Dear Friend,
This past weekend we celebrated Shavuot, the time of the year when we commemorate the giving of the Torah and the Ten Commandments to the Jewish people at the foot of Mount Sinai 3,334 years ago.
According to Jewish tradition, all Jews, both past and present, both those born Jewish and those who joined the Jewish faith through conversion, are to consider themselves as though they were actually present at Sinai during this historic moment.
The impact of this event—unprecedented in the history of our people and in the history of the world—is felt to this very day through the laws that govern us, the stories we tell our children, and the values that guide our thoughts, behavior, and actions.
Shavuot is also one of the three major pilgrimage holidays of the year, a time when our ancient cousins who tended the land of Israel traveled to the Temple in Jerusalem to contribute fruits from their harvest.
We hope you enjoyed this special holiday this past weekend, with a piece of cheesecake or a blintz, perhaps?
Interestingly, since like Chinese holidays, many Jewish holidays trace the phases of the moon, Shavuot fell around the same time as the Dragon Boat Festival, a holiday rich in lore and traditions (and celebrated with delicious treats as well, like sticky rice dumplings).
So to all our friends in Taiwan, we wish you a (belated) Happy Dragon Boat Festival!
Enjoy your summer,
Jeffrey D. Schwartz & NaTang
Co-Founders, Jeffrey D. Schwartz & NaTang Jewish Taiwan Cultural Association (JTCA)
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Thank you, Carl and Ginny Chien!
We were absolutely delighted and honored to receive a generous gift of NTD300,000 from Carl and Ginny Chien recently.
Carl and Ginny are long-time friends of the Jewish community, and have contributed in so many ways over the years, from Ginny’s design of exquisitely beautiful Sukkahs displayed at popular venues, to their support for the establishment of the JCC, to their participation in our holiday events, to their attendance at the annual Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony.
As the Vice Chairman of Asia Pacific and CEO for Taiwan at JPMorgan, Carl is a preeminent financial authority and widely respected leader of Taiwan’s business community. He belongs to a distinguished family of diplomats who have contributed immensely to the establishment of Taiwan on the global stage.
Their beautiful children were all raised and educated in Taiwan and the US, and they count among them a multi-talented actor currently filming a major Hollywood production, a source of much “nachas” (pride), as we say in Yiddish.
Their generous gift makes all of our initiatives at the JTCA and JCC possible, from our holiday events, to our Shabbat meals, to our beautiful new synagogue, to our kindergarten, to the Kosher Culinary Lab, and so much more.
In recognition of their contribution, Carl and Ginny’s names will be inscribed permanently on the Tree of Life display at the JCC.
Stay tuned for more stories about our Tree of Life contributors.
We welcome your support! Please contact us at info@jtca.org.tw to find out how you can contribute.
The Kosher Culinary Lab now delivers to your home!
In our last newsletter, we announced that you can book a table or order take-away using the Inline app. Today, we are thrilled to announce that you can now use the Inline app to order Kosher Culinary Lab cuisine for home delivery!
That’s right, select from our extensive menu of delicious Israeli-Jewish dishes, all certified kosher, for convenient home delivery. Shakshouka, Moroccan salmon, Pizza sabiche, Rainbow hummus, and much more…!
(P.S.: The Kosher Culinary Lab is very much open and welcomes guests. You can book a table using the same Inline app, so join us for lunch or dinner, and sample some of our amazing new Israeli wines while you’re here).
Click here to place your delivery order with the Kosher Culinary Lab
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Policy announcement: Day passes & membership
Since we opened the JCC in January, we have invited the community and our friends to join us for holiday events, take a guided tour of our museum, and sample our unique Israeli-Jewish cuisine at the Kosher Culinary Lab.
While we encourage everyone to join as a member (and a special thank you to the more than 100 members who have joined already), we have allowed guests to purchase day passes so they can get a flavor for what we have to offer before making the commitment.
Today, we will continue to welcome anyone wanting to participate in our activities or services by purchasing day passes. However, going forward, each visitor can only purchase a maximum of 3 day passes. After using 3 passes, we are asking that you purchase an annual membership to continue to access the JCC. This policy covers access to all JCC events, Shabbat services, and tours.
Signing up for membership is easy, is open to all who share our vision, and is affordable (especially if you compare it to what other JCC’s charge around the world).
And, of course, we offer a range of discounts and benefits that will help you get more value out of membership.
Please note: If for some reason membership creates a financial burden, please let us know, as we have some friends in the community who have offered to provide financial support to those who need it.
To sign-up for membership, head over to our website right here. We accept cash, bank transfer, credit cards at the JCC, or credit cards online.
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Welcome Roland Rudorfer to the JCC
We were delighted to welcome Roland Rudorfer, Diplomat and Director of the Austrian Office Taipei (Austria’s de facto embassy), and his son Simon, to the JCC today.
Roland has been instrumental in connecting the JTCA with Austrian Service Abroad, the remarkable organization founded by Dr. Andreas Maislinger that sends student volunteers around the world to Jewish cultural and educational centers.
Adrian Krön, our first volunteer, has had a tremendous impact on our ability to communicate our activities and ideas through social media, like this amazing video about the “10 Jewish Americans Who Changed the World.”
Over coffee and homemade chocolate rugelach, warm and fresh out of the oven of the Kosher Culinary Lab, we chatted about the deepening ties between our respective organizations (and shared a few laughs about some of the Mel Brooks movies we grew up with).
Thank you, Roland, for your untiring support of the JTCA.
