Daily Archives: April 8, 2006

Seder kits on the way to Iraq

Howard Perl, 48, a Fort Lauderdale lawyer, never saw himself as much of a worship leader.

Then again, he never thought he would be shipped to Iraq after 30 uneventful years in the Army reserve, spend Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New year, under a rain of mortar fire, or lead Friday night worship in Camp Taji, an Army post 12 miles north of Baghdad, when there wasn’t a rabbi around to do the job.

In a year full of bizarre firsts, Perl says one stands out.

“It will be pretty cool to be able to celebrate Passover in Baghdad,” said Perl, an Army captain who trains members of the Iraqi army.

Shanghai nights: On a work trip to China, a celebrant feels at home

A few years ago, a two-week business trip put me, Lauren Kaufman in China for the first night of Passover. I wanted to attend a seder, find a place where I could celebrate, and meet some Chinese Jews.

A friend had given me the e-mail address of Rabbi Shalom and Dina Greenberg. So on a brisk April morning, I drove to 1277 Beijing Xi Lu, the address of the office of the Jewish Community of Shanghai, where I had been instructed by the rebbetzin to pick up our seder tickets. The small room on the 20th floor of a bleak office building was part makeshift workspace, part storage area filled with wooden shelves overflowing with Hebrew books.

The young Chinese girl in charge of the office welcomed me in broken English, collected $40 per ticket, and gave me invitations to the next evening’s festivities before calling Rabbi Greenberg to tell him I had arrived. When she handed me the phone, I heard an Israeli-accented voice say, “Welcome to Shanghai! I hope you found the office OK. We’re looking forward to having you and your friends join us tomorrow.” He made sure I had directions and invited me to attend erev Passover services at the synagogue down the road.