MARKETING JUDAISM IN THE BIGGEST MARKET IN THE WORLD

Yossi and Chani Goldstein arrived in Yiwu, China six years ago, in Elul 5767. Since then, the Jewish community has grown from twenty people to one hundred, spreading Judaism throughout the area and among the numerous businessmen who frequently travel there. * In a conversation with Beis Moshiach, R’ Goldstein talks about the life in China, the biggest market in the world, and chinuch on shlichus.

By Mordechai Segal

The plane descended, and Yossi and Chani Goldstein looked out the window in excited anticipation. What caught their attention were the squares of blue that they saw all over the city. “The population here must be upper class and wealthy if there are so many private swimming pools” they assumed.

It was only when they landed that they realized that what they had seen were warehouse roofs in a city whose existence revolves around the largest market in the world. They were somewhat disappointed when they learned that Yiwu is a plain industrial city that works around the clock, but that certainly wasn’t going to deter them.

Welcome to one of the most interesting cities in the world. Hundreds of thousands of businessmen from all over the world go to Yiwu every year and leave with containers packed with goods from China. A nice percentage of these businessmen are Jewish, including many religious ones.

I met Yossi when he was in Beitar Ilit, spending the summer with his wife and three sons, ages 5, 3, and 1. Yossi is a dynamic though refined young man who is mekushar to the Rebbe. He attended Toras Emes in Yerushalayim and Tomchei T’mimim in Kiryat Gat.

R’ Goldstein and his wife (nee Levin of Beitar) married in 5765. For two years they waited for a good shlichus offer. In 5767, R’ Mordechai Avtzon, the first shliach in the Republic of China, gave them a call. For half a year, they worked with the shliach R’ Eli Rozenberg in Guangzhou. Then, once they understood the mentality and the language a little bit, they went to a city of their own.

“Yiwu is a very small city,” said R’ Goldstein in all seriousness. “It has only three million residents. It’s hard to locate on the map and there are many people in China who have never heard of it.” To us, three million people sounds like quite a lot, but in a country whose population is the biggest in the world, with a billion three hundred million people, three million is truly puny.

The market is what is unique to this city. It is the largest market in the world, where in one four-story building there are 60,000 booths, each of which represents a different factory. This huge mall is divided into sections for household items, jewelry, toys etc. and is meant for the small businessman who wants to make all his purchases in one place. Those who want to buy merchandise directly from a factory in China will have to order at least one container, and this contains a very large quantity of merchandise. In order to enable businessmen to buy reasonable amounts without getting stuck with too much merchandise or having to spend too much money, there are these booths in Yiwu. There they can see samples from all the factories in China.

So instead of having to buy a shipping container with just one type of toy, jewelry or house ware, a container can be filled with dozens of types of things. The ones who benefit the most from this arrangement are those who own 99 cent chain stores and other similar stores. Every day, about 3000 containers leave the city.

Out of the three million residents, only 150,000 of them are the original residents. The rest are part of the staff of employees who work around the clock in the market; porters, drivers, translators, sellers, crane operators, sales staff, cleaning staff, construction workers, cooks, etc. In China, there is no concept of vacation. Work is done seven days a week. Just once a year, for the Chinese New Year, workers producing “made in China” products all year get one week off. This break actually lasts for three weeks since the trip home takes about a week each way. When this happens, the city empties out and only the original residents remain, the 150,000 of them.

Back to the first time the Goldsteins saw Yiwu:

“We met all the Jews who live in the city, twenty in all. A month later, in Elul, exactly six years ago, we moved there.”

The small number of Jews in the community didn’t disturb them, since they knew that their main focus would be on the businessmen who fill the city.

“The members of the community were very happy that someone had finally come to unite them. We began making Shabbos and Yom Tov with them and the community slowly grew. The Jews in the area heard that a community was forming in Yiwu and they moved here. Now we are a hundred people.”

The young shluchim found a new but small and modest hotel in the center of town and rented an entire floor.

“There is an office, a shul, a restaurant, rooms for shiurim and more.”

The restaurant operates daily. About fifty Jews, on average, eat there every day, mainly in the evening after the market closes.

“Not only have those who observe kashrus wanted a kosher restaurant. All the restaurants here are full of snakes and other disgusting creatures, things that Westerners won’t touch.”

R’ Goldstein shechts the chickens himself. As for basic food items, “We get a lot of help from the shliach in Shanghai, R’ Sholom Greenberg. Shanghai is the closest city to us that has a shliach; it’s only a four hour trip away. He imports basics from Eretz Yisroel.” The closest mikva is also in Shanghai.

The restaurant serves meat because the Chinese don’t use dairy products. There is no such thing as coffee and milk. Why? Because, a Chinese proverb says, cow’s milk is for calves.

“Dairy products for the children are a gift. When someone calls and asks, ‘What can I bring from Eretz Yisroel?’ we always ask for milk, chocolate or nosh.”

REBBE, HELP!

Above the “Jewish floor” of the hotel are bedrooms. Jews who are guests there for Shabbos are given keys as opposed to an electronic card, so as to avoid chilul Shabbos.

“We are the only Jewish community in Asia, and probably one of the few in the world, where all the Jewish services and bedrooms are in one place, with no concerns about carrying. A Jew can come to this hotel, go down a flight to the restaurant and shul and remain in the building for 24 hours. There is no reason to go out and walk from a hotel to the shul and from there to the restaurant. On Shabbos, we have at least 100 men, women and children.”

Many people, who are usually not at all religiously involved, keep Shabbos or become aware of it for the first time in their lives in a Chinese city.

“They are in a foreign environment all day, hearing only Chinese, and they are looking for something different. They want to disengage a bit from the daily grind and hear some Hebrew. Then they are exposed to Kiddush, niggunim, farbrengens, and the beauty of Shabbos. It is amazing to see how people change their views. There are people who come back to Yiwu and tell us that, thanks to us, they started doing something in honor of Shabbos, whether in Eretz Yisroel or wherever they live. They are not used to doing this, nor are they aware of it from home, and suddenly they see how significant it is.”

The Shabbasos for tourists are also meant for the members of the community and this is what caused a major problem that nearly ruined the shliach’s relationship with some members of the community.

“There was a group within the community who were not pleased by how we ran things at the Chabad house. Upon consulting with some shluchim, I made it known that no gentiles were welcome to the Shabbos meals. Any Jew who wants to come would be welcomed with open arms as long as he does not come accompanied by someone not Jewish. This is because allowing it would give a stamp of approval to the terrible act of intermarriage. I also asked that anyone who comes by car should park it away from the Chabad house. Some members of the community decided to fight me on this and they even sent letters to shluchim in the area and to rabbanim in Eretz Yisroel.”

It is important to mention that he received full support from the shluchim. However, as time went on, tensions in the community rose and he did not know what to do. R’ Goldstein is not the type to get involved in fights and he was on the brink of despair.

“The atmosphere was really bad and I couldn’t handle it.”

A few days later, he flew to New York for the Kinus HaShluchim.

“I arrived and said, ‘Rebbe, you are the boss. Please help me.’ I made a hachlata that was not easy but I knew the Rebbe would help me.

“I returned to Yiwu and, incredibly, within a week, the head of the opposition, the one who incited the others, asked for a meeting. I showed up, very nervous, and he simply apologized. He said in front of everyone that he asked my forgiveness and that he understands that it is only with ironclad rules that we can run things here. Until today, I have no explanation for his turnabout except for the fact that the Rebbe runs the show.”

That man became one of the main supporters and donors of the shluchim.

“Since we arrived in Yiwu, a clear demarcation has been made between Jews and goyim and the intermarriage rate has gone down to zero. There is suddenly an awareness and understanding what the difference is between us, which wasn’t clear beforehand.”

What helps a lot in preventing local couples from coming to the Chabad house is the Chinese communist law that forbids any religious activity.

“A Chinese citizen is not allowed to enter the Chabad house because the government considers it missionary work. This helps us explain to Jews and Israelis that we don’t want to mess with the law.”

Included in this law forbidding religious activity is Mivtza T’fillin, but the authorities turn a blind eye. R’ Goldstein says that he met with the deputy mayor who even visited Israel.

“I told him about the community, and he was interested and happy to hear about it. He promised to help, but the truth is that their hands are tied. It will look as though they are helping Jews and they are afraid of the Moslem reaction. At the same time, they respect and look away from Mivtza T’fillin that I do every day in the market.”

There are times that the official hard line about religious activity is made profoundly clear.

“They told me explicitly that every time we do a religious activity outside of the Chabad house, we must ask for permission first. One time, we wanted to have a Pesach Seder in a big hotel. We submitted a request to the police, but they told us that since this is a religious event, we can’t do it.

“You feel that it’s a communist country at every turn. There is a policeman and a camera on every corner. At every moment, they know where every citizen and every foreigner is.”

Here is an example. Whoever enters China must report within 24 hours about where he plans to stay. One time, R’ Goldstein forgot to go to the nearest police station to report, and within a short time they were knocking on his door and they took him to prison.

“The interrogator said, ‘You broke the law and one who breaks the law is punished.’ In the end, after a number of nerve-wracking hours, my wife managed to get the money and pay the fine and I was released.”

R’ Goldstein emphasizes, “There is much admiration for the Jewish people. The Chinese greatly admire and love Jews, and in their history books it says that we are the wisest nation on earth. Every time I get into a taxi, they ask me who I am. When they hear that I am a Jew they say, ‘You number one; China number two.’ There is also a popular Chinese book called How to be Successful like the Jews. In general, it is the country with the least anti-Semitism in the world because the government is very powerful and people know they cannot start up with it.”

He said that a decade ago, a quarrel broke out between a young Israeli and a few Arabs in a cafe somewhere in China. “The local government found out who was involved and the next day they had all citizens of the nine countries whose citizens were involved in the fight leave the district in order to renew their visa. When the foreign citizens came back to renew their visas, they were all given black stamp visas for five years [requires one to renew his visa monthly and pay a fee, as opposed to the one time fee for a normal business visa which has no time restriction].

“This is why Moslems know they cannot start up with Jews; no spitting, no cursing, not spraying anti-Semitic graffiti, and certainly no physical attacks. I sometimes meet Arabs from Syria, Iran, and Pakistan and I see the hatred in their eyes, but they are afraid to start up. Furthermore, once every two or three weeks, police reps come and check whether there are any fights between us and others. It is definitely a good feeling.”

On the flip side, apropos of the police and their surveillance, Yossi said, “A senior Israeli official told me that I should beware since they are recording all my phone conversations.”

So, why is China considered an ally of the Arabs and consistently opposed to Israel? Yossi said it has to do with money. “Money is their religion. Although they love us, their factories operate on petroleum and that comes from Iranian oil fields. The Arab countries support their financial interests. That explains it.”

CHASSIDIC CHINUCH IN CHINA

The Goldsteins and their oldest son speak Chinese. Mendy takes lessons in Chinese and the shluchim themselves made a tremendous effort to learn the language.

“Since the residents here are very simple, they do not speak English. We had two choices, to teach Hebrew to the Chinese who work for us, or to learn Chinese. We went with the second option.” However, he does not know how to read and write “because it’s really hard.”

Another difficulty, one that is much harder, is the isolation.

“You are in this out of the way place in China, with hardly any Jews around, definitely not a Chassidic community. It’s not easy, and that’s an understatement. I can manage, since I’m so busy, but my wife finds it very hard since most of the people on business are men. She spends her time running the restaurant and raising the children. She occasionally gives classes and works with the women who pass through, most of whom are fashion designers.

“The children are home-schooled. We cannot make a preschool since most of the Jews in the community are bachelors.

“There was a time when our Mendy was the only Jewish child in the city. We were the only shluchim in the world with this status,” said Yossi with a grin. “He attends the online school. Last year, he had a virtual teacher from Eretz Yisroel along with fellow students in Seoul, Shanghai, and Vietnam.”

In China, as in the world over, Jews are brought closer to a life of Torah and mitzvos thanks to the children of the shluchim.

“For example, there is a woman who comes to this city on business and she always says, ‘I come to you only because of Mendy.’ Today, thank G-d, she is really involved and she committed to lighting Shabbos candles, even though she comes from an anti-religious background. There is no question that the children, with their innocence and charm, contribute a lot.”

Despite this, he says, “Their chinuch is the one issue that concerns us at times, but we know that they are on the Rebbe’s shoulders.”

Living in Yiwu is not easy because of the haze and the smog. Thanks to the children, the Goldsteins leave the country once every three months to “air out.”

“A tourist visa is only for thirty days, while a business visa is unlimited. The first time we came to China, we asked for business visas but were told, ‘You, the parents, can do business, but your children can’t, so they will have to get a tourist visa.’ You can extend a tourist visa two times, and then we have to leave the country in order to be able to renew the visas for the children. I see this as help from Above, because this forces us to refresh ourselves once every few months. This is a city without places to take children.”

The shluchim generally stay in Hong Kong or Bangkok:

“For the average Jew who goes there, it’s a burden because you don’t have the Jewish amenities you have in Eretz Yisroel, but for us, it’s like a trip to Eretz Yisroel (l’havdil). There are Chassidim there, plenty of kosher food, dairy products, places to take the children, etc.”

While the Goldsteins were in Eretz Yisroel, his brother Yaakov was in Yiwu.

“He is able to relate to the young people and is doing great work there until we return for the holidays. As Chassidim, we believe the Rebbe will be revealed immediately and that will save us a trip there. The Jews of Yiwu will move to Eretz Yisroel together with all our brothers from the four corners of the world, with the true and complete Geula.”