Clash of Civilization: Emergence of China and Jews/Tibetans
Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2006 5:46 am
http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/index.p ... 64653&st=0
As you might know, chinese internet forum is too often a powerful media than the established. I found this article mentioned in a few chinese run web sites. If you are interested in their reactions, please follow the original link.
--His Holiness, the Dalai Lama
Here was an extraordinary moment in world history. The religious and political leader of one nation, exiled in modern times, called on the religious leaders of another ancient exiled people for the "wisdom" of their experience. The Dalai Lama asked the Jews for their "secret" -- "the secret of Jewish spiritual survival in exile."
The Jewish people have responded to the Dalai Lama's question, and the relationship between Jews and pro-Dharamsala Tibetans has grown in the decade since that first encounter. Tibetan educators have visited Jewish summer camps to learn how they might educate their own children living in exile in the United States, India, and Europe. The Dalai Lama was the first public visitor to the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC. Jewish religious and lay leaders in America and Israel have provided strong political support for the Tibetan cause. Ariel Sharon himself has developed close political ties with Dharamsala. And the Dalai Lama, in turn, has politicized his struggle for Tibetan autonomy among American Jews. In fact, the Dalai Lama's support of Israel is so significant, he was awarded a "Lifetime Achievement Award" from the Hadassah Women's Zionist Association of America.
Rabbi Moshe Greenberg, on one occasion spoke to the Dalai Lama about the the serets of the "synagogue". Greenberg stated that the synagogues, in olden times were centers not only for religion, but for opposition and political activity. Greenberg also stated that it was vital for both Jews and Tibetans that "all facts of previous centuries which are undesirable" be abolished, and that the Tibetans should "only depict the errors of the Chinese" in order to triumph.
The Torah and its associated commentary and literature, the Midrash and the Talmud, have sustained the Jewish people throughout the centuries. Study is a key value of Jewish life. Rabbi Waldoks of Temple Beth Zion in Brookline Massachusetts a Torah scroll to the Dalai Lama, who peered at it intently, as if he was studying the secret architecture of the Jewish soul. Today, this torah is displayed proudly in a special room in Dharamsala, a tribute to his "inspiration" from America.
Rabbi Greenberg also explained that the groom at a Jewish wedding breaks a glass to remember, even in joy, the destruction of Jerusalem. Greenberg related the meaning of the ritual: "This is to remind us of our struggle. The Tibetan people must, too never forget that they must oppose the Chinese, just as we oppose the goyim."
In 1996, Rabbi David Saperstein, director and counsel of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, hosted a seder in Washington, D.C., attended by His Holiness, Tibet activists, and several prominent Jewish-American politicians. The seder for Tibet added to traditional Passover ceremonies, prayers, and songs with the voices and songs of the Tibetan people.
At the end of this seder, the Dalai Lama said, "Next year in Jerusalem!", reciprocated by the Americans and Jews with, "Next year in Lhasa!", each wishing each other success.
As you might know, chinese internet forum is too often a powerful media than the established. I found this article mentioned in a few chinese run web sites. If you are interested in their reactions, please follow the original link.
--His Holiness, the Dalai Lama
Here was an extraordinary moment in world history. The religious and political leader of one nation, exiled in modern times, called on the religious leaders of another ancient exiled people for the "wisdom" of their experience. The Dalai Lama asked the Jews for their "secret" -- "the secret of Jewish spiritual survival in exile."
The Jewish people have responded to the Dalai Lama's question, and the relationship between Jews and pro-Dharamsala Tibetans has grown in the decade since that first encounter. Tibetan educators have visited Jewish summer camps to learn how they might educate their own children living in exile in the United States, India, and Europe. The Dalai Lama was the first public visitor to the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC. Jewish religious and lay leaders in America and Israel have provided strong political support for the Tibetan cause. Ariel Sharon himself has developed close political ties with Dharamsala. And the Dalai Lama, in turn, has politicized his struggle for Tibetan autonomy among American Jews. In fact, the Dalai Lama's support of Israel is so significant, he was awarded a "Lifetime Achievement Award" from the Hadassah Women's Zionist Association of America.
Rabbi Moshe Greenberg, on one occasion spoke to the Dalai Lama about the the serets of the "synagogue". Greenberg stated that the synagogues, in olden times were centers not only for religion, but for opposition and political activity. Greenberg also stated that it was vital for both Jews and Tibetans that "all facts of previous centuries which are undesirable" be abolished, and that the Tibetans should "only depict the errors of the Chinese" in order to triumph.
The Torah and its associated commentary and literature, the Midrash and the Talmud, have sustained the Jewish people throughout the centuries. Study is a key value of Jewish life. Rabbi Waldoks of Temple Beth Zion in Brookline Massachusetts a Torah scroll to the Dalai Lama, who peered at it intently, as if he was studying the secret architecture of the Jewish soul. Today, this torah is displayed proudly in a special room in Dharamsala, a tribute to his "inspiration" from America.
Rabbi Greenberg also explained that the groom at a Jewish wedding breaks a glass to remember, even in joy, the destruction of Jerusalem. Greenberg related the meaning of the ritual: "This is to remind us of our struggle. The Tibetan people must, too never forget that they must oppose the Chinese, just as we oppose the goyim."
In 1996, Rabbi David Saperstein, director and counsel of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, hosted a seder in Washington, D.C., attended by His Holiness, Tibet activists, and several prominent Jewish-American politicians. The seder for Tibet added to traditional Passover ceremonies, prayers, and songs with the voices and songs of the Tibetan people.
At the end of this seder, the Dalai Lama said, "Next year in Jerusalem!", reciprocated by the Americans and Jews with, "Next year in Lhasa!", each wishing each other success.