local
In South Korea, A Jewish
Community with Philadelphia
Roots Looks Forward
SASHA ROGELBERG | STAFF WRITER
I t’s approximately 6,888 miles from Elkins Park to
Seoul, South Korea — the distance that a hand-
ful of red cover-bound “Gates of Repentance”
High Holidays siddurim traveled from Reform
Congregation Keneseth Israel to Cheltenham native
Tamar Godel’s tiny Seoul apartment.

Since about 2018, Godel and a handful of other
Jews — a unique amalgamation of expats and immi-
grants, all referred to as “foreigners” by native South
Koreans — have used the prayer books to conduct
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services that com-
bine the diverse rituals of its participants with the
landscape of the South Korean metropolis.

Many of the traditions of the group, dubbed
Hakehillah Korea, or the congregation of Korea,
share this blending of tradition and environment:
Members throw breadcrumbs into the Han River for
tashlich; co-founder Anna Toombs hosts Passover
seders in her office, the only other space she has
access to with a kitchen and more square footage
than her postage stamp-sized apartment to host
guests. Though a small group of about 30, Hakehillah
Korea has come to define itself by its lack of singular
ritual or belief system. Member numbers fluctuate;
some, like Toombs, are in the process of becoming
a South Korean citizen, while others are visiting the
country for a fellowship.

The congregation has no membership dues, no
synagogue, no budget, no denomination. Though
Hakehillah lacks a static identity, its members are
determined to keep it going, even after they’re gone.

Godel and Toombs had no plans of building a
Jewish community when they first arrived in Seoul.

“I feel like both of us turned around one day, and
we were like, ‘How did we even get put in charge of
this synagogue?’” Godel said.

Godel arrived in Korea in 2015 with plans to teach
English and make enough money to pay off her stu-
dent loans from Temple University. Her parents were
both well-traveled and encouraged their children to
go abroad whenever the opportunity arose.

Godel was also meant to be a teacher, she said.

Before she received her Hebrew teaching certifica-
tion from Gratz College, she was the religious school
teacher at Keneseth Israel, where her mother worked
and where her grandfather, Simeon Maslin, was rabbi
for 17 years.

Leading Jewish community was always how Godel
connected with her Judaism and, upon arriving in
Seoul, she attended Chabad on the High Holidays to
Traditions & Memories
Rosh Hashanah: September 26 & 27 • Yom Kippur: October 5
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SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
Jewish Exponent
PHILADELPHIA