This Shul In Hong Kong is On Fire

[Music] [Applause] [Music] Behind me is the Oel Lea Sh here in Hong Kong. And I want to show you around. It's a stunning, gorgeous sh. >> Are you [Music] Yeah. >> Look at this. [Music] [Applause] [Music] I am here with Rami Ao Javasi. the rabbi of the OA synagogue in Hong Kong, >> assistant rabbi, >> the assistant rabbi, and tell us 30 seconds. How does this community stay on fire despite being miles away from any other Jews? >> Right. So, the Jews in Hong Kong start really the Jewish life here started 1850s. The synagogue was built in 1902, so over 120 years ago. And what's amazing is that it's always been very diverse and unique. People from all over the world been coming being together. You know, Tub is on Shabbat. So that unity, that sense of unity of being together, even though we are different, uh that is really the driving force of the community, learning together, praying together, being together for one another. >> Wow. [Music] This shall. The Oh Synagogue, a beacon of Jewish life in the Far East for over 120 years, was built in 1902 by the legendary Sassoon family from Baghdad, Iraq. This sh was planted here on a hilltop in Hong Kong when there was no skyscrapers, no towering banks, there was no neon lights, just a few traders, a tiny Jewish community and a fire that refused to go out within that community. And since then, everything has changed. The skyline exploded. There's glass towers reached for the skies. There's cultures have shifted. Languages have changed. Empires have come and gone. But this building, it doesn't flinch. It remained a sanctuary of holiness surrounded by noise. It's a little quiet flame in a city of a lot of noise. And while the backdrop of history kept rewriting itself, oh Hallea stood the test of time. And it reminds us that we don't just survive in gulus. We bring holiness inside of it. This isn't just a shaw. It's a statement that the Jewish people take their fire everywhere to the edge of China to global trading points to where no one expected us to thrive and we plant it there. We are not tourists in history. We are builders of eternity. We bring with us the fire of Tyra, the tears of exile and the unbreakable spark of redemption. Even when the world shifts beneath our feet, we carry that flame. This shaw, this sacred place, it doesn't just have a history, it has a heartbeat. This shaw is on fire. Are you [Music] [Laughter]