Get ready for a sweet new year
Dear Friend,
I hope you and your family enjoyed the Mid-Autumn Festival last weekend. This is one of the most important holidays on the Chinese calendar, a time for spending time with family and friends.
On the Jewish calendar, we are also looking forward to celebrating what is perhaps one of the most important holidays of the year: Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year.
We would like to invite you and your family and friends to a very special banquet to welcome the new year (the 5783rd year on the Jewish calendar) on Sunday, September 25th.
Starting at 5:00 pm, we will gather to light the candles, say a few prayers and blessings, and enjoy a magnificent kosher banquet in our elegant new ballroom. Lots of apples, honey, and other delicious delicacies prepared by our Kosher Culinary Lab team will be served to ensure we all have a very sweet year ahead.
We would be delighted if you could join us, so if you haven’t already signed-up, just click here for information on how to register in English, or click here for the Chinese page.
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Reserve your spot: Survival Hebrew starts soon!
We have a few more seats open in our brand-new Survival Hebrew class. Taught by Nirit Arbeli, a professional Hebrew instructor from Israel who also speaks fluent English and Mandarin Chinese, Survival Hebrew will give you a grounding in the alef-bet (the Hebrew alphabet), commonly used conversational phrases, essential grammar, and lots of useful words that you can use to get around the next time you’re in Israel.
Classes will be held at the JCC every Sunday at 10:30 – 12 noon from September 18 through December 4. Students will have access to recorded course content for review. A celebratory lunch will be served at the end of the course and a certificate given to all students.
Just click here to register now to secure your seat
Members enjoy a generous discount, so click here to register for membership.
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Welcome Miriam, our volunteer from Austrian Service Abroad
Having recently bid farewell to Adrian Kron, our first volunteer from Austrian Service Abroad, we were delighted to welcome two new volunteers this past week: Miriam Vanek and Stephanie Langer.
Miriam and Stephanie will support our communications, events, and membership initiatives. Here’s a short introduction to Miriam (we’ll feature Stephanie next time):
Miriam graduated high school this spring with a focus on drama and the performing arts. Originally from Steyr, Upper Austria, Miriam spends a lot of time in Vienna. She’s visited over 25 countries, many of them with her grandmother.
“It’s my second week here and I haven’t had the chance to leave Taipei, but I feel very welcomed by everyone and I can adapt quickly.
I’m very happy to be able to do my memorial service here. Not just because of the impressive architecture and the very nice people, I feel like I can really support the small community here and contribute to fostering Jewish life.
I chose Taiwan because it is very far away from home and different. Nevertheless, Taiwan is modern and exciting and has similar values to Europe.”
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JTCA Joins Austrian Service Abroad’s 30th Year Anniversary Celebration
The JTCA was honored to represent the Jewish community in Taiwan when Glenn Leibowitz spoke via Zoom at the 30th anniversary celebration of Austrian Service Abroad, held in Vienna.
Austrian Service Abroad was founded by Dr. Andreas Maislinger, and is supported and funded by the Austrian government. Our partnership with Austrian Service Abroad was initiated and supported with the assistance of Mr. Roland Rudorfer, Director of the Austrian Office Taipei.
Glenn joined Samantha Robinson, Manager of Strategy, Development and International Partnerships at The Jewish Agency for Israel, who delivered a keynote address, and Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action for the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a leading global Jewish human rights organization based in Los Angeles.
We are grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this special celebratory occasion, and we’re proud of our association with Austrian Service Abroad. On behalf of the JTCA, we would like to wish Dr. Andreas Maislinger, Daniel Schuster, and the entire team at Austrian Service Abroad a happy 30th anniversary, and best wishes for the next 30 years!
To learn more about this remarkable organization, read this in-depth interview Glenn published in the Times of Israel.
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Welcome to our new members
And finally, NaTang and I would like to personally welcome our newest members to the JCC. Thanks to our members, we can continue to provide meaningful programming and services to everyone who supports our mission of fostering Jewish life in Taiwan and globally:
Mathew Samimi, Dvorah Mikulski, Freddie Assor, Syaru Shirley Lin and family, 温峻瑜 , 陳秀琴, 陳宜鋒, 王巨典, 吳意芬
Join the JCC! We welcome everyone who shares in our vision and mission to join us. You’ll enjoy discounts on events and services. Membership prices are kept low thanks to a generous subsidy provided by the Jewish Taiwan Cultural Association (JTCA).
Click here to become a member of the JCC
L’shanah tovah: may you be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life for a good and sweet new year,
Jeffrey D. Schwartz & NaTang
Co-founders, Jewish Taiwan Cultural Association
