A Study on the Religious Life of Harbin Jewish Community in Modern Times

Abstract

In the early 20th century, tens of thousands of Jews from Eastern Europe and Russia lived or temporarily in northeast China, and Harbin was the largest Jewish settlement. The Jewish community in Harbin has built three synagogues. With its formal religious activities and adherence to national customs, it has not only enhanced its own national unity and cohesion, but also exerted a profound influence on the Jewish nation in maintaining Jewish values, Jewish clan identity, and being well versed in Jewish history and tradition. With the joint efforts of community leaders and rabbis, religious activities in Harbin Jewish community were carried out efficiently, which enabled diaspora Jews to maintain a unified belief and provided a strong guarantee for the realization of the Zionist ideal, the organization of Jewish migration to Palestine and the revival of the national state in the later period. At the same time, the religious life of Harbin Jewish community also fully reflects the characteristics of the national character and exclusivity of Judaism, both of which have had a great impact on the values and traditional customs of Judaism. To understand the basic characteristics of the two is helpful to understand the essence of the enduring renewal of Jewish culture.