberg, right, held the first public menorah lighting
in China.
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34 October 17 • 2013
JN
ccording to Rabbi Avrohom
Greenberg, "It's one of the
nicest and most welcoming
places in the world for Jews. Jews are
liked here more than just about any-
where
Greenberg is talking about Pudong,
a district of Shanghai, China.
Although born in Israel, Greenberg
received his formal rabbinical train-
ing in Oak Park at the world-known
Lubavitch Yeshiva International School
for Chabad Leadership, which now
operates from its new location on 10
Mile Road. Greenberg arrived at the
yeshivah in 1996, and was ordained
in 1999. Now 33, he has been married
for nine years to wife, Nechamel; they
have six children.
Greenberg and his family moved to
Pudong in 2006 and, since their arriv-
al, have been working to strengthen
Jewish identity through education
and social services that also increase
Jewish pride, knowledge and com-
mitment. The Chabad emissaries live
in the Pudong Chabad House, a four-
floor house that is also the only syna-
gogue in Pudong.
Surprisingly, there are more than
15,000 Jews in China; about 3,000 of
them live in Pudong. Greenberg says
there are no Chinese Jews — unless
they convert.
"We live on donations of money,
food, cars, everything — you name it:'
Greenberg said. "We get no subsidies
whatsoever. What we do get is remark-
able community support from Jews
and non-Jews alike:'
While Judaism is not an "official
religion" in China, the religion is
accepted; Jews are allowed to practice
their faith with no problem. It should
be noted that Shanghai welcomed and
protected more than 30,000 Jews dur-
ing the Holocaust, saving them from
certain death.
"There is no anti-Semitism here; it's
simply nonexistent," Greenberg said.
As Jews, we live amongst Christian
and Islamic people, but everyone gets
along:'
On a recent visit to the United
States, Greenberg described one
of the first times he and his family
built a sukkah using bamboo and
other materials native to China. The
police arrived on the scene thinking
there was a dead body in the sukkah
because the structure resembled some-
thing the Chinese use as a holding area
before the deceased are buried.
The rabbi and his family love living
in Pudong.
"The respect we get as a religion is
unparalleled," he said. "The Chinese
people think that most of us Jews are
very smart; they often say 'like Albert
Einstein:"
He compares Shanghai to New York,
with lots of skyscrapers, very cosmo-
politan and ultra-modern. He does
admit that food can sometimes be a
challenge because the Chinese people
tend to consume pork with virtually
everything they eat. So, often, the fam-
ily does eat Chinese food, but only if it
is kosher.
It's a long way from the Lubavitch
Yeshiva School for International
Leadership in Oak Park to Pudong,
China, but still the Greenbergs call it
home.
❑