Prayers in the Rain and a Limited Minyan: Get to Know the Jewish Community in Japan | Israel today

It is one of the most closed countries in the world during the Corona, one of the least religious places, and as one that is very far from Israel in many ways - we too were surprised to have a Jewish community in Japan.

The Jewish community is divided between the Osaka-Kyoto-Cuba region and that of Tokyo.

The story of the community in Osaka-Kyoto-Cuba begins about a hundred years ago when a Jewish merchant came to the Cuba area with a Torah scroll and decided to establish a small Jewish community that went through quite a few incarnations.

Rabbi Shmulik Vishtzky, Photo: Shimon Yaish

When we found out that one of the only synagogues in Japan was in Cuba, we decided to visit there and found Rabbi Shmulik Vishtzky, who until nine years ago lived in the village of Chabad, decided to move to Japan, where he formed a few hundred Jews who come to his synagogue to celebrate Shabbat and holidays.

In a conversation with Rabbi Vishtzky, he says that during the week it is difficult to get to the minyan, but on weekends there are quite a few situations where there is a minyan in the synagogue in the city that is known mainly for its fine Japanese meat - Cuban beef.

"We came here and saw a synagogue with holes in the ceiling. It was very expensive to renovate it. "From our small Jewish community that is demilitarized in Kyoto, Osaka and Cuba, the majority come mainly on holidays and we do everything to preserve the Jewish tradition here," says Rabbi Vishetsky.

Rabbi Binyamin Edrei, Photo: Courtesy of Rabbi Binyamin Edrei

The Jewish community in the area of ​​about 300 members grew in total during World War II, after the Japanese Sugihara smuggled Jews from Europe to Japan after granting them visas.

Sugihara saved thousands of Jews and behind him an amazing story of modesty and kindness and thousands of Jews who were saved thanks to him.

The same Jews were transferred to the Cuban area, most of them no longer living in the area, but even a small portion of them remained from that period.

About a three-hour drive away is the small Jewish community in Tokyo.

Rabbi Binyamin Edrei together with his wife Efrat and their ten children are Chabad emissaries in the big city and Jews who come to visit the city also come to them.

Rabbi Edrei prepares Japanese products for the benefit of the Jews living in the area and for the benefit of those who are interested in importing products from Japan to other countries with a large Jewish community.

In the office of the Edrei family you could see kosher Japanese wines, rice, seaweed, dashi and many other Japanese products that are under the supervision of the rabbi who has lived with his family for 22 years in Tokyo.

Rabbi Binyamin Edrei at a meeting in Japan, Photo: Courtesy of Rabbi Binyamin Edrei

Rabbi Binyamin Edrei and his family, along with the Israeli businessman Arik Amsalem who was in Japan at the time, were also the ones who helped the families who became infected with the corona on the Diamond Princess in the early days of the corona.

Rabbi Binyamin assisted the Japanese government in the tsunami disaster and thanks to this he and his entire family received permanent residency in Japan.

These days there are almost no Israelis visiting Japan due to the relative difficulty of entering the country.

Tourists are allowed to enter Japan in an organized manner and business people can enter the country with a business visa.

It is currently not possible to enter Japan as a single tourist, but it is estimated that this will happen in the near future.

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