I knew there were Jews from Indonesia, but from what I could find out they lived in Surabaya (the other side of Java), the only synagogue there had closed a while ago and there were very few, if any, really around. Boy, was I misinformed. Turns out there is a Jewish community right here in Jakarta and they even have a head of the community, who by the way looks like he was plucked out of any community in Boca Raton, comb over and all.
Walking in the door, the first shock was a black hatter that was clearly Indonesian, which was followed by the surprise of the yenta sitting across from us who also Indonesian, but somehow a complete stereotype of a person she has most likely never met. The rabbi it turns out was educated in Singapore and has a "schul" in Manado, a mostly Christian city on the island of Sulawesi. (Schul is in quotes as I could not get a congragent number nor a real location.) He was particularly excited by the black hat and get up he got from Chabad, who I think would take it away had they seen him chatting on his cell phone and taking a cab... on Shabbat. But boy, was he excited.
The yenta and the "Jewish ciommunity leader" let us know that most of the Jews in Jakarta, and also from Aceh, are of Dutch ancestry. The Jews of Surabaya, they say, come from Bagdahd. It was unclear exactly when they were driven out of Indonesia, but they were and since then they have been practicing secretly in people's homes. They gather for holidays and these days most head to Bali for the big holidays where, they import rabbis from Australia. There was a Passover Seder of about 150 this year. While they cannot declare Judaism as a religion on their resident cards, practicing is a bit easier and a little less secret than it was. Athough I gather not 100% out in the open either.
The hysterical part of the evening was when I was introduced to this woman:
You cannot tell quite how crazy she is from this picture, but the fact that she has proclaimed me her daughter and tried to set me up with her son ("He has 6 degrees - BA, BS, MBA, PhD...") with Howie sitting right there should tell you something. Turns out we share a common name - Cohen - and she was VERY excited about that. Her mother was Indonesian and father a Dutch Jew. Her mom died when she was 3 and her father left her with Christians and fled the country. Forty years later, she found out her dad was Yaakov Cohen and she was Jewish. She is now an active member of the Jakarta Jewish community. She spent a good deal of the nigth with her arm around me repeating "I am Cohen. You are Cohen! You are my daughter! You should meet my son...." Those migth be the only words she knows in English...
Because of Christmas and New Years and another Indonesian holiday stuck in there, the January magazine has been going at full steam since the end of November. Luckily, the month started with a uber long holiday that we got to spend in a stunning villa in Bali. It was the same villa we stayed at with Howie's parents when they were here, but this time we were with our friends John and Shelley, who now live in E. Timor, and Peter and Chirstina (they live here in Jakarta).
The villa itself was great - it has a fabulous private pool that we spent a lot of time in - but they were a little less giving of the freebies this time around. We each were offered a 1/2 hour free massage, but this time it was non-transferable. Last time Howie's mom and I each got an hour when the guys were not interested, but I am guessing I am not going to get much sympathy for that complaint.
Anyway, we ate, drank, caught up, did some snorkeling, played on the awesome deserted beach only a 5 min walk away and even made it into town for our two favorite restaurants - Zulas, the organic vegan place that has amazing falafel and Mykonos, a delish Greek place. Great weekend and a perfect way to start a very crazy month.
